Transatlantic Repositioning Cruise
Oct 4th, 2011, 06:12 PM
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Transatlantic Repositioning Cruise
My husband and I are planning to take a repositioning cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome in April on RCCL Navigator of the Seas. We will spend some time in Rome after the cruise. The airfare costs for one way flights from Rome to USA are exorbitant. Anyone have any suggestions where to look for better prices? We don't have enough frequent flyer miles to use for this trip. Any suggestions are welcome.
MoMeck
MoMeck
Oct 4th, 2011, 06:32 PM
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Oct 5th, 2011, 02:57 AM
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If you are not going till April you have time to get some
FF miles on credit cards and get free flights this year so
far for me...
Amex.com Open Business Cards(2) 150000 miles
AA.com CitiCards Business(2) 100000 miles
Booked 2 RT to Europe already 40000 per ticket with AA
CapitalOne.com Venture had a matching program 100000
with them do not know if it is still going on but
DOUBLE FF MILES on EVERYTHING with them no foreign fees
a Visa taken widely...
So might try something like that.
For april best to wait till a Tues PM in late Jan
they put everything on sale on sites like
farecompare.com cheaposir.com kayak.com/buzz
You may find the RT cheaper than one way...
Lastly [email protected] good personal agent
has gotten me super cheap fares on repositioning
lots will include airfare.
Seabourn is an awesome value right now up to 85% off
on some routes all suites all AI no tipping AWESOME.
Happy Planning!
FF miles on credit cards and get free flights this year so
far for me...
Amex.com Open Business Cards(2) 150000 miles
AA.com CitiCards Business(2) 100000 miles
Booked 2 RT to Europe already 40000 per ticket with AA
CapitalOne.com Venture had a matching program 100000
with them do not know if it is still going on but
DOUBLE FF MILES on EVERYTHING with them no foreign fees
a Visa taken widely...
So might try something like that.
For april best to wait till a Tues PM in late Jan
they put everything on sale on sites like
farecompare.com cheaposir.com kayak.com/buzz
You may find the RT cheaper than one way...
Lastly [email protected] good personal agent
has gotten me super cheap fares on repositioning
lots will include airfare.
Seabourn is an awesome value right now up to 85% off
on some routes all suites all AI no tipping AWESOME.
Happy Planning!
Oct 5th, 2011, 06:23 AM
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Hi momeck, lucky you being able to spend additional days in Rome after your cruise. You will love it there. My favorite of all places to visit.
Here is my suggestion for airfare, you need to just keep checking the airfare prices constantly. We just returned from a transatlantic and I was on the internet every single day comparing prices. I used kayak, booking buddy, etc. to get prices. We were also doing a one way but to Reykjavik, then onto Copenhagen. The best prices I found were on www.cheaptickets.com
We were pleased w/ the prices and services they provided. This was our first time booking w/ them but we would use them again.
I have also used www.bt-store.com w/ success and booked several flights to Rome with them. Again, you need to be diligent in your search as the prices can change w/ the snap of your finger. It will be worth the effort if you get the right price. Keep your comps handy and when the price is right, book it and don't wait. It may be too early right now to get good prices; however, you need to keep checking.
I just did a quick search for April '12 and best travel was higher than cheap tickets. Cheap tickets had good prices if you didn't mind more than 1 stop. Also check out jetblue.com as they partner w/ other airlines. We just flew home from FLL on them and I know they partner w/ Aer Lingus so you may get some good prices.
Good luck. Keep us posted. If it were me, I think I would take a chance and wait a bit to see if prices go down after the 1st of the year.
Here is my suggestion for airfare, you need to just keep checking the airfare prices constantly. We just returned from a transatlantic and I was on the internet every single day comparing prices. I used kayak, booking buddy, etc. to get prices. We were also doing a one way but to Reykjavik, then onto Copenhagen. The best prices I found were on www.cheaptickets.com
We were pleased w/ the prices and services they provided. This was our first time booking w/ them but we would use them again.
I have also used www.bt-store.com w/ success and booked several flights to Rome with them. Again, you need to be diligent in your search as the prices can change w/ the snap of your finger. It will be worth the effort if you get the right price. Keep your comps handy and when the price is right, book it and don't wait. It may be too early right now to get good prices; however, you need to keep checking.
I just did a quick search for April '12 and best travel was higher than cheap tickets. Cheap tickets had good prices if you didn't mind more than 1 stop. Also check out jetblue.com as they partner w/ other airlines. We just flew home from FLL on them and I know they partner w/ Aer Lingus so you may get some good prices.
Good luck. Keep us posted. If it were me, I think I would take a chance and wait a bit to see if prices go down after the 1st of the year.
Oct 5th, 2011, 03:25 PM
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It all depends of which part of the US you want to fly back to. Youmay find better airfares from Rome to New York.
Try Aer Lingus, the Irish airline. Less than $500 one way plus tax from Roem to NYC, with one stop at Dublin.
Try Aer Lingus, the Irish airline. Less than $500 one way plus tax from Roem to NYC, with one stop at Dublin.
Oct 5th, 2011, 07:02 PM
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We took a transAtlantic from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome last spring. It was wonderful.
This may seem like a nutty idea, but it worked for us, not that time, but in a similar situation.
We were arriving in Naples from a Greek Island Cruise (flight going to Venice was already taken care of), and knew we would be going back to Europe (Ireland) a few months later. One way was higher than RT. So we plotted way ahead, and booked a RT from Milan back to Milan several months later. We flew from Naples to pick up the Milan leg, and when we returned, flew from Milan to Ireland (got a super cheap oneway home from Ireland.
So, are you retired or in a situation where there is any possibility you could catch a reverse cruise in the fall from anywhere in Europe. If so, look ahead to see what cruise will be available. You wouldn't have to book the cruise now, could just wait for the prices to be right, but book the return to give you some leaway time before the cruise you would want to take.
Did that make sense or sound like gobbletygook? It sounds convoluted when I write it, but basically, because we had flights covered going the first trip, and returning the second trip, we were able to do a RT from/to Europe at less than one-way, and actually use the whole ticket. I have never felt smarter in my travels than when I put that together.
Another thing. Look into cheap flights from Rome to Ireland because at different times, you can get cheap one-way from Ireland to the US that are less than half of the RT from US to/from Ireland. We fly in/out of BWI or NY, so don't know what you can do out of Florida, but you have plenty of time to make something work.
This may seem like a nutty idea, but it worked for us, not that time, but in a similar situation.
We were arriving in Naples from a Greek Island Cruise (flight going to Venice was already taken care of), and knew we would be going back to Europe (Ireland) a few months later. One way was higher than RT. So we plotted way ahead, and booked a RT from Milan back to Milan several months later. We flew from Naples to pick up the Milan leg, and when we returned, flew from Milan to Ireland (got a super cheap oneway home from Ireland.
So, are you retired or in a situation where there is any possibility you could catch a reverse cruise in the fall from anywhere in Europe. If so, look ahead to see what cruise will be available. You wouldn't have to book the cruise now, could just wait for the prices to be right, but book the return to give you some leaway time before the cruise you would want to take.
Did that make sense or sound like gobbletygook? It sounds convoluted when I write it, but basically, because we had flights covered going the first trip, and returning the second trip, we were able to do a RT from/to Europe at less than one-way, and actually use the whole ticket. I have never felt smarter in my travels than when I put that together.
Another thing. Look into cheap flights from Rome to Ireland because at different times, you can get cheap one-way from Ireland to the US that are less than half of the RT from US to/from Ireland. We fly in/out of BWI or NY, so don't know what you can do out of Florida, but you have plenty of time to make something work.
