I need Veteran Traveler Advice

[sd200044]

We are sailing out of Barcelona on a 12 day Med Cruise in October. I need to purchase Airfare and right now it looks like about $1300 bucks a person. Do I wait until the time gets a little closer or do I purchase now and secure the seat and flight times I want? What can I do? Help me Cruise Critic Vets.

[Newbie41]

Hi,

I'm not a cruise vet, but am great at finding airfare deals. Where are you departing from? The reason I ask is because I always depart from Chicago and the only flights leaving Chicago are overnight flights. With that being said I go to Priceline and do the name your price thing. Last year I flew direct from chicago to Dublin for $299 RT, and the year before that I flew direct from Chicago to Paris for $330 RT. I booked both of these with the name your price link on priceline. First check if your local airport has flights to Spain and that they only do them as overnight flights. If that is the case then use the name your price link. I don't use it when flying domestic because they could put you on a flight anytime of the day or night, but when going to Europe they are usually overnight flights. Have a wonderful cruise.

[nlt46]

We bought our flight through the cruise line. It was cheaper. We arrived at JFK in the morning and the flight did not leave until night time. We just joined the Sky Club for the day and relaxed. We loved Barcelona. It was one of our favorites.

 

Nancy

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Just remember that when comparing flight prices today to what someone got last year is that the airlines must include all fees in the advertised price now which can be significant when going to Europe.

 

Vinnie

 

We go to Europe but I can't help with prices since the DW is a flight attendant and we go standby.

[sd200044]

Hi,

I'm not a cruise vet, but am great at finding airfare deals. Where are you departing from? The reason I ask is because I always depart from Chicago and the only flights leaving Chicago are overnight flights. With that being said I go to Priceline and do the name your price thing. Last year I flew direct from chicago to Dublin for $299 RT, and the year before that I flew direct from Chicago to Paris for $330 RT. I booked both of these with the name your price link on priceline. First check if your local airport has flights to Spain and that they only do them as overnight flights. If that is the case then use the name your price link. I don't use it when flying domestic because they could put you on a flight anytime of the day or night, but when going to Europe they are usually overnight flights. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Sorry I forgot to add that we are departing from Atlanta.

[Sundiego]

We did the Magic Med cruise in October. We flew non-stop Delta, Atlanta-Barcelona. We paid a small premium for that non-stop convenience and it was so worth it! We had a huge roll call and many people with connecting flights had luggage issues, missed connections, etc.

 

I know your question was really more about the timing of when to buy your ticket. Have you posted your question in the Cruise Air forum?

[CruisinFamily_3]

Hi,

I'm not a cruise vet, but am great at finding airfare deals. Where are you departing from? The reason I ask is because I always depart from Chicago and the only flights leaving Chicago are overnight flights. With that being said I go to Priceline and do the name your price thing. Last year I flew direct from chicago to Dublin for $299 RT, and the year before that I flew direct from Chicago to Paris for $330 RT. I booked both of these with the name your price link on priceline. First check if your local airport has flights to Spain and that they only do them as overnight flights. If that is the case then use the name your price link. I don't use it when flying domestic because they could put you on a flight anytime of the day or night, but when going to Europe they are usually overnight flights. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

My family is planning a trip to Europe next year and have always booked directly with the airline. We will also be flying out of Chicago. When booking with Priceline with name your price do you get to choose which airline you prefer and if you prefer a direct flight, or is it whichever airline accepts your bid and possible layovers?

[amyj23]

We are sailing out of Barcelona on a 12 day Med Cruise in October. I need to purchase Airfare and right now it looks like about $1300 bucks a person. Do I wait until the time gets a little closer or do I purchase now and secure the seat and flight times I want? What can I do? Help me Cruise Critic Vets.

 

When we are shopping for airfare to Europe, I watch the fares EVERY day on kayak.com. I watch the patterns, and when I saw that it was starting to go down, I purchase. I got our tickets almost exactly 6 months out. I also only purchase direct from an airline. A lot of airlines offer price guarantees anyway. There's no perfect answer to "when" to buy airfare. It's like stocks. But watch it and you will hopefully buy at just the right time! The important thing is, once you purchase, do NOT go back and see if the price went down. What's the point except to make you regret when you purchased!!?

[5waldos]

Many airlines will allow you to get the lower fare if you are quailified. So be sure you find out what the airline you chose allows. You will need ot keep track of it and call them- it will not be done automatically. It seems too early to book to me- I'd wait. And the fares do seem high.

[Legend]

Call Carnival and check flight prices again they are having an air deal for Europe and it includes free transfers. Not sure what cities it is from but ask them.

[Thoth]

Sorry I forgot to add that we are departing from Atlanta.

You can get anywhere from Atlanta...that's for sure. That makes things much easier. Direct flights to Europe !

Looks like you will be going on Delta doesn't it ? I would check Delta's website every day looking for a sudden markdown. That's what happened with me going to London this April. Prices were 1200-1300, then suddenly one day flights dipped to 800 so I jumped on it.

It has been my experience that the cheaper seats fill up very quickly, so if you want to sit with your group in coach, it might be best to reserve your seats rather soon.

I don't know much so that was simply MY experience.

Good luck !

[zqvol]

We are sailing out of Barcelona on a 12 day Med Cruise in October. I need to purchase Airfare and right now it looks like about $1300 bucks a person. Do I wait until the time gets a little closer or do I purchase now and secure the seat and flight times I want? What can I do? Help me Cruise Critic Vets.

 

 

Prices are still a little high. Your best bet is to wait until about 120 days out and then purchase. We are cursing out of Venice in July and are still waiting to purchase because prices typically come down about 120 days out.

[ShermanDYAC]

\\ We are cursing out \\

 

zqvol who are you cursing out? ;)

 

The best time to look for tickets is Tuesday afternoon. Not sure why or what the deal is but it\\\'s something heard for years and when I look.

[LadyObiwan]

We were able to book tickets to Barcelona in June on travelocity for $986.50pp, including taxes and fees. It was the week before Christmas (so about 6 months out), and it was way less then we could find on kayak or through the airline directly.