Guidance on cruise flights usa to barc and return athens to use for med vv cruise Oct 24

[zumbaqueen1]

Hello we live in West Michigan near Grand Rapids and will be cruising VV Barcelona to Athens October 11 to 21 cruise in 2024.  We got a good deal on the cruise and will be booking flights  ... 

1. Any rx airlines and routes for west Michigan departure to Barcelona (GRR , Detroit or Chicago viable departure cities) 

2. Arrival Barcelona

3. Departure from Athens back to USA

4. booking site?

5. Use travel agent?

6. expected range of cost?

7. Avoid ?

 

newbies here and trying to learn from experienced traveler input  and many thanks ahead of time...

 

 

[Janthere]

5 minutes ago, zumbaqueen1 said:

Hello we live in West Michigan near Grand Rapids and will be cruising VV Barcelona to Athens October 11 to 21 cruise in 2024.  We got a good deal on the cruise and will be booking flights  ... 

1. Any rx airlines and routes for west Michigan departure to Barcelona (GRR , Detroit or Chicago viable departure cities) 

2. Arrival Barcelona

3. Departure from Athens back to USA

4. booking site?

5. Use travel agent?

6. expected range of cost?

7. Avoid ?

 

newbies here and trying to learn from experienced traveler input  and many thanks ahead of time...

 

 

Hi - I just booked my flights using points - if you have any of those you can get some good deals this far in advance. If not, my advice would be to do a round trip to Barcelona and then a one way from Athens to Barcelona rather than 2 one ways it will be much cheaper. Book it yourself rather than through a T/A but be sure to book directly with the airline rather than through expedia or other third party OTA. While you might pay slightly more it will be worth it if you ever have to make a change or cancellation it is 100x easier to deal directly with the airline. 

[zumbaqueen1]

Love it!!!  Thanks for the tips!!!

 

[TheDarkestBlue]

17 minutes ago, Janthere said:

 If not, my advice would be to do a round trip to Barcelona and then a one way from Athens to Barcelona rather than 2 one ways it will be much cheaper. Book it yourself rather than through a T/A but be sure to book directly with the airline rather than through expedia or other third party OTA. While you might pay slightly more it will be worth it if you ever have to make a change or cancellation it is 100x easier to deal directly with the airline. 

 

You don't have to do one way flight for separate cities on the same itinerary, they're called multi - city tickets and can be the same price as round trip airfare to one city, except you get direct flights in both directions instead of having to stop in Barcelona on the way back. I've done this many times. No one wants extra stopovers. I tried to book as direct flights as I possibly can, but I do live near a major airport so it's a bit easier. I always booked directly with the airline, less middlemen the better. Leaving during the middle of the week is always less expensive as well.

 

I just did a mock booking out of Chicago to Barcelona on a Thursday in September of 2024 for 2 weeks returning directly to Chicago from Athens for about $1,300

Edited November 3, 2023 by TheDarkestBlue

[Janthere]

Just now, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

You don't have to do one way flight for separate cities on the same itinerary, they're called multi - city tickets and can be the same price as round trip airfare to one city, except you get direct flights in both directions instead of having to stop in Barcelona on the way back. I've done this many times. No one wants extra stopovers. I tried to book as direct flights as I possibly can, but I do live near a major airport so it's a bit easier. I always booked directly with the airline, less middlemen the better.

Yes for sure a multi city ticket is another way to go. I don't live in a city with direct international flights from either Athens or Barcelona (business class is my preference) so I just assume I am going to have to make a connection somewhere. YMMV

[CineGraphic]

I would fly to a larger gateway city like Boston, where you can get a great deal on premium economy with Level Airlines.

Their PE seats are just like, if not better than domestic first class. It was half the price of us flying Delta out of our hometown of Atlanta, and both the flight and service were excellent.

https://youtu.be/FXLbJhhmh8M?si=ojYzo62SRaZQPYIm

 

 

[Golfergirl1]

If you want to do the drive you can also consider flying out of Toronto. I’m flying Premium Economy to Athens next year and the fares are still fairly reasonable. 

[cantgetin]

In our experience, the sooner you can book flights, the better the fares UNLESS an airline offers a large sale.  We have booked international flights for April which have more than doubled in price since we booked them!

