I'd love to do a European cruise, airfare way too much $$$$

[3redheads]

How do you afford it? There are 4 of us coming from DC. Wow!!

 

Any thoughts??

[Jarronwood]

WOuld it not be cheaper to book through a UK site and pay in Pounds Sterling?

 

I live in the UK and am British and have looked at USA sites to see whether it would be cheaper to book my 2 week MED cruise next year that way. The American sites seem somuch more expensive. Obviously they do not include the airfare.

 

Guess the think to do is look at all the different ports you can do a med cruise from and then see what the airfare would be to the different ports, pick the cheapest then you can book your cruise from that port.

[negc]

Keep checking the airlines that fly to Europe from your departure city for sales. You should also check to see if the airfare that the airline is offering is a bargain. If so, you might consider using their custom air program to book a flight on the airline of your choice at their price. If not, there are also airline consolidators who sometimes offer good prices. Unlessl the US dollar gets stronger, it is going to be quite expensive to travel to Europe, so you may have to adjust your budget or defer your cruise until you can afford to go.:(

[Petert]

Air fares to Europe are very season sensitive. The fares change by a great deal in September and may, so it is best to look for cheap air fares, and then find a cruise that works with your flight schedule options. You may also find that searching for cheaper air fares may mean looking at other departure cities.

 

We have taken repositioning cruises between Europe to US ports. These cruises are often very good bargains, that depart from places like London, Lisbon or Barcelona. These cruises sometimes depart in the low season when air fares are cheaper, and sometimes a one way fare off season via Virgin Atlantic can be had for less than $200. You can find reasonably priced hotels to spend a few days pre/post cruise, to get some European experience.

 

Another off season option is to fly to England and take ferry boats to places like France, Norway, Denmark or the Netherlands. You might look up http://www.color Lines.com or http://www.directferries.co.uk/england for European ferry companies. If you really enjoy travel this can be a great way to see Europe.

 

We have enjoyed sailing many ferry ships around the Baltic and North seas, and also sailing Celebrity and RCI cruise ships. Hope you can find something that works for you.

 

Petert

[3redheads]

Thank you all for the tips. I will take your advice!!!

 

Kim

[Taters]

Wow! You're not kidding on the high European airfares! We've wanted to go for the longest time, and want to do a westbound transatlantic cruise. Those cruise fares are wonderful, but yikes! The airfare!

 

Since we live in Alaska, we found that we can get a mileage ticket from Fairbanks to the East Coast (or where ever the ship happens to end its cruise) and purchase a one way fare to Europe. Otherwise we're looking at approximately $1,300 per person.

 

Taters

[RDeagazio]

Another option would be to try and put together a group. You need a minimum of 10 people who will travel together on the same flights/dates. I have a group going from Tampa to Barcelona for the 12 night Brilliance cruise in June and was able to negotiate a roundtrip airfare of $753.00.

[madforcruising]

Wow! You're not kidding on the high European airfares! We've wanted to go for the longest time, and want to do a westbound transatlantic cruise. Those cruise fares are wonderful, but yikes! The airfare!

 

Since we live in Alaska, we found that we can get a mileage ticket from Fairbanks to the East Coast (or where ever the ship happens to end its cruise) and purchase a one way fare to Europe. Otherwise we're looking at approximately $1,300 per person.

 

Taters

 

Have you tried to look for roundtrip airfare instead of one way airfare?

I experienced that it is often much cheaper to book roundtrip airfare when doing a transatlantic as it´s much cheaper this way and just not use the flight back instead of booking just one way. I know it´s crazy but it often is that way.

I.E. I look at the TA for September 2006 Round trip airfare around 700-750, one way for the same flight app. 1800.:eek:

[Julie of the North]

Last year the price was high as well. Travel to Europe was way down so to entice cruise passengers some cruises were offered with FREE AIR. DH and I took advantage of this...sailed for 11 days for only $1,199.00 (USD) and got free air from Chicago (several major US cities were included) to Italy. Deals are out there so keep your eyes open.

