Connection through Amsterdam or Paris?

[puppyluv1]

We are looking at flights for a September cruise flying from NY to Barcelona. Some  flights connect through Amsterdam and some through Paris. The layover times range from 2 hours to 4 hours. I’m wondering if anyone can share experiences connecting through these airports. 

[Pcardad]

American flies that non-stop.

 

[bitob]

Avoid Amsterdam 

[Nachosdelux]

Avoid Paris.   Not even close. Agree that the non-stop is well worth a premium.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Nachosdelux

[caviargal]

CDG is one of the most disorganized and unpleasant airports in Europe.  I avoid connecting there at all costs.

I've flown in and out of AMS twice this past year.   While not as great as it once was, it is still a whole lot better than CDG on its best day.

[papaflamingo]

I agree with the others.... go non stop.  Pay the deviation fee and see how much extra the non stop will be.  Might well be worth it.

[wcsdkqh]

These are without a doubt the worst two European airports for connections. Avoid both at all costs. Delta/AirFrance “misplaced “ one of my bags flying from Barcelona thru Paris to Atlanta in November. 62 days for bag to make it home.

[puppyluv1]

Glad I asked!  Back to the drawing board. Thanks all!

[vistaman]

last year there were terrible problems at Amsterdam airport  and some carriers even deviated for 2023 to Brussels .

[ronrick1943]

I agree, non-stop is the best way to go.  Any more you need a few hours between flights, sometimes more.  We were in First Class having a transfer in London - we had a 4 hour layover and us thinking not a problem.  From plane to plane took us 3 1/2 hours.

[caviargal]

17 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I agree, non-stop is the best way to go.  Any more you need a few hours between flights, sometimes more.  We were in First Class having a transfer in London - we had a 4 hour layover and us thinking not a problem.  From plane to plane took us 3 1/2 hours.

We fly into Heathrow next month and I book a VIP arrival service to get us through that process without the hassle.  Pricey but worth it.

[PageTurner]

We just returned from India.  We flew through AMS on the way to Mumbai and through CDG on the way home from Delhi.  Both airports are difficult; signage is poor and the corridors are jam packed with travelers.  We had 5 hour layovers in both locations but the airline clubs are just fine.  But I determined that next time we will try to find a non-stop routing if possible and not worry about the additional cost.  

Another suggestion -- ship your luggage ahead so that it is there when you get there.  Luggage has frequently gone astray in both AMS and CDG.  And LHR is probably holding the worst record for missed placed luggage.

[2SailingNomads]

CDG was the worst experience I ever had, and have flown over 1.75 million miles.  Between having to  undergo a security check to transfer to another terminal with a woman with an attitude going thru peoples bags at a snails pace as if they have 10 hours between flights, to waiting for busses that only depart every 15 minutes to take you to said other terminal we arrived 15 minutes before departure but they had already closed the gate and refused to let us board.  Spent the next 3 hours trying to get rebooked and then had to exit security to be ticketed on a different airline and stand in line for 30 minutes.  

 

Another time when flying out of CDG they had people monitoring bag size before you went thru security.  Same carry-on bags that we had used for years were deemed too big (although French speakers got thru with similar sized bags).  We had to go back to the counter, where there were now 20 or so others in the same situation and wait for the very slow customer service people to check bags that should not need to be checked.  We made  our flight with 20 or so minutes to spare but the people in front were crying as they were going to miss their flight.  

 

I'll take AMS every time if I can't get a non-stop.  Even LHR.

 

[caviargal]

1 hour ago, 2SailingNomads said:

CDG was the worst experience I ever had, and have flown over 1.75 million miles.  Between having to  undergo a security check to transfer to another terminal with a woman with an attitude going thru peoples bags at a snails pace as if they have 10 hours between flights, to waiting for busses that only depart every 15 minutes to take you to said other terminal we arrived 15 minutes before departure but they had already closed the gate and refused to let us board.  Spent the next 3 hours trying to get rebooked and then had to exit security to be ticketed on a different airline and stand in line for 30 minutes.  

 

Another time when flying out of CDG they had people monitoring bag size before you went thru security.  Same carry-on bags that we had used for years were deemed too big (although French speakers got thru with similar sized bags).  We had to go back to the counter, where there were now 20 or so others in the same situation and wait for the very slow customer service people to check bags that should not need to be checked.  We made  our flight with 20 or so minutes to spare but the people in front were crying as they were going to miss their flight.  

 

I'll take AMS every time if I can't get a non-stop.  Even LHR.

 

 

It is a very unfriendly and disorganized airport.  I avoid at all costs.

 

We don't have any options for non stop flights from our home airport.  My first choice is always Munich if that is an option.  We fly Delta and try to avoid JFK and will connect in Atlanta if that is offered. 

