Suggestions for International Airfare Bargains

[critterchick]

I just booked a 7 day Med cruise on NCL Epic for $589 (studio cabin). That is the best price for a cruise I have ever seen. However, when I went to book airfare I was amazed that a RT ticket from DFW - Barcelona is $1282. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that. I then thought I would call the company that NCL uses for airfare thinking I could get a deal. Well think again; the lady quoted me $1800 for RT and when I told her that I was looking at AA website and it said $1282 she couldn't tell me why theirs was so much higher. Then she made a comment that "special requests" (like favorite airlines) were more money so I said no thank you.

 

I am hoping that there will be some kind of sale for the spring and or summer as my cruise is May 10 - 17. Since I still have 80 something days to go I have set an alert on Kayak and look three times a day on AA.com. I also tried to use my FF miles but since I waited too long all the flights were gone. This is so frustrating but hey I got a 7 day Med cruise for $589 (lol).

 

You can't really compare the cost of air with the cost of the cruise - if you'd booked a suite for $2500, the $1282 might not look so bad:). The European cruise market is crowded with ships, so there's been a lot of discounting going on in the past few years. In contrast, the airlines have been merging and I think have been cutting back their capacity, so there are fewer seats to accommodate all of the cruisers who have to fly to port.

 

Having said that, I assume that you are looking at saver fares - there should be Aanytime fares available at, well, any time, but for more miles than you may have. As 6rugrats suggested, see what it would cost to buy more miles and go for "free". Good luck!

[pcur]

When we have to fly acrosss either pond, we want to make it worth our while and worth the air fare expense. We either sail on b2b or more cruises, or we tag on a land option.

 

This year we are doing a longer Caribbean, transatlantic, and car show in the UK.

 

If we aren't gone for at least 3+ weeks, then it doesn't seem worth the effort to us to go that long distance.

[mickeysgal]

When we have to fly acrosss either pond, we want to make it worth our while and worth the air fare expense. We either sail on b2b or more cruises, or we tag on a land option.

 

This year we are doing a longer Caribbean, transatlantic, and car show in the UK.

 

If we aren't gone for at least 3+ weeks, then it doesn't seem worth the effort to us to go that long distance.

 

Thats nice but many of us aren't retired or can take that kind of block of time off of work. I'm not willing to wait until I'm retired to start seeing Europe. So we do what we can do and go for as long as we can manage which is usually about 10-12 days max. Can't be away any longer from our jobs.

[pcur]

Thats nice but many of us aren't retired or can take that kind of block of time off of work. I'm not willing to wait until I'm retired to start seeing Europe. So we do what we can do and go for as long as we can manage which is usually about 10-12 days max. Can't be away any longer from our jobs.

 

I was still working when we started traveling to Europe. I waited until I had 3 weeks vacation eligibility to go. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average American worker has 10 - 12 days vacation between 3 - 5 years of employment. Add in weekends and you are close to 3 weeks.

 

So, one does not have to wait until retirement to travel and have a long vacation, especially if you go in the Fall. Then, you only have to wait a few month to have the vacation time "refreshed" in January (for most companies).

[duellapaul]

Have you tried CruiseAir? I don't know if they are available with that cruise line but you could investigate. I have always been leiry of CruiseAir, thinking the price would be jacked up. I bought one way tickets from Boston to LHR, traveling in September, for just under $400. The prices I saw on other web sites started at $600. Maybe that might help in your search. Good luck.

[BBnn]

Have you tried skyscanner?:rolleyes:

[Globaliser]

Thus the reason I have yet to book a European itinerary. I would love to but airfare is making it financially prohibitive!

But it's bound to be. Flying is an inherently expensive activity, and that has to be reflected in fares.

 

Having said that, in real terms it's never been cheaper than it is now to fly long distances. The amounts that I was for the cheapest economy tickets when I started flying regularly would, these days, pay for business class tickets on the same route.

[mickeysgal]

I was still working when we started traveling to Europe. I waited until I had 3 weeks vacation eligibility to go. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average American worker has 10 - 12 days vacation between 3 - 5 years of employment. Add in weekends and you are close to 3 weeks.

