Which is easier...

[KIMMER322]

I'm cruising out of Civitavecchia in May on the MSC Divina. Its easier for us to fly to Paris or Heathrow. Which of those would you recommend? Is it easier to get to Rome from Paris or London? I've never been to either.  Looking for advice from seasoned Europe travelers. 

Thanks.

[kad56]

Why can't you fly directly to Rome? Are you planning on spending time in London or Paris pre-cruise? If you're not, I'd take a look at direct tickets to Rome from the US. If you do want to spend some time in Paris or London, are you more excited about seeing one or the other? If you don't care, I'd take a look at flight and train schedules and pick whichever one works best. Google "Rome to Rio" to compare flight and train options.

 

Happy to provide more ideas, but I'm curious why you picked those two cities to fly into first.

Edited July 19 by kad56

[KIMMER322]

I have Jetblue points that'll get me to London or Paris for free. They don't go through Rome unfortunately.  But I've never been to Paris or London and figured I'd stop and sight see before heading to Rome. I don't have a preference as to which, just want an uncomplicated continuance to Rome. Thanks for replying. 

[kad56]

That makes sense. I make a lot of decisions based on the points I have.

 

So London airports, have higher taxes for flying out, so if you fly out of London after, it'll make the trip more expensive. (If you're paying cash it won't matter). 

 

From either London or Paris, I'd fly to Rome. It's at least a 2 hour flight, so a train won't make sense. And if you're flying, I think it's going to depend on the flights you can get to Rome. If you're flying out of London, I think going back to Heathrow or Gatwick is going to take a long time (at least an hour). But London City (LCY) is a lot easier to get to from the city. I think Paris Orly and Charles de Gaulle are a bit more convenient than Heathrow and Gatwick.

 

Personally, I prefer Paris. It's one of my favorite places, and as an American, it just felt more different than what I'm used to. And I really don't like Heathrow. It's just huge and hard to get around and really far from the city. That said, I lot of people have the opposite opinion and love London, and think Paris is just too different to be comfortable for them.

[kad56]

Sorry, I don't actually think I aswered the question you asked. I guess I don't think there's a huge difference in convenience between the two, and I think Paris edges out London a tiny bit, but I also really like Paris more and that might not be the case for you. 

[kad56]

Isn't JetBlue also flying to Amsterdam? Amsterdam School is the worlds most convenient big airport. The train is in the basement. It's not a stupid air train or some sort of connector... It's a stop on the national Dutch railroad. You can take to Amsterdam, Gauge or wherever. It's a pretty small country so it doesn't take long. That's where I would go if convenience and no hassle is the main consideration.

[KIMMER322]

That's a great idea. I'll look into that!  Thank you! 

[KKB]

5 hours ago, KIMMER322 said:

That's a great idea. I'll look into that!  Thank you! 

And Amsterdam is a wonderful city to spend a few days in! 

(so are London & Paris...)

[perakcruiser]

On 7/20/2024 at 10:59 AM, kad56 said:

Isn't JetBlue also flying to Amsterdam? Amsterdam School is the worlds most convenient big airport. 

But no cheap airlines in Amsterdam, from Paris and London you can take Ryanair to Rome.

[KIMMER322]

37 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

But no cheap airlines in Amsterdam, from Paris and London you can take Ryanair to Rome.

Thank you! I've never of Ryanair, I'll look into them. 

[oceans.calling]

KLM Royal Dutch has quite a few flights from AMS to Rome ranging from $95-$123 in May.  Flight was about 2H when we took it. 

[kad56]

3 hours ago, KIMMER322 said:

Thank you! I've never of Ryanair, I'll look into them. 

Ryan air is a low cost airline, so I'd look at all the add on fees before you book them. If you have a lot of luggage, it might not be worth it. I haven't flown Ryan Air yet myself, but I've done Spirit in the US, and it only seems worth it if I don't have luggage.

[perakcruiser]

7 hours ago, KIMMER322 said:

Thank you! I've never of Ryanair, I'll look into them. 

Ryanair is Europe's biggest and most popular airline (they say :D)

 

We try to use them for all flights in Europe for 25 years already, and yes, we try to choose the departure port on Europe according to their network 🙂

 

Even if you bring a couple of suitcases they are unbeatable. 

[FionaMG]

23 hours ago, KIMMER322 said:

Thank you! I've never of Ryanair, I'll look into them. 

 

Ryanair flights are essentially buses with wings. As long as your expectations are right they are actually fine and usually very reliable. You just have to be sure to read all the small print and understand what you're buying. Be aware that the first price you see will never be the price you pay unless you are travelling only with a small underseat bag. Generally, you will pay more for your bags than for yourself. Also, if you don't pay to pick your seats they will split your party up. They claim this is because of random seat allocation but that's rubbish. They could ensure parties travelling together aren't seated all over the aircraft if they wanted to; the other low cost carriers do.

Edited July 22 by FionaMG
Sp.