European/Med cruises with good airfare

[msufan90]

Hello! My family and I (10 of us in all) want to take a cruise in June 2006. We are interested in the Mediterranean or Europe. The cruise price itself is fine it's the airfare that is blowing me away. Looks like $1000+. Is there a port that is better to fly in and out of where the airfare deals might be best? For instance Barcelon, Rome, London, etc?? I know I can get airfare thru the cruise line but they are typically more expensive than getting it on your own. We are pretty much stuck with going in the summer (June, July, or early Aug.) because of the kids having school.

 

We would be flying in from Chicago (5 people), Atlanta (2) and Sacramento(3).

 

Thanks for the advise!

[Fabulous2B50]

Sometimes if you are a group of 10 or more you can negotiate for a group discount if everyone is flying into the same final destination,even if you are starting out from different points,which you all are.

[fmax]

Also check out prices for flying to Britain and taking a flight from there - you have to watch your baggage weight though. For Sept I'm considering flight to Gatwick and then using Easyjet from there to Barcelona. Have been keeping an eye out for last several months for good pricing - always comes in cheaper than flying direct to Barcelona.

 

 

Frances

[jezzdogg]

Just remember that easyjet usually only flies from Stansted and not from Heathrow at all, and not many places from Gatwick.

Also if you are doing Barcelona to Venice, the problem isd what airlines fly to from Venice to London.

 

The best fares are the roundtrip fares to Europe vs the open jaw( doing the Barcelona to Venice or reverse) so when looking at cruise keep that in consideration.

[msufan90]

Thanks for all the advise. It looks like we are leaning towards doing the 7 day cruise out of Barcelona. This would also return to Barcelona. We would fly in several days early. So what would be considered a good airfare (roughly)? Anything under $800?

 

Kathy

[vivian02]

Just returned from Euroepe yesterday....really pooped. My sugestion would be to shop for your flight in the fall. I'm sure you can get a price say $650 to $750. Before you book make sure you fly a decent route...I would avoid CDG if there is a transer involved. Transers out of London or Frankfurt are not bad at all. Try to get on a 777 or some of the Airbuses. Avoid flights on 767's going to Europe there is not much seating space. By the way the wine and beer do flow freely on the European Airlines. I have heard that AA now charges $5.00 for a beer on European flights. I would also strongly recommend that you fly into Barecelona one or two days early. This city is a wonderful place to explore and this will give you a change to recover from jet lag. Like I said earlier I'm sure you can get airfares under a $1000 this fall with not problem. Enjoy your planning. Tim

[2forthesea]

I booked our air roundtrip LAX to Barcelona thorugh bestfares. They have an annual fee, but I've saved it multiple times over, because I use it for friends and family deals, too.

 

Our air is $801, including all taxes and fees. It also includes two free nights in London, since it's on British Airways, so that's a nice pre-cruise stopover.

 

You may not be able to select the airplane if you're going for the best deal, but I agree about the 777. Very comfy plane.

 

I also agree about EasyJet or RyanAir. They are very inexpensive, but fly to the airports outside of town. For instance, they fly into Girona and they have a shuttle bus into Barcelona, so you have to time your flights carefully. Or, you have to take a train. I personally think it's too much trouble.

 

Bestfares runs Europe deals all the time: they just keep moving the end dates out.

 

Keep looking; you'll find something!