Flights, Staying in Europe, continuing to Canada

Good evening,

I am looking at doing two cruises in '17 that are 17 days apart. The hope is to make the following work.

1 - Fly from home to Rome

2 - Cruise from Rome to Barcelona

3 - Stay in Spain and Portugal for 2 weeks

4 - Fly to Montreal

5 - Cruise from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale

6 - Fly home

If I price flights from Atlanta to Rome, then Lisbon to Montreal, then Montreal to Atlanta it comes out around $6k.

If I price flights from Atlanta to Madrid, then Madrid to Montreal I find a price of around $1,300, then flights from Madrid to Rome, Lisbon to Madrid, and Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta for around $150 each for a total of around $1,750.

I understand that problems occur when changing planes booked under different tickets rather than a continuing ticket - how bad is it?

Is there another way to book the tickets at prices closer to $2k than $6k?

Thanks for any assistance.

Rich

What dates are you looking at?

Just for fun, I ran a search on ITA Matrix for ATL-FCO and LIS-YUL for completely random dates next September, and I'm getting airfare of under $900 on Turkish Airlines via IST. And if you fly from BCN to YUL, you can fly United or Air Canada for just over $1100.

Well, without knowing the exact (or even approximate) dates you plan on traveling, it's a bit tough to work it out. I picked a few dates out of the air for travel in June and July and had no problem finding a price of $1,976 with American for flights Atlanta - Rome, Lisbon - Montreal, Fort Lauderdale - Atlanta. Not exactly non-stop on all the legs, but not too bad time wise.

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Thanks for the responses so far, sorry I didn't put exact dates.

1. ATL - FCO leave ATL on Sept 4, arrive FCO Sept 5

2. LIS - YUL leave LIS on Oct 4

3. FLL - ATL Oct 20

I have it at $1,783 on those dates bookable with American.

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I have it at $1,783 on those dates bookable with American.

 

 

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When I put those dates in on aa.com I get:

Lowest Average Price 5,273.67 USD

Flight Stops

Filter by AMERICAN AIRLINES Non-Stop

Filter by 1 Stop

Filter by 5,273.67 USD Filter by 2+ Stops

Filter by 5,275.17 USD

Yup, you're right. I had it once on google flights and went back to check and it was long gone into the $5K - $6K range. Sorry about that!!

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Why not try ATL - FCO, LIS - YUL (you ought to be able to get it for about $1,400 using Expedia), then book your FLL - ATL flight entirely separate??

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Just checked the ATL - FCO and LIS - YUL segments and it shows a little less than $1500, and I know I can get from FLL to ATL for less than $200, so that is acceptable.

The AA flight from FLL to ATL is also via PHL, so over 5 hours of travel for a 1.5 hr flight on DAL

I guess we were checking the same thing at the same time

Yup, you're right. I had it once on google flights and went back to check and it was long gone into the $5K - $6K range. Sorry about that!!

 

 

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It is funny, I have had that happen a couple of times. I wish I had jumped on it when I saw it. Can't change the past.

Just out of curiousity, what ship goes between Montreal and Fort Lauderdale?

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Good evening,

I am looking at doing two cruises in '17 that are 17 days apart. The hope is to make the following work.

1 - Fly from home to Rome

2 - Cruise from Rome to Barcelona

3 - Stay in Spain and Portugal for 2 weeks

4 - Fly to Montreal

5 - Cruise from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale

6 - Fly home

If I price flights from Atlanta to Rome, then Lisbon to Montreal, then Montreal to Atlanta it comes out around $6k.

If I price flights from Atlanta to Madrid, then Madrid to Montreal I find a price of around $1,300, then flights from Madrid to Rome, Lisbon to Madrid, and Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta for around $150 each for a total of around $1,750.

I understand that problems occur when changing planes booked under different tickets rather than a continuing ticket - how bad is it?

Is there another way to book the tickets at prices closer to $2k than $6k?

 

Thanks for any assistance.

 

Rich

I lost track of what you are trying to do in the second part.