 

So, one does not have to wait until retirement to travel and have a long vacation, especially if you go in the Fall. Then, you only have to wait a few month to have the vacation time "refreshed" in January (for most companies).

 

Thanks for the averages. Some don't want to take all the vacation time all in one shot...other things in their life going on that they need to hold back time and many just can't be away from their jobs that long. Some have the time but just can't afford the sheer cost of three weeks travel. We were lucky this past year, - 12 days Venice/Greece and looking at 15 days this year Rome/Med. But I wouldn't discourage anyone reading these boards from a 7 day cruise for example, if that is what all they could afford or are willing to do. To them it is "worth it". There is no sense waiting for tomorrow - for that three week time block. Their tomorrow may never come. Enjoy the 7 day now. And enjoy the 21 day later.

[FlyerTalker]

Have you tried CruiseAir? I don't know if they are available with that cruise line but you could investigate. I have always been leiry of CruiseAir, thinking the price would be jacked up. I bought one way tickets from Boston to LHR, traveling in September, for just under $400. The prices I saw on other web sites started at $600. Maybe that might help in your search. Good luck.

As long as you are purchasing solely on the basis of price, look into this. Same with consolidator tickets. But know that you get what you pay for and that these are not the same tickets as what you would buy from the airline, often with severe fare rules that may work against you. If price is that overwhelming and you are willing to take the risks - caveat emptor and good luck.

[slidergirl]

I was still working when we started traveling to Europe. I waited until I had 3 weeks vacation eligibility to go. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average American worker has 10 - 12 days vacation between 3 - 5 years of employment. Add in weekends and you are close to 3 weeks.

 

So, one does not have to wait until retirement to travel and have a long vacation, especially if you go in the Fall. Then, you only have to wait a few month to have the vacation time "refreshed" in January (for most companies).

 

Wish my employer worked that way. My first 90 days were "probationary", which meant no bennies. Then, if you were deemed OK, and were given full-time, year 'round status (many are only given seasonal status or part-time), you started to get bennies. PTO (paid time off) is accrued via an algorithm of x PTO time for y number of hours worked = 10 days/year, with the year starting on your start date + 90 days. Makes it hard to really get any long vacation time in. If you get sick at all to the point you must take some time off, it eats into vacation savings, too. I'm lucky that I can do all 10 days I have right now to go back to Italy in April. I have my boss tack on my 2 "weekend" days (work 5 days, 2 off, although they are never the weekend and rarely 2 days in a row) to the front and back of my vacation and I have my 2 full weeks…

If you really, truly want to travel to Europe, be it a cruise or a land vacation, you just have to bite the bullet and, in the words of Nike, Just Do It.

[critterchick]

I was still working when we started traveling to Europe. I waited until I had 3 weeks vacation eligibility to go. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average American worker has 10 - 12 days vacation between 3 - 5 years of employment. Add in weekends and you are close to 3 weeks.

 

So, one does not have to wait until retirement to travel and have a long vacation, especially if you go in the Fall. Then, you only have to wait a few month to have the vacation time "refreshed" in January (for most companies).

 

Many companies won't allow their employees to take 3 weeks off at once, and many employees wouldn't want to be away for that long - too much to do when they get back, a fear that their employer will realize that they're not indispensable, etc. And I wouldn't have wanted to take a single vacation a year when I was working full time. I enjoyed my work, but needed to get away from it more frequently to decompress.

 

Having said that, it's perfectly feasible to do a trip to Europe in 14 days (leave late Friday night from LA, return Sunday and show up at work completely confused:p) and we've done that more than once. And it's worth every second of being stuffed into a flying tube for 10+ hours.:)

[navybankerteacher]

Aer Lingus and Iceland Air are usually more competitive than other main line airlines. I am surprised, however, that the cruise line does not have arrangement for round trip air to Europe similar to what they do to provide inexpensive one way fares to subsidize their repositionings. Last year, HAL's arrangement with American and Alitalia got us from JFK to Rome and then from Fort Lauderdale for about $450 per -,and just today I've booked one way JFK to London on Delta through Cunard for another repositioning.

