Help with booking first international flight

We are booking flight from Miami to Venice, Italy for cruise at end of October 2017, then from Barcelona back to Miami on 11/6 or 11/7.

1.Looks like there will need to be one stop - how long is "safe" between flights if we transfer in Copenhagen, Frankfurt or other major airport? Some flight combinations leave us with only an hour between flights, doesn't feel like that's enough of a window. We will have 2 checked suitcases.

2. Using Air2Sea makes me nervous, would prefer to book directly with the airline - will airlines reprice flight if price drops?

3. Is there any advantage to booking as soon as schedules are released (some are appearing already), or should I hold onto my money and wait patiently (not my strong suit) for a few more months and monitor prices?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

1) Depends on the airport. In most cases of continental European airports you'll be clearing immigration there as it's your first point of entry into the Schengen Zone. (Customs are cleared at your destination). You'll almost certainly have to clear security too.

2) Depends on the airline and type of ticket you purchase.

3) Nobody knows when the cheapest time to purchase is. Generally speaking at the time flights are released you'll only be seeing the more flexible, expensive buckets. The cheaper seats are released shortly thereafter. Again depends on the airline etc. etc.

A little reading here will get you a lot of info. For example, how long your layover should be varies by airport. I would not be comfortable with one hour layover in Frankfurt. ...although we have made a 40 minute connection there,,with passport check. And our bags made it as well!

Another example is Venice is a pretty expensive airport to fly into. It might be a better price to fly into Milan, and train over. But November is not going to be the most expensive month.

Most airlines do not reprice if the fare goes down.

I would monitor prices for 2 or 3 months, so you get an idea on what prices are doing.

As you look at your preferred itineraries also take into consideration any changes of airlines.

I would not recommend any connection time of less than 2 hours if you are continuing on the same airline. If using code share partners add additional time. If changing airlines on separate tickets plan for a gracious three plus hours to claim and recheck luggage, check in for your flight and handle security.

You are obviously new to European air travel and some of the major airports are quite large (and cumbersome.) In the airports you will have to go through passport control. This is a brief pass through although the lines may be quite long. Some of the airports have dedicated lanes for business/first passengers. Some have aides who will move passengers with close connections. By next October who knows what will be available.

If flying through Copenhagen 2 hours should be enough time. The airport is not as large as many. I would shoot for 2 1/2 - 3 in Frankfurt. (Every time I have flown through there we have been bussed from the tarmac to the terminal) I'd also recommend the same connection times for London (Heathrow) Paris and Amsterdam. We made an hours connection in Rome a few months ago and it's a mess of an airport.

I hope this has helped a little. A lot of people hate Charles de Gaulle but we find the signage quite clear and far better than Rome. The majors all require quite a hike so take that into consideration too.

No matter which carrier you choose be sure to monitor your itineraries from time to time for flight changes and have a wonderful time planning your cruise. I hope you will be planning a few extra days in Venice too. It's a great city.

Thanks to all for your replies, appreciate your help!

Generally speaking, airlines don't reprice if the price goes down. If they did so automatically, it would stand to reason that they should also reprice if the fare goes up. Often you can pay a change fee (usually $250-300 per ticket for international flights) to get the ticket reissued at the lower price so if the savings is significant you could use that option. That said, the price will rarely drop so much that it makes doing so worthwhile.

Used to live on SoBe. Always took Lufthansa. Usually economy in 747s. They always had lowest prices too. Its early for the lower prices though. I booked early March for Transatlantic return early May this year. I used Choice Air one way .Always best pricing for one way across pond .LH has plenty of back up planes in case of any problems in Europe which can happen.