Has anyone done their own air to mediterranean?

[pvoris01]

We are going on the Summit 6/4/08 and want to fly from JFK to Barcelona where the cruise starts and return from Venice. Has anyone arraigned their own airfare and do they feel it was much better than the cruise ships?

[Susan-M]

We arranged our own air for our Med cruise (and have done so for all but our first cruise). We flew Toronto to Barcelona & return from Venice... flew in two days early and stayed in Venice for an extra night. It wasn't a big savings on price, but I like having control over choices.

 

I would recommend comparing prices that you can get on your own vs. the cruise line.

 

A few advantages to booking cruise air are:

- not having to worry about the expense of getting to the ship if there are flight delays that cause you to miss the ship.

- transfers from airport to cruise port

- leaving the door open for cancellation without penalty of air and/or cruise up until final payment date

 

A few disadvantages

- cruise air ususally costs more than arranging it on your own

- less flexibility unless you use air deviation, which can add to the cost

- transfers with a group can be time-consuming (waiting for arrival of others and loading a bus with people/luggage.) Local transportation (cab or bus) is usually quicker and often less expensive.

 

Enjoy your Med cruise - your itinerary is almost identical to the one that we did on Millennium and we thought it was a fantastic cruise! :)

[rebeccalouise]

I always do my own air and hav been very successful.

 

Right now- it is VERY important to take non-stops. I met people in Madrid that had no luggage at all and didn't expect to have it for their whole trip.

 

So, make sure to tip the guy that checks in your bags and make sure that you get to the airport at least two hours for an international flight. Non-stops are no guarantee but it is more likely you'll get your things.

 

On the return flight- not so important to have a non-stop.

[Desertbelle]

When we did our Med cruise on the Millennium in June 2005 we did our own air. I waited until after the first of the air and got a great deal that saved us over $400 a person (for 4 of us) over what the cruise line was going to charge us for airfare. So we saved enough to pay for our pre and post cruise stays in Venice and Barcelona.

 

We had no problems with doing it on our own, doing our own transfers was easy. And as a side bonus we took a bump in Madrid on the way home for $600 a piece...so we got a bonus day in Madrid with paid room and food.:D

[cusyl]

We arranged our own airfare as we wanted a direct flight. I understand cruise air usually involves changing planes a few times. I like to be in control of my travel. :cool:

[mfabz]

A bit of advice -- Book the non-stop Delta flight from JFK into Barcelona and out of Venice. There have been too many horror stories about missed flights and lost luggage especially those who have gone through London.

[barbarah33]

We did our own air in and out of Barcelona and saved money over what the cruise ship charges. Unfortunately from Boston there aren't any direct flights but we took Air France through Paris - I happen to speak French so there were no worries there, and had nice smooth flights with no troubles at all.

There were 4 of us going and we each saved just over $300 including the cost of transfers from what the cruise line was going to charge us; add it up and that is considerable. And this way we had control of our flight times, carriers, layovers, etc. We went over to Barcelona three days early for a chance to see the city and we wanted to arrive there as early in the morning as possible to start adjusting to the time change right away. I always do my own air and prefer it that way but I know others who just let the cruise line take care of it so they don't have to hassle with it. I suppose it depends on how picky you are or if you have a good TA like I do who knows exactly what I like.

[sealover155]

Just a little comment about some of the other posts: "Direct" flights can refer to either nonstop or flights with one or more stops but having the same flight numbers. Example: New York to Madrid to Barcelona on Flt. 6 would be called direct. Always, always, insist on nonstop which is obviously no stops in between.

 

Your best insurance for preventing lost or late luggage is to check in plenty early, fly nonstop, and make sure that they put the small sticker from the airline luggage tag directly onto your suitcase. Many agents neglect to do that. If the airline luggage tag is ripped from your suitcase you may be disappointed. The small sticker, usually 1/2" by 1", will help to locate your bag. Another tip is to indicate your itinerary on your personal luggage tag, just in case.

[hcat]

We flew DELTA non stop JFK to BCN RT & got a great price, really good seats & early res...booking with the airline usually means you get info at the last minute, & not such great seats or itins..

 

Your situation involving different dep.& return cities may make it more difficult but I am sure it can be done--there is a CRUISE AIR thread on these boards where you can get more advice if needed.

[darrencantwait]

I booked our own air for our Med cruise this summer. I am going to have to agree with booking direct if you can (if it is not too much more $$$). We flew Iberia JFK/Madrid/Barcelona. The layover in Madrid was long, and when we arrived in Barcelona, they drop you off in the commuter terminal, but your baggage ends up in the Int'l terminal, and nobody from Iberia told any of us, and there was nobody there to help us. I would try to avoid Iberia in general. Our flight from JFK to Madrid had the thinnest padding on the seats I've ever seen. I'm only 5'7" and my knees were hitting the seat in front of me.

 

Our flight back was Alitalia from Venice to Rome and American from Rome to JFK. Alitalia will NOT let you check in more than 1 hour before your flight. It was crazy. We made it through security just in time to board the plane. But, then we were delayed (even though it was a 7am flight). We got to Rome quite late, the American gate was far away, and Alitalia wouldn't check us all the way through inVenice. We ran, luckily passport check let us through wihtout American Airlines boarding passes, and AA checked us in at the gate. But, of course our baggage did not make it.

 

When we got to JFK, AA told us to make a claim with Alitalia, and Alitalia told us to make a claim with AA. Because it was an international flight, when our bags arrived the next day, they had to sit in customs for a few days, and we got our luggage about 4 days after our return.

