newbie to europe

Have read all i can,search not working for me and I have some basic questions.....flying from nyc or boston to paris for a week,train to venice,cruise for 2 weeks ending in barcelona,flying back to us.....

If I have to cancel will I pay a fee and then have a credit with the airline just like flying within the us?.......this all ties into the travel ins and pre-existing issue......if I do end up with a credit am I smarter to have booked with a us carrier to use the credit in case i can no longer fly to europe? Thanks for any input...

Yes you will normally have to pay a fee just like a US flight. Often times it's a bit higher too. Make sure you get insurance...preferably "cancel for any reason" insurance, even though it's expensive. You can also look at fully refundable air tickets, but those are often more expensive than even business class tickets.

If you want to be safe, book a flight on a US airline. It's definitely easier, as an American, to use funds on United than, say, Air France.

It all depends on the conditions of the ticket you buy. If you buy a non-refundable but cancelable ticket, you'll have to pay a fee that depends on the specific ticket. I've seen United having some with a $450 'administrative' fee. Ouch.

If you want to go on a foreign carrier, one thing to look at is a codeshare flight. For example, you could buy a Delta ticket, but the plane has 'Air France' on the side. If you cancel, you'll be able to use the money on Delta. When searching, you'll see something like "DL 1234 Operated by Air France"" (or "UA 1234 operated by Lufthansa" or whatever)

One thing to note - some carriers (like United) require 'new money' for the fee. I believe others let you subtract the fee from the fare paid for the cancelled tickets. Just something to pay attention to in the 'fine print' aka fare rules.

I think one of the items that can help us to assist you is just why you think you may be canceling. And, just how great a likelihood is that to be (50%, 10%, 90%??)

Although most tickets would allow you to use your paid value (less any change fees) there are some tickets that have NO value other than for the flight booked. You will find this with both consolidator tickets and with some heavily discounted published fare tickets. And, as mentioned above, some airlines want the change fee as "new money", not a deduction from the existing value.

So, the devil is in the details.

Also, note that there is a wide range of what "non-refundable" means. Basically, you can't get the value back as cash, but within that limitation there are many possibilities. Read the fare rules, and if you can't find them, caveat emptor. And if you can read them but are having trouble deciphering them, let the "Rosetta Stone" bunch here try to work it out for you.

Thank you.....I do have an unpredictable med condition and weighing all the options....have the cruise booked with refundable deposit.....so many choices!

I think we'd all recommend you book your own tickets directly and avoid any 3rd party agent like a cruise air program. While an open jaw ticket as you are seeking is really no different than a round trip ticket it will just make life easier to book directly.

If you have exceeded the insurance window for your cruise then adding the air might be a problem. Generally you must book the insurance to cover pre-existing conditions no more than two weeks after booking your cruise. You do want to bundle land, air and cruise for insurance purposes. If you have exceeded the window then think about cancelling and rebooking when you have everything in place.

Thank you.....I do have an unpredictable med condition and weighing all the options....have the cruise booked with refundable deposit.....so many choices!

Thanks. Not meaning to be nosy, but that's a lot different than "I might change my mind". Alcpa pretty much nailed it. Given your need for insurance coverage that includes all of your pieces (cruise, air, hotel), you want to have all of that in place and then grab the coverage. Also, research the coverage of the insurance before you buy the "pieces", so you are sure it meets your needs and everything is in the proper time frame.

Good luck and good health!

Thank you.....I do have an unpredictable med condition and weighing all the options....have the cruise booked with refundable deposit.....so many choices!

Just for the fun of it, here's a thread about little ditty "Cheap Flights";

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44485214#post44485214

Just for the fun of it, here's a thread about little ditty "Cheap Flights";

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44485214#post44485214

Thank you so much for my morning laugh!

This is hilarious !!! Thank you so much !

Just for the fun of it, here's a thread about little ditty "Cheap Flights"