Aer Lingus Dublin Stopover

[curiousx]

What is the maximum length of time (days/nights/hours?) possible for a Dublin stopover with Aer Lingus. We will be flying Aer Lingus from NYC via Dublin to Lisbon (all one ticket). We'd like to spend as much time in Dublin as possible.

 

Many thanks

[6rugrats]

Have you tried calling them and asking? Or looking at their schedule and seeing what's available?

[greatam]

What is the maximum length of time (days/nights/hours?) possible for a Dublin stopover with Aer Lingus. We will be flying Aer Lingus from NYC via Dublin to Lisbon (all one ticket). We'd like to spend as much time in Dublin as possible.

 

Many thanks

 

Up to two weeks if you want to maintain the intra-Europe baggage allowance.

 

You may also want to look at flying into Shannon, out of Dublin on to Lisbon. Shannon is a very nice city and less crowded/city like than Dublin.

[curiousx]

greatam, thanks for your helpful reply

[curiousx]

Aer Lingus doesn't take one way reservations over the internet. The TA has to phone. The economy fare from NYC to Lisbon with a Dublin stopover is about $400US. The stopover can be up to 14 days if I recall correctly but we are staying less than the maximum. The rules on luggage have changed as of July 15 2009. In economy, the luggage allowance is 23kg with extra bags charged at $50US each. The TA was told that the extra bag fee only has to be paid once (in other words, it is good for both legs of the stopover).

 

Thanks again to greatam for the original tip.

[new salt]

I posted a reply today which seems to have vanished. I live in Spain and have successfully booked one way tickets from Dublin to JFK over the internet for April next year, so, unless there is a block on our colonial cousins, one way tickets should be available over the internet. With respect to a stopover in the Shannon region, Waterford is a delightful city and the Dingle peninsular one of the most heartliftingly beautiful places on earth. I would urge you spend a few days here if the opportunity presents itself.

[maryann2]

Aer Lingus doesn't take one way reservations over the internet. The TA has to phone. The economy fare from NYC to Lisbon with a Dublin stopover is about $400US. The stopover can be up to 14 days if I recall correctly but we are staying less than the maximum. The rules on luggage have changed as of July 15 2009. In economy, the luggage allowance is 23kg with extra bags charged at $50US each. The TA was told that the extra bag fee only has to be paid once (in other words, it is good for both legs of the stopover).

 

Thanks again to greatam for the original tip.

 

I have also made a one way reservation on line from JFK to Dublin.

[curiousx]

I posted a reply today which seems to have vanished. I live in Spain and have successfully booked one way tickets from Dublin to JFK over the internet for April next year, so, unless there is a block on our colonial cousins, one way tickets should be available over the internet. With respect to a stopover in the Shannon region, Waterford is a delightful city and the Dingle peninsular one of the most heartliftingly beautiful places on earth. I would urge you spend a few days here if the opportunity presents itself.

 

Hey New Salt - glad it worked for you (and for maryanne2. It didn't from my country - I tried and so did the TA. Perhaps your location makes the difference, you from Spain and she from the US. Thanks also for the advice to travel around a bit. We certainly plan on this.

[curiousx]

Just to clarify (and this might be the issue). Our flight involves a stopover in Dublin for several days. When trying to book this online, this is the message that comes up from the aer lingus website:

 

"The journey selected cannot be booked online. Please contact an aerlingus.com helpdesk to book. From Ireland/Europe call 0818 365044. From the USA call 1 866 886 8844."

 

Hope this helps.

[maryann2]

Just to clarify (and this might be the issue). Our flight involves a stopover in Dublin for several days. When trying to book this online, this is the message that comes up from the aer lingus website:

 

"The journey selected cannot be booked online. Please contact an aerlingus.com helpdesk to book. From Ireland/Europe call 0818 365044. From the USA call 1 866 886 8844."

 

Hope this helps.

 

This was probably the issue. By the way I am from Vancouver:)

[curiousx]

This was probably the issue. By the way I am from Vancouver:)

 

yup, I agree. And my apologies for not noting you were from Vancouver

[new salt]

Interestingly, although we have booked our transatlantic sector Dublin- JFK for next April we are unable to book from Barcelona to Dublin, the inter European routes do not seem to be available yet.

[cjcruiser27]

I have a question...I will probably take the 1 way flight from Boston to Dublin to Barcelona and the layover is only 1 hr and maybe 40 min. Just wondering if that is enough time? I was unable to find a direct flight. How is Aer Lingus for travel? And is the Dublin airport easy to navigate? Also do I go thru customs there or when I arrive in BCN? Thanks!

