Where do I start for Transatlantic cruise flights?

[TomBeckCruise]

I searched cheap tickets and found HOP2 and other folks who do have cheap tickets. Potential problems?

Looked at Iceland Air, but I can't put in BNA. Must start with one of the cities they fly from.

Looked at Aer Lingus/ result similar to Iceland air.

 

I am having to put in dates that are not when we will be flying since our cruise is a little over a year away.

 

Anyway, what we want to do is:

Nashville-Paris stay 4 days

Paris - BCN stay 1 night

Transatlantic cruise to FLL

FLL- BNA

Total of three flights.

 

What is the best way(s) for me to search for flights?:confused:

Better to book 10-11 months out or closer to next fall?:confused:

[Kamloops50]

I searched cheap tickets and found HOP2 and other folks who do have cheap tickets. Potential problems?

Looked at Iceland Air, but I can't put in BNA. Must start with one of the cities they fly from.

Looked at Aer Lingus/ result similar to Iceland air.

 

I am having to put in dates that are not when we will be flying since our cruise is a little over a year away.

 

Anyway, what we want to do is:

Nashville-Paris stay 4 days

Paris - BCN stay 1 night

Transatlantic cruise to FLL

FLL- BNA

Total of three flights.

 

What is the best way(s) for me to search for flights?:confused:

Better to book 10-11 months out or closer to next fall?:confused:

 

I use the following site for flights prices and routing

 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/search.htm?session=eca9daf8-96ad-408f-8304-6cac12adb780

[greatam]

I searched cheap tickets and found HOP2 and other folks who do have cheap tickets. Potential problems?

Looked at Iceland Air, but I can't put in BNA. Must start with one of the cities they fly from.

Looked at Aer Lingus/ result similar to Iceland air.

 

I am having to put in dates that are not when we will be flying since our cruise is a little over a year away.

 

Anyway, what we want to do is:

Nashville-Paris stay 4 days

Paris - BCN stay 1 night

Transatlantic cruise to FLL

FLL- BNA

Total of three flights.

 

What is the best way(s) for me to search for flights?:confused:

Better to book 10-11 months out or closer to next fall?:confused:

 

Just be aware, this is going to be an EXPENSIVE ticket. 1. You are flying from Nashville, not a major hub. 2. You want a 4 day layover in Paris. 3. Then you need to get from Paris to BCN which basically FORCES you onto a European carrier (just like European carriers can't fly domestic flights in the US, US carriers can't fly domestic flights in Europe) Because of the restrictions, you will now have to deal with European luggage restrictions which can be pretty stingy compared to what we Americans are used to.

 

You MIGHT want to explore the possibility of taking the new high speed rail from Paris to Barcelona. http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/mar/15/high-speed-train-tgv-london-paris-barcelona

 

Buy a one way ticket on Aer Lingus, Icelandair, Air Berlin, Air Transat or any of the other airlines that sell TRUE one way tickets to Paris. You MAY have to purchase your own ticket from Nashville to Chicago or NYC to get the international ticket at a reasonable price. MAKE SURE you leave enough time between flights if you go this route. Take the train to Barcelona.

 

It will be easy to get home from FLL on a lot of carriers.

 

I just took a quick look at ITA. THE CHEAPEST is Aer Lingus out of Chicago (just slightly more than $1100 the furthest out you could book-Sept 5-11). And since the routing would be ORD/DUB/CDG/DUB/BCN, all on Aer Lingus, you MAY be able to keep your US long haul flight luggage allowance.

 

Next cheapest was Air Maroc our of JFK through Morroco. Then you were on TAP Portugal, where you will NOT have your US luggage allowance from Paris to BCN.

 

The US carriers with the 4 day layover in Paris and partner airlines from Paris to BCN were all in the $2000pp range and most of the time you will loose your US luggage allowance because of the layover.

 

I would take the flight to Paris, then take the train.

