Anyone been checking out pricing on Europe....

[negc]

Why would you assume that:confused:....I know people who drive from Fl up to NYC for extended weekends because they don't want to pay the airfare....I meet plenty people who drive 16+ hrs to get to a port all the time on cruises.

 

There are plenty who would rather drive than fly for reasons not restricted to the airfares involved, but I strongly suspect that on any given cruise (especially those out of Florida) many more passengers flew rather than drove. There is a difference between "plenty" and "most" so put me in the camp that believes that "most" people fly to the port.

[Patty00]

Prices are dropping in Europe because there are too many ships there! :eek: Royal Caribbean is flooding Europe with more & more ships each summer while we are left with fewer and fewer choices each summer. :( There is no Gulf coast ship in the summer, and there will be no ship out of San Juan in the summer of 2012!

Amen! Bring back the ships to the U.S. Baltimore could use more and so could Port Canaveral....

[seaofwonder]

Personally, I think the weakening dollar is hurting things. Someone mentioned the weak dollar in relation to gas prices & euros. It's definitely hurting them. In addition, not only is airfare high for people in North America, but with the weak dollar everything is high!

 

We're doing 10 days in Rome before our cruise next month. All told, my budget for this vacation is $13,000 for two people and we only paid $800 in fees for our first class tickets (used miles).

 

However, next summer we're planning on Alaska. And guess what? My budget will likely come pretty close to that for just a week (as opposed to 19 days). Suites for Alaska are twice what we are paying for this Europe cruise, plus the expensive Alaskan tours and airfare.

[Educators2]

I'm considering a cruise out of Barcelona on Brilliance this October (not highest season for airfare). The cruise price seems pretty fair but the air is sky-high-$1200+ roundtrip from JFK in NY. That's much higher than the deepest period of the recession in 2009 when we were on cruise to Egypt. Air to Barcelona in March was under $600 per person. So now, the air may be a deal breaker.

[cafe rose]

It is not just the cost of the airfare from US to Europe, it is also a deal breaker for me when it takes 20 plus hours to get to the embarkation city and from the ship back home. Lately, there does not appear to be many non-stop flights and I live in NJ! I was looking at a cruise out of Palma de Majorca but the amount of travel time does not make it worth it. Once my vacation on the ship is over, I want to be home asap, not wasting my time at airports going through security numerous times.

[mg93901]

Hi, just booked a 14 day cruise from Palma Mallorca to Colon Panama. $357 outside cabin each and then I used my crown and anchor certificate for another $200 off. Total cost will be $617 Canadian for both of us ! Yes the price of airfare will be high but we shall stop in Dublin for a few days on route and we have never been to Palma Mallorca of Panama so it should be exciting!

 

Tom and Jackie from Canada

 

I also booked the Oct 30 Palma de Majorca to Colon cruise. Last week's WOW! promotion gave me an Outside Category H + 50% deposit + $200 OBC = $617 for me, myself & I. Very nice price for a solo traveler and the OBC was based on length of cruise vs. cabin.

 

I've been to Majorca before (non-cruise trip), haven't been to Panama and this will be my 3rd cruise ever, first time on RCCL. Needless to say, looking forward to it!

[Maraprince]

I do not understand?

People find it cheaper to rent a car and drive 24 hours one way?

 

 

IF you drive and have more than more person driving, you share the time spent at the wheel. You are paying the same price for driving whether you have one person or 4 or 5 in the car. With the air fare, you are paying per person plus the cost of getting to and from the airports. Add in a pre-cruise hotel stay, food and maybe a tour, and you could pay for another cruise! PLUS, you know where your luggage is and you can stop off enroute to eat, etc. On the flights, every thing has a cost associated it and you are a captive audience and at the mercy of weather and other delays.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Drive from Toronto to Miami is a long way 1500 miles, not a drive I would like to do in the winter

[Tina0922]

The prices dropped drastically for our upcomming Europe trip.... Wer first had refunded fare at final booking & then a couple of weeks ago saw price dropped in one of the family's D2 cabin...since it was after final payment they were upgraded to JS. Last week I checked again for falling prices & saw the cabin I was in (JS), price had dropped over $2000 for cabin total. When I called TA, they upgraded us to GS and gave us $750 OBC to make up the difference. We originally booked back in 2009 for this trip & with everyting going on overseas prices went way down! Good for us I guess.

We also booked our airfare back in Feb before the fares jumped drastically. Looking now at our flights, they want about $400-500 per person more!!!!

[Mparis184]

Congratulations to everyone who got such great cruise bargains. WOW is right !

