How do we get back?

[Dame Delilah]

OK, we've booked our TransAtlantic cruise for 2007. Upon arrival in Venice, we plan to stay in Italy for a week or two. HOW do we get home??

 

We've booked our cruise directly with HAL, and I've been told by the HAL agent that they will not provide a return flight option, because of the delay.

 

Soooooo-----How does one book a return flight and receive a decent price? I've been told that some airlines will not sell a one-way ticket. We only need a one-way ticket (Venice to Tucson).....but I've been told we cannot buy a one-way ticket. So how do we get home??

 

We would actually prefer to fly business class, but cannot seem to find the answers for pricing.

 

Any information or ideas you have would be appreciated

[Robin7]

Soooooo-----How does one book a return flight and receive a decent price? I've been told that some airlines will not sell a one-way ticket. We only need a one-way ticket (Venice to Tucson).....but I've been told we cannot buy a one-way ticket. So how do we get home??

 

We would actually prefer to fly business class, but cannot seem to find the answers for pricing.

 

Any information or ideas you have would be appreciated

 

Do you have a TA? I book my husband's air travel (over 150,000 miles a year) and sometimes have to do one-way tickets or multiple destinations (one-way to multiple cities before flying home). I plugged in a random date in Expedia (not knowing your desired return date) and there were choices on American Airlines, United, Swiss Air, Air France and Lufthansa. Business class (for May 7, 2007, my random date) was running about $4,000 for one-way from Venice to Tucson.

 

I would suggest contacting a TA. We have a local brick-and-mortar agency I use for high-dollar tickets (like our upcoming trip to a conference in Hawaii) because the agent can get wholesale prices. Good luck. There ARE flights out there.

 

Robin

[dakrewser]

OK, we've booked our TransAtlantic cruise for 2007. Upon arrival in Venice, we plan to stay in Italy for a week or two. HOW do we get home??

 

We've booked our cruise directly with HAL, and I've been told by the HAL agent that they will not provide a return flight option, because of the delay.

 

Soooooo-----How does one book a return flight and receive a decent price? I've been told that some airlines will not sell a one-way ticket. We only need a one-way ticket (Venice to Tucson).....but I've been told we cannot buy a one-way ticket. So how do we get home??

 

We would actually prefer to fly business class, but cannot seem to find the answers for pricing.

 

Any information or ideas you have would be appreciated

 

Have you actually tried to book a flight or simply listened to rumors???

 

I had no trouble just now finding one-way business class fares (on Orbitz) from Venice to Tucson for next spring ranging from $2000 to $4000 per person.

 

Of course, this is just one more reason to use a good travel agent...

[Druke I]

Good advice above - contact a Travel Agent.

 

One-way tickets are sold all the time!

[AirGorilla]

Since you have booked directly with HAL, they are filling the role of your travel agent. I would not take NO for an answer from just one rep.

 

Call 'em back, and ask to be put through to a supervisor. I can't believe that SOMEONE at HAL can't book flights for you. You may have to pay a small fee for a diversion, due to your schedule in Italy.

 

My read is that the rep who told you NO isn't the only person at HAL for you to talk with.

[jimneycrkit]

You could always do a crossing on the QM2 if the dates work out. You would only have to book a short hopper in Europe to England. Its easy and in many cases much cheaper.. We did this last year , just the opposite direction.

[xpcdoojk]

Since you have booked directly with HAL, they are filling the role of your travel agent. I would not take NO for an answer from just one rep.

 

Call 'em back, and ask to be put through to a supervisor. I can't believe that SOMEONE at HAL can't book flights for you. You may have to pay a small fee for a diversion, due to your schedule in Italy.

 

My read is that the rep who told you NO isn't the only person at HAL for you to talk with.

 

I agree, that an air deviation should be available. If they won't find a good TA either on the internet or in your town and transfer the booking and I bet they can get HAL to do a deviation. Either way, you are in a more difficult booking situation than normal, but tickets can be arranged.

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

You could always do a crossing on the QM2 if the dates work out. You would only have to book a short hopper in Europe to England. Its easy and in many cases much cheaper.. We did this last year , just the opposite direction.

 

There are a ton of discount airlines within Europe that can provide some amazing rates. We flew in 2004 from London to Venice one way on Easy Jet for $35 per person.

 

jc

[mrskmirolla]

Did you already book your air with HAL??? We went last May 2005 flew into Venice early, got the ship and returned to Rome and stayed another 3 days and I got a great rate for the 2 of us on Swiss Air through Expedia, just did the multiple cities. So if you haven't booked your air there is lots of it around.

 

 

Kathy

[zaandam_2]

check airfare.com they offer discount one-way tickets

[obriendan]

Last year we used frequent flyer miles to book an "open jaws" flight from College Station, TX to Paris and then home from Boston after a transatlantic on the Maasdam. Granted, we had to pay the round trip Europe frequent flyer miles but open jaws fares are usually much cheaper than one way fares.

[wrp96]

I agree, that an air deviation should be available. If they won't find a good TA either on the internet or in your town and transfer the booking and I bet they can get HAL to do a deviation. Either way, you are in a more difficult booking situation than normal, but tickets can be arranged.

 

jc

 

Most cruiselines will only do a deviation for a couple of days pre and post. They are wanting to stay an additional week or 2.

[pollux]

For a couple off years I have done the Trans Atlantic in the spring.

Arrived in several cities Lisbon , Rome or Barcelona.

Spend always a couple off weeks in Amsterdam.

Here are my cheap ways to get back.

I book a flight on a European Airline for about 60 dollars to Amsterdam.

From Amsterdam I fly the Irish Airline Aer Lingus: Amsterdam-Dublin-Dublin Los Angeles a one way fare 500 dollar.

Just got back May 25th so it still works.

