How early of a flight can we make out of Rome?

[newbie280106]

I'm taking a Princess cruise which ends in Rome. The 'arrival time' is noted as 4 am but Princess staff aren't able to tell me when we'd be able to get off. They don't recommend booking a flight with a departure time before 11:30 am. The flight we're looking at leaves at 11:15 am and I'm wondering if this is too risky or quite possible. We'd be taking a taxi (so not waiting to take the princess transfer) and we can carry our own bags off that morning if that would speed things up.

Has anyone been in this situation for a Rome flight and what was the timing like?

Our other flight options are rather ugly but I don't want to risk this flight if it's really a risk. I just can't tell if Princess is being overly cautious and making the flight wouldnt be an issue at all.

Thanks for your help

[Toto2Kansas]

If Princess suggests no earlier than 11:30, I would go ahead and fudge that 15 minutes and book the 11:15 flight. But, I would also make sure I was off the ship as fast as possible, traffic I hear can be brutal.

[Sircruisealott]

I'm taking a Princess cruise which ends in Rome. The 'arrival time' is noted as 4 am but Princess staff aren't able to tell me when we'd be able to get off. They don't recommend booking a flight with a departure time before 11:30 am. The flight we're looking at leaves at 11:15 am and I'm wondering if this is too risky or quite possible. We'd be taking a taxi (so not waiting to take the princess transfer) and we can carry our own bags off that morning if that would speed things up.

Has anyone been in this situation for a Rome flight and what was the timing like?

Our other flight options are rather ugly but I don't want to risk this flight if it's really a risk. I just can't tell if Princess is being overly cautious and making the flight wouldnt be an issue at all.

Thanks for your help

 

Actually, I made a 9:40am flight on Swiss Airlines last year out of Rome (FCO) while on the Golden Princess and we had a published arrival time at 4:00am as you indicated with plenty of time to kill. That morning for some reason, the pilot mistook his time to be onboard 4:00am instead of 3:00am and it caused us to be along side Civitavecchia at approx. 5:40am and we were cleared by 6:00am and I still made this flight. The driver made it to FCO in less than 45 minutes that day.

 

To make sure it all works out make sure you driver knows the port very well and which part of the port your ship is arriivng. This can cause a further lenghty delay as well.

 

Sircruisealott;)

[Pam in CA]

The drive to Rome can either be 45 minutes or 2 hours. It really depends on traffic and whether there are accidents. There's no way to predict this. You should be fine with an 11:15AM flight but make sure you let Princess know you're on the earlier flight.

[TXTraveler76]

Princess booked us out of Rome this past May at 10:30 am. We made it with no problems. We had to get up very early!

[Coral]

Actually, I made a 9:40am flight on Swiss Airlines last year out of Rome (FCO) while on the Golden Princess and we had a published arrival time at 4:00am as you indicated with plenty of time to kill. That morning for some reason, the pilot mistook his time to be onboard 4:00am instead of 3:00am and it caused us to be along side Civitavecchia at approx. 5:40am and we were cleared by 6:00am and I still made this flight. The driver made it to FCO in less than 45 minutes that day.

 

To make sure it all works out make sure you driver knows the port very well and which part of the port your ship is arriivng. This can cause a further lenghty delay as well.

 

Sircruisealott;)

 

Tony - good to see you on CC again.

[DQUIN5340]

We were off the ship by 6:00 am and in the airport by 7:30. Our flight was 10:45 and we had plenty of time. We even took the ship's transfers. They starting leaving the ship as soon as she was cleared by the inspectors at 5:30 or so. I know it was still dark.

[pris993]

I note you mention taking a taxi at the port. I read that there are not many taxis available at the port, so I did take a ship transfer on Holland America last April. Did not see any taxi when I was there. Understand one needs to book a private car service in advance, some folks do this.

 

One needs to check in at the airport 2 hours in advance for international flights.

 

When all goes well, it is only about a 45 minute drive to the airport.

 

I elected to stay overnight in Rome rather than add to the stress of making a flight the same day. I generally fly in a day in advance and stay over at least one night. This way I get a good nights sleep, don't feel rushed in advance of a long flight back to California.

 

There is a Hilton hotel at FCO - a Hilton Garden Inn and I believe a Courtyard by Marriott nearby.