flying in at 10 am to Barcelona on debarkation day

[WB1971]

We did the same in September. Flight was scheduled for 7am arrival, so had what I felt was a comfortable allowance for delay. Flight arrived early, no issues. Only hiccup was we had prebooked suntransfers and the idiots never showed. (Claimed they did, but I have time stamped photo evidence I was in the meetup place. The jerks refused to give me a refund, but Citi saw it my way when I disputed the charge for services not rendered). Just take a taxi, tons waiting at that early hour on a weekend. Is there risk, sure. I too simply could not take another day off work, as already had to take 6 days, and I work where being there nearly every day is an expectation.

 

[gilsan]

I’d be reluctant to try this.

It’s probably 30 minutes from the airport to the cruise docks.

You’ll need to clear customs and immigration as well- it can be efficient, but sometimes not.

I’d be sure to sit near the front of the plane- otherwise you could have an extra 20 minutes to disembark.

The last time we landed in Barcelona it was nearly 2 hours to clear passport control.

 

[NancyIL]

This wasn’t to Barcelona, but I arrived in Copenhagen 2 days before a cruise in 2014. My flights weren’t delayed, but my luggage didn’t arrive in Copenhagen when I did. In fact, I didn’t see it until it caught up with me ON THE SHIP the day we sailed!

 

[Intr3pid]

If your husband absolutely can't make it earlier, here is a suggestion.

The rest of your family travels the day before and plan to get on board on schedule. Your husband makes a run for it on the day of. If he doesn't make it to the departure in Barcelona, he takes the train to Marseilles to join the next day. The ship's captain will have to allow this, however. In the US, this is sometimes an issue for ships with foreign registries (two consecutive US ports, for example) - but I'm not sure about EU laws.

 

[MUN]

Has anyone done this in the past. We do not have a choice as my DH does not have vacation until the 6th of July and the Magic leave Barcelona on the 7th. I just need some reassurance that this is doable.

Do you have access to a private jet? I would feel more comfortable flying in via a private jet the day of a European cruise, than having to rely on commercial flights.

MUN

 

[skittlesfirehawk]

I always fly in on embarkation day. But I go from nj to fl. We once missed the flight but they put us stand by on the next one.

 

[dclpluto]

I did it before. But the magic was staying overnight in Barcelona. I wouldn’t of did it if it wasn’t staying overnight. Can your husband call off work so you can leave a day early?

 

[ludari]

I understand your situation but I would never fly in the day of the cruise. That's a little to risky for me considering that we have all experienced flight delays, cancelations etc. Not to mention my first trip to Barcelona my checked bag was lost for two days before it arrived at my hotel. That was the first and last time for me and now I just bring a carry-on bag for all my cruises/trips. If you cannot leave earlier I would definitely only take a direct flight and just have carry-on bags. Good luck.

 

[o&smom]

Will they allow you to join the cruise and another port? I thought I had read that this was not allowed.

Now you have me thinking...I know that if you miss the ship in a port you are supposed to meet it at the next port. I was assuming this would be the case, but now I wonder if there is a difference since you did not get checked in at embarkation. I would call Disney to confirm, but I am pretty sure I have heard of people missing the boat the first day and meeting up with the ship at the next port. Sorry, not super helpful.

 

[kiford]

If the flight gets in on time or 1-2 hours late, yes, it's very doable as the airport is not too far from the port. But on our first Med cruise, our flight was 4 hours late due to a sudden and last-minute strike of French air traffic controllers so our flight from Frankfurt had to recalculate the flight to avoid French airspace and then get to the back of the line before take-off. Fortunately, we were there at least one day in advance of the cruise. I would have been stressed to the max and I'm not sure we would have made it in time if it was on the same day. Problem for OP is that there may not be any other flight options. I know that we didn't.

 

[one princess]

We went 2 days in advance of our Med cruise. Connected through Madrid. Our luggage enjoyed 2 days there while we enjoyed 2 days in Barcelona. Got it the night before boarding. I heard later that Madrid is known for bad luggage transfers. Keep that in mind when you pack.

 

[Livesincelebration]

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. We have decided to fly out two days early and not take the chance. My DH was off on the 4th anyways so we will see about the 5th. He will try to get it off. Delta was very helpful. They put us on the same flight leaving 2 days early, but we have to stay an extra day after the cruise in order to get the lowest fare change. Not a bad idea though. There is so much to do in Barcelona!!!!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. We have decided to fly out two days early and not take the chance. My DH was off on the 4th anyways so we will see about the 5th. He will try to get it off. Delta was very helpful. They put us on the same flight leaving 2 days early, but we have to stay an extra day after the cruise in order to get the lowest fare change. Not a bad idea though. There is so much to do in Barcelona!!!!

We are doing the same. We booked a tour of Montserrat through Barcelona Day Tours after we get off the ship. You might want to consider that as well.