Transatlantic Question...........

[stefs111]

Hi everyone! My husband and I have been talking about a Transatlantic cruise for quite a while. One thing that has stopped us is the international airfare being so high. We dont have miles to use from an airline, so my question is, what is the best way to do the one way fare? Has anyone found a decent place to buy the one way flights? Or do you use the cruise lines fares?

Thanks for any help with this.

Stef

[Disconnections]

Hi everyone! My husband and I have been talking about a Transatlantic cruise for quite a while. One thing that has stopped us is the international airfare being so high. We dont have miles to use from an airline, so my question is, what is the best way to do the one way fare? Has anyone found a decent place to buy the one way flights? Or do you use the cruise lines fares?

Thanks for any help with this.

Stef

 

If flying to Europe on a budget is important to you, consider flying Norwegian Air. Seeing as you're from Orlando, they do offer nonstop service from MCO to London, Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen for extremely reasonable prices and sometimes under $200 per person. Once you get to one of those destinations, look for a flight to your port of embarkation on British Airways, Iberia or even Ryanair.

 

Edit: As you will be switching air carriers, it would be wise to give yourself plenty of time on a layover. Keep in mind, you will have to go through customs, claim luggage, recheck luggage and go through security once more.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Disconnections

[SadieN]

Also need to check the luggage restrictions. Overseas flight are luggage allowances are generous, especially compared to a low cost, short haul European carrier, like RyanAir.

 

RyanAir has a one bag carryons limited to 10K. Not one bag and a personal item, ONE bag. They will charge you for almost everything. Such as no printed boarding pass from home? Charge. Pay for luggage at the airport Charge (more than if you prepaid luggage from home). Over 15K, extra charge. At least the toilet paper is still included.

 

Look on the Cruise Air board. This topic comes up a lot.

Edited July 23, 2014 by SadieN

[golfadj]

We did a TA to Copenhagen in April and flew back via Norwegian.

 

First time and last time for Norwegian.

 

Website said free wifi and no wifi. They charged for everything on the plane from pillow and blanket to headset and coffee. DW asked for decaf and didnt have that on the plane.

[Illyria]

We try to fly IcelandAir to Europe whenever possible. They don't charge for carry-on or 1st checked bag.

[bar1068]

Hi everyone! My husband and I have been talking about a Transatlantic cruise for quite a while. One thing that has stopped us is the international airfare being so high. We dont have miles to use from an airline, so my question is, what is the best way to do the one way fare? Has anyone found a decent place to buy the one way flights? Or do you use the cruise lines fares?

Thanks for any help with this.

Stef

 

We've done 2 TA's from Barcelona Spain, flew over both times on British airways..flights were smooth..good service...no complaints from us. Now, I dunno if I can post the tour operator's website and name here, but, we got fares that were very reasonable. We did consider airfare though Carnival, their rates were competitive, but those flights did not meet our travel needs.

[golfadj]

We've done 2 TA's from Barcelona Spain, flew over both times on British airways..flights were smooth..good service...no complaints from us. Now, I dunno if I can post the tour operator's website and name here, but, we got fares that were very reasonable. We did consider airfare though Carnival, their rates were competitive, but those flights did not meet our travel needs.

 

I know you cannot post TA info as they conflict with CC but not sure about air.

 

Would love to get more info on overseas flights as this would be helpful next year when we plan our Barcelona TA.

[SkyMaster]

The lovely Mrs. Jones (Vita) has also done two Trans Atlantic cruises, one from Barcelona, and the other from Venice. We found that it was sometimes less expensive to buy a round trip ticket, and just throw away the return. No one has ever been able to explain that, but price both the one way, and the round trip. You might be pleasantly surprised. :confused:

 

"SKY"

[bar1068]

I know you cannot post TA info as they conflict with CC but not sure about air.

 

Would love to get more info on overseas flights as this would be helpful next year when we plan our Barcelona TA.

 

Hmmmmm...I kinda thought about that.....can I say 1800flyeuropedotcom and not get my hands slapped? Thats who we used for both TA's from Barcelona. Our experience was great, and paid pretty low fares, are those allowed? I mean for comparison purpose of course.

 

Friends recommended the had used them for other travel, and the roll calls for the TA's some folks had used them successfully as well. But like with all these travel sites...your mileage may vary..

[LambKnuckles]

I hope to do a TA in 2015 -- I will save this information, too!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!

 

I can only imagine the peace and enjoyment on numerous Sea Days in a row!!! It must be fun!!!

