EZ Air vs air in Vacation Package

[actnwrks]

We will be taking a Mediterranean cruise leaving out of Rome ending Barcelona.  Since this will be our first trip to Europe, we have decided to do a pre-cruise starting in Venice and Rome and a post cruise in Barcelona.  We are trying to decide if it is better to do air with Ez Air and the hotels, transfers, etc on our own, or to book a vacation package that would include air, transfer to the port, and the hotel we want to stay in Rome.  We didn’t like the hotels offered in Venice and Barcelona, so we will book those ourselves. 

 

[tanyaewa]

We did a similar cruise last September.  We did EZAir from Vancouver to Rome and Barcelona to Vancouver.  We did all transfers and hotels on our own and it was very easy and we got to choose the budget we wanted to.  We used a hotel booking site for hotels and absolutely loved our choices.

Transfers were super easy.  Lots of info in the Europe boards

[actnwrks]

40 minutes ago, tanyaewa said:

We did a similar cruise last September.  We did EZAir from Vancouver to Rome and Barcelona to Vancouver.  We did all transfers and hotels on our own and it was very easy and we got to choose the budget we wanted to.  We used a hotel booking site for hotels and absolutely loved our choices.

Transfers were super easy.  Lots of info in the Europe boards

Can you share what booking site you used and the hotels you loved?

 

[-Lew-]

7 hours ago, actnwrks said:

We will be taking a Mediterranean cruise leaving out of Rome ending Barcelona.  Since this will be our first trip to Europe, we have decided to do a pre-cruise starting in Venice and Rome and a post cruise in Barcelona.

 

 

You have the right idea...flying in early and returning home later in order to extend your time in Europe.  We always fly in a week or two before our annual fall TA.

 

If you haven't already done so, I recommend you check out the Italy and Spain Ports forums for a wealth of information on hotels and more.

 

We've used eZAir for air to Europe the past few years and find their fares can't be beat.  I'd recommend you book your flights and then keep an eye on air offered by the various airlines.  With eZAir you're able to cancel up to 45 days in advance of your cruise embarkation date which gives you a lot of leeway if something better becomes available.  

 

For train travel in Europe there is no better site than The Man in Seat Sixty-One.  Check it out to learn about your options.

 

Enjoy your first trip to Europe...

[tanyaewa]

We used Expedia to book the hotels and Viator for tours and transfers.

we stayed at the Hotel Quirinale in Rome and it was stunning.  Location, breakfast, gorgeous garden courtyard walkable to everywhere.

Barcelona was El Avenida Hotel.  Stunning rooftop pool and bar and walkable to everywhere.  I went by location and found best pricing.