Gem 7 days from Barcelona - random questions

[Browezilla]

we are planning on doing this cruise in november.

 

the only thing holding us back is the airfare.

 

the airfare for 4 is more then the cruise price.

 

do you think the air may come down, we do have a wahile before final payment .

Barcelona is an expensive city to fly into. I waited on it for 9 months one time to come down before I rebooked the cruise a year out so I could use frequent flyier miles as soon as the routes were available. I would anticipate paying in the $750/person range (give or take a $100 as prices fluctuate).

[CruisinEurope]

We got rt open ended airfare tampa to Munich and Barcelon back to Tampa for $800 rt. We figured we kick around in Germany to kill the jet lag for a few days and then booked $49 one way tickets on Air Belin to Barcelona the day before the cruise...

Can't wait and good luck!

 

This is great advice.

 

When flying from the US to Europe - check out your fave airline's main hubs across Europe. If one appeals to you - fly THERE and then do a day or two pre cruise. Then fly from that hub to your port - which will USUALLY be so much cheaper and will be easier since you will most likely be traveling within the EU.

 

Going home, you can do the same thing, but in reverse - and maybe choosing a different "hub".

 

IE - Frankfurt is a HUGE hub for most airlines, as is London. Going over, maybe stay in London a few days... coming back maybe stay in Frankfurt a few days (take the train to Berlin for a day trip if you'd like).

 

Bottom line - ONCE you're in Europe it's SOOOO easy to get around via plane, train or even car!

 

If you have the opportunity, adding on a few days here and there will greatly broaden your experience AND may actually not be that much more expensive than trying to get from point A to B without being creative.

 

ENJOY!

[HKG]

Thanks for all the great tips, but I was wondering has anyone joined the NCL Excursion in Rome? As far as I know, none of the tours besides the Private tour offers the colosseum and trevi fountain sites. Any suggestions? Thank you

[CruisinEurope]

Thanks for all the great tips, but I was wondering has anyone joined the NCL Excursion in Rome? As far as I know, none of the tours besides the Private tour offers the colosseum and trevi fountain sites. Any suggestions? Thank you

 

Go independent. Particularly in Rome, the NCL trips were a rip off from what we heard.

 

MANY people said they got told that the "Vatican was CLOSED" - which is why their group couldn't go in. That was total baloney - as not only did we go in, but there were absolutely NO LINES.

 

we used http://www.driverguideservice.com and can 100000% recommend them.

 

Tailor your trip to what YOU want to see - don't let the ship tell you what you can/can't see.

[HKG]

Thank you, I'll check them out.