[fredflint]

There are several reward cards that offer miles, we picked up a British Airways credit card and after charging a couple of thousand dollars received 100K miles, each I have been told that you can use your BA miles on Iberia

 

http://www.oneworld.com/ffp/earning-redeeming-miles

 

then you would be able to book your flights just for the cost of taxes and fees

 

It shows 50K right now so it is possible that is the best for now but who know

 

http://creditcardforum.com/blog/british-airways-credit-card-promotion/

 

United Airlines had a 30K miles promotion too, I used the credit cards to pay for my cruise they had no problem splitting it up between 2 cards

[TomBeckCruise]

Just be aware, this is going to be an EXPENSIVE ticket. 1. You are flying from Nashville, not a major hub. 2. You want a 4 day layover in Paris. 3. Then you need to get from Paris to BCN which basically FORCES you onto a European carrier (just like European carriers can't fly domestic flights in the US, US carriers can't fly domestic flights in Europe) Because of the restrictions, you will now have to deal with European luggage restrictions which can be pretty stingy compared to what we Americans are used to.

 

You MIGHT want to explore the possibility of taking the new high speed rail from Paris to Barcelona. http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/mar/15/high-speed-train-tgv-london-paris-barcelona

 

Buy a one way ticket on Aer Lingus, Icelandair, Air Berlin, Air Transat or any of the other airlines that sell TRUE one way tickets to Paris. You MAY have to purchase your own ticket from Nashville to Chicago or NYC to get the international ticket at a reasonable price. MAKE SURE you leave enough time between flights if you go this route. Take the train to Barcelona.

 

It will be easy to get home from FLL on a lot of carriers.

 

I just took a quick look at ITA. THE CHEAPEST is Aer Lingus out of Chicago (just slightly more than $1100 the furthest out you could book-Sept 5-11). And since the routing would be ORD/DUB/CDG/DUB/BCN, all on Aer Lingus, you MAY be able to keep your US long haul flight luggage allowance.

 

Next cheapest was Air Maroc our of JFK through Morroco. Then you were on TAP Portugal, where you will NOT have your US luggage allowance from Paris to BCN.

 

The US carriers with the 4 day layover in Paris and partner airlines from Paris to BCN were all in the $2000pp range and most of the time you will loose your US luggage allowance because of the layover.

 

I would take the flight to Paris, then take the train.

 

I found Iceland air around $447 from Boston to Paris.

Air France from Paris to BCN $66.

Delta BNA to Bos and FLL to BNA $400, slightly less on SW.

I've looked at the train. Its overnight and a very long trip even at high speed.

 

So, I was hoping to avoid having to book with two different airlines to get to Paris but it appears that is not possible unless we spend 3 times as much.

Thanks for the ideas/info.

[Gardyloo]

Anyway, what we want to do is:

Nashville-Paris stay 4 days

Paris - BCN stay 1 night

Transatlantic cruise to FLL

FLL- BNA

Total of three flights.

 

What is the best way(s) for me to search for flights?:confused:

Better to book 10-11 months out or closer to next fall?:confused:

 

You're basically looking at a series of one-way flights.

 

For Nashville-Paris, I'd probably look at using frequent flyer miles, making sure you use a program that offers one-way awards.

 

For example, American airlines requires 20,000 miles for one way in economy from the US to Europe (or v.v.) if you depart on or after October 15. If it's before the 15th, then it's 30,000 miles. If you want to ride in business class (first class within the USA for connecting flights) then it's 50,000 miles irrespective of date. You can use the miles to travel on AA or any of its partners, including British Airways, Iberia, or Air Berlin. United has a similar scheme, allowing travel on UAL or one of its partners, such as Lufthansa. (The mileage requirement may be different; I haven't memorized it.)

 

You can look for credit card signup bonuses; this is a good website to refer to for current offers: http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm

 

Or, all airlines allow you to purchase miles, usually at a cost of around 2.5 to 3 cents per mile. At 2.5 cents, 30,000 AA miles would cost $750, which is probably cheaper than most purchased fares (and much more convenient); if you're leaving after the 15th it would only be $500, a steal. (And $1250 for a one-way business class trip is an absolute killer deal.)

 

However, most airlines have occasional "sales" where you receive bonus miles when purchasing them; sometimes it's a 30% bonus, sometimes 50%, sometimes even 100%. So by patience and careful shopping you can really get some screaming deals.

 

Of course you need to be sure that there are award seats available when you want to fly. Next year is a long way off, but as a test, if you wanted to fly from BNA to Paris this week or next week, you'd have your choice of numerous flights - BNA to JFK then nonstop to Paris, or BNA to Miami to London to Paris... any number of options. Yes, there IS a risk, but if you start monitoring award availability when the flights open for booking (330 days out typically) you're almost certainly going to see something. When you do, phone the airline award people and have them hold the seats, then go run and buy the miles (if you don't already have them) and call back to get the flights ticketed. Badda bing.