You most likely can fly from Any city in Europe to Dublin and then to Los Angeles.

From LA to Tuscon you can rent a car or fly SouthWest.

I am going again in the spring and usually book arround December.

[jcrandle]

You might check at www.sidestep.com. They will search many airlines and one-way tickets are an option.

[kryos]

OK, we've booked our TransAtlantic cruise for 2007. Upon arrival in Venice, we plan to stay in Italy for a week or two. HOW do we get home??

 

We've booked our cruise directly with HAL, and I've been told by the HAL agent that they will not provide a return flight option, because of the delay.

 

Soooooo-----How does one book a return flight and receive a decent price? I've been told that some airlines will not sell a one-way ticket. We only need a one-way ticket (Venice to Tucson).....but I've been told we cannot buy a one-way ticket. So how do we get home??

You must be on the same cruise as me. April 1 ... Veedam?

 

While I don't have the same problem as you ... I'm not flying back to the States, but rather am only staying in Venice for one night before heading to London to catch the QE2 back ... I would agree with the advice given by other posters on this board. Get your travel agent to price flights for you. Surely she will have some "in's" with consolidators who could probably get you a much better deal than you can get on your own.

 

Also, I don't understand why getting one-way tickets would be that big of a deal. While it's not an international flight, I had no trouble getting a great rate on a one-way ticket from Fort Lauderdale to Philadelphia for my cruise this coming October. I board in New York, but disembark in Fort Lauderdale ... so only need a one-way plane ticket. I got a super cheap flight from AirTran.

 

I don't think the fact that your trip is one-way is gonna necessarily make it prohibitively expensive. It's just that any international flight is gonna be expensive ... especially if you want a business class ticket. Before I would pay that kind of money, I'd find a return trip on either the QE2 or the QM2 that would work for me. Surely it would be a heck of a lot cheaper than $4,000 each.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[hammybee]

You may also want to consider booking your return flight as the original departing flight and toss the return ticket, scheduled for at least 7 days forward. I have found that this is often less costly than a one way trip, especially if your are using a major U.S. carrier.

[Copper10-8]

Since you have booked directly with HAL, they are filling the role of your travel agent. I would not take NO for an answer from just one rep.

 

Call 'em back, and ask to be put through to a supervisor. I can't believe that SOMEONE at HAL can't book flights for you. You may have to pay a small fee for a diversion, due to your schedule in Italy.

 

My read is that the rep who told you NO isn't the only person at HAL for you to talk with.

 

I'm thinking HAL won't do it because the OP is choosing to spend another "week or two" in Italy. If you allow HAL to make your air reservations, they are usually made for the day of embarkation and disembarkation OR for one of two days prior/after (if you are using a hotel package). I could be wrong but I don't think HAL will allow you to stay longer and still book your return flight.

To DD: lots of good suggestions! You can definitely get a one-way Venice-Tucson (but with several stops in between - not a non-stop - and I don't think it will be cheap - the Aer Lingus routing sounds interesting, though). You (or a TA) just needs to shop around.

[zaandam_2]

You may also want to consider booking your return flight as the original departing flight and toss the return ticket, scheduled for at least 7 days forward. I have found that this is often less costly than a one way trip, especially if your are using a major U.S. carrier.

 

the airlines are cracking down on this. you may find yourself getting charged for a one-way, which is a lot more when purchased from the airline. there are a few threads on the cruise air boards about this.

[pollux]

For Cheap tickets inside Europe check with Easyjet , Ryanair, Berlinair, etc. etc.

There are many more and the fare is about 60 dollar oneway between cities in Europe included England.

Just order on line and print out your E ticket.

[kryos]

the airlines are cracking down on this. you may find yourself getting charged for a one-way, which is a lot more when purchased from the airline. there are a few threads on the cruise air boards about this.

This is what I don't understand though ...

 

I was originally planning to do just what the other poster suggested ... get a round trip ticket from Fort Lauderdale-Philly-Fort Lauderdale, and toss the return portion. I even mentioned it to my TA and she basically said "do what you want, but please don't tell me about it. I can't be involved in that." That's when I realized the airlines technically don't allow this.

 

But then someone on my roll call board for my October cruise on the Amsterdam suggested checking AirTran's site. She said she got a killer deal on a one-way flight. I went on their site and got the same killer deal ... $79 (total) for a one-way ticket. In fact, we're both on the same flight.

 

At rates like that, why bother buying a round trip ticket?

 

Maybe international flights one-way are different?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[bepsf]

Geez - $2000-$4000 for one-way airfare home?

I'd be booking QM2 too...

Re: tossing the return ticket

What would the airline do - charge your cc# for not bothering to show up for the return flight? I don't see how this is a passenger's problem for playing their goofy pricing "strategy"

[bepsf]

Sorry - double post!

[divepal]

While Easyjet, Ryanair, Berlinair, etc. offer cheap flights, keep in mind they have very strict weight and baggage allowances. I was able to use them only because we sent our formal wear home with another couple that was flying straight back to the US. Have you considered taking a train to London and booking your flight from there?

[wwinfl91]

Here are some sites to check out airfares that allow you to check for one way availability.

 

We also had to find 1 way tickets home from London last year and ended up flying Swiss air. We went from London to Zurich and then to Miami but the price was much lower than other options.

 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/login

 

http://www.kayak.com/s/index.jsp

 

http://www.yatratravel.com/

 

http://airfare.com/

 

http://www.sidestep.com/air/;jsessionid=60C7A935BA99F61772F67E9FC0B71146.p114

 

http://svc.travelocity.com/info/js/0,,TRAVELOCITY,00.html

 

http://www.star-alliance.com/star_alliance/star/frame/main_10.html

 

http://www.mobissimo.com/search_airfare.php

 

Have a great next cruise.