 

Luckily, that happened on our return. But I'll certainly try to avoid transfers in the future.

[bubbie617]

I've always booked my own air if it is a round trip flight. For two one way flights (I think they call it "open jaw"), the prices are ridiculous. How have others with two one way flights handled it? Thanks for the advice.

[KnoxvilleSam]

I've always booked my own air if it is a round trip flight. For two one way flights (I think they call it "open jaw"), the prices are ridiculous. How have others with two one way flights handled it? Thanks for the advice.

 

My experience with open jaw tickets is not that they are ridiculously more expensive than RT. And when you figure the cost of traveling back to your original destination for your return, open jaw is quite a bit less expensive.

 

When we aren't figuring out open jaw costs, we use FF miles for most of our flights. That's what we did for our Med cruise on Millie in 06 - in fact we booked business class for 3 of us (sister had to buy her own ticket, but she was coming from Albuquerque instead of Knoxville). Of course, you have to start very early to do that, but it saves lots of money. And you have to be willing to get to your embarkation a couple of days early (no problem as far as I'm concerned) and leave your port of debarkation possibly a day or two after debarkation - also not a problem.

 

Sam

[goofysmom99]

You can use a search engine like kayak.com and choose multi-city. To get a low fare, you just need to start and end in the same city, in your case, JFK. Kayak.com will give you a good feel for the flights and fares out there so you can make your own arrangements, or at least compare with the cruiselines. We always make our own arrangements and have had good luck so far.

[arabrab]

Just a little comment about some of the other posts: "Direct" flights can refer to either nonstop or flights with one or more stops but having the same flight numbers. Example: New York to Madrid to Barcelona on Flt. 6 would be called direct. Always, always, insist on nonstop which is obviously no stops in between.

 

Your best insurance for preventing lost or late luggage is to check in plenty early, fly nonstop, and make sure that they put the small sticker from the airline luggage tag directly onto your suitcase. Many agents neglect to do that. If the airline luggage tag is ripped from your suitcase you may be disappointed. The small sticker, usually 1/2" by 1", will help to locate your bag. Another tip is to indicate your itinerary on your personal luggage tag, just in case.

 

 

I'll add to this: If you're flying from a less major city, be careful that your "direct" flight does not include a change of aircraft. Some of the airlines show a certain flight as a direct flight, say Denver/Atlanta/Paris, but if you look closely at the flight details you'll see that there is a change of equipment in Atlanta, so even though the flight number doesn't change, you have to. The risk is that if your originating flight is late, the airline often doesn't hold the international flight, leaving you behind. (It is highly unreasonable that these are called direct flights, but apparently the marketing folk believe that they can get away with it.)

 

Also, be very wary of flight combinations that involve close to minimum connection times. Given how full flights have been running, your failure to make a connection could leave you stranded on the wrong side of the ocean for a day or two.

[raymac46]

We are going on the Summit 6/4/08 and want to fly from JFK to Barcelona where the cruise starts and return from Venice. Has anyone arraigned their own airfare and do they feel it was much better than the cruise ships?

Our TA handled it via KLM from Montreal - Barcelona and Venice - Montreal. Transfers from hotels in Barcelona and Mestre (near Venice) we did easily via taxi. We had quick and easy connections in Amsterdam.

We went a few days early and stayed a few days afterward.

One of our our tablemates did a 3 city connection via Celebrity Air (Orlando-Miami-Madrid-Barcelona) the day of and their luggage arrived sometime after we were in Villefranche. I'm sure that's not typical but I'm glad we did our own thing.

[embellish]

I concur with the all of the pros & cons that have been posted in response to this inquiry, especially to avoid Iberia (and American Airlines' flights operated by Iberia), particularly for the Transatlantic portion of the flight. All three times I sailed from Europe, I booked my own air and saved considerable money as a consequence. For European cruises I STRONGLY recommend a one-night, pre-cruise hotel stay in your embarkation city to provide a "buffer" day just in case there's a problem with the flight. The one time I flew Iberia to Madrid/Barcelona, the flight was canceled, necessitating my departure on the subsequent day. Without that "extra" day, once I got to Europe, I would have had to catch-up with the ship at my own expense. Any money I save by doing my own air more than makes up for the cost of one night's pre-cruise stay.

 

One word of caution: Booking through the cruise line only assures that the line will accommodate your travel to make the sailing OR "catch-up" with the ship. While they will try to get you on alternate flights the same day, this is not always possible, sometimes causing you to miss the first day or two of your cruise. Although the cost of getting you there is borne by them, the potential of losing out on a few days of a European cruise is something to consider.

[SHill64]

We're booked on the Summit, Barcelona to Venice, 5/11/08 and will be taking a train from Venice to Milan. If you have the extra time to spend in Italy, you might consider this. The train is cheap($42 p/p), the scenery is beautiful and there are more/cheaper flights out of Milan. We will be staying in Milan for a few days and will also be going to Lake Como. We're booked on American, Orlando/Miami/Barcelona and Milan/JFK/Orlando. Paid $800 per person.

[SHill64]

For European cruises I STRONGLY recommend a one-night, pre-cruise hotel stay in your embarkation city to provide a "buffer" day just in case there's a problem with the flight.

 

I agree with this 100%! I've traveled to Europe quite a few times for cruises and this is a must! This also helps with jet-lag.

 

SDT