transatlanic cruise vs all inclusive european cruise

[RoRothman]

I finally convinced my husband to try something more than Caribbean cruising, bu we need a good deal.. the deal look pretty good for the crossings.. but we have no idea how much excursions, hotel and airfare would add on.. and when you compare that to the "Voyage to Antiquity" all inclusive deals.. would it be about the same.. would love some help from some f of you experienced cruisers on how much you should expect to pay.. when you see a deal like $999 for a Princess cruise.. but this is only the cruise fare.. I assume we would we need at least one night hotel.. airfare. and transfers.. and we would do excursions at all the ports.. because we are new to this.. and we want to see as much as possible and feel safe..

[Pia1913]

I finally convinced my husband to try something more than Caribbean cruising, bu we need a good deal.. the deal look pretty good for the crossings.. but we have no idea how much excursions, hotel and airfare would add on.. and when you compare that to the "Voyage to Antiquity" all inclusive deals.. would it be about the same.. would love some help from some f of you experienced cruisers on how much you should expect to pay.. when you see a deal like $999 for a Princess cruise.. but this is only the cruise fare.. I assume we would we need at least one night hotel.. airfare. and transfers.. and we would do excursions at all the ports.. because we are new to this.. and we want to see as much as possible and feel safe..

 

Do not compare a Princess cruise to Antiquity, which is on an old bucket and has nothing for you to do other than listen to mostly boring lectures.

[Pam in CA]

Pre-cruise costs depend on the departure city. There's a big difference between a trans-Atlantic from FLL to Barcelona and a Barcelona to FLL. Are you thinking of the northern route, i.e., from NY to Southampton or Southampton to NY? Pre-cruise costs are usually more from Southampton since it's about two hours from London and you have transportation costs.

 

It's hard to answer your question because of the variables.

[ssbeagle]

You have to take into consideration airfare (one way) from the States to Europe. A good way is to use a consolidator(reliable one) to get the best fares. Or for the first time you could book through Princess which would include air, transfers, and hotel if you do a pre-cruise package. We used to do it through Princess but found it's cheaper to do it on our own now. I look at which hotels Princess is using and book myself at one of them. On the roll call section for your cruise you can hook up with people looking to share transportation and/or tours (privately arranged) which can be cheaper than Princess. Transatlantic cruises are actually repositioning cruises and they can be cheaper than catching the ship already in Europe. The excursions really aren't any more costly than in the Caribbean.

[Pia1913]

The OP doesn't have to consider air when booking with Antiquity. With them it's the whole inclusive package.

[Times Prince]

We've booked 3 European cruises through Princess, with two of them flying in from the USA on the same day as the cruise (leaving the day before with an overnight flight). Princess air prices were better than available online for "open jaw flights" and in one case there were no available flights online, although Princess had availability.

 

If you stay in a hotel it will cost more than the expensive ones in FLL. Princess transfers are in the $75-100 range because the airports (Rome, London) are over an hour's bus ride from the port.

 

Excursions, if guided, often run over $100 each person. Excursions are much more expensive in Europe, overall, but many are worth the money.

 

There are ways to go cheaper, as others have posted on this thread and on the Ports boards, if you do your homework.

 

That's our experience. others may differ from this by what they have experienced.

[RoRothman]

we are thinking of May.. so it would be sailing from Ft Lauderdale.. and then depending on the ship .. the hotels, transfers and flight would be from Southampton( London) or Barcelona or Rome....having not done it before just wondering how hard it would be do do it all on my own .. but will Princess charge too much for this.. the cruise prices are good.. but is this deceiving.. of course RCL and NCL are cheaper.. but I have really preferred Princess lately to other lines.

also what are flight consolidators?

[greatam]

we are thinking of May.. so it would be sailing from Ft Lauderdale.. and then depending on the ship .. the hotels, transfers and flight would be from Southampton( London) or Barcelona or Rome....having not done it before just wondering how hard it would be do do it all on my own .. but will Princess charge too much for this.. the cruise prices are good.. but is this deceiving.. of course RCL and NCL are cheaper.. but I have really preferred Princess lately to other lines.

also what are flight consolidators?

 

We have done 4 of these TA cruises (two X, one Princess and one Seaborn plus Cunard's 6-9 day trips, which are actually CROSSINGS, not cruises). LOVE THEM!!! DH doesn't generally leave the cabin on most cruises except for dinner, so these fit him perfectly. BUT you really don't see very much if you are trying to visit Europe. So you have to decide-do you want to see Europe or are you content on a ship with quite a few sea days?

 

Do you have time to see some of Europe AFTER the cruise??? That may be to your liking if you want to see Europe.

 

For the CHEAPEST one way airfare, take a look at AerLingus, Air New Zealand (if flying from the West Coast to London or vice versa) or Iceland Air (take the 10 hour stopover so you can go to the Blue Lagoon).

 

You can make your own arrangements for transfers-taxi or shuttle or join your roll call for further transport options.

 

JMHO, but cruises that end or begin in Southampton are probably going to cost you more for transport and hotels than those from Barcelona or Rome. Hotels and transport are EXPENSIVE in the UK UNLESS you use the National Express bus from Southampton. That is a true bargain.

 

If you need airline help, please post on the cruise air forum.

[cruisemom42]

Do not compare a Princess cruise to Antiquity, which is on an old bucket and has nothing for you to do other than listen to mostly boring lectures.

 

Wow!

 

Kind of odd, then, how Princess and VtoA are two lines I have really enjoyed cruising on. Yes, they are different experiences but if someone is traveling mainly for the ports (and the history), VtoA has a great thing going.

 

P.S. Did not think the ship was an old bucket at all. The decor throughout was very tastefully done and the cabins well appointed.

[dolittle]

Your best way cost wise is to buy round trip airfare take A long (12 day) cruise and try to D.I.Y. some of your ports . It's not hard for many ports , some are hard for those buy the excursions.