Transatlantic crossing oneway, fly the other way: Does Cunard have a package fore this?

[steve4031]

I think I read about such a package at some point.  I am considering an eastbound Transatlantic and flying back from Europe.  Does Cunard offer any deals on this?  Or is it better to make my own air arrangements?

 

Thank you

[exlondoner]

They do have such packages. Incidentally, the ship is better going westbound, because you get longer days.

[elmsliebev]

yes, we've done flight out and Eastbound back to the UK. It's probably worth seeing what Cunard will charge for flights as it can be expensive. We've used Cunard flights this time for July/August - Manchester-Vancouver (via Heathrow) and return from Miami, and we've done well out of it, especially with Covid and flights not yet back up to full timetables. 

[Bell Boy]

1 hour ago, steve4031 said:

I think I read about such a package at some point.  I am considering an eastbound Transatlantic and flying back from Europe.  Does Cunard offer any deals on this?  Or is it better to make my own air arrangements?

 

Thank you

Yes they certainly do. I regularly fly ( ex Uk) and sail back . The only downside maybe  for those in the USA, flying to join QM2 over in the UK is you would probably want to include a hotel stopover, rather than joining the ship immediately you arrive in the morning  (ie after an overnight flight).     A morning ( daylight flight) for me is no problem .

You would certainly be wise to take the offer of a Cunard package that includes your flight, You are then covered if your flight is cancelled or delayed .  

[olegna]

Several years back, we did a oneway crossing and fly back.

 

At first when searching airlines the oneway ticket was more than the cabin and we were about to give up, but decided to check with a travel agent who came up with a great deal.

 

It seems there is an agent rate for individuals immediately flying back.

The constraint was minimal time in country.  Infact we disembarked the the QM2 hoped into a car that took us directly to the airport and boarded a return flight.

 

It all worked out well and we would consider it again if we ever do a  one way.

 

Best of luck.

[Victoria2]

45 minutes ago, elmsliebev said:

yes, we've done flight out and Eastbound back to the UK. It's probably worth seeing what Cunard will charge for flights as it can be expensive. We've used Cunard flights this time for July/August - Manchester-Vancouver (via Heathrow) and return from Miami, and we've done well out of it, especially with Covid and flights not yet back up to full timetables. 

We book flights as part of our Cunard booking and look upon it as extra insurance in case things go haywire.

As I have said before, if your self booked  flights go wonky and you miss your connection with the ship, it's your problem. If it's part of your booking, it's Cunard's.

 

[Bell Boy]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

They do have such packages. Incidentally, the ship is better going westbound, because you get longer days.

The only down side to this is, for your return back to the UK  one has to hang around NY ( or JFK )  all day until the evening 'Red Eye flight' back to the Uk, probably having to pay overweight luggage fees on any shopping you might have taken advantage of in NYC.....   then you struggle through Heathrow after sitting upright in an aircraft seat ..unless you've paid for First 😉

Sailing Eastbound, you've had a good nights sleep in a comfortable bed, a shower and a hearty  breakfast , and a quick leisurely disembarkation before the journey home  😉 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by Bell Boy

[exlondoner]

The OP is in the US, so it would be flight out, ship back. No hanging around at JFK.

[steve4031]

I appreciate the assistance.  I live in the United States.  Chicago to be exact.  A transatlantic trip on the Cunard is a bucket list trip.  Our plan would be to take the ship eastbound out of New York.  I just think it would be cool to sail by the Statue of Liberty on the way out of NYC and under the Verazzano Narrows bridge.  Once we get to England we would spend a night in a hotel and then ride trains in UK and possibly in Europe before flying back to the States.  

 

I understand about losing an hour each day, but I am used to this because I travel by train from the west coast to Chicago several times a year.  