However, the "problem" with "changing planes" with different tickets - especially on different airlines - is usually when one is flying two (or more) legs of ONE part of the trip, without stopping over and staying in the city or taking a cruise, etc.

The underlying problem then is that if an earlier flight is delayed or cancelled, the later flight/airline won't know about it or try to put you on another flight OR even have any obligation to do anything at all to help.

Is that what you were concerned about? Or is there something about different flights on different days (not connecting, etc.)?

And the others above seem to have been able to get lower fares by a very straightforward way, so it isn't clear what was generating those high fares for you.

What software were you using? That might be it.

Just out of curiousity, what ship goes between Montreal and Fort Lauderdale?

 

 

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Holland America does Canada / New England for several months, then the ship moves south. For this year and the next it is the Veendam. North in April, South in October. I have done the Northbound twice, and will now be doing the Southbound next year.

Holland America does Canada / New England for several months, then the ship moves south. For this year and the next it is the Veendam. North in April, South in October. I have done the Northbound twice, and will now be doing the Southbound next year.

Yes, I discovered the HAL cruise. Maybe a little cool in early October but a fantastic trip down the St. Lawrence with plenty to look at along the way.

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I lost track of what you are trying to do in the second part.

 

However, the "problem" with "changing planes" with different tickets - especially on different airlines - is usually when one is flying two (or more) legs of ONE part of the trip, without stopping over and staying in the city or taking a cruise, etc.

The underlying problem then is that if an earlier flight is delayed or cancelled, the later flight/airline won't know about it or try to put you on another flight OR even have any obligation to do anything at all to help.

 

Is that what you were concerned about? Or is there something about different flights on different days (not connecting, etc.)?

 

And the others above seem to have been able to get lower fares by a very straightforward way, so it isn't clear what was generating those high fares for you.

What software were you using? That might be it.

Software was browser going to the Delta, American and other similar websites. As you may have seen, others found the same prices as well. When I was checking, the best price I could find was as I mentioned, but prices do change daily.

As to the first part of your response, I was aware that problems existed but I don't have first hand knowledge about how bad they can actually be. I was hoping someone here had some insight.

Thanks to all who answered.

Good evening,

I am looking at doing two cruises in '17 that are 17 days apart. The hope is to make the following work.

1 - Fly from home to Rome

2 - Cruise from Rome to Barcelona

3 - Stay in Spain and Portugal for 2 weeks

4 - Fly to Montreal

5 - Cruise from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale

6 - Fly home

If I price flights from Atlanta to Rome, then Lisbon to Montreal, then Montreal to Atlanta it comes out around $6k.

If I price flights from Atlanta to Madrid, then Madrid to Montreal I find a price of around $1,300, then flights from Madrid to Rome, Lisbon to Madrid, and Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta for around $150 each for a total of around $1,750.

I understand that problems occur when changing planes booked under different tickets rather than a continuing ticket - how bad is it?

Is there another way to book the tickets at prices closer to $2k than $6k?

 

Thanks for any assistance.

 

Rich

I think you want to search for three one way tickets....

Ticket one: Home to Rome

Ticker two: Madrid or Lisbon to Montreal

Ticket three: Florida to get Home.

Spain or Lisbon to Montreal as a one way, you find the best rates with Air Transat. Economy is a bit tight, club class is quite nice.

Another creative option (if you want to travel around Europe a bit) is Paris to Montreal is one the most heavily traveled routes between two French speaking cities. There are is no shortage of flights.

You could also try combing the first and second ticket into a round trip from Home to Rome and Lisbon to Montreal.

TAP Air Portugal just announced a new route between Lisbon and Canada. When airlines do that they sometimes offer good deal. That would like involve a transfer in Toronto but that is not bad.

Software was browser going to the Delta, American and other similar websites. As you may have seen, others found the same prices as well. When I was checking, the best price I could find was as I mentioned, but prices do change daily.

 

As to the first part of your response, I was aware that problems existed but I don't have first hand knowledge about how bad they can actually be. I was hoping someone here had some insight.

 

Thanks to all who answered.

Have you used the matrix software?

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/

You can use it for separate legs and dates the way you wanted to.

