Crazy airfare to FCO for July - Celeb. Equinox

[sharky23]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if anyone is heading for the July 26 Equinox sailing out of Civitivecchia and is also finding airfares to be exorbitantly high (out of the U.S. anyway)?

 

I'm looking at the only direct offered from MIA to FCO (on Alitalia) and they want $1900 pp...economy! :eek: Factor in we're traveling with a three-year-old and I'm at a loss, we just can't do a connecting flight.

 

Is anyone else in my shoes? The airfare is almost as much as the cruise! I have two months before I have to cancel the cruise for a full refund of our deposit (which we don't want to do). :(

 

Should I hold off and wait and see if they come down to something reasonable? Can they really expect people to pay nearly 2 grand pp?

I'm flabbergasted. :confused:

 

Thanks for any and all feedback,

 

S

[sharky23]

Somehow I created two of the same posts. Please disregard this one!:rolleyes:

[MonDreamr1]

You'll find them a little cheaper with a layover

$1338 on US airways w/ a stop in Charlotte.

It looks like the direct flight went down to $1769

 

I just put them in Kayak - you can set up a fare watch/tracker that will email you weekly with what the current prices are and which direction they are heading.

 

Also try looking at some of the other airports on the east coast - you can find cheap domestic flights (Southwest/Jet Blue/Airtran) to the major ones (NYC/DC/Boston)

Nonstop out of DC $1550

One stop is $1205

 

Nonstop out of NYC $1299

One stop is $1074

 

Nonstop out of Boston is $1559

One stop is $1288 (though this stop is in Charlotte)

 

Charlotte nonstop $1598

Charlotte one stop $1462

 

Another option is finding the cheapest flight to Europe in general and then booking an internal flight once you are there on their version of cheap domestic flights (ryan air, easy jet etc)

[dzcruisers]

Did you check Celebrity CHOICE air?

[Czech Precision Forge]

Try www.klm.com Around your dates it was about $1600, but the itinerary will not be simple.

 

As an American living in Europe i closely follow transatlantic pricing. Over the past year I have tried waiting out the airlines for discounts but i have found that the lowest price one finds prior to the flight sometimes increases, but eventually returns to the lowest price up until about 6 weeks before departure. There just never seem to be any discounted fairs below this threshold.

 

You can also try the European alliance partners of the airlines you would normally fly. Depending on exchange rate fluctuations you may get slightly better pricing. These itineraries generally are more complicated.

[sharky23]

Thanks all.

 

Celebrity Choice doesn't offer anything better than I could find on my own.

 

We were hoping to fly direct because of my 3-year-old daughter. But since I'm finding Alitalia to be ridiculously high priced, and not child friendly (no car seats allowed, no safety harness, etc) I'm reconsidering.

 

I'm starting to lean towards Continental out of Ft. Lauderdale connecting in Newark to Rome, or US Airways Lauderdale through Charlotte to Rome. They're less expensive and seem to have better amenities and reviews.

 

I saw I could do it out of Miami on Swiss through Zurich but the price is very high as well, and I would need to leave aday earlier since the arrival in Rome would be too late to make the cruise.

 

Argh. I just hate the idea of changing planes!

[D4]

...I saw I could do it out of Miami on Swiss through Zurich but the price is very high as well, and I would need to leave aday earlier since the arrival in Rome would be too late to make the cruise....

 

I really recommend arriving at least a day early, especially for transatlantic flights.

[cosaraquis1]

Try viacom.com, they are usually the cheapest.

[Moeve]

You know with a child you might find a stop is actually better. Over and above that Alitalia is about the LAST European airline I would fly and yes I have flown them before. If you want to fly from Miami and perhaps change flights in Europe have a look at Lufthansa via Frankfurt , Air France via Charles d. Gaulle or BA via London(that would entail a stop in Hearthrow however) What ever you do make sure the whole Itin is on ONE Ticket that way your full luggage allowance will be carried over to the inter European flight tooo. DO NOT think you are getting a cheaper flight using somoe outfit like Ryanair because that practially halves your luggage allowance and you have to pay for EVERY piece.....

