dawn2duskb

HI!
Is it possible to change the Italy Airport for my return trip home?
Going on a Greek Isles Cruise out of Ravenna (venice) Italy In August 2024.
Flying from Newark, NJ (EWR) to Venice (VCE) or Bologna BLQ) before the cruise.
Ater the cruise, we are going down to Messina, Sicily to visit family for 3 days.
{While Bologna is closer to the port, we are leaning towards Venice airport so we can sightsee Venice for a day before we board the cruise & Looks like flights to Catania Airport have better "flight times" out of Venice airport, instead of bologna

-We will purchase 2nd set of air tickets from Venice to Catania Sicily round trip.

All this being said, It woudl be ideal to Fly from EWR Newark NJ to Venice for our Cruise. Then after the cruise, fly from Venice to Catania, However, when its time to return home, it would make better sense to Fly from Catania Sicily, up to ROME (instead of back to Venice), and then from Rome fly to Newark, NJ.

I'm having a hard time getting flight times that arrive early enough to Venice from Catania, but still leave enough time to board my Vinice to Newark Flight. It's more do-able for a Rome Flight.

And It looks like purchasing a bunch of one-way tickets is just so much more money, so if we have to buy round trip out of Venice for both flights, it will have to be that way.

Tips Welcome!

ellenem

There is no reason for you to book a roundtrip flight from Newark EWR to the same city in Italy. No need to return from Catania to your original arrival city. Use the multi-city option (NOT multiple one-way tickets) on flight booking sites to explore the best options. Booking multi-city on one ticket should cost about the same as roundtrip, or slightly more, but you will have saved but not having to fly back to Venice.

I suspect from EWR to Italy, you will not find nonstop flights to Venice (VCE) nor to Bologna (BLQ). You will probably need to connect through another city (Rome FCO, Milan MXP, London, Paris, Amsterdam--endless choices.) In August, Delta has a daily nonstop flight from JFK to VCE.

Your idealized itinerary into a flight search site:
EWR to VCE
FCO to EWR

MmePerdu

On your returning home itinerary, you should have both flights on one ticket in case your flight from Catania is delayed & you miss your EWR-bound flight. On one ticket you’d be covered for the delay & rescheduled flight. If you end up booking the 2 flights separately I’d recommend booking the flight from Catania on the day before your flight to EWR to accommodate any delay that could cost you the price of a replacement ticket.

dawn2duskb

excellent idea, i didnt know about the "multi-city" option and what that meant. I wonder if hte "add a segment" can also include my trip down to Catania from Venice and then back up to Rome for return home. Thanks !

dawn2duskb

Excellent suggestion, thanks. I've been using "Justfly.com" and i wonder if I can connect all the different flights using "add a segment"

ellenem

for the flight from Venice to Catania, I would not necessarily worry about adding a segment. Chances are it will be on a smaller European airline rather than the one for your transatlantic flights.

Like MmePerdu, I wondered about needing to be in Rome the day before your flight just in case something unforeseen happens. To avoid this dilemma, you might look into how difficult it might be for you to depart for Newark from Palermo instead of Catania. I believe at certain times of year on certain days of the week there are nonstop flights between Palermo and Newark.

Traveler_Nick

I've no idea who just fly is but you should book direct with the airlines. Any issues and you don't really want to be dealing with a third party. Schedules change. Flights get canceled .

You can use Google flights to search for flights but book with the airline.

dawn2duskb

Yikes!
according to Justfly.com:
** When purchasing 2 sets of flights seperately, ticket comes to about $1100 total which is good.
$900 EWR-VCE & then FCO-EWR (Using Multi-City option)
** Then seperately searching:
VCE-CTA round Trip $162 (+ its a direct flight)
**If i use Multi-city for CTA so I can go from CTA to Rome, the price jumps to $312 (and adds a stop!)
VCE-CTA & then CTA-Rome $312.
.....NOW, if i use the Multi-City Option for EWR - CTA (and then CTA-FCO) + Add a Segment in the middle for VCE-CTA & CTA-Rome .... THE PRICE JUMPS TO $1,835 PER TICKET Plus adds Connecting Flights! That's so expensive, so it makes sense to buy the Catania flight seperately, and then just arrive back in Rome/Venice a day early with all the money I'm saving per ticket x 4 people in my family, and then get a hotel the night. before my flight home (Since I cant seem to get from Catania to Rome OR Venice, and then from those airports back to EWR in the same day!

dawn2duskb

If i call the airline directly to book the flight, will they be priced the same as the 3rd party sights? I thought 3rd party sights are cheaper, but i hear your concerns about cancelled flights, etc.

Traveler_Nick

You don't need to phone. I'd worry about any airline without a website.

Third parties have a nasty habit of putting together one way flights with different carriers. You need to be very careful with what they're selling you.

Seamus

Third party sites re NOT cheaper, and leave you hanging in case of any irregularities en route. Your best bet is to book directly with the airline - which you can usually do online.