[zumbaqueen1]

17 hours ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

You don't have to do one way flight for separate cities on the same itinerary, they're called multi - city tickets and can be the same price as round trip airfare to one city, except you get direct flights in both directions instead of having to stop in Barcelona on the way back. I've done this many times. No one wants extra stopovers. I tried to book as direct flights as I possibly can, but I do live near a major airport so it's a bit easier. I always booked directly with the airline, less middlemen the better. Leaving during the middle of the week is always less expensive as well.

 

I just did a mock booking out of Chicago to Barcelona on a Thursday in September of 2024 for 2 weeks returning directly to Chicago from Athens for about $1,300

Thank you for your tips too!!

 

How far out would you book the flights?  

 

Thank you again!

 

Mary

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

In our experience, the sooner you can book flights, the better the fares UNLESS an airline offers a large sale.  We have booked international flights for April which have more than doubled in price since we booked them!

Thank you very much!  Are there any airlines you would not book with?

 

Best,

Mary

 

[cantgetin]

2 minutes ago, zumbaqueen1 said:

 

Thank you very much!  Are there any airlines you would not book with?

 

Best,

Mary

 

I certainly can't say that I've flown "every" airline.  Recently we have flown Swiss, Lufthansa, Turkish, Delta, and Southwest.  All of those were satisfactory from a normal flight situation; Lufthansa had serious issues with wheelchair assistance in Frankfurt.  A few years ago, I was flying to London regularly; I learned to avoid going thru JFK as they ALWAYS lost my luggage (it became a joke at my home airport) and there was a lot of walking between the international terminal and the domestic areas.

My adult daughter had a very bad experience with American many years ago, and will not fly them under any circumstances.  To shorten details....her flight home from Japan came into Chicago and was delayed with announcements declaring that they were waiting for flight crew.  The flight was ultimately canceled, and they claimed "weather," then said there were no hotel rooms available and there were no flights to her home airport for 3 days.  She called me for advice, and I suggested going to every other airline to see what they could do as her college started in 3 days!  A lovely woman at United booked her on 3 standby flights and the 4th flight as a confirmed seat, then told her how to manage the situation.  She spent several hours on a cot at the airport, most of it assisting elderly people who had been "dumped" onto cots and wheelchairs removed! (her words). She flew home on the second standby flight.  Her luggage did not arrive.  American blamed United and United said that American was responsible since she had gone thru Customs in Chicago and rechecked her bags with American.  Finally, an American rep told us that her bags had been sent to Uruguay.  We ultimately got it back.  The fault was less the "what happened" as the lies and the way American treated elderly passengers, which left her totally disgusted.

You will likely find the best flights starting from large airports...in your case, OHare.  Others would be LAX, Boston, Atl, etc.  There are some bargain European airlines...Level, TAP, Norwegian, SAS, etc.  Look at the routes, the savings, the potential bad layovers and the reviews....then decide,

[Dancer Bob]

If you're a newbie, do not underestimate the effect of jet lag. I aim for three days early, if not a week  (it helps to be retired). I've found the only good way is to pick the flight that arrives as late as possible.

I agree the multi-city option is probably simplest for you. Note that the airline flight number may not indicate the airline you will actually be on (and I agree it's much easier to deal with the actual airline if worst comes to worst). Airline pricing algorithms are pretty opaque, but recently, I've found booking as soon as flights open offers reasonable prices.

[Gardyloo]

There's some good information in this thread and some that's... er... um... 

 

1.  Timing.  Most international airlines open their booking windows at 330 to 360 days before the actual flight.  But it's NOT the case that the cheapest fares are available at the beginning of the booking period.  The airlines use extremely complex (and very secret) algorithms to set fares throughout the booking period, and those robots never sleep.  Their overarching aim is to maximize profits for the airline.  They will do so by adjusting what fares are available based on historic, projected, and real-time factors - the competition, fuel prices, day of week and month, on and on.  They can open or close fare "buckets" - the actual fares with their rules and limitations - instantly, maybe several times a week, or even in a day.

 

Put yourself in the airline's shoes (or chips, whatever.)  When booking opens in month one, why would they sell seats at the lowest price when the price of fuel might spike in month seven?  Or if the bag handlers at Barcelona or Baton Rouge go on strike in month four?  The answer is that they hedge to honor rule no. 1, so if costs spike, the early birds will have paid enough to offset any losses the airline might suffer.  Or if later in the booking period their algorithms show that seats are under-selling compared to the model, or that some other airline has lowered prices on the same routes, badda bing, the fare goes down.  Or close to the end of the window, when there are just a few seats left, they will raise prices to capture the business that can't afford to wait, or they'll release those seats into award inventory to wipe some of the outstanding miles off their books (a "contingent liability" in accountant speak.)  

