What time can you disembark?

[wcr]

Taking our first Oceania cruise this November a TA from Barcelona to Rio de Janeiro. Our last night of the cruise is overnight in Rio. We would like to go on our own to Foz do Iguacu and there is a flight scheduled at 10:20 in the morning out of GIG. Will we be able to get off the ship early enough to go through immigration (and will immigration be open that early), take a taxi to GIG, and make the flight? Thanks for any advice...WCR :)

[MBMiner]

The answer to this queston is always the same - no one knows. It all depends on Immigration officials and how soon they clear the ship.

Bruce

[LHT28]

Are you talking about the first day of arrival or the 2 nd day in port?

[geologygeek]

If you're flying out of GIG on 10 December - you'll be all good for an early flight because immigration formalities would have been completed the previous day when Insignia arrives in Rio in the afternoon.

[wcr]

Thanks geologygeek, I think you have answered my question. We are planning to catch a flight on the second day we are in port, Dec. 10, the day the cruise officially ends. If all the immigration formalities are taken care of on the first day we are in port, Dec. 9, and the next day we are free to leave the ship at any time withough going through any more formalities, then we should be able to make at 10:20 a.m. flight out of GIG.:)

[hondorner]

Let me caution you that the check in at GIG can be horrendously slow. It might be better in the morning, but it took us well over 3 hours to go through check in and security when we flew out at 8:30 in the evening. We were at the airport 4 hours ahead of our flight (we had been warned by another CruiseCritic member to get there early) and still nearly missed it -- they were boarding when we finally arrived at the gate. We stood in lines the entire time, first from one end of the terminal to the check in desk, then from the other end of the terminal (it actually wound around like a snake) back to security.

 

Hopefully, it will be better in the morning, but I would check into it, somehow -- perhaps with your airline?

 

Then, our flight went only as far as Sao Paulo, where we had to change planes. In Sao Paulo, they herded us outside the security area and then made us go back through security -- even though we could see our departure gate through a glass door from the arrival gate! Another hour in line.

[wcr]

Thanks for the warning. Hopefully a local flight to Foz do Iguacu in the morning would be easier, but we will be sure to allow lots of time. Our flight back to the US leaves at 11:35 p.m. We were thinking that the airport would be fairly quiet by then, but it seems most flights to the US leave in the evening and with your experience it seems to prove it will be a zoo when we get to the airport. :)

[orchestrapal]

Our experience was that the flights to Iguacu leave from a small airport and not the main one. The flights all left late and on the return we were in the airport for 3 hours waiting for fog and rain to lift. Plan lots of extra time.

[wcr]

When I looked up flights from Rio de Janeiro to Iguacu Falls on Kayak.com, currently there are three non stop flights a day, 10:20 a.m., 1:30 and 5:05 p.m. leaving GIG (Antonio Carlos Jobim Airport better known as Galeao Airport) for IGU. GIG is the large airport outside of town. All flights from SDU (Santos Dumont Airport) the smaller downtown airport, make at least one stop before reaching IGU. Thus, although SDU is easier to get to and probably less crowded, I would prefer taking a direct flight out of GIG. :)

[hondorner]

You might consider posting a query on the Cruise Air forum on this site. There are several experts who post their regularly who may be able to guide you as to the best airport in Rio for domestic flights.