 

I have only had experience booking one ways - but it seems illogical that the cruise lines wouldn't make comparable arrangements possible to subsidize ther European itineraries.

[fbgd]

I am surprised, however, that the cruise line does not have arrangement for round trip air to Europe similar to what they do to provide inexpensive one way fares to subsidize their repositionings.

 

Why do they need to? You can just book through the airline or internet.

 

It seems Cruise Air and the ilk just prey upon those who can't work Expedia or an airline's website and would buy Floridian swampland. You just need to read some of the "Cruise Air will hold the ship" or "Cruise Air will guarantee I make the sailing" type comments to know people have been sold a promise that will never be fulfilled.

[duellapaul]

I did go to the airline web sites, Expedia, Kayak, you name it and could not find anything less than $600.00 when I purchased from CruiseAir. I am flying United, flight time less than 10 hours. United web site had the same trip for much higher. I do think saving money on some items is well worth it so that money can be used other ways.

[FlyerTalker]

I did go to the airline web sites, Expedia, Kayak, you name it and could not find anything less than $600.00 when I purchased from CruiseAir. I am flying United, flight time less than 10 hours. United web site had the same trip for much higher. I do think saving money on some items is well worth it so that money can be used other ways.

First question...do you believe that you bought the exact same ticket that you would have gotten had you bought from UA directly?

 

If so, then the odds are that you are sadly mistaken. Although your flights may be the same, the ticket is likely to be a non-published fare with significant restrictions above and beyond what you would have received from UA directly.

 

Now, if price is your ONLY concern, go right ahead and be happy with your decision. Hopefully you know what you bought and are content with the risk/reward choice you made.

Edited February 20, 2015 by FlyerTalker

[Globaliser]

Now, if price is your ONLY concern, go right ahead and be happy with your decision. Hopefully you know what you bought and are content with the risk/reward choice you made.

To be fair, it looks from duellapaul's posts that what was needed was one-way long-haul BOS-LHR. And that is one of the situations in which buying the air ticket from the cruise line can make sense, because the cruise line can make these available at (basically) a half round-trip discount fare, rather than the more expensive one-ways that you normally get as a member of the public buying directly from the airline.

 

So there can be significant savings in this situation (which is what duellapaul found), and it's different from the more common "dilemma" that people have about whether to save $15 by buying from the cruise line.

 

And given the savings that can be made, the possible disadvantages of this type of ticket may be quite small in comparison. You can never reduce the risks to zero, but the vast majority of people flying on cruise line-supplied air tickets get to the ship on time without any hassle. If there's going to be a big saving, it could be a perfectly rational decision to make even after balancing all of the pros and cons. You don't need to be a "price is your ONLY concern"-type purchaser for cruise line-supplied air tickets to make sense in this kind of situation.

[skf]

This is a little off topic, but since we're talking about Europe...

Anyone have any experience flying Aer Lingus out of Boston? Any recommendations? We are booked for a cruise from Rome October 8 2016.

Obviously I am not asking about airfares so far in advance.

Thanx, Steve

Edited July 10, 2015 by skf

[travelplus]

$1,282 is a good deal. Last night I booked a San Francisco-London-Barcelona Dubai-London Heathrow-Dubai for $1,190 per person all taxes included or British Airways with a good enough schedule.

 

Were you expecting to pay $500 or $600? Sorry to say but those days are gone for now. I sure remember when airfares were that much and man have times have changed.

 

What I did was put the cruise on a courtesy hold and then looked around for airfares. I went onto Expedia, Kayak, called various airlines and Cruise Air all came up with $1,300-$3,000 dollars depending on the routing.

 

Then I narrowed it down to only one stop flights and operated on a European carrier like BA or Lufthansa. Kept going until I saw the flight that was well. You may see this as an upside or downside but on the flight going I built in a 5 hour layover in London and an 8 hour on the return just in case of any delays. I would rather wait around the airport than look at my clock on my cellphone every few seconds.