 

Now if you think you can outsmart those computers, good on ya.  You should probably be in Vegas rather than reading this thread.  Otherwise, keep tabs on the prices and when you see something you can live with, pull the trigger and stop watching after that.  But don't assume the early birds get the worms.  Sometimes they get cats.

 

2.  Open jaws and OTAs.  "Multi-city" ticketing (aka "open jaws") are done all the time, and usually cost around the same as a round trip.  Two one-way tickets will almost always end up costing a lot more than either a round trip or an open-jaw. 

 

And while buying from the airline directly is usually a good idea, the OTAs like Expedia have their benefits, in that they can put an itinerary together using airlines that aren't necessarily partners with one another, e.g. American to Barcelona, United back from Athens.  The airlines for the most part (a few outliers like Southwest) all agree to handle bags checked with some other airline, even if the airlines aren't business partners or members of the same alliance.  The airlines won't generally book you on a competitor's flights, even if it's cheaper, but OTAs aren't burdened by that rule.  As always, comparison shopping is the key.  

 

Hope that's not confusing.  

Edited November 5, 2023 by Gardyloo

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, Gardyloo said:

There's some good information in this thread and some that's... er... um...

 

+1 on this.

 

Tried an earlier response to some of the gross errors in posts.

 

 

[6rugrats]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

+1 on this.

 

Tried an earlier response to some of the gross errors in posts.

 

 

Amen to that.  Some real nonsense posted.  Norwegian?

Edited November 6, 2023 by 6rugrats

[em-sk]

 

Your going to have to make a connection somewhere. 

 

Try to get everything on one ticket.  When it is on one ticket if there is a delay the airlines is responsible for sorting it out and covering any costs associated with rerouting and rebooking.

 

Making your connection in Europe, or Canada makes is easier coming back as your bags will be transferred to your final destination.  If your return connection is in the US then you have to walk your bags through customs and put them back in the system.  

 

With few exceptions, booking a return trip (out and return flight on one ticket) is usually cheaper than a return.  On the airline website this usually an option you can click called "multi-city" or something like that where you can enter the first part to Barcelona and the return from Athens.   

 

Your trip will likely involve more than one airline.  That is not a big issue, just the reality of international travel.  Behind the scenes they interline with each other to transfer bags etc if it on one ticket.  If it is on seperate tickets they your responsible for doing that.  More reason to book on one ticket.

 

Someone suggested Southwest.  While it is a popular airline in the US they don't integrate with foreign airlines and your not going to find much there.  Your probably looking at the big three in the US, Air Canada and the European airlines as options.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[phabric]

I book Princess EzAir Flexible (no payment until Cruise final payment, can modify up to 45 days of flight) when the flights are released 330 days of disembarkment day.

 

I watch EzAir prices and modify if the price goes down.  I also watch the airline price.  Near final payment for EzAir/cruise, I check airline price and EzAir price and take which is cheaper.

[Zach1213]

On 11/3/2023 at 6:04 PM, TheDarkestBlue said:

Leaving during the middle of the week is always less expensive as well.

 

Do be careful using the word "always" in relation to air travel. There is no such thing as an "always". Special events, holidays, or just excessive demand can definitely result in mid-week being the most expensive. 

[TheDarkestBlue]

2 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Do be careful using the word "always" in relation to air travel. There is no such thing as an "always". Special events, holidays, or just excessive demand can definitely result in mid-week being the most expensive. 

 

I promise to be more careful in the future, lol 🙃

[zumbaqueen1]

On 11/5/2023 at 11:50 AM, Gardyloo said:

There's some good information in this thread and some that's... er... um... 

 

1.  Timing.  Most international airlines open their booking windows at 330 to 360 days before the actual flight.  But it's NOT the case that the cheapest fares are available at the beginning of the booking period.  The airlines use extremely complex (and very secret) algorithms to set fares throughout the booking period, and those robots never sleep.  Their overarching aim is to maximize profits for the airline.  They will do so by adjusting what fares are available based on historic, projected, and real-time factors - the competition, fuel prices, day of week and month, on and on.  They can open or close fare "buckets" - the actual fares with their rules and limitations - instantly, maybe several times a week, or even in a day.