[curiousx]

I have a question...I will probably take the 1 way flight from Boston to Dublin to Barcelona and the layover is only 1 hr and maybe 40 min. Just wondering if that is enough time? I was unable to find a direct flight. How is Aer Lingus for travel? And is the Dublin airport easy to navigate? Also do I go thru customs there or when I arrive in BCN? Thanks!

 

Here's a comment I have copied over from Itsally on the Seabourn board. It makes me think your connection could be risky.

 

"Also, a comment on AerLingus: we flew it back from Lisbon, via Dublin, a few years ago. Do be aware of the connection time; we had less than an hour in Dublin to make the connecting flight back to Boston and - because the Lisbon ticket agent refused to check our baggage all the way through - we would not have been able to make the connection without priority rush-rush service from a gate agent."

[cjcruiser27]

Thanks, that is what i am thinking but my TA didn't seem nervous about it!! Maybe I should fly the day before,usually what I have done but thought I would try the day of.

Here's a comment I have copied over from Itsally on the Seabourn board. It makes me think your connection could be risky.

 

"Also, a comment on AerLingus: we flew it back from Lisbon, via Dublin, a few years ago. Do be aware of the connection time; we had less than an hour in Dublin to make the connecting flight back to Boston and - because the Lisbon ticket agent refused to check our baggage all the way through - we would not have been able to make the connection without priority rush-rush service from a gate agent."

[new salt]

If you book straight through to Barcelona with Aer Lingus a tight connection is their problem. Dublin is a small airport, in international terms,, and if the ground staff do their job all should be well. Nonetheless, a day early is always a good idea. We will be travelling the other way to JFK, ex BCN next April, and plan a night stop in Dublin, spare time is peace of mind.

[habitoiyam]

I have a question...I will probably take the 1 way flight from Boston to Dublin to Barcelona and the layover is only 1 hr and maybe 40 min. Just wondering if that is enough time? I was unable to find a direct flight. How is Aer Lingus for travel? And is the Dublin airport easy to navigate? Also do I go thru customs there or when I arrive in BCN? Thanks!

My husband and I just flew on Aer Lingus (7/10) from Boston to Dublin to Barcelona (to catch NCL Gem, Mediterranean cruise 7/12-7/19) because we couldn't find any non-stop flights from Logan, either. We booked tickets online, checked in online the day before and printed our boarding passes. It was smooth and simple.

 

This was our schedule, keeping mind these are flight times, not required boarding times which were earlier:

 

Depart BOS 18:00 (6:00 PM), Arrive DUB 5:15

(Passport Control/forms and security lines/change planes - approximately 1 hr., 25 min.)

Depart DUB 6:40, Arrive BCN 10:10

 

This part of the trip went pretty well and it wasn't too difficult to find our way around the Dublin terminal. We only travel with carry-ons (yes, even for a cruise - we're great packers and the Mediterranean is HOT in the summer!) so we didn't have to worry about getting bags to re-check for the second leg of the trip if that in fact was what many hurried and stressed-looking people seemed to be doing. I'll admit, I thought this time might be tight, but we actually had a very decent amount of time before we boarded the plane from Dublin to Barcelona. We spent the night in Barcelona at the HOtel 1898 right on Las Ramblas (which I highly recommend - what a fabulous hotel and a fun city!) then easily got to the port for our cruise around noon of the next day.

 

Coming back was awful! I couldn't print up my boarding passes online the night before because the Aer Lingus website wouldn't let me do it from Europe to the U.S.A. on a two-leg trip. At the airport, we stood in a long line to get our boarding passes, then had the gate number changed TWICE - very confusing! The gate we ended up at was a bus to the actual plane.

 

Our return flights looked like this:

 

Depart BCN 10:50, Arrive DUB 12:30

(Passport control/forms and security lines, change planes - approximately 1 hr., 10 min.) This was very chaotic and confusing with Irish AND American authorities/lines to get through, then finding the gate, etc.

Depart DUB 13:50, Arrive BOS 15:45

 

Then MORE lines at Logan!!!

 

That all said, if you are nervous about connections then you might want to reconsider this. If not, you'll probably be fine because there were others on the same flight as us (BOS to DUB to BCN) who made it just fine, too, even with checked luggage! Aer Lingus is very comfortable and on the long portions back and forth I watched the entire second season of Mad Men which I had missed, so all was good!

 

Hope this helps! Have a great cruise!

[cjcruiser27]

Yes, I agree! Thanks!

If you book straight through to Barcelona with Aer Lingus a tight connection is their problem. Dublin is a small airport, in international terms,, and if the ground staff do their job all should be well. Nonetheless, a day early is always a good idea. We will be travelling the other way to JFK, ex BCN next April, and plan a night stop in Dublin, spare time is peace of mind.