 

Julie

[bankofdad]

Last year the price was high as well. Travel to Europe was way down so to entice cruise passengers some cruises were offered with FREE AIR. DH and I took advantage of this...sailed for 11 days for only $1,199.00 (USD) and got free air from Chicago (several major US cities were included) to Italy. Deals are out there so keep your eyes open.

 

Julie

 

Hi Julie,

 

Just curious about whichj line you sailed on. I know deals change, so this is just a question more out of curiosity.

 

We've booked the cruise lines air (for now) but have been checking for other deals quite a lot already.

[VickiVSN]

Check prices on flying into different cities. We flew into London 4 days early, booked a short flight to Barcelona to catch the ship. The price cut on flying into London vs. Barcelona left enough for the RT between London and Barcelona on a local carrier with enough left over for our London hotel. Also, British Airways (ba.com) sometimes offers packages to other European cities with layovers in London. The moral of the story is it is ofter cheaper to fly into London and then use a European local carrier to get where you need to go.

[DutsCruiser]

I know what you mean.. I have the same problem in the opposite direction (EU -> US)... For the money I would spend on airfare I could also go on another cruise using an inside cabin.

[cryscruiser]

Also, I have found it cheaper to fly European airlines from the states to Europe. For example, I can fly from Newark to Lisbon for so much less by flying TAP-AirPortugal. Also flying into London or other major cities and then connect. I hate to abandon our carriers, but when it comes to saving vacation money, I'd do it in a sec.

[Julie of the North]

Hi Julie,

 

Just curious about whichj line you sailed on. I know deals change, so this is just a question more out of curiosity.

 

We've booked the cruise lines air (for now) but have been checking for other deals quite a lot already.

 

 

We sailed with Costa. I found the deal (on Expedia) in Nov. 2003 and we had the choice of 4 sailings between Jan. and March, 2004.

[cusyl]

This is a great site for finding airfares, especially if you are flying into one city and returning from another:

 

http://www.itasoftware.com/

[Cyna]

We have a Delta Skymiles credit card and put all our business and personal expenses on it to book our airfare. Our family of 5 fly to Europe last summer for a cruise on skymiles. My husband and I are traveling to Europe again this summer for a cruise and used skymiles to book business class seats on a direct flight! Our travel agent is AMAZING!!!!

[sumguy1]

cusyl,

thanks so much for the link. I found orbitz (which uses the software) amazing in finding rt flights from different cities that I couldnt find on airlines homepages, and when I called the airlines they said that I have to call to make such a reservation.

[negc]

Have you tried to look for roundtrip airfare instead of one way airfare?

I experienced that it is often much cheaper to book roundtrip airfare when doing a transatlantic as it´s much cheaper this way and just not use the flight back instead of booking just one way. I know it´s crazy but it often is that way.

I'd be very leery of taking this suggestion. The airlines consider this a big no-no and if you do so, you may find them coming after you for the price difference. They probably have your credit card number, frequent flyer number etc. so, should they decide to penalize you for violating their rules, you are an easy target.:(

[pollux]

Last spring I took the Brillance from Miami to Barcelona. Great ship great crossing.

I found the cheapest air all one way.

First from Long Beach Ca to Ft. Lauderdale on Jet Blue about $100.

From Barcelona to Amsterdam on European airline for $80 since I wanted to stay there for 2 weeks.

Then from Amsterdam to Los Angeles on the Irish Airline Aer Linques (sp)for $550 on way.

Took the shared shuttle from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami for $17.

On the ship I booked the morning city tour Barcelona for $39 and the bus drop of at the airport about 1 pm. Plenty of time for a afternoon flight.

[Charmgrrl]

I live in Spain but I still want to cruise on the Freedom of the Seas next year with my family back in the states....looks like we'll be paying roughly $1000 pp for my husband and I to fly back. That had better be one damn good cruise! 2 g's gone and not even on the ship yet!

[SylviaB]

This is always the biggest problem for us. We're in the UK and often see really good deals for cruises departing from the US. However airfare is often more expensive than the cruise itself... quite annoying! Though luck!