 

It's important to note that FF seats are released on no set schedule - you're no more likely to get seats on the first day of the 330-day window than you would be on day 100 or 200. You can't second-guess the airlines' yield management computers; don't even try.

 

Now, as to the Paris-Barcelona and FLL-BNA flights, these are probably best just purchased on a one-way basis. Paris (Orly airport, not CDG) to BCN will probably cost something like $75-$80 one way; FLL or Miami to BNA probably around $120; in neither case is it worth fussing with frequent flyer miles for those flights - lousy bargain.

 

Food for thought, maybe.

[zoncom]

Check Choiceair if doing RCL or Celebrity. Cheapair.com says best pricing International 7 weeks ot, domestic 49 days out. I like EasyJet for domestic European air. Cheaper booked farther out. Goes most everywhere.

[TomBeckCruise]

I use the following site for flights prices and routing

 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/search.htm?session=eca9daf8-96ad-408f-8304-6cac12adb780

 

Thanks. i am glad to find that site. I will bookmark it, and use it.

[FlyerTalker]

Another thought. This would be a set of three tickets.

 

1) Get a round-trip BNA-MIA and MIA/FLL- BNA.

2) One way ticket from MIA to Europe. I'm seeing AirBerlin going into Orly via TXL, which may or may not be more convenient than CDG (depending on your Paris plans)

3) One way ticket from Paris to BCN, either train or air.

 

There are MANY permutation for you to consider. You have many weeks before flights even become available, so plenty of time to play around with different options. One consideration may be the acquisition of FF miles, which AirBerlin would facilitate.

 

Another thing to consider is the difference between tickets bought from the airline and those bought through a consolidator/agency. Those sites promoting "cheap tickets" do a very good job of obscuring the fact that they sell a different product than what the airline sells directly. So caveat emptor.

[greatam]

I found Iceland air around $447 from Boston to Paris.

Air France from Paris to BCN $66.

Delta BNA to Bos and FLL to BNA $400, slightly less on SW.

I've looked at the train. Its overnight and a very long trip even at high speed.

 

So, I was hoping to avoid having to book with two different airlines to get to Paris but it appears that is not possible unless we spend 3 times as much.

Thanks for the ideas/info.

 

Train is supposed to be about 6.5 hours. Leave about 2PM from Paris, arrive at 8:23. That is what the schedule on Seat61 says.

 

"Option 2, Paris to Barcelona & Madrid by daytime high-speed train:

 

There are now two daily TGVs from Paris to Figueres with connection to Barcelona, leaving at 07:15 and 14:07, journey time about 7 hours. Fares from €68. Direct TGV trains should link Paris with Barcelona from some time in 2013, possibly 28 April, with the journey time reducing to around 6½ hours. Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to book these TGVs at the cheapest price, wherever you live. Allow at least 30 minutes in Barcelona, then book Barcelona to Madrid in 2.5 hours at http://www.renfe.com or (if you have any problems) www.petrabax.com/renfe"

 

 

http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm#Paris-Spain

 

I used his information for my entire trip on the Trans Siberian a couple of years ago.

 

You got the idea-you will most likely have to book three airlines to get a decent price or go the airline miles route. Luggage on that Air France flight will cost you $40 for one 50 pound suitcase unless you can manage to purchase luggage allowance in advance (then it is $20 per suitcase). The "mini" (cheapest) tickets include NO checked luggage and require luggage allowance purchase. REGULAR economy tickets do not but they are almost twice as expensive.

 

Enjoy!!! Sounds like a great trip.

[Avalon35]

Thanks kamloops50 for link to ita matrix. That is really helpful.

[Kamloops50]

Thanks kamloops50 for link to ita matrix. That is really helpful.

 

Your welcome. I use it all the time for doing cruise budgets. I will take the same date on the calendar and round up the fare by a few $100 . When the cruise line has airfares available I'll compare airfares.

 

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Forums mobile app

[Avalon35]

Your welcome. I use it all the time for doing cruise budgets. I will take the same date on the calendar and round up the fare by a few $100 . When the cruise line has airfares available I'll compare airfares.

 

That is a great suggestion. Since I am barely in the window for booking flights, this will help me figure out the best options. I have read the "warnings" in the prior posts about using cruise line airfares, consolidators, etc. Although I travelled extensively for business, international travel issues weren't MY problem. Now they are. So I am really a newbie at this. The hints and tips on these boards are quite helpful.

