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Is CruiseAir (NCL) the best way to book air roundtrip to Europe pre and post cruise? The DH and I booked a hotel through NCL to spend a few days in Barcelona. Now the DH is thinking we should book air through NCL as well. Looking for thoughts.

 

Well first, I think you need to define what 'best' means to you. It it cheapest? Then yes, you perhaps can get a better price using CruiseAir. However, will that ticket have conditions and restrictions that are acceptable to you? A very good explanation of cruise air was given in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322.

 

Of course, if it was me, I'd be booking everything myself - both air AND hotel. We just did 3 days in Barcelona this past July - wonderful city, BTW - and really, it's a pretty easy city to figure out.

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Well first, I think you need to define what 'best' means to you. It it cheapest? Then yes, you perhaps can get a better price using CruiseAir. However, will that ticket have conditions and restrictions that are acceptable to you? A very good explanation of cruise air was given in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322.

 

Of course, if it was me, I'd be booking everything myself - both air AND hotel. We just did 3 days in Barcelona this past July - wonderful city, BTW - and really, it's a pretty easy city to figure out.

 

Thank you for the link. We went with NCL for the hotel because it was the "cheaper" way to go in the Gothic area for the type of hotel we wanted. My DH wanted to find out more about the NCL air travel. Meanwhile I keep watching the prices for booking ourselves.

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  • 3 weeks later...

OK, we're about to enter the "crapshoot" and book through choice air (RCL's name for cruise air).

 

What bothers me - the fact that the prices WILL fluctuate, regardless what we will end up paying. Best advice given was "don't look back."

 

The cruise is next June on Brilliance out of Barcelona. Am I booking it way too soon in advance, or should we wait to see if prices come down?

 

I am sure this is a typical question here but I couldn't find it, sorry in advance.

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OK, we're about to enter the "crapshoot" and book through choice air (RCL's name for cruise air).

 

What bothers me - the fact that the prices WILL fluctuate, regardless what we will end up paying. Best advice given was "don't look back."

 

The cruise is next June on Brilliance out of Barcelona. Am I booking it way too soon in advance, or should we wait to see if prices come down?

 

I am sure this is a typical question here but I couldn't find it, sorry in advance.

 

Well, air prices fluctuate regardless of how or when you book - so that's a given. As it so happens, I've been seeing some awfully good pricing to BCN from our neck of the woods lately - but for this fall-winter-spring. Whether pricing for next June will go up or down, or stay stable - who knows.

 

Usually, the more flexible you are, the more you can afford to play the waiting game - the more fixed your plans are, the more important it is to lock down your tickets. Ask yourself: what my real priority, price or schedule/routing? Am I prepared to have 1-2 connections in order to get the price down? How flexible are my dates? Am I willing to fly into another airport - say, Madrid, or even Paris if you're feeling really ambitious? Only you have the answers to those questions, and they will help you make the best decision for you.

 

Out of curiosity - any particular reason you're going the, er, 'crapshoot' route, and not booking your air directly with the airline?

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Out of curiosity - any particular reason you're going the, er, 'crapshoot' route, and not booking your air directly with the airline?

 

Thanks for this advice. Typically when we fly overseas (other than a cruise, this being our first one overseas) I'll just buy direct. But, I've compared prices and so far choice air beats the direct method for some reason. And, we found direct flights btwn IAD and BCN so there's no stops.

 

I think I've answered a bit of my question then - the direct route is more important - but we'll still shop around a little more.

 

I've heard about buying tix on a Tuesday for some reason is best - heard of that?? and is that true?

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I have a long wait until our cruise in July but I am starting to look around early. I check the prices whenever I am on the computer during the day. The prices fluctuate but more for 2+ stops. So far the lowest 1 stop flight has been for $3800 for two round-trip from California. I am looking for a big drop to around $3000. I have seen this price and sometimes better for two stops on Aer Lingus but I am not interested in two stops.

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  • 2 months later...
Thanks for this advice. Typically when we fly overseas (other than a cruise, this being our first one overseas) I'll just buy direct. But, I've compared prices and so far choice air beats the direct method for some reason. And, we found direct flights btwn IAD and BCN so there's no stops.

