Air to Barcelona

[suefrankw]

Oct 2005 will be our first Europe Cruise and will need to get air r/t Tampa-Barcelona.

Any guidance here- how far in advance to book?? good sites online to book?? any tips on time of day to travel??? We will probably take a day before and after the cruise in hotel in Barcelona.

thank for your help.

Sue in FL

[Florida_cruisers]

You can book your airfare as early as 331 days in advance. I think that if you wait until the Spring to book for October, the airfare might be cheaper than what they are offering today.

[cruisingmimi]

We are looking into an Oct. 2005 Med cruise & I am seeing $999.00 for airfare as quoted by the cruiselines. Ouch! I was at a TA office the other day to get some new '05 brochures & asked them to price airfare for next Oct. They came up w/ $700.00. I think that I would keep pricing it & then book what you think is a good price. It seems as if Oct. is the month airfare goes down but you never know. Of course, you could wait & think you might get a better deal & then it keeps going up! With the price of gas, etc. you can't bank on anything any more.

 

What cruise are you going on?

[SnoWhite78]

Always check airfare on Wednesday, that is when the airlines lower their prices and release new flight times. Monday mornings they raise them again. I am traveling Newark to Barcelona Nov 5 and through travelocity.com paid $411, it has one stop in Zurich.

[HLN500]

Check cheaptickets, ewr to bcn 11/03 for $310 via Milan.

[psygist]

We're flying to Barcelona in June 2005. Purchased tickets a few weeks ago for this trip. Was quite fortunate to grab a great airfare on Delta, Pittsburgh to BCN r/t, for $657. I noticed this fare only lasted for a few days. It is now double the cost. The cruise line is charging $1100.

 

My advice: Forget about the "rules of thumb" in checking airfares after midnight, on certain days of the week, times of year, etc. If you are serious about getting the best fare, you need to check fares as often as possible, every day! Any of the internet search sites will do: expedia, travelocity, etc.

 

There is often no rhyme or reason to how airlines establish their fares and they raise and lower them, seemingly at random to the consumer.

 

Good luck. Keep searching!

[suefrankw]

Thanks everyone- good advice

We are on the RCI Splendour cruising on October 22 Barcelona round trip- got a great deal with online TA now looking to air.

Sue in FL

[leighuf]

Sue,

I'm almost 100% certain that I, too, will be on a Oct 22. 2005 sailing to the Med. You didn't say which cruise line, but I'm considering the Splendour of the Seas sailing. GREAT PRICES! Will be leaving the hubby at home and taking a girlfriend of mine.

 

I lived in FL my entire life (Orlando) until last year. I'm now up near Boston. I, too, will be looking for cheap airline tix to Barcelona. I want to pay no more than 500 for nonstop, but we'll see. I'm hoping October flights will show off-season prices.

[Jkeith]

We went to Med in June this year. Flew from Detroit to Atlanta and took the Delta flight directly to Barcelona. We orig. booked in Dec. 03 for $900+ RT, then the price dropped dramatically in Jan 04 and we re-booked for $596. We had to pay $200 charge for re-booking but was still worth it. Delta's future is a little unclear right now but the flight over and back was great. It never got lower than what it was in January.

[mert461]

We went to Med in June this year. Flew from Detroit to Atlanta and took the Delta flight directly to Barcelona. We orig. booked in Dec. 03 for $900+ RT, then the price dropped dramatically in Jan 04 and we re-booked for $596. We had to pay $200 charge for re-booking but was still worth it. Delta's future is a little unclear right now but the flight over and back was great. It never got lower than what it was in January.

 

Just wanted to say HI to a fellow Cantonite. We're planning a Med cruise for October 2005. I hope we get prices like yours!

 

Donna

[suefrankw]

Hi,

 

yes we will be on the Splendour of the Seas. We got a great rate online TA- could not let it go by. Now for air.

 

And funny you mention- I and born and brought up in Boston and relocated to FL only 3 years ago.

 

Thanks

Sue in FL

[Jkeith]

Small world, two people from Canton, MI on same post! Our only problem with June air travel to Barcelona was getting off the ground in DTW - delayed by thunderstorm, luckily pilot made up time heading to Atlanta and we made our flight.

[mimicsr]

Suefrankw: We, too, are on the 10/22 Splendour trip with our daughter and her husband. We also are flying out of Tampa. We now live in Louisiana but bought a house in Spring Hill in Jan and are moving this Dec. when I retire. Now for any of you who are undecided, DH and I took this exact trip in 9/02 and loved every minute of it. It's a wonderful deal and Barcelona is a great city to explore. We did everything on our own except for Rome, where we had Driverinrome's "Daniele." We might try it on our own this time, though, since daughter and hubby are on a budget (so are we, since retirement). From what I've gathered on these boards and other places cheap airfare to BCN probably won't be posted until next summer. I am still looking at fares for this year and plugging in dates like 11/30 to 12/11 and I'm coming up with fares in the $500 range. Not too bad. In 9/22 we got stuck and had to pay $850.00/pp, more than we paid for the cruise. Let's keep in touch and advise on what fares we find. We are staying 3 nights pre-cruise in BCN (like we did last time). Last time we were at Hotel Continental on LaRamblas and it was pretty nice, but we are looking into apartments this time for the 3 nights.

Mimi & Dave

[suefrankw]

MIMICSR,

it sure is a small world. Yes we live in Bradenton but I work in the Tampa area. I can't wait for this cruise. Our first in Europe but many closer to home. Already have private tours booked in all but Barcelona from rec from this board. A great find this board.. We too will be looking to stay before or after in Barcelona.

