Flights to cruise port-problem

[HopingForFun333]

Hi,

We are looking at a Transatlantic next year from USA to UK.

The cruises are there but getting a flight from UK one way is extortionate.has anyone found a way to do this please ?. It seems you are not allowed to book a return flight and only use one portion which we thought would be the best way and certainly cheaper.

We thought a flight to Florida, a few days there and the cruise back would be great, think of all the cruise shopping first, ( at least for me ;) ).

 

Any ideas appreciated.

[Clarea]

Is it piossible to purchase traditional cruise air (not Choice Air) from Royal?

 

Another idea is to post on the Cruise Air forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

 

There are very knowledgable people there who might be able to suggest airlines and/or routings that are advantageous to you.

Edited July 21, 2014 by clarea

[FLACRUISER99]

Hi,

We are looking at a Transatlantic next year from USA to UK.

The cruises are there but getting a flight from UK one way is extortionate.has anyone found a way to do this please ?. It seems you are not allowed to book a return flight and only use one portion which we thought would be the best way and certainly cheaper.

We thought a flight to Florida, a few days there and the cruise back would be great, think of all the cruise shopping first, ( at least for me ;) ).

 

Any ideas appreciated.

I do my research here http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

[cruisenfever]

I do my research here http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

I don't know Jim, but I just used your link above to see what the cost for flights to BCN would be then compared it to what we paid through Choice Air and your site is much higher.:eek: About $3000+ higher!! And, I even checked the "senior" box!!!:D

 

I have bookmarked it for future reference though. Always good to have several sources available when researching flights.

Edited July 21, 2014 by cruisenfever

[csk]

We used Choice air and the price was much less than any I could find from any other site for the one way. We flew British Airways from choice air for $548 per person and on there site it was $1458 per person

[newgrange]

Hi,

We are looking at a Transatlantic next year from USA to UK.

The cruises are there but getting a flight from UK one way is extortionate.has anyone found a way to do this please ?. It seems you are not allowed to book a return flight and only use one portion which we thought would be the best way and certainly cheaper.

We thought a flight to Florida, a few days there and the cruise back would be great, think of all the cruise shopping first, ( at least for me ;) ).

 

Any ideas appreciated.

 

Roughly what dates and what airports are you talking about? Would you consider a non-direct flight?

[FLACRUISER99]

I don't know Jim, but I just used your link above to see what the cost for flights to BCN would be then compared it to what we paid through Choice Air and your site is much higher.:eek: About $3000+ higher!! And, I even checked the "senior" box!!!:D

 

I have bookmarked it for future reference though. Always good to have several sources available when researching flights.

Strange I just checked my MIA -CHP air on both sited Choice Air $1381pp/rt, ITA $1316 both on Air Berlin same flights. However I only use ATA for research as you cannot book on that site. You can however get all of the codes to book with. Edited July 21, 2014 by FLACRUISER99

[uksimonusa]

Hi,

We are looking at a Transatlantic next year from USA to UK.

The cruises are there but getting a flight from UK one way is extortionate.has anyone found a way to do this please ?. It seems you are not allowed to book a return flight and only use one portion which we thought would be the best way and certainly cheaper.

We thought a flight to Florida, a few days there and the cruise back would be great, think of all the cruise shopping first, ( at least for me ;) ).

 

Any ideas appreciated.

 

 

As others have said, air fare through the cruise line is normally cheaper for one way flights, there is nothing to stop you booking a return ticket and not using the return, the problems occur when you don't use the first leg, then the rest of the ticket is cancelled, but as long as you book uk-us-uk, and use the uk-us part you will be fine

[Clarea]

We used Choice air and the price was much less than any I could find from any other site for the one way. We flew British Airways from choice air for $548 per person and on there site it was $1458 per person

OP is likely not able to use Choice Air as they are in the UK.

 

If they were booked with a US travel agent, then they could use Choice Air, but I don't think that is the case.

[sky0000547]

If anybody has any frequent flyer miles, this would be a good time to use them on a transatlantic cruise.

 

But if you speak to Royal Caribbean UK direct, they should be able to arrange for one-way flights.

 

As for getting a return air ticket, there is no reason why you can't use them just for one-way as long as it is for the outward leg of the ticket. If you don't use your outward leg, your return leg of the ticket will also be cancelled.

[Magnetchief]

We did a TA last year from NY-UK.

As you mentioned, they frown on you purchasing a return with the intention of only using the first leg.

They can deny you boarding if they suspect this. But, that's exactly what we did.

Purchased a return from UK-NY via BA.

Sailed over on the QM2 then flew home via NY.

 

It was about $1000 per person cheaper than a one way ticket.

[FLACRUISER99]

 

As for getting a return air ticket, there is no reason why you can't use them just for one-way as long as it is for the outward leg of the ticket. If you don't use your outward leg, your return leg of the ticket will also be cancelled.

