Flights to and from river cruise

[Nalla]

We are planning a Spring river cruise from Prague to Budapest. Is it best to get an open-jaw flight from US? or 2 one-way flights? or some other arrangement?

[Peacemkr59]

Its too expensive to do 2 one way flights. When searching, use the multiple destinations feature of the advanced search. We used frequent flyer miles to fly roundtrip in and out of London and we bought two one way tickets on BA to get to Prague and then back to London from Budapest. Hope this helps!

[beverlyjack]

First of all, I know of no cruise line that actually goes to Prague. Prague is on the Vitava River, which is a tributary of the Elbe, which does not connect to the Danube. This, despite the names given to the cruises. Prague is a wonderful city, one of my favorites in Europe, that should not be missed, but getting there requires an overland trip. Forgive me, but this is a pet peeve that most cruise operators have a cruise with Prague in the name.

 

As far as air arrangements are concerned: Before contacting a travel agent or cruise operator, go to an flight search engine such as http://matrix.itasoftware.com to find out what your options are. An open jaw ticket will almost certainly be the best price. This site does not sell tickets, but it is the best site that I have found for researching flights and prices. You could also do a cruise that begins or ends in Budapest and independently travel to Prague by train. We have only used Grand Circle for our river cruises and usually use their air arrangements, but always use this site to make sure that their flight itinerary and air price are competitive. If you are making your own air arrangements, you will also have to deal with transfers bwtween the airport and the ship/hotel, either independently of, for an extra charge, through the cruise operator.

[Paulinda]

beverlyjack - there are numerous cruise lines that do Prague to Budapest. Viking, Avalon and AMA to name a few. They use buses from Prague to Nurnberg. Prague is a very charming and old city to visit.

 

Nalla - like peacemkr suggested, do an advanced search when looking for multi city air flights. Otherwise, just let the cruise line make the arrangements. You may actually get a better deal from them although you are at their discreation when selecting an airline.

 

enjoy your cruise on the Danube.

[Nalla]

Thank you for the helpful responses.