 

I think I've answered a bit of my question then - the direct route is more important - but we'll still shop around a little more.

 

I've heard about buying tix on a Tuesday for some reason is best - heard of that?? and is that true?

 

Have you gotten your tickets yet? We are still watching prices which are lower for 15 seconds (LOL) then change again. Since we are flying from the west coast we have narrowed it down to KLM and 2 stops as the least expensive including upgraded seating. We originally looked at 1-stop at IAD to transfer to BCN flight but United charges $296 (price of this also fluctuates) for an upgrade in seating. NCL air is crazy for what they want to purchase tickets including extra dollars because we plan to stay in Barcelona before the cruise. We still have a few months but as soon as I see my target price I am buying.

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  • 6 months later...
I've heard about buying tix on a Tuesday for some reason is best - heard of that?? and is that true?
An argument could be made for Saturday and Sunday, or Sunday and Monday, but not Tuesday.

 

A bit of background. I'm watching a certain flight. I've been watching that flight as tickets for it on a certain day of the week are offered, week after week. What I'm noting is that a certain fare class that I want to book is being snapped up within hours of the booking being offered. So for that flight, the lowest airfare is clearly going to be available for just several hours, 11 months prior.

 

Back to your question.

The universal consensus seems to be that airfares tend to be lowest for flights that depart on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/22702034/the-cheapest-days-of-the-week-to-fly/

 

So now combine the two things: Fly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and buy those tickets 11 months prior. 11 months prior varies from airline to airline, I believe, but it translates either to Saturday and Sunday, or Sunday and Monday.

 

Now this is all predicated on the assumption that you're talking about a flight that will fill and fill quickly, so there will be no need to run sales or anything like that, and that regular repricing will not affect that flight. I think that's rather rare. I'm not even sure the flight I'm tracking fits that requirement (but I'm assuming it does and will respond accordingly).

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Leaving on Thursday and returning on Monday costs around 20 percent less than leaving on Friday and returning on Saturday.

The lowest in-and-out combinations tend to include outbound flights on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday with return flights on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

For short-haul trips, lowest-fare groupings are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday both ways.:)

(This is all BS)

Don't you think the airline's algorithms already have this figured out?:halo:

 

OP, or anyone else... Call NCL Premium Air for more information...

What have you got to lose?

 

Just investigate, then book the flight you want, and don't look back.

Edited by $hip$hape
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  • 2 months later...

I have a trip next year that involves B2B cruises, although the first is just a 2-day repositioning cruise (Hamburg to Southampton). In an ideal world, I'd fly from Houston to Hamburg (connecting in London or elsewhere) and then open jaw from London to Houston at the end of the second cruise. I'm worried that that's going to be costly, though. I know the listed fares aren't reliable right now as it's so far out, but it looks like a normal roundtrip to London is going to be a fair bit cheaper, which isn't surprising.

 

Obviously, I can keep an eye on it for a while as things update, but I also wondered whether it'd work to fly roundtrip to London and then book a separate flight to Hamburg (e.g., via Ryanair or some other cheap option)? So just walk off the first flight and then go up to the check-in counter the same as if I'd arrived in the normal way? We have to recheck our bags, anyway, so it's not like I'd be saving myself the hassle by connecting in the traditional way.

 

Also, I've never explored the cruise-air options...I don't know how that really works or whether it'd be of any benefit in this case?

 

Edit I managed to get the multi-city tool to work (it wasn't letting me do the third leg earlier), and it looks like that's a good option, apart from some potentially heinous layovers.

Edited by squick64
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  • 1 month later...

We are flying to/from Amsterdam where our cruise starts/ends. The dates I chosen are a Wednesday (SAN - AMS) - afternoon departure/afternoon arrival AND Friday (disembarkation day) - afternoon departure from AMS. I have selected flights on Delta because we want to fly BC to AMS so that we can take full advantage of the fly flat seats on the A330. We are looking at either DL Comfort+ seats or KLM Economy Plus seats coming back from AMS.