 

I assume the weather -- temperature -- is different as the seasons change -- but is there a good rule of thumb as to sun and temp for a Spring or Fall TA, for those Sea Days??? Short sleeves, sweater, jacket??

 

Again, THANK YOU ALL!!!!

[Mary Ellen1]

To the OP: just keep watching the deals. I signed up for a weekly email from one of the major online cruise-only TA's, and they had some AMAZING deals last year. This year, not so much (in my opinion). Last year we even saw one deal with one-way return airfare for only $400-something on NCL. That one sold out QUICK.

 

Agree with the suggestion that round-trip flights may be a better deal. And that Flyeurope site that was mentioned looks good! ("Bookmark this page!")

 

 

I hope to do a TA in 2015 -- I will save this information, too!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!

 

I can only imagine the peace and enjoyment on numerous Sea Days in a row!!! It must be fun!!!

 

I assume the weather -- temperature -- is different as the seasons change -- but is there a good rule of thumb as to sun and temp for a Spring or Fall TA, for those Sea Days??? Short sleeves, sweater, jacket??

 

Again, THANK YOU ALL!!!!

 

LambKnuckles: we went in April 2013, from Tampa to Barcelona. So, a more southerly route. The seas were bathtub-smooth! I was so surprised at that! I think they'd possibly be rougher on a more northerly route. Weather was mostly sunny, and in the low 60's. Long pants & long sleeves on sea days. One piece of advice is to check the weather for Bermuda for the timeframe that you're going. That was pretty spot-on for us.

 

We got a STEAL of a deal on our TA ($499/pp, 16 days, OV cabin). But the deals stopped right there. The airfare (each!) was about double that. And the kennel bill for the puppy-dogs... OMG. :eek:

[golfadj]

I hope to do a TA in 2015 -- I will save this information, too!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!

 

I can only imagine the peace and enjoyment on numerous Sea Days in a row!!! It must be fun!!!

 

I assume the weather -- temperature -- is different as the seasons change -- but is there a good rule of thumb as to sun and temp for a Spring or Fall TA, for those Sea Days??? Short sleeves, sweater, jacket??

 

Again, THANK YOU ALL!!!!

 

We did our first TA this past April Ft Lauderdale to Copenhagen. Water was not to bad but weather did get colder as we headed further north.

 

I brought a heavy sweater and medium jacket and needed both for tours in Europe. DW brought some layers as well.

 

Overall would bring it all as you will use it all. Never got to use bathing suit though.

[bar1068]

I hope to do a TA in 2015 -- I will save this information, too!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!

 

I can only imagine the peace and enjoyment on numerous Sea Days in a row!!! It must be fun!!!

 

I assume the weather -- temperature -- is different as the seasons change -- but is there a good rule of thumb as to sun and temp for a Spring or Fall TA, for those Sea Days??? Short sleeves, sweater, jacket??

 

Again, THANK YOU ALL!!!!

 

Yep...biggest reason we wanted to do the TA's was for the sea days....we had 5 consecutive on 1st TA..6 on the second.....all I can say is those days were awesome. Both TA's were in November, so we wondered of course about the weather...we did as was said here...brought it all clothes wise...but we REALLY lucked out on both trips with the weather...was cooler in Barcelona and med ports, but from the Canary islands all the way across to the Caribbean....weather could not have been better...seas were calm..temps in mid-70's..sunny...was so nice.....so of course...many clothes we brought never came outta the suitcases!!

[DocF]

We did two TA cruises, one on the Splendor and one on the Magic. For both of these, we found our best (and that is very relative) fare was through Carnival. We paid almost $700 less on the Magic cruise for our air by booking it through Carnival. Your experience may (and probably will) vary.

 

Doc

[rkacruiser]

Others will disagree, but in situations like this I have found the best airfares by booking the air through the cruiseline. On a flight to Auckland with a return home from Vancouver, I saved a significant amount of money by booking with HAL than on my own or any other site including consolidators (who offered ridiculous routings.)

 

The same was true with flights to Amsterdam; return from New York and flights to Rome; return from Newark.

 

Just my experience.

[stefs111]

What great information, everyone! Thanks so much for all your responses. We really want to do this because we love sea days, and I love rough seas, I find it so exciting! DH does not agree on that point, lol. I hope we can plan on one soon. Are they mostly in the spring and fall?

[wantocruisemore]

Although a TA is still a while off, and not sure if it will be coming from Europe or going to, it will likely be Barcelona.

 

For those who went through the cruiseline for air, are you able to build in extra time either before or after cruise to stay in country; or do you have to have flights on either embarkation or Debarkation days?

[golfadj]

Although a TA is still a while off, and not sure if it will be coming from Europe or going to, it will likely be Barcelona.

 

For those who went through the cruiseline for air, are you able to build in extra time either before or after cruise to stay in country; or do you have to have flights on either embarkation or Debarkation days?

 

Great question wondering myself about extra days in Barcelona.

[Mary Ellen1]

Although a TA is still a while off, and not sure if it will be coming from Europe or going to, it will likely be Barcelona.

 

For those who went through the cruiseline for air, are you able to build in extra time either before or after cruise to stay in country; or do you have to have flights on either embarkation or Debarkation days?

 

For the deal I mentioned, where return airfare was only $400-something, it was only offered for a flight on debarkation day in -- I think -- Amsterdam. We really wanted to stay a few extra days, if it was a city we'd never been to. We ultimately booked a TA to Barcelona & stayed 3 extra nights. We booked the airfare on our own.

 

This doesn't specifically answer your question -- I don't really know if you always have to fly on embark/debark day if you book through the cruise line...

[Disconnections]

Great question wondering myself about extra days in Barcelona.

 

If I remember correctly, unless you opted to arrive on embarkation day, Carnival flew everyone in the day prior to our Magic TA.

[fmrlkr]

We were booked on a TA to Copenhagen and found that a round trip ticket was 1/2 the price of a one way, so I booked the round trip and timed the return so that we flew back to Copenhagen and took the TA back to the US. Since the TA cruises are so reasonably priced this made both trips a real bargain. The most expensive part was Copenhagen, wow $30 for a sandwich.

[golfadj]

We were booked on a TA to Copenhagen and found that a round trip ticket was 1/2 the price of a one way, so I booked the round trip and timed the return so that we flew back to Copenhagen and took the TA back to the US. Since the TA cruises are so reasonably priced this made both trips a real bargain. The most expensive part was Copenhagen, wow $30 for a sandwich.

 

In May we had lunch at the airport on way home and couldnt believe prices.

[Bookbug53]

The lovely Mrs. Jones (Vita) has also done two Trans Atlantic cruises, one from Barcelona, and the other from Venice. We found that it was sometimes less expensive to buy a round trip ticket, and just throw away the return. No one has ever been able to explain that, but price both the one way, and the round trip. You might be pleasantly surprised. :confused:

 

"SKY"

 

Airlines offer the discounted round trip to keep you from shopping around for a cheaper return with another airline. However keep this in mind. If an airline company realizes and can prove that you have purposely used a round-trip fare for a one-way ticket, it can flag your frequent flyer account (if you have one) since the practice is considered a breach of contract with the airline. This could result in the loss of frequent flyer miles or penalties. The company could also charge the travel agent that booked your ticket, requiring the travel agency to pay the difference of the one-way ticket fare.

 

Try to be sure that the airline company doesn't discover your original intent to use only the one-way fare. You could call and say that you have a family or medical emergency and will not use the return ticket. For good measure, you can even ask for a partial refund, even though the company is unlikely to oblige. :D

[Disconnections]

Airlines offer the discounted round trip to keep you from shopping around for a cheaper return with another airline. However keep this in mind. If an airline company realizes and can prove that you have purposely used a round-trip fare for a one-way ticket, it can flag your frequent flyer account (if you have one) since the practice is considered a breach of contract with the airline. This could result in the loss of frequent flyer miles or penalties. The company could also charge the travel agent that booked your ticket, requiring the travel agency to pay the difference of the one-way ticket fare.

 

Try to be sure that the airline company doesn't discover your original intent to use only the one-way fare. You could call and say that you have a family or medical emergency and will not use the return ticket. For good measure, you can even ask for a partial refund, even though the company is unlikely to oblige. :D

 

As Bookbug said, don't get caught for hidden-city routing or using a throwaway ticket. Doing it once shouldn't be a problem, but don't make a habit of it on the same airline or partner airlines (ex. SkyTeam, Oneworld or Star Alliance)

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/1166726-what-do-when-airline-warned-me-about-numerous-throw-away-ticketing-95-vs-497-a.html

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/1259920-anyone-actually-been-punished-hidden-city-ticketing.html

Edited July 24, 2014 by Disconnections

[andy.capitan]

Always check cruise line air prices for Transatlantic and other specialty cruises. It costs nothing to check and does offer some peace of mind.

 

Luggage costs in Europe can eat you alive, especially on budget airlines.

 

Some people have been known to book a Transatlantic cruise in the Spring and another one in the Fall and use a round trip air ticket that way. :)