 

Put yourself in the airline's shoes (or chips, whatever.)  When booking opens in month one, why would they sell seats at the lowest price when the price of fuel might spike in month seven?  Or if the bag handlers at Barcelona or Baton Rouge go on strike in month four?  The answer is that they hedge to honor rule no. 1, so if costs spike, the early birds will have paid enough to offset any losses the airline might suffer.  Or if later in the booking period their algorithms show that seats are under-selling compared to the model, or that some other airline has lowered prices on the same routes, badda bing, the fare goes down.  Or close to the end of the window, when there are just a few seats left, they will raise prices to capture the business that can't afford to wait, or they'll release those seats into award inventory to wipe some of the outstanding miles off their books (a "contingent liability" in accountant speak.)  

 

Now if you think you can outsmart those computers, good on ya.  You should probably be in Vegas rather than reading this thread.  Otherwise, keep tabs on the prices and when you see something you can live with, pull the trigger and stop watching after that.  But don't assume the early birds get the worms.  Sometimes they get cats.

 

2.  Open jaws and OTAs.  "Multi-city" ticketing (aka "open jaws") are done all the time, and usually cost around the same as a round trip.  Two one-way tickets will almost always end up costing a lot more than either a round trip or an open-jaw. 

 

And while buying from the airline directly is usually a good idea, the OTAs like Expedia have their benefits, in that they can put an itinerary together using airlines that aren't necessarily partners with one another, e.g. American to Barcelona, United back from Athens.  The airlines for the most part (a few outliers like Southwest) all agree to handle bags checked with some other airline, even if the airlines aren't business partners or members of the same alliance.  The airlines won't generally book you on a competitor's flights, even if it's cheaper, but OTAs aren't burdened by that rule.  As always, comparison shopping is the key.  

 

Hope that's not confusing.  

Very clear and I enjoyed your detailed explanations.  They are truly appreciated 🙂 

 

Best!!

 

Mary

[zumbaqueen1]

2 minutes ago, zumbaqueen1 said:

But don't assume the early birds get the worms.  Sometimes they get cats.

I have never heard this flip side !!! Love it!!!!

[moomoocow]

Just a small thing to note - disembarkation on this cruise is 20th not 21st.  

[zumbaqueen1]

Hello a few more questions and guidance please.

 

1. What is a "good" price for premium economy from East Coast to Barcelona open jaw Athens Back to east coast.  Trip again is in October 2024. 

2. Does anyone fly day before into east coast airport (JFK, BOS, BWI) stay a night then depart from airport to European destination to avoid missing that trip over for cruise and then fly back and stay a night after long haul flight and then depart for home next day to break up the weariness and lessen possibility of missing the all important connection?  OR am I making the whole thing to complicated?

 

Thanks again and Happy Healthy New Year!!

Mary

 

[CruiserBruce]

The only way to determine a "good" price, is to do your research. For October 2024, it is possible the "good" prices are already taken.

 

Staying a night enroute is always possible, but not sure how often it is needed. Most flights to Europe depart later in the afternoon, or early evening. So, unless you have a complicated connecting situation, there probably won't be a need to do an overnight stay enroute to Europe.

 

Coming home, sometimes the flights depart too early in the morning to catch them getting off the ship. So, spending the night, and then catching the early flight the next day is a possibility. Also, some of the main European airports (FRA, LHR, for example) have later flights to the US, that might allow you to connect same day back to the US.

 

Specifics would be helpful. You want to fly from where to BCN, and from ATH back to where.

 

Have you looked at matrix ita?

[zumbaqueen1]

So, flying out of Grand Rapids, MI to Barcelona October 8 2024 to get a few days rest before Virgin Voyages cruise out from Barcelona that debarks Athens (port) on Sunday October 20th 2024:

GRR to BCN October 8 2024

ATH to GRR October 20 or 21 or 22

 

We are newbies to long haul flights and I am just trying to determine what a "good price" may be and if what I keep finding on Google Flights is good or should I wait... just trying to learn from those who fly often.  If 3600 is good for two premium economy fares

I will purchase now... if it is high I will keep watching... again just learning.

 

Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

From a couple quick searches, yes, I would say $3600 is a reasonable fare.