Europe? where? WHEN?

Flown to Europe a lot? You can help!

So here is the deal. DH and I decided to go to Europe in 2019 before he gets too old to enjoy it (only 50 but has knee issues from desert storm).

We always get a suite, and for him that is NOT negotiable. He also hates to fly and has issues with it because of his knee. SO he wanted to do one way to Europe then do a transatlantic home. Well trying to do some research this week after our large purchase of land and sea Alaska this Sept, and possibly a cruise with friends in spring of 2018 (all in a suite mind you) I don't feel comfortable with the cost. So now I am thinking we need to just roundtrip flight a 7 or 10 day cruise. He seems (sorta) ok with it. Here is the question:

Cheapest time of year to take a flight to Europe?

Opinions on best European cruise?

Cheapest European airport destinations?

I grew up in Europe but never went to the British Isles, DH has never been but would really like to go to Scotland. I think he would enjoy Italy but I have been there so much I'm not enthused about it. I welcome opinions, especially from those who can compare multiple.

I have looked at 2 different weeks in April to London and they were several hundred different so I thought I would just see if some experienced Europe travelers could give me a rough estimate. I haven't been in ages and don't remember the high periods.

Thanks!!!!

You might want to ask this in the Cruise Air forum.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

You might want to ask this in the Cruise Air forum.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

I'll take it over there too , just looking for Princess specific reviews and itineraries

April/May or October would be the cheapest. It won't be cheap, but if you want to do a one-way, check EZ Air, flights offered by Princess. They are usually cheaper. Those are usually the times offered for Transatlantic cruises. And the weather is cooler....

We are doing the British Isles out of Southampton in Sept 2017. We booked last Dec 2016 a United Airlines economy flight to Heathrow from New York at $550/person round trip.

Hi,

High season is the summer season. it's not unusual to pay $1,300-1,500 each r/t from Knoxville if you're buying from the airline or online booking sites. Princess easy air booking often saves you quite a lot if you buy with your cruise.

We've gone during the shoulder seasons where you can save a good deal also but the weather can be a problem then. For example April-May can be cheaper but the further north you visit the more likely you'll have weather issues.

We are taking a short 7 day Med voyage in April. Initially we booked flights through Princess about 6 months prior to sail date from Knoxville for $975 each into Rome and out of Barcelona which we felt wasn't too bad. We checked back many times to see if rates dropped and were really pleased to find a couple weeks ago they had indeed. We rebooked for just $672 each r/t. This rate reminds of the prices we used to pay in the 90's when we first began traveling to Europe. As a comparison the day we booked the low rate we searched online and airline sites and the rate was up around $1,300 each.

My advice would be to book 'Flexible rate' tickets through Princess easy air, check the flight rates often and well in advance. You'll probably find the lowest rates for the largest most visited cities like Rome, London and Paris...etc. (though not always). Look at multiple date ranges that have you arrive before cruise departure date and leave after its end date. There tends to be better rates available closer to booking sometimes if you stay on land a few days on each side of your voyage. Also we sometimes find better rates out of Nashville, Atlanta or even sometimes from Chattanooga.

Enjoy your trip.

Chris

Easyboy, that is a great rate for air.

We have done several cruises around Europe, and our favorites were the Baltic Sea and British Isles. My DH wants to go back to the British Isles, and we may do that in a few years. My best advice is to get on your roll call and plan some good excursions. We consistently saw 4 times more than people who took ship's tours.

Since you have a couple of years, could you get an airline credit card and build up enough points for your air? We have managed to fly business class to Europe twice using points, and life is much better for our old bodies when we arrive.

Good luck, and tell your DH we appreciate his service.

Take a transatlantic cruise to Europe in April. Do one that includes the British isles. Take the(Cunard) Queen Mary2 (from Southampton)

back to New York. Eliminating the long air flights . We did that last year

and enjoyed it.

I don't see where you have much of a choice as to the time of the year. If you are planning on taking a transatlantic cruise home from the British Isles with Princess then you have to go in September or maybe early October.

In 2015 we did a trans atlantic and British Isles cruise on Princess. We booked about 6 weeks in advance. This was near the end of April so we only flew home from London. I think our air through EZAir to Baltimore was around $600/per. At first we were going to just do the BI in July but when we saw that air was $3000 rt /pers we started looking at other options. The transatlantic are popular for various reasons but one of them is that they are less expensive... and that includes air through EZAir.

We are doing another one this April. We will fly to FLL to start the cruise and then home from Rome. When I booked air it was about $600/per. At some point I noticed the cost went down so we are now at $498/per. Not bad at all!!

Oh, and the weather was not too bad in May for the BI. We had a little rain in one port but that was it.

We're doing the transAtlantic, South Hampton to Ft. Lauderdale, Sept. 10-Oct. 7, 2017. I booked it 2 years in advance. Our flights, through Princess EZAir, were $438 pp. This is Dallas to London, and Ft. Lauderdale to Dallas. The long leg of the flight, which is Boston to LONDON, is only 6 1/2 hours. The cruise includes several ports in the British Isles, and several ports on the European mainland. The cruise is 27 days. That may be longer than you want, but we enjoy long cruises, and enjoy having several sea days. :)

Easyboy' date=' that is a great rate for air.

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It was really a great deal for us. In our Med cruise last May, our rate for the same route booked 5 months out was $750pp, already good for us then.

Take a transatlantic cruise to Europe in April. Do one that includes the British isles. Take the(Cunard) Queen Mary2 (from Southampton)

back to New York. Eliminating the long air flights . We did that last year

and enjoyed it.

Looks like there is one option this year. April 8th, 28 day from Ft. Lauderdale to London on the Crown, 2 night stay in Southampton then 7 day QM2 on May 8th to NYC. Better hurry. Room selection is limited. :)

We've noticed that the airfare has remained at a constant rate these past few years, and we flew British Air premium economy which I jokingly refer to as the poor man's business class LOL. It was wonderful! SFO to LHR

Was $1,800 pp when we went in 2015 and $2,100 last year, but we had nice, large seats which reclined, with foot rests, and 3 course dinner, unlimited alcohol, only two seats together, priority boarding, ET cet

At that time the average tickets were around 1550-1600 pp so we felt the extra cost was justified. However, it is my understanding that tix to London actually have an additional tax of $250-300 per ticket that other countries do not impose. if you look at the actual cost of a ticket to EUROPE, the fare is not very large but the taxes can be huge [emoji79]

If your husband has leg problems I would imagine premium Econ might be s good way to go.

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I say in my post in now thinking of just doing a 7 to 10 day cruise. I KNOW I'm limited for transatlantic.

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