 

I actually love SFO and prefer British Airways with their inflight service, At Seat TV good drinks and decent food. While I like Lufthansa I was willing to save and go on BA via LHR. I have never been to Terminal 5 and wanted to check it out. Normally BA is the most expensive with their taxes. Yes you do have to pay for pre-assignment of seats but heck thats life.

 

You need to be flexible and have a reasonable ballpark figure of what a good deal is. And do remember price is not always fun because you have to give up your flexibility.

 

Check out consolidators and do some more comparison shopping. As others have said did you pay for the cruise in full? My way of planning is putting the cruise on hold and 1-2 flights on hold, check around and book the best itinerary possible. I spent 3 hours last night calling around and looking online and was happy with British Airways.

 

For the distance traveled I felt we got a great deal. People today don't realize the cost of fuel, operating an airline. When you figure $1,100 for a flight and you got your cabin for$580 you are getting a great deal.

 

My number one rule is to arrive the day before and leave a day or two after. Why be in a rush in the taxi not knowing if you will make the flight. Get a hotel for the night before and the night or so after.

 

You are going on vacation so its time you look at other ways to save. Perhaps Hotwire for a Hotel, Groupon for Food/Activities, Picnicking instead of eating out at restaurant every day.

 

Get a hotel with breakfast and take a plastic bag and fill it with bread and cheese and meat and make sandwiches for lunch.

 

Don't book the most expensive hotel. Some of the larger hotels lack charm.

 

Also ask yourself when will the next time you will get an opportunity to travel to this location on this cruise again?

 

I wish you all the best and hope these tips help you to think realistically and please do keep us updated.

[pcur]

I was researching flying British Airways to Europe in 2017. I always start checking flights for the same time a year early so I can budget.

 

First of all, I LOVE my Sapphire Visa points! With double points for travel purchases, just paying for a cruise and hotels helps get the points balance up. I pay things off early to coincide when I need to buy the airfare.

 

What I really like is the flexibility, because you can buy airfare with points, get cash, get a credit on your Visa statment, or transfer points to airline partners. British Airways is one of their partners, and the points transfer is free.

 

I found that I can book British Airways rewards flights to Europe by transferring the points I need from Sapphire Visa, and then use the Visa card to pay for the taxes and fees, get the double points for the purchase, then use those same new points and what's left over after the BA transfer as a credit on my Visa account. The whole roundtrip will end up costing about $200 + 70k points roundtrip from SFO in Premium Economy. If I have 95k points I can fly Business Class coming back to LAX instead.

Edited September 15, 2015 by pcur

[zoncom]

Transatlantic from Houston April 16,2016 NCL Jade to BCN. $649. Just get to Houston, then only return air from Barcelona. Ships have really good one way TA pricing usually.

[b_cruise]

Weather just announced their London gat wick fares today 250 one way from Toronto.

[pcur]

I always look for a way to fly Premium Economy or Business Class for Trans-"pond" flights either direction. That's why I like to use Sapphire Points. I have flown economy to Europe and it was not a fun experience.

[wowzz]

I always look for a way to fly Premium Economy or Business Class for Trans-"pond" flights either direction. That's why I like to use Sapphire Points. I have flown economy to Europe and it was not a fun experience.

 

I agree, but a daylight flight in economy is just about bearable, it's the 'red-eye' flights that are grim

[fbgd]

I agree, but a flight in economy is just grim

 

I removed the superfluous words for you.

[srlafleur]

Sorry if this has been mentioned - I just skimmed previous posts.

 

Did you check the prices for days pre and post cruise? Adding on a hotel may not save you money, but if the airfare + hotel amounts to about the same, you'd at least be getting more actual vacation for the money.

 

Also, while not non-stop, or even necessarily convenient, you could check if there are bargain domestic flights to NY or Detroit (or other international hubs) and maybe less pricey international airfare from there.

 

Sometimes you have to get creative!