That's a good way to see all the choices.

Then if any (or all) of the tickets/routings work, go to the website for the airline.

But you don't have to separately go to each of the airline websites to look for flights.

You don't need to book it all on one multi-city ticket. Yes, if you are connecting same day to a flight booked on a separate ticket, there's risk. But for instance, your ticket home from FLL can be a completely separate one way ticket if that's cheaper. You're arriving in FLL by ship, so no worries about flights on separate tickets that day. Same thing for intra-European tickets. I think at one point you mentioned flying into MAD and then on to FCO. If it's cheaper to just fly to MAD to that and stay the night, then hop over to FCO the next day on a low cost Euro carrier one way flight.

You don't need to book it all on one multi-city ticket. Yes, if you are connecting same day to a flight booked on a separate ticket, there's risk. But for instance, your ticket home from FLL can be a completely separate one way ticket if that's cheaper. You're arriving in FLL by ship, so no worries about flights on separate tickets that day. Same thing for intra-European tickets. I think at one point you mentioned flying into MAD and then on to FCO. If it's cheaper to just fly to MAD to that and stay the night, then hop over to FCO the next day on a low cost Euro carrier one way flight.

Correct.

Especially if the various flights/flight sequences are on very different days, it's easy to book them separately.

And it's probably much easier to do that so that one can just go to one airline website per flight/flight sequence.

The matrix software will let you look at all of the sub-trips together, so that you can get an overview of what's available, including various routing and airline options.

Also, when using matrix (or any such booking software) don't forget to check the seating configuration (and some reviews) of the equipment that is planned for each flight - keeping in mind the equipment can change.

Use SeatGuru.com for that.

RM

There are often very inexpensive fares LIS to BOS on TAP. From there it is an easy and inexpensive Amtrak ticket to Montreal. Might be something to consider.

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Try Air Transat flights from Faro, Lisbon, Porto, Paris.

We have taken several one ways on Transat-sometimes at a great price. You have yo watch the routings though.

Thanks for the responses so far, sorry I didn't put exact dates.

 

1. ATL - FCO leave ATL on Sept 4, arrive FCO Sept 5

2. LIS - YUL leave LIS on Oct 4

3. FLL - ATL Oct 20

On a very quick search, you can do the first two flights on AA for just over $1,400; these are one-stop itineraries in both directions. Applying some of the trickery discussed by other posters might save you a little bit from that, but you will soon hit the point of diminishing returns for the effort you put in. And there are potential complications in booking low-fare airlines like Air Transat.

Then all you need is a separate one-way ticket FLL-ATL. You can sometimes get first class tickets on this route for a little over $150. There is absolutely no reason why this sector has to be linked in any way to the other sectors.

Again, thanks to everyone for the answers and suggestions.

I find that trying to arrange a trip of this type is very frustrating. For example, as Globalizer mentioned, I can find ATL - FCO and LIS to YUL for around $1500 on American and Delta. On either one, one way ATL - FCO is around $3100.

I am finding other small changes that would make the entire experience better for me, but trying to do any of them goes back to the huge air fares.

I will be booking this around the first of the year, and at that time will lock in my plans.

Rich

... I can find ATL - FCO and LIS to YUL for around $1500 on American and Delta. On either one, one way ATL - FCO is around $3100.

There are some airlines that do sell long-haul tickets on a true one-way basis, but in general they tend to be the type of airline typified by Air Transat and Norwegian Air Shuttle. As I say, the fares may be cheap, but there are potential disadvantages of which you should be aware for any trip that's time-critical.

Thanks for the responses so far, sorry I didn't put exact dates.

 

1. ATL - FCO leave ATL on Sept 4, arrive FCO Sept 5

2. LIS - YUL leave LIS on Oct 4

3. FLL - ATL Oct 20

Just looked on ITA then confirmed on Expedia.

ATL-FCO/LIS-YUL, on your dates, $1117.63 all in, via Toronto on Air Canada (United for ATL-YYZ segment outbound.)

YUL-ATL on Oct. 20, Air Canada, $202.19

All in, US $1319.82

All available for purchase today.