Thanks

Sue in FL

[leighuf]

I'm going to be flying out of Boston (BOS). My friend will be flying out of Atlanta (ATL). These are pretty big international airports, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for good rates. I'm saw rates for $585, but I must admit I'm a little nervous about booking with several of the questionable airlines like US AIR OR DELTA so far in advance. I prefer Delta, but their future seems uncertain. I may stick to AirFrance or British Airways.

 

My husband & I have good friends who live in Bradenton- Lakewood Ranch area. They work at Legg-Mason in Tampa. Quite the commute!!

[Lorelle]

Oct 2005 will be our first Europe Cruise and will need to get air r/t Tampa-Barcelona.

Any guidance here- how far in advance to book?? good sites online to book?? any tips on time of day to travel??? We will probably take a day before and after the cruise in hotel in Barcelona.

thank for your help.

Sue in FL

We are going the Millennium tranAtlant Barcelona to Ft,Lauderdale we could not find and really cheap flights so we took the one that the cruise offered from Miami to Barcelona via Madrid. We leave on the 5th of November and I can't wait. Lorelle;) ;)

[LEtue]

suefrankw,

 

We're on the same sailing! A group of friends from work and I will be flying from TPA to BCN so we can monitor fares together.

 

On the last trip we flew from ATL to BCN for $463pp non stop both directions on Delta/Air France. We booked in March for a May sailing so I'm hoping to find something in the same price range.

 

As others have mentioned you must check often. I am also checking mutiple cities for specials - just as NY or Miami. Often you can buy a cheap fare to connect as with Jet Blue to JFK.

 

Would love to compare notes with you if you want to email me.

 

Linda

mgobluee2@aol.com

[suefrankw]

Heh Leigh,

we live right north of Lakewood ranch in a small golfing development on the Manatee. Only 1/2 mile from Lakewood Ranch.

Small world!!

Sue in FL

[wolfatlga]

Greetings...

We just booked on Delta non-stop from Atlanta to Barcelona for 607 for our cruise in May of 2005.

Monday thru Thursday in the less expensive time to fly...we had originally thought of coming back on Saturday and it was 965...so we are staying after the cruise till Monday...

I also checked the our travel insurer about Delta and they said we were covered if anything happened...since we heard they were having some financial difficulties...

Hope this helps...

Wolf

[suefrankw]

thanks for all your feedback!!!

Sue in FL

[mimicsr]

Suefrankw & LEtue: It looks like we are all on the 10/22 Barcelona RT cruise. Travelocity had a $361.00 RT from TPA to BCN yesterday, but you had to fly Mon-Thurs. I don't know if they will have anything comparable next year, but hope so!! We might change our minds and instead of 3 nights pre-cruise, try for 1 or 2 pre-cruise and 2 post-cruise. Depends on if the extra night outweighs the savings in air. Flights leaving on Tues. and return on Sat. are running around $550, which is not too bad. Several people have mentioned an ATL/BCN non-stop with Delta, but It's not coming up for me. Let's keep in touch with all our deals. It's too early to book hotels yet, as they won't book more than a year in advance, but I've found some neat suites/apartments BCN Houses and you can rent them for 1 or 2 nights instead of 3. They are on Google's Barcelona-last-minute. com.

Mimi from LA. (soon to be FLA.)

[vivian02]

Thanks for the information Linda, looks like there is alot of folks out there with some very good information regarding flying into Barcelona. I just checked a few minutes ago and the lowest fare from Atlanta to Barcelona was $684 with a late May 2005 time frame. This sounds a bit on the high side considering the flight was on a 767. Don't get me wrong I will fly 767's however anything over 6 hours is alittle unconfortable. Last year I spotted a $480 flight from Phoenix to Rome with a time frame of late May (Including taxes). My wife was the deciding factor and I didn't book the flight.

We booked Splendor in February 2004 and the only way I did it was becasue there was a special that opened up and was advertised on Cruise Critic. I was lucky enough to find "Air" at the time which was reasonable with a great itenerary. One week after I booked the cruise there was the Boming in Madrid. The wife handled that one really well. Three weeks after booking the cruise Air to Europe went through the roof. I consider anything over $1000 very high unless it is on a 777 or 747 in business class.

My thoughts on this one is once oil comes back to where it should be ($45 a Barrle) the bargin airfares will follow. Keep checking the online sites, they'll show up again. Tim

[joyus]

In addition to the websites already named there are also a couple of others I use religious. They are http://www.itasoftware.com and http://www.sidestep.com. Sidesteps gives comparison pricing.

 

We're planning to sail on RCI Splendour 9/17/05. Would be interested in hearing any good hotel rates anyone finds in Barcelona. Also, is it best to convert currency in the US or once you arrive in Europe?

[leighuf]

For those on the OCT. 22 sailing on the Splendour . . .

 

WOW, prices have sky rocketed!! I haven't locked in yet! And, I'm greatly disappointed to see how the prices have increased in these last few weeks. An interior stateroom was at $669 and now it's at $709! An interior stateroom on NEXT WEEK's cruise is listed at $979!

 

I guess booking early is the way to BEAT Rccl's pricing policy!:mad:

[vivian02]

I was telling Linda last night that I saw a $90 a night take in Barcelona East on "biddingfortravel" (bid on Priceline.com). It was a three star hotel not to far from the port. There are some good bargins to be found it just takes some reseach. As far a Euros go we had Euros in hand before we left the states. I know there are all kinds of people who think dollars are poplular over seas but just try giving a New York cab driver Euros. I agree "side step" is a good tool in seaching for airfare. Tim

 

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