[cjcruiser27]

Thanks for all the info., I knew it would be tight w/the times. Looks to be the same flight times as mine. I have heard great things about that hotel. Did you take a taxi there? I wouldn't feel good dragging my luggage around! I never even thought to stay a night in Dublin and then continue the next day to Barcelona. After reading this board, I think I may just go a day earlier. Thanks so much!

My husband and I just flew on Aer Lingus (7/10) from Boston to Dublin to Barcelona (to catch NCL Gem, Mediterranean cruise 7/12-7/19) because we couldn't find any non-stop flights from Logan, either. We booked tickets online, checked in online the day before and printed our boarding passes. It was smooth and simple.

 

This was our schedule, keeping mind these are flight times, not required boarding times which were earlier:

 

Depart BOS 18:00 (6:00 PM), Arrive DUB 5:15

(Passport Control/forms and security lines/change planes - approximately 1 hr., 25 min.)

Depart DUB 6:40, Arrive BCN 10:10

 

This part of the trip went pretty well and it wasn't too difficult to find our way around the Dublin terminal. We only travel with carry-ons (yes, even for a cruise - we're great packers and the Mediterranean is HOT in the summer!) so we didn't have to worry about getting bags to re-check for the second leg of the trip if that in fact was what many hurried and stressed-looking people seemed to be doing. I'll admit, I thought this time might be tight, but we actually had a very decent amount of time before we boarded the plane from Dublin to Barcelona. We spent the night in Barcelona at the HOtel 1898 right on Las Ramblas (which I highly recommend - what a fabulous hotel and a fun city!) then easily got to the port for our cruise around noon of the next day.

 

Coming back was awful! I couldn't print up my boarding passes online the night before because the Aer Lingus website wouldn't let me do it from Europe to the U.S.A. on a two-leg trip. At the airport, we stood in a long line to get our boarding passes, then had the gate number changed TWICE - very confusing! The gate we ended up at was a bus to the actual plane.

 

Our return flights looked like this:

 

Depart BCN 10:50, Arrive DUB 12:30

(Passport control/forms and security lines, change planes - approximately 1 hr., 10 min.) This was very chaotic and confusing with Irish AND American authorities/lines to get through, then finding the gate, etc.

Depart DUB 13:50, Arrive BOS 15:45

 

Then MORE lines at Logan!!!

 

That all said, if you are nervous about connections then you might want to reconsider this. If not, you'll probably be fine because there were others on the same flight as us (BOS to DUB to BCN) who made it just fine, too, even with checked luggage! Aer Lingus is very comfortable and on the long portions back and forth I watched the entire second season of Mad Men which I had missed, so all was good!

 

Hope this helps! Have a great cruise!

[habitoiyam]

Yes, we took a cab from the airport right to the Hotel 1898. I had printed up the hotel directions from their website (in both Spanish and English) so that there would be no confusion. Everything went well!

 

We were early checking in so the desk clerk locked our bags up in a room behind the main desk, and off we went to do some exploring! The hotel (which is absolutely beautiful and the staff is terrific) is located in a very convenient spot - right on Las Ramblas, near the HOHO buses, etc. Just look at a Barcelona street map and you'll see what's close by. I really wish we had spend more than one day and night there. I would love to go back again.

 

We really didn't want to spend a night in Dublin, so we took a chance that we would make it to Barcelona alright and we did. I'm sure you will as well. But to play it safe, we went a day early - I didn't want to try to fly in on the same day as the cruise. This way with a extra day, we still would have ended up getting to our cruise on time. Luckily, everything went just fine!

 

If you don't mind my asking, what cruise are you going on?

[cjcruiser27]

This sounds so nice! I have read great things about this hotel on here. I am traveling solo to the Celebrity TA that leaves from Barcelona and ends up in S.Juan, it is 2 weeks. I did one last year (Carnival Freedom that left from Italy and hit some of the same areas but there a few new ones I haven't seen)and loved it and the weather was perfect. The Med. is wonderful isn't it, so different from the rat race here. I never would have thought to print the directions out! It must be pretty safe to go by taxi yourself? And did you take a taxi to the ship? Sorry for all the ?'s but you have been so helpful and I really appreciate it. Thanks!

Yes, we took a cab from the airport right to the Hotel 1898. I had printed up the hotel directions from their website (in both Spanish and English) so that there would be no confusion. Everything went well!

 

We were early checking in so the desk clerk locked our bags up in a room behind the main desk, and off we went to do some exploring! The hotel (which is absolutely beautiful and the staff is terrific) is located in a very convenient spot - right on Las Ramblas, near the HOHO buses, etc. Just look at a Barcelona street map and you'll see what's close by. I really wish we had spend more than one day and night there. I would love to go back again.