 

Marion

[Jackie52]

Hi, glad you are booked. Don't forget to join our roll call on the Royal Caribbean Meet and Mingle board on Cruise Critic

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1400021

 

We have 21 people so far. It seems like a nice group.

 

Jackie

[Joe Btfsplk]

I was just looking at the sailing of Brilliance in October and one of the TA websites stated "Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary."

 

Is a visa required when cruising to Istanbul?

 

RCL's website does not list Turkey as requiring a visa.

[tahqa]

I was just looking at the sailing of Brilliance in October and one of the TA websites stated "Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary."

 

Is a visa required when cruising to Istanbul?

 

RCL's website does not list Turkey as requiring a visa.

Visas are not required for cruises to Turkey. :)

[nelblu]

There are some odd comparisons especially with airfares taken into considerations. As an example, we are booked on AOTS for Feb. 5, '12 cruise. We got a really great price. However, it is offset with air to San Juan being some $150-175 higher per than what we are accustomed. I made a comparison--if we took an 11 day cruise on Feb 6. '12 on the EOTS from Bayonne, NJ and taking into consideration higher balcony and OBC discounts, the difference in price is approximately $119 higher for the both of us and get 4 add'l days of crusing. Amazing, but I can't convince my better half who's concerned with the weather in February. I would take a chance.

[Charles4515]

I was just looking at the sailing of Brilliance in October and one of the TA websites stated "Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary."

 

Is a visa required when cruising to Istanbul?

 

RCL's website does not list Turkey as requiring a visa.

 

If you are flying in or out you need a visa. If you arrive and leave by cruise ship you don't need a visa.

[Wendy-Europe]

Hello

 

The cruiselines try to sell at the highest possible price – I had the brochure from Royal Carribean for season 2011/2012 and they try sell a 12 night cruise holy land cruise in Europe for 2099 Euro (balcony) , at double occupancy (that are 3106 US$).

 

OK – nice try.

 

Now they had to lower the prices because there are a lot of cabins to fill – we booked a September tour Holy land with one more night (it is a 13 night cruise) and the price they offer at the US market is 1600 $ ...

 

But many cruiseline try to protect their markets – they try to offer the same cruise at different prices (if we book in Europe, the cruise fare is higher).

 

Some cruiselines do not allow their US agencies to accept NON-US-reservations.

 

They experienced that the onboard revenue depends on your nationality. Europeans tend not to spent too much money at the Spa or Casino – so the lines wants to get a higher cruise price, I was told (to make generalizations) Americans choose the ship, Europeans choose the ports. And thats where the guests spend their extra money....

 

And many european ports are easy to explore at your own, ships anchor or tender at the old ports, there is a lot to see at the mediaval or older towns.

 

Taxis prices are low and public transport is reliable at many ports. And Europeans are inured to use public transport for longer distances – some overseas guests never used a train in their live and they don´t want to start at their holiday. They prefer the “safety” of a ship excursion.

 

That are just a few thoughts – I was working for the travel industry for years and have close friends, working for the cruise industry. So I know some of their calculations....

 

Wendy

[isdoo]

I was just looking at the sailing of Brilliance in October and one of the TA websites stated "Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary."

 

Is a visa required when cruising to Istanbul?

 

RCL's website does not list Turkey as requiring a visa.

 

without knowing your nationality it is impossible to say.

 

Best to contact the Turkish Embassy or check out their website for the definitive answer.

 

Whilst it is unlikely, you may need one.

[spiritkat090909]

With Caribbean cruising what is there really to see :confused:

...

 

Some Beach, somewhere...

there's a big umbrella casting shade over My chair...

 

:D

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Some Beach, somewhere...

there's a big umbrella casting shade over My chair...

 

:D

 

 

But you can not see some of the best beaches, since they are in Cuba :D

[nelblu]

There are some odd comparisons especially with airfares taken into considerations. As an example, we are booked on AOTS for Feb. 5, '12 cruise. We got a really great price. However, it is offset with air to San Juan being some $150-175 higher per than what we are accustomed. I made a comparison--if we took an 11 day cruise on Feb 6. '12 on the EOTS from Bayonne, NJ and taking into consideration higher balcony and OBC discounts, the difference in price is approximately $119 higher for the both of us and get 4 add'l days of crusing. Amazing, but I can't convince my better half who's concerned with the weather in February. I would take a chance.

 

Update:

 

Early this week booked airfare to San Juan for $333 per (excl. taxes/fees)to San Juan on Continental. :D:D

 

Checked this AM and same airfare (excl. taxes/fees) went up to $500+ per.:mad: