Great Price on cruise, terrible prices on airfare

[6rugrats]

On 1/5/2019 at 11:33 PM, opshannon said:

 

Thanks for taking the time to chime in on something you find so irritating.  I should have been more specific. Flights to Copenhagen from Orlando are $635,000 dollars one way. Does that help?

 

If that price is equal to your cruise price, that must be some cruise!

Edited January 8, 2019 by 6rugrats

[wendyp247]

I'm also from Orlando, We flew to Rome in Oct 2018 premium economy on British Airways from Miami for about $1000.00. We saved about $1000  by booking from Miami rather than Orlando.   It was't direct, changed planes in London. We were lucky to catch a sale on American from Orlando to MIA, Economy for $150 round trip each .   I said I wouldn't do that again because on the return you are so tired and just want to get home. Our flight from London arrived an hour late and left 1 1/2 hours late. We then had strong headwinds so that delayed us more. We were supposed to arrive in Miami at 6:30 pm,  We had a 9:50 flight Orlando, which was the last flight to Orlando that night from Miami. We luckily were able to get luggage right away and we had Global entry so we sailed through customs.  We were at gate about 15 minutes prior to boarding.Not a good way to end a trip. Next time I'll pay extra and  fly out of Orlando, 

I'm looking to fly to London in August and I also think flight are outrageous. Most of the direct flight in Comfort class are already book as of today January 11, 2109. 

You might try Norwegian air also. They are cheaper if you go economy. 

If you book Delta, you can count on them changing flights on you prior to your departure.  British Airways did change our flight time and they allowed us to change flights so we could make connection in Miami.  Delta also allows changes if they make the change.

 

Edited January 11, 2019 by wendyp247
additional info

[critterchick]

On 1/4/2019 at 8:26 AM, opshannon said:

I was foolish not to provide all the info. Apologies.

So I'm looking at flying from Orlando (MCO) to either Copenhagen or Rome (two different cruise options). Both cruises leave the week of June 24. There is flexibility on arriving a few days early. 

 

For those who recommend cruise air fare, can one check that online, or must one phone the cruise line directly?

 

For any of the Royal Caribbean family (RCI, Celebrity or Azamara), go to Choiceair.com. Since you don't have anything booked, you can just look for prices.

 

Also, as others have suggested,  look at Google Flights, which will give you a lot of options.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Cruise lines are good for one way air travel. 

[FlyerTalker]

5 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Cruise lines are good for one way air travel. 

 

If your definition of "good" means "cheaper".

 

Remember that you aren't buying the same ticket as you would get from a different source.

 

But if price is your only determinant....

[LuckyStar]

On 1/3/2019 at 9:45 PM, opshannon said:

Looking at a Baltics cruise this summer and see a great price and itinerary. Cannot for my life find airfare that isn't equal to the cruise price. Mind you, I'm talking about cruise and airfare for four. Any advice? information? Help?

 

This is indeed a challenge.  You find a great cruise price and then very often I find that airfare is higher than the cruise.  This is particularly true to Europe.  It's all a trade off.  

[waterbug123]

On 1/16/2019 at 9:23 AM, LuckyStar said:

 

This is indeed a challenge.  You find a great cruise price and then very often I find that airfare is higher than the cruise.  This is particularly true to Europe.  It's all a trade off.  

 

But is there some logical reason you expect airfare to always be less than cruise fare? 

[Tapi]

When we cruised out of Rome over Thanksgiving, the total cruise fare was $4,000 and airfare would’ve been $6,000 for our family of 4 if we didn’t have credit card points and award travel to redeem. So yes, airfare can be more costly than the cruise, specially during high season months (which summer is).

 

How to get “cheap airfare”? 

- Use credit card points

- Look at alternative departure/arrival airports.

- Be willing to change airlines. Maybe you can catch a great deal to another city in Europe and from there hop on a low cost carrier like Easy Jet or Ryanair.

- Look at low cost airlines like Wow and Norwegian that fly to the US. The savings can be substantial. BUT be very careful because some of these carriers have been struggling financially. I know that Wow has shrunken their fleet and eliminated certain destinations. 

 

Lastly, be reasonable. You’re not flying a couple hundred miles to catch a cruise so needless to say, you won’t be paying $99. You’re going across the Atlantic and flying 5,000 miles. 

[Zach1213]

2 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Look at low cost airlines like Wow and Norwegian that fly to the US. The savings can be substantial. BUT be very careful because some of these carriers have been struggling financially. I know that Wow has shrunken their fleet and eliminated certain destinations.

 

I believe WOW just announced they are cutting every US destination except Boston, Baltimore, Detroit and...one other, I can't remember. They're on death's door, and I wouldn't personally trust them with $1 at this point.