On the airline site, choose multi city (from EWR, probably will find best options on United airlines but check Google flights to be sure - and pay attention to trip duration along with price.) Search for EWR-VCE for your outbound and FCO-EWR for the return. Make separate arrangements for VCE-CTA and CTA-FCO which will probably be available on European low cost carriers. Do allow for a little cushion in your flight to Rome just in case you encounter a delay - in fact, best idea would be to fly CTA to FCO the day before your FCO-EWR flight. Spend the night in Rome then fly home.

janisj

Multi-city that others have mentioned ate what you may of seen called 'open jaw'. In to one city and home from another. This is very easy to do on the airline's website. There is usually no reason to have to phone the airline. Do not use a third party site. It is possible that the long haul flights might be on different airlines - but in the same alliance (Star Alliance, One World or Sky Team) and would still be bookable on the one airline's website.

Using 'add a segment' will almost certainly cost a LOT more. As others have said book the domestic flight in Italy on any of the several low cost European airlines.

SusanP

Just realize that those low-cost airlines have very strict luggage restrictions. That might be a problem if you're packing for a cruise?

Sassafrass

Flights to Catania from Venice may have better times, but if your cruise ends in Ravenna, it is a fairly long haul back to Venice airport, at least twice the time as to Bologna.
Even if you could book flights from Catania to Venice or Rome, then back to the States, all the same day, it is generally not a good idea. Before international flights, it is best to be in your departure city the night before.
Much as I like Venice, You won’t have much time. It will be hot and super crowded. If your flight arrived early enough for you to have any time, you will be tired and at least some of you will be jet lagged. It will take most of a morning to get to Ravenna or Bologna with family and luggage and get checked into a hotel or to get to the ship, and I sure do not recommend arriving the day of the cruise. Anything can happen and you could miss it. If an international flight is delayed or cancelled, you can miss the cruise and have few or no options. Just as for the flights, be in the departure city (or very, very close by) the night before the cruise. It is different if you are a short distance on home ground with options. When you are combining cruise and flights and short and long flights, be very generous with scheduling.
You are kind of locked in now, and what SusanP said is very important. Small airlines are super strict about luggage. Check to see weight and size allowances and the cost of extra if they even allow it. If you are returning to the same airport, some may have storage, though I don’t know current situations.
There are lots of options, but I think you are going to be struggling with time and exhaustion. Is there any way you can extend this trip by a couple of days and have more flexibility? Would it work to do the Sicily visit first? It would not be ideal if you were all exhausted, but what about flying into Rome or Naples, spending the night, then on to Sicily for three days before heading to the ship? Stay a night or two in Venice after the cruise.

dawn2duskb

Great tips, thank you. Everyone has convinced me....Will not use a 3rd party site for flights!

dawn2duskb

. Ah, thank you for explaining "open jaw"! I also was not understanding how to book direct when the multi-city round trip encompassed different airlines, but i belive you explained as long as they have "alliance", then I should be okay.

and "add a segment" was crazy expensive that way, so scratch that!

dawn2duskb

Thanks for all the Tips.
Messina for 3 days at the END is a definite becaue its just going to be spending time with family that lives there, so it will be a time to decompress and relax from the cruise.
While Bologna is closer to Ravenna (75 minute transit), and Venice is 2.5 hrs to Ravenna, I want to see Venice for a day even if we barely scrape the surface the v
We will arrive in Venice on Thursday morning, and we dont have to be at the Ravenna cruise until Saturday late morning, so hopefully all of Friday can be spent leisurely taking in Venice.

YOU DID GIVE ME A GREAT IDEA! We can Fly in EWR-VCE, but After hte cruice, we can just go to the closer airport for BLQ-CTA. AS FAR AS THE RETURN FLIGHT HOME, someone said PALERMO-NEWARK has a direct flight, so i can look into that, and hopefully its not $$$$.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR SUCH DIAMOND TIPS!!!!

Sassafrass

If you could do multi-city (which is what it is officially called by the airlines) (open-jaw by travelers), into Venice and out of Palermo, even if it cost a good deal more, you would save a lot by not having to return to Venice or Bologna from Catania and you could just do a one way, from Bologna to Catania after the cruise. Then that flight would not have to be connected with your international flights at all. That would ease things up a lot. Of course, you have the trip to Palermo, but if you can get a direct from Palermo, that would be fantastic.
It is great that you are allowing a full day (two nights) in Venice! Do stay in Venice, not nearby! Evenings are magical and many tourists have left.

joannyc

There is a flight from CTA to EWR on Turkish Airlines with 1 stop. No need to go back to Rome or Bologna.

J62

There must be more time-efficient routes traveling from Catania back to Newark than flying 500mi EAST to Istanbul..... Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris, etc.... Or take a 2.5hr train to Palermo.

As for fares, it's waaaaay too early to book flights for August 2024. Airlines have no incentive to offer lower fares now. I would wait until at least the early spring to book something. Keep an eye on fares for dates closer in, or sign up for a fare tracker - I believe google flights offers one...