 

We really didn't want to spend a night in Dublin, so we took a chance that we would make it to Barcelona alright and we did. I'm sure you will as well. But to play it safe, we went a day early - I didn't want to try to fly in on the same day as the cruise. This way with a extra day, we still would have ended up getting to our cruise on time. Luckily, everything went just fine!

 

If you don't mind my asking, what cruise are you going on?

[NHBob]

... We will be flying Aer Lingus from NYC via Dublin to Lisbon (all one ticket).

 

I'm curious because I fly between US and Lisbon at least once a year: how will you get from Dublin to Lisbon? Aer Lingus doesn't show Lisbon as a destination, and I haven't been able to find any code shares.

 

Bob

 

PS Never mind - just found that they do show one daily Dublin-Lisbon flight. It's probably not shown on website as connection from US, as it requires a Dublin overnight.

[habitoiyam]

This sounds so nice! I have read great things about this hotel on here. I am traveling solo to the Celebrity TA that leaves from Barcelona and ends up in S.Juan, it is 2 weeks. I did one last year (Carnival Freedom that left from Italy and hit some of the same areas but there a few new ones I haven't seen)and loved it and the weather was perfect. The Med. is wonderful isn't it, so different from the rat race here. I never would have thought to print the directions out! It must be pretty safe to go by taxi yourself? And did you take a taxi to the ship? Sorry for all the ?'s but you have been so helpful and I really appreciate it. Thanks!

The taxis, both from the airport (where we simply stood in line at the taxi stand) to the hotel, and from the hotel to the ship, were very new, clean, and comfortable. We felt completely safe with the drivers, neither of whom spoke much English, but with printed directions that was not a problem. They were both very friendly and professional. I think the taxis were both around 25 to 30 euros with a tip.

 

We did take a taxi to the ship, although we saw people walking Las Ramblas and the Port area dragging along their bags. The evening before we had walked to the end of Las Ramblas where it meets the waterfront/port area to see if walking would be feasible, but quickly realized that the challenging part of walking would be to get to the actual part of the port where our ship was docked - it's a pretty big place with a deceptively long walkway! Taking a taxi was a much better choice! (We wisely saved our walking feet for other ports on our trip!) The desk staff at the hotel called the taxi for us, and we gave him the name of our ship. They must do frequent runs from hotels to cruise ships in Barcelona because the driver knew exactly where to go without my trusty set of printed directions!

 

If you do stay at Hotel 1898, be sure to check out the La Boqueria, the central marketplace right down the street. It's an amazingly great place to walk through and snack/sample fresh treats. We also loved eating at Taller de Tapas (address is: Placa de Sant Josep Oriol 9, and they have a website - just google it). The atmosphere was relaxing, the tapas plates were delicious and very reasonably priced, the local wine was quite good, and the service was excellent and very helpful! (Our young waiter was warm, kind, attentive, and did not mind our seemingly silly tapas questions.)

 

I hope this helps!

[cjcruiser27]

Thanks so much for all your help!

The taxis, both from the airport (where we simply stood in line at the taxi stand) to the hotel, and from the hotel to the ship, were very new, clean, and comfortable. We felt completely safe with the drivers, neither of whom spoke much English, but with printed directions that was not a problem. They were both very friendly and professional. I think the taxis were both around 25 to 30 euros with a tip.

 

We did take a taxi to the ship, although we saw people walking Las Ramblas and the Port area dragging along their bags. The evening before we had walked to the end of Las Ramblas where it meets the waterfront/port area to see if walking would be feasible, but quickly realized that the challenging part of walking would be to get to the actual part of the port where our ship was docked - it's a pretty big place with a deceptively long walkway! Taking a taxi was a much better choice! (We wisely saved our walking feet for other ports on our trip!) The desk staff at the hotel called the taxi for us, and we gave him the name of our ship. They must do frequent runs from hotels to cruise ships in Barcelona because the driver knew exactly where to go without my trusty set of printed directions!

 

If you do stay at Hotel 1898, be sure to check out the La Boqueria, the central marketplace right down the street. It's an amazingly great place to walk through and snack/sample fresh treats. We also loved eating at Taller de Tapas (address is: Placa de Sant Josep Oriol 9, and they have a website - just google it). The atmosphere was relaxing, the tapas plates were delicious and very reasonably priced, the local wine was quite good, and the service was excellent and very helpful! (Our young waiter was warm, kind, attentive, and did not mind our seemingly silly tapas questions.)

 

I hope this helps!

[habitoiyam]

Enjoy your Celebrity TA cruise! It sounds wonderful!