flights to Europe

[CanonCruise23]

I'm hoping to take my family on a mediterranean cruise next June. My biggest concern is getting reasonable airfare to Venice so we can do a Greek islands cruise.

Do you have tips for me about how to find reasonable airfare to Europe? How far in advance to book? Other tips?

Thanks so much

[CruiserBruce]

Come over to the Cruise Air board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

 

You will find all the tips you will ever need.

 

First, define reasonable. That means different things to everyone here.

 

Second, know that Venice is a fairly expensive airport.

 

Third, there is no magic time to purchase airfares. If there was, everyone would buy then, and the airlines would just raise the prices in that window.

 

Lastly, it is about research. You just have to check fares over time- you can pick fake dates prior to actual flight dates to see what fares are like. Check fares regularly for a while- months perhaps. Check on different days of the week, until you see price trends.

[compulady]

Airfares to Europe have gone up recently, I just booked tickets for this August flying into Rome and out of Venice for our cruise it was about $1350, $600 of which were taxes and fees. I think you can book airfare 6 months to 1 year out depending on the airline. You can always go to kayak.com and put in the destination and date and see what you get.

[fredflint]

british airways has had deals for a credit card you get a free RT ticket from US to Europe + taxes, have been told best tp transfer mile to iberia airlines, you might want to check airport prices and maybe do some touring before.

[CanonCruise23]

thanks - I didn't realize there was a separate board on airfare

[cberge]

thanks - I didn't realize there was a separate board on airfare

 

Also,a good travel agent can really help and generally no fee for booking to Europe. It never hurts to check all options.

[KirkNC]

Check all the airports around you, even thoughs a few hours away, book earlier as opposed to later but at the nd of the day it will cost $1,200-1,400 per person.

[1josh777]

Try using Skyscanner.com. When I was looking for airfares I knew that I had to be open about getting Rome using alternate airports. This website allows you to select "Italy" as your arrival location and all the airports that offer the service from your starting destination will show up. This was less time consuming than searching city by city. I only used the website for research and didn't book anything through them. After finding the info there I would go directly to the airlines website to purchase. Good luck

[beachgal]

Thanks for the info! I've already booked NCL Greece tour for June 2014 leaving from Venice and also looking at airfare - YIKES. Thanks for the other places to look!

[Twickenham]

Don't limit yourself to looking at flights to/from Venice. The train system is very efficient in Italy, so look at flying into Milan, Bologna, even Rome and taking the train to Venice.

[caripoo]

Don't know what ages the kids are or when they are out of school...summer is by far the most $$$ time to go, and the hottest... Many schools are now going to alternate school calendars..and if you don't have to go in the summer, go before June or after Sept....You will find better weather, cheaper cruise rates and better airfare then GOOD LUCK:):)

[Blue Elephant]

I would also suggest that you check out the price to fly in to Milan. Or perhaps Bergamo, which I think is the airport for the budget carriers.

 

The trains in Italy are fast, clean, safe and really low cost. A train from Milan to Venice will take about 2.5 hours and you will see some Italian countryside out the window.

[chipmaster]

Airfare is all about supply and demand, if you go first week of June versus 3rd you'll go :eek: Almost any web site will do a search of the major lines. In the end you'll need to decide between direct from USA, connects in Eurpoe or a smaller airline with indirect. You can start checking now to see how prices go. A few years ago we booked in Feb for a July, we saw the fares go up two hundred then back down a few then back up to never come down... YMMV

 

I'm hoping to take my family on a mediterranean cruise next June. My biggest concern is getting reasonable airfare to Venice so we can do a Greek islands cruise.

Do you have tips for me about how to find reasonable airfare to Europe? How far in advance to book? Other tips?

Thanks so much

[SeaWatch]

Last summer I was in the same position that you're in now. At that time TAP (the airline of Portugal) was significantly lower than any other airlines even though It required a stopover in Lisbon. My connections were a little more difficult because I fly out of Miami.

 

I ended up booking Air Berlin because, as it turns out, I had enough American airline miles to get free flights. However I would consider looking into Air Berlin and TAP to see how those prices compare.

[SeaWatch]

One other thought, I have used the trains in Italy numerous times. I would not spend on them for making cruise connections. I have been stranded on two different trips due to a rail strike.