Airfare for Holy Land cruise in May 2011

[cribdink]

Hi,

 

Haven't posted in awhile but wanted to get some feedback about buying airfare this far out. Finally, my mother and I are going to the Holy Land. We leave from Athens and then disembark in Rome. If we fly from LAX we have at least 1 stop which isn't an issue since my mother uses a wheelchair for the airports. JFK has direct flights but would have to fly to NY which may cost more than just flying out of LAX. Any thoughts of a good time to buy based on previous experience?

 

Right now the fares on private sites are cheaper than the cruise line fares. We plan to leave 2 days prior to sailing to avoid any hassle. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[6rugrats]

So you need to fly LAX-ATH and then FCO-LAX? What fares have you found yourself?

[YXU AC*SE]

SWISS (LX) via a single stop in ZRH is showing sub-1000$pp all-in prices currently, selecting random dates in May 2011. Flight duration on the overnight outbound flight is 11h30min, so you do get a chance to enjoy some supper and get some decent sleep on the plane (if you are able.) Zurich is an excellent (and super easy) airport through which to transfer in Europe.

 

I belong to the do your basic research, set your budget, and if you see a good price now, buy it and don't look back school of air travel shopping. Anything from May - September is peak season in Europe coming from NA, so I personally would expect prices to go up as the lower fare buckets get snapped up. With the US consumer confidence soft, not too many people are looking at European vacations for next summer, so airlines have some discounting flexibility today to attract that future dollar.

 

Enjoy your cruise,

 

Scott.

[cribdink]

We're flying out May 17 2011. I've found fares around $1000 RT from LAX with 1 stop. I'll check the Swiss airline mentioned. I believe in jumping in there too in terms of a sale but always have the feeling that something cheaper will come along and I'll miss it.:mad:

[greatam]

We're flying out May 17 2011. I've found fares around $1000 RT from LAX with 1 stop. I'll check the Swiss airline mentioned. I believe in jumping in there too in terms of a sale but always have the feeling that something cheaper will come along and I'll miss it.:mad:

 

If you can get airfare AFTER May 15 (when prices generally rise) from LAX to Athens and return from Rome for $1000 JUMP ON IT. Athens and Rome are two of the MOST expensive European airports to fly in and out of. I would be highly surprised if you found anything cheaper.

[MSMcDuffy]

I think $1000 RT from LAX is a good price - based on what I paid in June of last year ($1262 LAX-VCE, FCO-LAX) and prices were supposed to be lower than usual back then because of the economy.

[frugaltravel]

I belong to the do your basic research, set your budget, and if you see a good price now, buy it and don't look back school of air travel shopping.

 

We're flying out May 17 2011. I've found fares around $1000 RT from LAX with 1 stop. I'll check the Swiss airline mentioned. I believe in jumping in there too in terms of a sale but always have the feeling that something cheaper will come along and I'll miss it.

 

Wrong feeling. As mentioned above, correct is to know what is a "fair" price and buy it when the price is fair. If the price drops after that, who cares? You got a "fair" price. Like the stock market, you never know the "low" price until it is too late. Your expectations are unrealistic.

[FlyerTalker]

I believe in jumping in there too in terms of a sale but always have the feeling that something cheaper will come along and I'll miss it.

And what kind of feeling do you have when you wait and then see the prices only going higher and higher than what you could have bought at???

[6rugrats]

We're flying out May 17 2011. I've found fares around $1000 RT from LAX with 1 stop. I'll check the Swiss airline mentioned. I believe in jumping in there too in terms of a sale but always have the feeling that something cheaper will come along and I'll miss it.:mad:

 

I'll have to agree that if you can get these tickets for ~$1000, you will have done well.

[Keith1010]

If this was me I would lock in the price at $1,000.00. Sometimes when people try to hold out, they wish they hadn't.

 

I always just think what's the lowest it might go to and what's the highest and if I find an attractive price I go for it.

 

No one has a Crystal ball that I know of and this sounds like a good price.

 

Keith

[FlyerTalker]

No one has a Crystal ball that I know of and this sounds like a good price.

Freudian slip on that capitalization?? :D

[Keith1010]

Freudian slip on that capitalization?? :D

 

You caught me. I am so used to spelling it that way. I think it's embedded in my brain. :p

 

Keith