 

 

[2SailingNomads]

We too fly Delta a lot and avoid JFK at all costs.  If we go to NY for visits we fly into & out of White Plains.  

 

Now that we fly out of LAS we have direct flights on KLM several days a week to AMS and to LHR on AA.  Delta is a PITA with their flight schedule changes.  On our upcoming Regent TA ending in Lisbon they changed the flight we were planning on taking the day we disembark from 12:20 p.m. to 10:05 a.m. which is too risky.  Cancelled and book BA via AA to LHR and then on to LAS and since we did that exact route last March know timing works for disembarking day.

[MsCrystalina]

I fly Delta from Atlanta non-stop, if possible, to Europe.  However, they are not listing some options

on site and appear to be attempting to send everyone thru AMS and too many code shares with KLM or older KLM planes with nothing like Delta One.

I had my bags fail to meet me on the only 2 KLM shared flights with stops in AMS have taken.

Avoid KLM and AMS!!    I will fly anywhere to transfer except AMS-  both times had plenty of time to load the bags. Can't say anything good about AMS.

I am booked on Regent for Copenhagen to London in Sept and have found flights I want so will pay deviation fee if necessary. 

For eastern Med/middle east- highly recommend Turkish Airlines- nonstop from ATL and Istanbul's new airport is great- shopping, lounges.  Business class was much better than Delta One - comfort, food, service.

[puppyluv1]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. Took Pcardad’s advice and looked into American non-stop. Calling Regent tomorrow!  

[annapolitan369]

We took Turkish airlines non-stop Dulles to Istanbul for our last cruise and the airline is great.  However, be aware that the airport is huge and it took us almost a half hour to walk from our plane to the business lounge.

[slidebite]

Yeah, good call. Schipol and CDG are probably the 2 of the 3 worst airports in Europe.

[wcsdkqh]

Here is something to consider---

My wife and myself and sister and her husband are flying to Athens this fall and returning from Rome. We requested Delta non-stop in both directions from and to Atlanta. Regent approved the return flight to Atlanta from Rome that we requested, but not the flight to Athens without a significant up charge (4 figure) because there were no contracted seats available on the non-stop out of Atlanta. They suggest we fly ATL->JFK->ATH instead. I asked the question, WHAT IF we fly over a day early? Would that change anything? Low and behold, contract seats were available on the prior day for the non-stop out of Atlanta. So we will fly in a day earlier than we had planned and do a little extra sightseeing.

 

Moral of the story is be creative and flexible when requesting specific flights and connections.

[papaflamingo]

8 hours ago, wcsdkqh said:

Here is something to consider---

My wife and myself and sister and her husband are flying to Athens this fall and returning from Rome. We requested Delta non-stop in both directions from and to Atlanta. Regent approved the return flight to Atlanta from Rome that we requested, but not the flight to Athens without a significant up charge (4 figure) because there were no contracted seats available on the non-stop out of Atlanta. They suggest we fly ATL->JFK->ATH instead. I asked the question, WHAT IF we fly over a day early? Would that change anything? Low and behold, contract seats were available on the prior day for the non-stop out of Atlanta. So we will fly in a day earlier than we had planned and do a little extra sightseeing.

 

Moral of the story is be creative and flexible when requesting specific flights and connections.

Are you on the Oct.3 sailing on Voyager?  We are also on that cruise.  We also live in Atlanta and are flying a couple of days early.  I opted for the Delta non-stop, figuring it's worth it to be non-stop.  Also got the non-stop home from Rome on Delta with no uncharge.  Looking forward to this cruise. It'l be a good one. 😎

[wcsdkqh]

31 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

Are you on the Oct.3 sailing on Voyager?  We are also on that cruise.  We also live in Atlanta and are flying a couple of days early.  I opted for the Delta non-stop, figuring it's worth it to be non-stop.  Also got the non-stop home from Rome on Delta with no uncharge.  Looking forward to this cruise. It'l be a good one. 😎

No, we are on the 10/30 sailing Athens to Rome on Splendor. We were already going in 3 days early for the included land program, and now 4 days early for the flights we wanted.

[Pies4u]

Agree - Paris CDG & Schipol are dreadful airports, absolutely awful. Unfriendly and unhelpful staff, extremely busy, shockingly poor signage and generally 

 

Schipol is supposed to be getting a new terminal - the whole place needs condemning in my opinion!

[puppyluv1]

Thought I would give an update… requested an American non-stop flight. The online price was more than $2500 per person over the flights with one stop. Regent offered the flight for $500 per person plus the $175 custom air fee.  Accepted!  
Thank you for all the insights. So valuable!

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, puppyluv1 said:

Thought I would give an update… requested an American non-stop flight. The online price was more than $2500 per person over the flights with one stop. Regent offered the flight for $500 per person plus the $175 custom air fee.  Accepted!  
Thank you for all the insights. So valuable!

Hooray!!!