[TheOldBear]

We've looked at sail and fly itineraries , but have decided [after comparing prices & available vacation days] to do a round trip for our first QM2 transatlantic back in 2017. It helps that the Brooklyn cruise terminal is almost local - no bridges, tunnels or tolls from our house to the pier. If we needed to travel further to embark [or after disembarking] we might have come to a different conclusion.

 

Note that sometimes the QM2 takes side trips between the eastbound and westbound crossings [to Hamburg, Norway or the Med] and you have the option of leaving and rejoining [two separate bookings] to do something else while the side trip is in progress.

 

 

[D&N]

I detest flying long haul eastbound.

 

Our original bucket list trip would have been Concorde westbound to arrive in New York before departing London, a few days in New York, then a leisurely return on the QE2.

 

By the time we could afford to do it both modes of transport were taken out of service.

[Jack E Dawson]

2 hours ago, steve4031 said:

I appreciate the assistance.  I live in the United States.  Chicago to be exact.  A transatlantic trip on the Cunard is a bucket list trip.  Our plan would be to take the ship eastbound out of New York.  I just think it would be cool to sail by the Statue of Liberty on the way out of NYC and under the Verazzano Narrows bridge.  Once we get to England we would spend a night in a hotel and then ride trains in UK and possibly in Europe before flying back to the States.  

 

I understand about losing an hour each day, but I am used to this because I travel by train from the west coast to Chicago several times a year.  

Steve,

We also live in Chicago (Riverwoods actually) and just got back from a Crossing a week ago yesterday. Just to be clear about the time issue. On an eastbound Crossing the ship's clocks are moved ahead one hour at noon each day. So you loose an hour right in the middle of your day. This happens on 5 of the days. Trying to do lunch, afternoon tea in the Queen's Room and dinner just kind of becomes one big meal. On the west bound Crossings on 5 nights the ship's clocks move back from 2:00AM to 1:00AM giving you an extra hour of sleep. Because of all the entertainment that goes on in the evenings, that extra hour is always very welcomed by us. We are rarely to bed before midnight. This was our 3rd (once in a lifetime) Crossing on the QM2 and we always go over at least a week ahead of time and travel in Europe/UK. There are pro's and con's to both eastbound and westbound crossings and certainly no right or wrong, just personal taste. 

Jack

[frankp01]

As one of the other posters pointed out, there is a huge advantage to having Cunard include your airfare, as if things go awry, the burden is on them to make it right.

 

We flew one way and sailed home in December. I couldn't believe how good a one-way airfare we got through Cunard. We had our travel agent do the research for us. The fares varied dramatically over the span of a few days that we looked at, and Newark/New York versus Philadelphia (our home). Surprisingly the fare ended up *much* better out of Philadelphia, and it was much cheaper on a Thursday than our originally planned flight day of Friday. We flew over 3 or 4 days early, so you have some flexibility in that respect, too.

[LibertyBella]

Ahh well, nostalgia--the package on the QE we took years ago was sail one way and fly FREE the other--or pay an additional $500.00 each to take the Concorde home.  I was just too cheap to do it at the time, because we were staying in Britain two weeks and driving all over and enjoying historic hotels.  Now I regret having missed that experience.

 

Nowadays I usually prefer to do my own air, because I want nonstop direct flights from my home city, but I sometimes check out what the cruise lines offer.  However, I had a bad experience with BA a few years ago (pilot walk-outs), and I am a loyal American frequent flyer, so I also ensure my airline of choice is booked.

 

 

[PORT ROYAL]

20 hours ago, steve4031 said:

I think I read about such a package at some point.  I am considering an eastbound Transatlantic and flying back from Europe.  Does Cunard offer any deals on this?  Or is it better to make my own air arrangements?

 

Thank you

Cunard do offer.  The contributions by CC members are beneficial, but the flight can be one of choice, together with the upgrades for additional space and luggage.

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by PORT ROYAL
Typo

[frankp01]

4 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

the flight can be one of choice, together with the upgrades for additional space and luggage.

Yes, that was an unexpected perk in that we could pay for premium economy, and get airline mileage, too.