 

We did a TA last year from NY-UK.

As you mentioned, they frown on you purchasing a return with the intention of only using the first leg.

They can deny you boarding if they suspect this. But, that's exactly what we did.

Purchased a return from UK-NY via BA.

Sailed over on the QM2 then flew home via NY.

 

It was about $1000 per person cheaper than a one way ticket.

Be careful the airline has the right to collect the full OW fare even after you return home. You just might get bill someday.:eek:

[candiac]

For our upcoming TA, I looked for several hours on Choice Air, for a multi-destination flight and oneway fares. The airfare kept showing more than the cost of the 12 day cruise!!!! Finally tried one way fare, and down the left-hand side a fare of BA for $465 showed. I purchased immediately, as cheapest I could find was more than $1700 in body of flights.

 

Then I tried oneway for FLL and it was a good price of about $250 but I was able to book directly with airline for only $165,

 

Pays to shop around!!! So instead of about $1750 each for airfare, total cost was about $1250.

[LBCABob]

From a website search and later from a story on the local (Los Angeles) news where other airlines are complaining about the competition, I found Norwegian offers the lowest one-way fares around for trans-Atlantic travel. They only fly on certain days of the week from certain airports so you must be flexible in your travel dates. Prices are a la carte - you pay extra for the things you want/need (meals, checked bags, assigned seat, etc.). [Many people hate this approach but I like it because I only pay for the services I need.] As with most airlines, their prices go up (and down) for a specific flight over the weeks before travel. Have not flown with them yet (already had my Air New Zealand ticket for next month) but certainly will be an airline I check for my next trip. Hope this helps.....

[Paulxyz2004]

Be careful the airline has the right to collect the full OW fare even after you return home. You just might get bill someday.:eek:

 

 

Actually no they can´t and no they won´t. I know it´s in the T&C´s and I know they will cancel your inbound if you are a no Show on the outbound.

 

However they will have a hard time collecting any more Money from you if you miss the inbound. I´ve done it many many times without issues and I know about at least one case that went to court and the Airline list the case.

 

Also play around with return Dates as it might affect the total. Another good idea is to Price the leg you actually take in J and the return you won´t use in Y;)

 

BTW if you intend to do another TA in the opposite direction some time not too far out, use the return for that one;)

[woldig120]

We are doing a TA in November on Adventure from Southampton to San Juan. We us a very good travel agent in England. They have booked return flights to Manchester England from San Juan, changing at Washington.

 

Last year did the reverse, flying from London Heathrow to San Juan and sailing back to Southampton again on the Adventure.

[cavydad]

What we learned on our last transatlantic cruise is that many people book a cruise over to Europe in the spring and a cruise back to Florida in the fall. They then can book a round trip plane ticket based on the cruise schedule.

[nomis04]

From a website search and later from a story on the local (Los Angeles) news where other airlines are complaining about the competition, I found Norwegian offers the lowest one-way fares around for trans-Atlantic travel. They only fly on certain days of the week from certain airports so you must be flexible in your travel dates. Prices are a la carte - you pay extra for the things you want/need (meals, checked bags, assigned seat, etc.).

.....

 

We booked Norwegian for October to board Oasis in Southampton a few weeks ago, from FLL to London Gatwick for $383.00 each including 1 bag checked each, food package of two meals, economy.

 

We first went thru website for the package then decided to compare using a Choice Air booking and they got same price in inclusions for us so we let them make the reservation.

 

I recommend looking at website for its calender before placing a booking as it can vary greatly from one flight to the next. BTW, direct flights to many other European cities for good rates as well. They also fly out of NYC and some West Coast cities as well on certain days.

[HopingForFun333]

Hi,

Thanks for all the input. We are just looking at the moment so don't have any definate dates yet. We are doing the transatlantic this November and flying back all arranged through our TA. We just thought it would be good to maybe do it the other way sometime and arrive back in the UK with no airport hassle and no jet lag. Seems a good way to travel home and have a week in Florida first.

 

We are fine with non direct flights, it's always better when you are going away rather than when coming back :) it's always seemed quite sensible to us that if we bought a return and didn't use the second leg that we would get the travel arrangements we wanted and the airline would get increased fare anyway as they would almost certainly be able to resell out return part of the ticket and if not it's been paid for anyway.

 

Lots to think about then, thanks for all the info and advice, will certainly price with Royal C as well and get a full picture before we decide.

 

Thanks again

[fas64]

Try http://www.norwegian.com/uk/ one way flights from £265

[peteukmcr]

Consider Aer Lingus via Dublin. You clear US immigration in Dublin so no long lines when you get the US.

 

They sell o/w flights at reasonable prices too.