[sharky23]

I really recommend arriving at least a day early, especially for transatlantic flights.

 

I ws going to do that, but all the flights I'm looking at get to Rome very early in the morning, around 8am. The ship doesn't sail until 6pm. I figure even with a big delay ... four, five, even six hours, we'll still have time to make the ship.

[sharky23]

You may be right, Moeve. The Alitalia horror stories are enought to make me consider other options, and now I'm reading better reviews on other airlines and better amenities, it just might make more sense for us to connect. I've considered connecting in Europe, but have also been told if I'm going to connect, I'm probably better off on this side of the pond. Although I've heard Zurich is a top-notch airport to traverse. I'm going to leave no stone unturned on this search! :)

[Moeve]

Sharky every airport on this world has its bad days and I could tell you pure horror stories about those hubs in the US - it really doesn't matter at what hub you connect through.

 

LH for example has a direct flight from Miami to Frankfurt and you connect within Terminal 1. You do all your immigrations in FRA because this is where you are entering the EU. With a child give yourself 2 - 3 hours connecting time and you will be fine. over and above that most people in Frankfort actually speak english so asking your way around or simply for help isn't a big problem.

 

The clue about connecting in Europe is the liitle one may have slept through the long international flight and now could do with a bit of streaching and running around and I bet you too can do with a break at this point.

 

By the way you are aware of the fact that Rome international airport is a good hours drive by car to Civittavechia right??

[jeno]

Try viacom.com, they are usually the cheapest.

 

This site does not appear to have flight pricing/purchase on it. Please help. Thanks!

[rtx]

You could try Air Berlin which flies out of Miami and Ft. Myers to Dusseldorf and then you could make a connection to Fiumicino from there.

 

I have used Air Berlin within Europe and as well as across the Atlantic. They are very good and have much lower fares than many. One way fares can be very reasonable.

 

The only extra charge is for reserving a specific seat in advance(about 10 Euro I think). 50 lbs. of luggage trans-Atlantic and 44 within Europe are allowed at no charge.

[UKBayern]

You have 1 major problem you will not get around of: it is summer holiday in every part of the western world. Forget about a truely good deal. That weekend you are travelling is what is actually called "Black Saturday" in Europe, with the whole of Europe on the move. So don't leave it any longer, we would expect the fares are just going to go up. Considering these conditions, I would certainly take an extra day to get to Rome, something can so easily go wrong on the way. Try playing around with the dates: flying 1 day earlier or later may get you an unbelievable bargain. When we went on our cruise from Venice, flying in 1 day early resulted in a $200 cheaper flight, which easily paid for a hotel and an enjoyable day in Venice. When I look on the Alitalia site, this nonstop flight is actually the most expensive flight around. Maybe you should abandon that idea.

 

A lot of cheap European holiday airlines fly to (and thus from) Florida. And if the connection is not ideal, it might not even be so bad to have 1 day in a fun European city to relax before you fly on to Rome. Remember: no European city is going to be more than 2 to 3 hours flight to Rome. You can also try what happens if you fly from Fort Lauderdale, Orlando or Fort Myers. Martinair Holland (a full KLM daughter I used to work for) will get you from Orlando to Rome with a transfer in Amsterdam for approx $1200. Air Berlin has cheap flights from Ft Myers and Miami to Düsseldorf (I found quotes of under a thousand, depends what you find on DUS-ROM). Air Lingus flies you from Orlando to Dublin for about $1000. Virgin Atlantic has cheap flights to London from Miami for approx $ 1100, that leaves you LON-ROM to sort out. Londen Heathrow is a slightly nightmarish airport to navigate though, because of its different terminals. We are a fan of Zurich, we transfer there a lot: very easy to navigate, nice modern airport.