[Tapi]

11 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

I believe WOW just announced they are cutting every US destination except Boston, Baltimore, Detroit and...one other, I can't remember. They're on death's door, and I wouldn't personally trust them with $1 at this point.

Dang, I knew that they were struggling but it seems like they are doing worse than initially announced. OP: scratch Wow from the list then! 😉

 

This should be a reminder that sometimes it’s much better to pay more just for the peace of mind that comes from flying with a reputable, stable and reliable carrier than jeopardizing an entire vacation for the sake of saving money. I sometimes cringe when I read some threads where people suggest flying to their cruise on certain airlines “because they’re so cheap”.

 

As I mentioned above, airfare from where we live (Atlanta) to Rome would’ve been close to $6,000 for my family of 4, but that was because I specifically wanted the nonstop flights on Delta. But I looked at other airlines and connections so that I wouldn’t have to redeem so many points, and was able to bring the total cost down to about $2,200 by flying to Istanbul and having a 12 hour connection before continuing on to Rome. But at the end of the day I couldn’t justify putting my family through that hell for the sake of saving some dollars or points. Looking back I’m glad we took the nonstop flights on Delta. It was the perfect way to begin and end our vacation. 

 

Several times I’ve had to bite the bullet and pay extra to get the vacation that I really want. And if doing so is cost prohibitive, then maybe it’s not the right time to take that vacation. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by Tapi

[fbgd]

49 minutes ago, Tapi said:

was able to bring the total cost down to about $2,200 by flying to Istanbul and having a 12 hour connection before continuing on to Rome. But at the end of the day I couldn’t justify putting my family through that hell for the sake of saving some dollars or points.

 

Any reason why you consider this "hell"?

 

Istanbul is an amazing city and the airport is very close to the city centre, at least, the current/soon to be old one was. I understand that Turkish Airlines even offer a free guided tour of the city for passengers with layovers of a certain amount of time. Never done it myself but cruise people seem to love free tours!

[Zach1213]

55 minutes ago, fbgd said:

 

Any reason why you consider this "hell"?

 

Istanbul is an amazing city and the airport is very close to the city centre, at least, the current/soon to be old one was. I understand that Turkish Airlines even offer a free guided tour of the city for passengers with layovers of a certain amount of time. Never done it myself but cruise people seem to love free tours!

 

I'd agree...it might be exhausting, but the opportunity to see a new (and, frankly, amazing) city for free or next to free would be hard for me to pass up if I had the time. Istanbul is one of my absolute favorite places in the world, so perhaps I am biased, but seeing it would be a treat, exhaustion or not.

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, fbgd said:

 

Any reason why you consider this "hell"?

My comment was specifically about the logistics of getting from point A to point B. Nothing against Istanbul which is indeed a fascinating city. 

 

Why “hell”? Well, let my start by saying that we were traveling with two small children, aged 6 and 9, and we were taking this Mediterranean vacation during their Thanksgiving Break with very little wiggle room, both before and after the cruise. We already had to take them out of school for two extra days just to spend 2 nights in Rome pre-cruise. Any extra time spent in transit would’ve meant less time to enjoy our destination.   

 

So my options to get to Rome were to take a 9 hour nonstop flight with the ability to upgrade to Delta One (lay flat seats) which we got, OR travel for 26 hours in coach with no elegibility to upgrade, cross 8 time zones, wait 12 hours, to then cross 2 time zones back. Maybe not complete hell, but definitely not the way that I wanted to spend time on an already time constricted itinerary. Istanbul would’ve been a fascinating place to visit, but not under those circumstances and time constraints, and with small children.

 

With that said, my kids are pretty savvy travelers, and have already visited 15 countries in their short life. They absolutely love visiting new countries, and every time we start planning a vacation, they gravitate towards places they’ve never visited. But a big reason why they love it, and why we’ve been able to take them to so many places without problems, is because we’ve  been in tune with what they can handle at their age. 26 hours in transit on a trip like ours would’ve pushed the envelope beyond their tolerance. 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by Tapi

[PNW Traveler]

On 1/4/2019 at 8:26 AM, opshannon said:

I was foolish not to provide all the info. Apologies.

So I'm looking at flying from Orlando (MCO) to either Copenhagen or Rome (two different cruise options). Both cruises leave the week of June 24. There is flexibility on arriving a few days early. 

 

For those who recommend cruise air fare, can one check that online, or must one phone the cruise line directly?

We flew into Oslo and took the DFDS ferry to Copenhagen, saving a lot on airfare. The scenery cruising out of the Oslo fjord was spectacular. DFDS has cabins.