 

Would love to hear from anyone who has flown in the KLM Economy Plus seats regarding their experience with KLM flights. I read that those seats can only be booked through KLM. I would prefer to book my tickets directly with DL but will book with KLM, if that is the only way to get the "better" seats. Are they better than DL Comfort+? (I know the Comfort+ seats are not larger but give you a little more leg room.)

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  • 1 month later...

HI all,

 

Looking for any experiences folks have had booking cruise air to Australia. In looking at flights out of Vancouver to Sydney I see the airlines being used are primarily Chinese. Any positive/negative experiences?

 

Fergus

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  • 3 weeks later...

We are doing a TA in May and want to return home to Vegas from England. Any clever suggestions of flying from "somewhere" other than London to reduce the ridiculous fares on major carriers in May?

I've read the reviews of Norwegian Air Shuttle (even with Premium seats) and they seem to say that you will be lucky to takeoff on the correct day. I'm game to fly to LAX if that works better.

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We are doing a TA in May and want to return home to Vegas from England. Any clever suggestions of flying from "somewhere" other than London to reduce the ridiculous fares on major carriers in May?

I've read the reviews of Norwegian Air Shuttle (even with Premium seats) and they seem to say that you will be lucky to takeoff on the correct day. I'm game to fly to LAX if that works better.

 

Check out Iceland Air.

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We are doing a TA in May and want to return home to Vegas from England. Any clever suggestions of flying from "somewhere" other than London to reduce the ridiculous fares on major carriers in May?

I've read the reviews of Norwegian Air Shuttle (even with Premium seats) and they seem to say that you will be lucky to takeoff on the correct day. I'm game to fly to LAX if that works better.

 

Definitely investigate Thomas Cook Airlines. https://www.thomascookairlines.com/

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  • 1 month later...

Hello. we are hoping to book our flights tomorrow from Boston to Rome in October tomorrow. We are sailing on Celebrity and hope to come in a day early and go into Rome first and transfer to the port on sailing day. Flights are confusing! So many of the returns seem to be at 10:00 or earlier.. We are afraid this is too tight so booking a later return flight home. Coming in, there is a good fare and flight on British Air/aer lingus but the connection s in Dublin and only an hour and a half layover. Is this too tight? Has anyone advice on Dublin airport ? Thanks! Full of anxiety on getting this settled. Looking to book through Celebrity ....

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  • 2 months later...

Hi We have booked a Cruise (MSC) Med in October 2018. When we booked the flights had not been announced by the airlines but it was advertised as Flights London to Genoa ( the start port) The air lines have now announced their flights and we have flights to Nice and a 3 hour transfer both there and back a week later. There are no flights from Genoa to London at the end of the cruise (Sat). We don't want long transfers for health reasons. We can fly London Genoa if we DIY provided the Cruise line will cancel the flights & transfers, return would be day later which is fine for us. 2 of our party would prefer to shorten their cruise & leave a day early. We have been to & fro with emails and calls for 2 weeks what can we do to resolve this.

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  • 5 months later...

How do we get from DFW to Galveston?  I've heard we can stay at an hotel near the Airport and they will take us to the ship (in Galveston). Is this true?  If so, which hotel?  Thanks for help regarding this.

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2 hours ago, KAYEF said:

How do we get from DFW to Galveston?  I've heard we can stay at an hotel near the Airport and they will take us to the ship (in Galveston). Is this true?  If so, which hotel?  Thanks for help regarding this.

 

Well, since DFW is over 300 miles from Galveston, this might not be the case.

 

 

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On 10/21/2018 at 7:22 PM, KAYEF said:

How do we get from DFW to Galveston?  I've heard we can stay at an hotel near the Airport and they will take us to the ship (in Galveston). Is this true?  If so, which hotel?  Thanks for help regarding this.

Your better option is to fly into Houston.  You will be much closer to Galveston than if you fly to DFW.

 

You might also want to post this on the Gulf Coast Departures Board:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/316-gulf-coast-departures/

 

Keith

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