 

Moeve is right about a lot of things: get everything in one ticket not only because of the bagage allowance, but also because the delivering airline is then responsible of getting you to your final destination. If you do work out 2 flights by yourself, make sure you have a lot of time between flights (not ideal with a child, maybe overnight stay better?).

 

I would not be too concerned about the airlines. Alitalia is not considered a bad airline in Europe. American Airlines is, but a lot of Americans will not agree. It is all about culture and style and what you are used to. No US or European airline is going to be truely lousy, and they all adhere to the same strict safety regulations. All the European holiday airlines I mention have won major European awards for service, but it might not be to the American taste. Any airplane seat gets uncomfortable after a while and airline food is never that good as on a cruise. If not getting the champagne, the inflight magazine or the hot towel is going to save you a lot of cash (and we are talking hundreds of dollars here), it might be food for thought.

[Moeve]

The last poster is right if you have the time to spare (but the is probably not possible since US gusets don't have as much vacation) do and over night stop.

[Ayuh]

Try search engine www.mobissimo.com Just found MIA-YYZ-FCO roundtrip on BA through Cheapo Air for $1215 pp for July 24-Aug 6. Other options available.

[UKBayern]

Try search engine www.mobissimo.com Just found MIA-YYZ-FCO roundtrip on BA through Cheapo Air for $1215 pp for July 24-Aug 6. Other options available.

 

That means changing planes twice. BA has no direct flights from Toronto to Rome.

[adjen]

Did you check Delta out of Newark. I am flying on Delta (which is really Alitalia) for a much lower price than if I were booked on Alitalia. It is non stop from Newrak to Rome leaving at about 5:30pm.

 

Adjen:)

[Ayuh]

Still recommend search engine www.mobissimo.com You'll note I said other options were available. Here's just one. Good luck.

 

 

British Airways

Sat, Jul 24 Duration : 18h 30min Total stops : 1 Depart 5:15 pm Miami International, FL, US (MIA) Arrive 5:45 pm Rome, IT (FCO)

British Airways

Fri, Aug 06 Duration : 23h 25min Total stops : 1 Depart 8:25 pm Rome, IT (FCO) Arrive 1:50 pm Miami International, FL, US (MIA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close Outbound | 24-Jul-2010 | MIA - FCO

 

 

 

 

British Airways

Sat, Jul 24 Depart 5:15 pm Miami International, FL, US (MIA) Arrive 6:35 am London-Heathrow, GB (LHR) Flight 206 BOEING 747-400 JET Note : This flight arrives the next day.

British Airways

 

 

 

 

Sun, Jul 25 Depart 2:15 pm London-Heathrow, GB (LHR) Arrive 5:45 pm Rome, IT (FCO) Flight 556 AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A321 JET Return | 06-Aug-2010 | FCO - MIA

 

 

 

 

British Airways

 

 

 

 

Fri, Aug 06 Depart 8:25 pm Rome, IT (FCO) Arrive 10:05 pm London-Heathrow, GB (LHR) Flight 555 BOEING 767-200/300 JET

 

 

 

 

British Airways

Sat, Aug 07 Depart 9:40 am London-Heathrow, GB (LHR) Arrive 1:50 pm Miami International, FL, US (MIA) Flight 207 BOEING 747-400 JET

Close

 

Ticket Type: E-Ticket. Your reservation will be electronically ticketed and no paper tickets will be issued.

Price Details Traveler Air Fare Taxes & Fees Total # 1 (Adult) $881.00 $325.36 $1,206.36 Total: $1,206.36

[sharky23]

Thanks all, really good, sound advice.

 

We are going to go a day early, it really does make sense, and we have the time so why chance it?

 

We're leaning heavily towards flying Swiss from MIA through Zurich to FCO. The flight times are good, and I know a few people that have flown them and rave about them. Plus I like what I've read, and they allow car seats on their planes.

 

I'll post back when we decide and book!

 

Much thanks,

 

S