international flights

[montysc62]

Hi,

 

Getting ready to book a Mediterranean cruise and have not flown to Europe yet.

Wondering how long I should plan for layovers on the way out and the way back. From what I have read the process leaving the US is easier than the way back. I live about 3 hours from Charlotte - it might be easier to just drive there and take nonstop flights. Any past experience's on this would be helpful.

 

Thanks

[Budget Queen]

I suggest you fly in as early as you can afford and enjoy some additional European touring. :) Avoid same day flying.

[CruiserBruce]

Never fly in the day of the cruise...

 

 

More specifics would be helpful. You need to fly from where to where? Dates? What are the proposed layovers. Yes, it is generally easier at your first European stop, as opposed to your first US stop on the way back.

Edited September 24, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[TruckerDave]

Where are you planning on sailing from? Just going to Charlotte might not be the answer for a single flight. . I live in Charleston and am taking a cruise out of Barcelona in May and thought of doing the direct flights myself, but, for some reason my routing goes from Charleston to Philly to Barcelona....but my return flight goes Barcelona to Charlotte to Charleston. :rolleyes: (oh well, more freq flier miles for me I guess. :D)

[alcpa1]

You have quite a few options but please consider a few things...

While the drive to Charlotte may only be 3 hours the drive home might seem a lot longer after an overseas flight and the time spent with Customs and Immigration upon landing in Charlotte.

Another point to consider is your connections. Disregard the "minimum connection time." If you are connecting in Europe and have never transited in England, Germany, France, or Holland you should consider a 2+ hr connection. Each of these country's airports are large and passport checks slow the process.

Don't even think about flying in the day of the cruise. Any of the embarkation ports are destinations worthy of a multiple day visit. Adjusting to a probable overnight flight and time changes almost mandates a day to recover before you leave for an always exhausting (and wonderful) Med itinerary.

Look at Google Flights, Kayak and airline sites to assist your booking process.

When you find flights that interest you come back here BEFORE you book and the real experts, not me, will give you their sage advice. They can really help make it the easiest trip possible.

[waterbug123]

Hi,

 

 

Wondering how long I should plan for layovers on the way out and the way back.

 

Depends on many factors, and one of the primary ones, particularly on the way back, is where your connection will be. If you connect in Europe coming home, and the only stop in the US is your final destination, then you don't have to allow time for US immigration/customs because you won't have a connection to get to afterward. On the other hand, if you have a connection in the US, you'll clear I/C at the first US stop, so you'll need to allow more time for that so that you have time to make the connection.

 

The key on the way over is, as others have said, not to arrive the day the cruise leaves. Too many things can go wrong and you don't want to miss the ship. Personally I'd arrive 3 days early so that you have time to actually see the city your ship leaves from. Can't remember if you stated the city, but Rome, Venice and Barcelona are all popular cruise departure cities and it would be a shame to go all the way to Europe (since you've never been) and not get to see anything if your departure city. (And no, even if you arrive early morning the day the ship leaves, you will not have adequate time to truly see anything. A whirlwind tour out the window of a cab that agrees to take you on a sightseeing tour on the way to the ship isn't worth it.)

[montysc62]

To be more specific- I live in the Charleston SC area and will be flying into Rome and out of Barcelona. Will spend a pre and post cruise night in those cities. I am mostly debating whether to fly out of Charleston and have 1 or 2 connecting flights(each way) or not to have to worry about the having ample time between my flight back from Barcelona to my domestic connecting flight into Charleston for customs or drive to Charlotte and take non stops each way so when I get back go through customs and be on my merry way. It seems the connecting domestic flights once back in the US have either a very short or a very long layover.

[TruckerDave]

To be more specific- I live in the Charleston SC area and will be flying into Rome and out of Barcelona. Will spend a pre and post cruise night in those cities. I am mostly debating whether to fly out of Charleston and have 1 or 2 connecting flights(each way) or not to have to worry about the having ample time between my flight back from Barcelona to my domestic connecting flight into Charleston for customs or drive to Charlotte and take non stops each way so when I get back go through customs and be on my merry way. It seems the connecting domestic flights once back in the US have either a very short or a very long layover.

 

I live in Charleston as well...there is NO reason to drive all the way to Charlotte. There are almost hourly flights form CHS to CLT and the flight to Rome doesn't leave until late afternoon. Plenty of time to have a couple hr layover in CLT (not the worst airport to take a break at either). On the way back there is a direct flight from BCN to CLT that leaves Spain at about 3pm and gets to Charlotte about 6:30pm. Plenty of time to clear C&I then catch a later flight home. (I am on the 10:30pm flight to CHS myself after the above mentioned flight from BCN).

[az_tchr]

Completely agree with Dave - No need to drive that far. I remember several connecting flights in and out of Charleston so no real issue there.

 

My big suggestion would be to allow a couple of days before and after your cruise. Is work an issue? That is the only reason I can see not to explore Barcelona. It would take 2 or 3 days to do it justice and Montserrat is another day. A shame to go that far and not see the city properly if you have the time.

[waterbug123]

I live in Charleston as well, and there are also almost hourly flights to/from ATL, so you can easily go to Rome and return from Barcelona with one connection through ATL. JFK is also a one stop option from CHS, at least on the way over.

[Keith1010]

I too would look at something that goes between Charleston and Atlanta.

 

For outbound I would look for something with a two hour layover or more. Now, this is me. I don't like to worry about missing flights. I just figure I'll hang around the airport and have a meal there, etc.

 

For my return I would look for something with a three hour layover. Again, I don't want to sweat it particularly getting through immigration/customs.

 

I would plan to arrive two to three days prior to the start of your cruise. Why? To get to see Rome, get over the jet lag, have time to recover luggage just in case it goes astray and just as insurance should there be a problem with your flights.

 

Often if you check on the airline site they automatically put together the two flights and often they have legal connections which are less than what I mentioned. I put together the connections as I prefer them. It just take a little more work but you can just call the airline.

 

I am sure you are looking at Delta and you will be able to find flights that work.

 

Now, like most USA airlines after you make your booking check it from time to time. Delta like the others often makes changes and when they do all of a sudden you find that they have put you on flights with shorter connections because they are still legal. When that happens I just call them and have me get something else.

 

Keith

[zoncom]

Look at Atlanta and Miami gateways. Foreign lines, with a few exceptions,do much better than domestic any day. You want big International lines which have backup planes in case one breaks down. Those that service all Euro airports, large and small, several runs a day.

Edited September 25, 2015 by zoncom

[6rugrats]

Look at Atlanta and Miami gateways. Foreign lines, with a few exception,do much better than domestic any day.

 

What does this mean, "do much better"? For some reason, I have found when there's a problem with a flight on foreign carrier, it can be much more difficult to work with some of them.

[TruckerDave]

What does this mean, "do much better"? For some reason, I have found when there's a problem with a flight on foreign carrier, it can be much more difficult to work with some of them.

 

I'm glad I am not the only one who wonders what they meant. Last time I checked Delta/United and American were all large international carriers. Plus the cites you would depart the USA from are all major hubs.

[TruckerDave]

I see we have a lot of Delta fans on this thread. :p Bottom line is if you want American Airlines Charlotte is the easiest choice. If you fancy Delta than Atlanta would bet your best bet. (and Newark if you for some reason desire United.). Personally I would avoid the NYC area airports as they can get backed up for hours when a seagull poops on the runway. Being in Charleston you have 2 easy and viable options in Atlanta and Charlotte. If you are not tied to either with a freq flier program and just looking for price and/or sched then just look at both and decide which works best for you. Don't over complicate this with weird crazy routings, there is no reason to do any more than 4 total flights for your entire trip. (2 over and 2 back)

[plane2port]

Just a reminder that if you are flying from the US, when you are flying in a day before your cruise leaves, you are actually leaving the US two days before the cruise leaves.

 

Example, your cruise leaves on a Saturday from Athens. Most transatlantic flights leave in the late afternoon through early and late evening, and you arrive the next morning. So if you fly out Friday, you arrive Saturday morning, which is the day of the cruise.

 

So you would instead, book your flight on Thursday, for Friday arrival a day before the cruise.

 

I know that most of you know this, but I'm posting this for folks that may be booking their first European cruise.