[frankp01]

6 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

pay an additional $500.00 each to take the Concorde home.  I was just too cheap to do it

Here, too. I still regret that.

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Cunard do offer.  The contributions by CC members are beneficial, but the flight can be one of choice, together with the upgrades for additional space and luggage.

 

I don't know anything about Cunard offers or offering, but as part of our Cunard booking, we always specify our airline,  scheduling and class of travel.

As our bookings are usually made well in advance of airlines releasing their schedules, the booking is left open for the addition of the flight element.

 

When the airline  schedules are announced or if not that far in advance as soon as we book, we pay for the flight component of the booking so the seats are released and we can choose we we want to sit on the plane. We learnt through experience, leave paying for the flights until the whole balance is due, the choicest seats will have already been booked.

 

Crucially, the flights and cruise will be on one booking reference, our extra insurance which is comforting, especially at the moment. 

It's also why we book our W.C.  segments on one booking reference, irrespective of a possibly cheaper option by booking the segments separately. 

 

To repeat, one booking ref, and it's Cunard's problem to sort out any part breakdown of the whole. Book components separately and it's your problem if part of it breaks down. 

[steve4031]

Thank you.  This was all very helpful.  I started a test booking for a Westbound crossing inJuly in 2023and did not see where I could add the airfare.  I got through to the part where I would pay the deposit.  The only add on I saw was the transfers to and from the ship.  Is this something I can only do through a TA?

[ExArkie]

2 minutes ago, steve4031 said:

Thank you.  This was all very helpful.  I started a test booking for a Westbound crossing inJuly in 2023and did not see where I could add the airfare.  I got through to the part where I would pay the deposit.  The only add on I saw was the transfers to and from the ship.  Is this something I can only do through a TA?

Unless it has changed, the airfare can be added only over the phone, not on-line. The last time I did that was 2018, when I was teaching a short course in the UK and we decided to sail home (our sixth, bucket-list, once-in-a-lifetime QM2 transatlantic). Cunard was able to book one way business class to Manchester, arriving about three weeks prior to the crossing at a price below half of what I could find otherwise and on my preferred airline. 
 

One-way transoceanic flights from the US are very often priced the same as a round trip full fare. My best pricing on such bookings almost always involves flying to Toronto, then taking the one-way from there.

 

By the way, those lamenting the red eye flights JFK to LHR, there are flights by both BA and Virgin the leave about New York at 8 AM and arrive in London about 8 PM. That would require a hotel near JFK on disembarkation day to get the daylight flight the next morning. 

[steve4031]

This was all very helpful.   One more question.  Would I be able to get airfare to another European City such as Zurich Switizerland, and then work my way by train to London over a two week period and then catch the ship from South Hampton? 

[frankp01]

27 minutes ago, steve4031 said:

The only add on I saw was the transfers to and from the ship.  Is this something I can only do through a TA?

Yes, or with a Cunard rep. It might be easier with an agent, because they can play with your date choices and see what works best for you.

[steve4031]

Thank you.  I will research travel agents and try to find a good one for Cunard.  I have become more of a due it yourself traveler after some poor experiences.  I understand the cruise critic rules about recommending TAs, so I will work on this myself.  

 

 

 

[frankp01]

4 hours ago, steve4031 said:

I understand the cruise critic rules about recommending TAs, so I will work on this myself.  

I'm probably dancing on thin ice here, but here goes. Gary Bembridge, of the Tips for Travellers blog and vlogs, has used an agent in the UK and another one in the US. If you watch one or two of his most recent live streams/Q&A sessions, you might find some direction.

[navybankerteacher]

One thing to bear in mind is the fact that it is likely that a one way flight from the UK to the US is likely to cost a lot more than one from the US to the UK - given the surcharge the UK applies to outgoing flights -- supposedly in an effort to protect the environment.  The longer the flight, the higher the comfort level (class) , the higher the surcharge,