One way /round trip which is better ???

I want to book a cruise London to N.Y. Which way is better a one way or a round trip? Is there a way of using the 2nd ticket N.Y. to London next year> I would think there is a way to split a round trip ticket.We go to Europe at least once a year.But this will be the first time we are taking a cruise back to the U.S.

I don't think one way or round trip is better. There are avantages to both. More sea days vs a quicker return

My question was, Is there a way to us a round trip ticket 1/2 of it on a future date ..

I think you will be limited with the return date--plug in some dates and see what happens!

I was hopping you guys had a trick...

My question was' date=' Is there a way to us a round trip ticket 1/2 of it on a future date ..[/quote']

 

I was hopping you guys had a trick...

"Future date" is too general.

 

No airline ticket will have validity for more than one year, so if your "return" trip is within a year of your "outbound" flight, then yes, of course it's possible.

 

Whether it makes economic sense is another matter. In general, the longer the gap between flights, the more the round trip ticket will cost. (The airlines want to hedge against their costs going up big time in the interval, so they play it safe by increasing the price.) In some cases, once you've exceeded a stopover of 6 months, you'll find that the price is very high compared to round trips with shorter stopovers.

 

And of course to use the "return" portion (in this case London > US by air) you'd have to get back to London in the first place, so there you go again. Cruise back? Fine with me.

 

There are a number of "work arounds" to the problem of expensive one-way airfares over the Atlantic. First, there are several airlines that price one-way fares close to 1/2 the round trip fare. Look at Aer Lingus (Ireland), airBerlin, and Icelandair for example. (To get to the UK you'd have to change planes somewhere with each of those carriers.)

 

Second, several major airline frequent flyer programs now offer one-way awards using frequent flyer miles/points. On American Airlines, for example, you can redeem 20,000 miles (30,000 in peak/summer season) per person for a one-way flight over the Atlantic from virtually any city in North America to any city in Europe. If you don't have AA miles, you can purchase them for 2-3c per mile, so $400-$600 plus taxes, which is a pretty decent one way price (for the low season.) United has a similar scheme for one-way awards, as do British Airways and several other airlines.

 

Or of course you can take out a credit card or two and obtain 25,000 miles or some such as a signing bonus. (Be careful with credit card offers if your credit rating is less than stellar - there are pitfalls there.)

 

Using miles for one-way trips often requires that you be a little flexible in your timing, which of course can be tough for cruise pax, but it's not as hard as it sounds, and can offer good value. And if you go to Europe every year as you say, then you ought to be in some FF program already anyway, so maybe this isn't as hard as it might be.

 

Finally, there's the simple practice of "throw-away" ticketing - buy a round trip ticket but just don't use the return. It's technically against the airlines' rules, but as long as you don't get into the habit, they're highly unlikely to do anything about it.

Thank you for your thoughts...

My question was' date=' Is there a way to us a round trip ticket 1/2 of it on a future date ..[/quote']

 

We bought a round trip ticket planning to just throw the return away. Then my cousin found a fall TA, and we used the ticket to take another cruise.

If you buy a round trip NY-London and only use the NY to London and then cruise to the US, the return portion is booked as London-NY. Can the return portion of the ticket be changed to another one way NY-London? I think if you book it round trip you have to have a return date, if you do not show for the flight on the return date your booking is cancelled and you get no refund. Otherwise if you try and change the return date to reuse as a different one way you will wind up paying a change fee and any difference in the fare. Or I am not completely understanding the question? Just do the simple thing and just book a one way ticket to London and enjoy your cruise back to the US.

Can the return portion of the ticket be changed to another one way NY-London?

No; they will change your fare basis to two one-way tickets. You will pay dearly. If you say, "Never mind," it may well be too late - see below.

 

If you "throw away" (hence the term) the return portion, you'll get no refund, and in fact the airline has the right (under the terms of your contract with them - the one you agreed to when you bought the ticket) to charge you the one-way fare retroactively.

 

I have never heard of this actually happening to anyone I know, but it's plainly within their rights. If you do it multiple times, the airlines' computers will flag you and potentially bring it to some human's attention. Not a good thing.

No; they will change your fare basis to two one-way tickets. You will pay dearly. If you say, "Never mind," it may well be too late - see below.

 

If you "throw away" (hence the term) the return portion, you'll get no refund, and in fact the airline has the right (under the terms of your contract with them - the one you agreed to when you bought the ticket) to charge you the one-way fare retroactively.

 

I have never heard of this actually happening to anyone I know, but it's plainly within their rights. If you do it multiple times, the airlines' computers will flag you and potentially bring it to some human's attention. Not a good thing.

Thanks for your insight Gardyloo. You pretty much clarified what I was thinking. I was really trying to look at the OP's question in common sense way.

Thanks for all the good tips ....

This can work out for you if you do a little looking around. We needed plane fare to Rome this November. But tickets were running about $2300 per person one way. We checked round trip and tickets were around $1100. Did we want to spend $4600 or $2200?

 

This was in February so I looked for another transatlantic this past spring and found one April 28 to May 12. The cost of the cruise was less than the amount we would waste buying one way tickets. Lots less. I booked the spring transatlantic flying home from Rome May 12. And at the other end flying to Rome this November for the already booked fall transatlantic. We got an extra 14 day cruise out of it. May not work for you, but why not take a look at a transatlantic before next year's, using the same city to fly to and from. Good luck!

It's possible. Be sure you have the second portion booked before you purchase your airfare. In the spring we cruised Ft. Lauderdale to Copenhagen (a total of three cruises for 38 days). Flew to Ft. Lauderdale in May. Flew from Ft. Lauderdale to Copenhagen in November for the return cruise to Ft.Lauderdale.

 

The difference in the RT vs one-way was almost the cost of the return cruise. We cruised on Princess, so we were not able to take advantage of a price drop. On Carnival if you book Early Saver, you might be fortunate and have a price drop on the second cruise.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Shirley