[Cruise4Fun27]

I would look at Ryan Air and Easy Jet. Use one of them for the Flights in Europe. Book the US legs separately. We did this a few years ago and it saved a ton of money. :)

[TomBeckCruise]

Train is supposed to be about 6.5 hours. Leave about 2PM from Paris, arrive at 8:23. That is what the schedule on Seat61 says.

 

"Option 2, Paris to Barcelona & Madrid by daytime high-speed train:

 

There are now two daily TGVs from Paris to Figueres with connection to Barcelona, leaving at 07:15 and 14:07, journey time about 7 hours. Fares from €68. Direct TGV trains should link Paris with Barcelona from some time in 2013, possibly 28 April, with the journey time reducing to around 6½ hours. Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to book these TGVs at the cheapest price, wherever you live. Allow at least 30 minutes in Barcelona, then book Barcelona to Madrid in 2.5 hours at www.renfe.com or (if you have any problems) www.petrabax.com/renfe"

 

 

http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm#Paris-Spain

 

I used his information for my entire trip on the Trans Siberian a couple of years ago.

 

You got the idea-you will most likely have to book three airlines to get a decent price or go the airline miles route. Luggage on that Air France flight will cost you $40 for one 50 pound suitcase unless you can manage to purchase luggage allowance in advance (then it is $20 per suitcase). The "mini" (cheapest) tickets include NO checked luggage and require luggage allowance purchase. REGULAR economy tickets do not but they are almost twice as expensive.

 

Enjoy!!! Sounds like a great trip.

 

I looked at that site months ago, and only saw the sleeper train.:o Yep the ride in a comfortable seat at 180 mph for a good price is appealing. Sure beats the train (Music City Star) I ride to work all week. It never gets over 40 mph.

Thanks, I had already written off the train. very likely now.

[greatam]

I looked at that site months ago, and only saw the sleeper train.:o Yep the ride in a comfortable seat at 180 mph for a good price is appealing. Sure beats the train (Music City Star) I ride to work all week. It never gets over 40 mph.

Thanks, I had already written off the train. very likely now.

 

When you figure out the time-arrive at the airport, hassle all the security, check in, etc. a 3 hour flight-you probably aren't spending much more time on the train than you would taking a plane. PLUS you don't have to deal with luggage fees and you get a nice ride through scenery in the daytime which you may never get to see again.

 

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy. Sounds like a great trip.

[FlyerTalker]

I would look at Ryan Air and Easy Jet. Use one of them for the Flights in Europe. Book the US legs separately. We did this a few years ago and it saved a ton of money. :)

Yes, it is possible to save money utilizing flights on Ryanair (one word, so as not to confuse with another airline named Ryan) and EasyJet (one word). However, be aware that both airlines have multiple fees for their flights, especially Ryanair. Those include a fee for booking a flight, a fee for using a credit card, and a fee for checking in -- all of which you need to do in order to fly. Plus, their luggage allowances are severely restricted, especially compared to your transatlantic allowance or domestic USA allowance. Finally, they often fly into secondary airports many miles from the advertised city. For example, their flights to "Frankfurt" actually arrive 124 km from Frankfurt.

 

IF, and that's a big if, your flight pattern fits their business model, then go right ahead. But know that there is much more to your final outlay than just the low teaser price you start from.

 

And for a humourous take Ryanair et al.....

. (Hat tip to Globaliser)

[new salt]

Just an update, the last word I had on the Paris Barcelona train is that the direct train service has been delayed indefinitely...the whole business has been a b*gg@r's muddle from beginning to end! Although it is expensive in Gran Classe, I strongly recommend the night train from Paris, it is the last vestige of civilised rail travel, and this year they eliminated the sister services from Barcelona to Milan and Zurich. Get it while it while we've got it!

[bracus]

Norwegian Air has started service from several US cities and some of the one way prices look very good. Just another option for you good luck. :)

 

http://www.norwegian.com/long_us

[UKBayern]

Norwegian Air has started service from several US cities and some of the one way prices look very good. Just another option for you good luck. :)

 

http://www.norwegian.com/long_us

 

Same problem as FlyerTalker mentioned with Ryanair. You pay for everything: meals, drinks, luggage, booking fees, seat reservations, etc.

