Airfare as part of equation for cruise port

[Azulann]

Hello, We have narrowed down two cruises for our consideration.:D One is out of Southhampton in Sept 2010 #2. is out of Barcelona in Oct 2010. We would be traveling from MSP(Minnesota).

 

My attempt to compare air prices based round trip to Barcelona in Oct 2009 is $1098-$1283

London roundtrip based on August 2010 fares on the web is $1354.

 

Am I correct in thinking that airfare for either of these cruises will not be a huge factor ( like over $500-800 difference) in deciding which cruise to take? If the difference is only a couple of hundred dollars, I would pick the cruise we want for the price we are wiling to pay and then look for airfare.

 

We plan to book the cruise between now and Jan 2010.

thanks for your opinion in advance.

[DanJ]

You are looking at Barcelona a month from now when all the cheap seats will have been sold already. You'll probably find some cheaper fares for there, for a short period anyway, when the schedule opens up to Sept 2010. Not sure if London gets cheaper in September than August.

 

I'm sure you would be safe to book the cruise you want and get air later. The learned folks on here know tons of ways to find better fares for you.

[boulders]

Having just moved from MSP and having planned and cancelled a couple of Med cruises from MSP over the past couple of years, I've done my research on this same question. Yes, the airfares don't change much and they're pretty much the same wherever you fly to in Europe. The one advantage that cruises out of Southampton have is that there is a direct MSP-LHR flight. Not so much for other departure ports.

 

My determining factor for choosing a departure port in Europe was - which city do I want to spend a few extra days in? For me, this was both London and Rome. Both are on my bucket list. I have no connection to the Spanish culture, so I eliminated cruises leaving from Spain or cruising the Spanish Med. YMMV.

[ab0si]

Even if price were the only factor, it is a bit more complicated. For example:

 

Getting between Southampton and a main airport will be more expensive than getting to/from the Barcelona airport.

 

The cheapest fare might will be Aer Lingus (with a separate domestic ticket MSP-> an Aer Lingus served city) or perhaps a flight to Airport X in Europe with a low cost carrier between there and the port city. Whether you want to deal with this sort of thing is another issue.

 

Hotels in Barcelona are much less expensive than equivalent hotels in/around London. (I assume you are not going to risk missing the ship by flying in the day your cruise begins.)

[Azulann]

Thanks guys for your suggestions. We will make a final decision between the two cruises we are interested in first. Then I will be back to this board as we begin to hunt for airfare. Either port city London/Southampton or Barcelona will be a great place to spend 2 days before our cruise. My first cruise was out of Barcelona in 2008. I fell in love with the city.

 

Boulder, I also love Rome. Barcelona has Roman ruins, great architecture, good museums, wondeful food and it has a great beachfront. So if we do the Spanish Med cruise in Spet or the Eastern Med. in Ocotber, I will be a happy traveller.:)

[chipmaster]

Hello, We have narrowed down two cruises for our consideration.:D One is out of Southhampton in Sept 2010 #2. is out of Barcelona in Oct 2010. We would be traveling from MSP(Minnesota).

 

My attempt to compare air prices based round trip to Barcelona in Oct 2009 is $1098-$1283

London roundtrip based on August 2010 fares on the web is $1354.

 

Am I correct in thinking that airfare for either of these cruises will not be a huge factor ( like over $500-800 difference) in deciding which cruise to take? If the difference is only a couple of hundred dollars, I would pick the cruise we want for the price we are wiling to pay and then look for airfare.

 

We plan to book the cruise between now and Jan 2010.

thanks for your opinion in advance.

 

October is slower season, I suspect that airfares will drop below 1K, but are high now just to get the early must book planners. You can check historical pricess pattersn at farecompare.

 

As to how much a % of airfare is our total cruise depends and deciding based on that depends heavily on how you cruise and what you do in port. Do a suite and the airfare will be a smaller portion of your total bill, do ship tours and it'll be even smaller :eek: Personally I'd plan based on ports first, then make sure I am willing to pay the airfare, versus let airfare dictate which ports I get.

 

I'd say pick the cruise that hits the ports you most love. As another poster said the Southampton port isn't that close to airports, at least compared to Barcelona. Also unless you are sailing northen Europe ships departing for the Med spend too many days at sea for my taste.

 

Happy planning

[Keith1010]

Hello, We have narrowed down two cruises for our consideration.:D One is out of Southhampton in Sept 2010 #2. is out of Barcelona in Oct 2010. We would be traveling from MSP(Minnesota).

 

My attempt to compare air prices based round trip to Barcelona in Oct 2009 is $1098-$1283

London roundtrip based on August 2010 fares on the web is $1354.

 

Am I correct in thinking that airfare for either of these cruises will not be a huge factor ( like over $500-800 difference) in deciding which cruise to take? If the difference is only a couple of hundred dollars, I would pick the cruise we want for the price we are wiling to pay and then look for airfare.

 

We plan to book the cruise between now and Jan 2010.

thanks for your opinion in advance.

 

I am not sure what cabin you are interested in but please keep in mind that the lower price and higher price cabins go first. So, depending on what you want, you might find that by delaying the booking that you end up paying more for a cabin.

 

You may want to find out the cost for the deposits and think about booking both cruises assuming there are no cancellation charges.

 

Just a thought.

 

Keith

[Budget Queen]

I agree with the above post. There are booking agents who still don't charge fees and having a booking allows you your time for more decisions. BUT, with your statement of

 

"If the difference is only a couple of hundred dollars, I would pick the cruise we want for the price we are wiling to pay and then look for airfare"

 

not sure why you would "settle" for something lacking?? (alternative meanings certainly??)

[Azulann]

Budget Queen, yes ,my sentence did not make sense. All the responses to my question have been very helpful. A decision about the two cruises will be made by end of Sept. We will decide on one of them based on the ports we will visit. My traveling companion gets the final say because this is her first cruise! Will be excited to be cruising again next year.:)