[TomBeckCruise]

Just an update, the last word I had on the Paris Barcelona train is that the direct train service has been delayed indefinitely...the whole business has been a b*gg@r's muddle from beginning to end! Although it is expensive in Gran Classe, I strongly recommend the night train from Paris, it is the last vestige of civilised rail travel, and this year they eliminated the sister services from Barcelona to Milan and Zurich. Get it while it while we've got it!

 

Thanks for the information.:( I'll try to keep up with what is going on with the situation.

[Avalon35]

Another TA question for help. We are leaving Sept 8 2014 from Newport News(or RIC or Norfolk) to Barcelona. We don’t know yet if we will be tacking on another trip, so we could be returning from either Venice (know that date now) or Paris ( won’t know the date until sometime next year.) We would like to go biz class. Some questions. Should we just book one way for each direction? Should we wait till both sides of the flight become available (we won’t know return airport until next year sometime)? Does Amex platinum companion make any sense for this as I was told it is only good for flights departing from US? Should we even consider using EZAir? Airline recommendations? We have to make 1 stop any way because we come from a feeder airport. So, 2 stops is not out of the question. We could Amtrak up the east coast if something make sense. Thoughts?

[travelplus]

One idea is to see if you can get a one way car rental and drive to Atlanta the night before and spend a night at a hotel with a free shuttle. The one way car rental although car rentals may slap on a penalty could be less than a flight from Nashville.

 

Then you can fly on Air France, Delta to Paris. From Paris to Barcelona look at an overnight train or book on Easy Jet from Beauvis(sp) or Orly to BCN to save money. You can arrive early in the morning of your cruise by rail. See if you can book a room on the HotelTren(Talgo). We did this when we went o Madrid on the way to Malaga. We left Paris at 8:00PM and arrived the next morning in Madrid around 7:00AM.

 

In Barcelona you could store your bags at the rail station and have some breakfast before picking your bags up and arrive at the pier. If your gong in First Class you can get access to the lounge at the rail station where you may be able to store your bags free

 

From Fort Lauderdale look at Southwest to Nashville.

 

One of my friends rented a car rental one way and they waived the fee as they needed the car in Atlanta. When you call to book the rental car ask them to find you a car that needs to be at ATL airport. You return the car the same day and take the hotel or Enterprise shuttle to the terminal and then hotel shuttle. First drop off your bags at the hotel before you return the car. Use Hotwire for the hotel to save you some money. You can even take a shower at the rail station.

 

When you go by train you avoid the security lines at the airport, extra baggage fees and of course you can leave Austerlitz later in the evening so you really can maximize your 4 days in Paris. See if you can get a hotel that is not too far from Austerlitz and you can ask the hotel to store your bags until you need to depart to Austerliz. Just be at the station 60 minutes before the train leaves.

 

I recommend the Sheraton ATL Airport Hotel. Enterprise will pick you up from your house to a local location and take your bags with you in the shuttle and just leave right away to Atlanta. I would drive 3.5 hours and get a hotel for $80 rather than paying a $2100 fare. If the fare from Atlanta is $400-$700 cheaper than flying from BNA then this is a great savings. Figure a car would be around $90 one way and a hotel $85. You would then be able to checkout at noon or a bit later and be there in time for the late afternoon or early evening flight to Paris. Even with meals you would still be ahead of the $500+ extra airfare from BNA.

 

You would be surprised at the additional costs to fly from BNA to connect to a European flight as BNA is the only airport in the immediate area of Nashville.

Hope this saves you some money.

 

Edited to say that still take the train and spend 1 night in BCN. You would maximize your time in Paris and the full day in Barcelona.

[Avalon35]

Good idea. We are actually looking at driving up to Dulles . A lot more options from there.

[kandjrolls2]

I will be following this thread. I have booked a TA next Sept. that was the easy part. Now, I need to fiqure out how to get my family ( me, my DH, 40 and our DD, 4) to Barcelona and back home from San Juan. We are on the Disney WBTA. We live in Memphis. So far, the only thing I have decided is to use some airfare vouchers I have to get to New York or Chicago and book the one way from there. We are also on a budget. I really want to only spend about 1500-1800 on the one way. Of course, cheaper would be even better ;)! I have gotten an AE CC offer in the mail this week with a promise of 50k bonus points, but I really don't know how that works or if I would have time to charge enough on there ( without going into debt).

I am just so out of my element and would appreciate any advice from more experienced travelers. If this trip gets too complicated we may have to look at something else but I really want to do this one.