[Avista]

We would like to take a repositioning cruise next April, however, the air fare back to the States seems extremely high. Has anyone done this. What have you found regarding return airfare prices?

[carm310]

Where are you flying back from? Is it during what would be considered Spring Break?

[duffysmom]

Avista, We've taken a few transatlantics. We have found that sometimes a round trip ticket is cheaper than a one way so we book the round trip and do not use the return or use the return for another transatlantic in the fall. Transatlantics can be so much cheaper than a caribbean cruise especially if you book yourself or with a TA who will allow you to get the price reductions which almost always happens as you get closer to the cruise date. Keep an eye on the prices and you will be amazed and how deep the reduction can get when you check daily. It is my understanding that some Travel Agents will not allow you to get the reduction so be careful who you book with. I recommend ww.cruisecritic.com for lots ofgreat information and you can actually meet some of the people who will be on you cruise under the Roll Call section.

[Avista]

We'll be returning from London. Cruise leaves Ft Lauderdale and via Azures, Spain and Portugal, arrives Southampton 14 days later. Found an Icelandair Air one way flight that is more in line with what we were thinking. Makes one stop in Iceland and then on to Orlando. Thanks Duffysmom for all of your input.

[swrinfla]

Avista:

I wasn't going to get into this discussion, but now I can't resist. A couple questions:

Did your agent / cruise line quote you a fare for your return flight? They should have.

Was it better than what you might find one your own for a one-way London-Orlando? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

A one-way across the Atlantic will be expensive - do consider the "bargain" of buying a round trip as duffysmom suggests.

When I have to fly somewhere, whether within the States or internationally, I start my research with Orbitz.com (to identify who flies my route and to see what prices are being offered). Then, I research the individual lines themselves. I try to stick with non-stops, where possible, certainly no more than one change.

Then, I go from there. I don't personally ever book with the cheapie on-line sites (Expedia, etc.), because I'm afraid of their harsh limitations and frequent failure to deliver.

Hope you can find a decent fare, because abandoning your transatlantic repositioning cruise just because of the expense of getting home doesn't, frankly, make any sense!

SWR

[Avista]

We selected this repositioning cruise while on board another cruise (Royal Carribean). By selecting the cruise on board, we will receive $300 onboard credit for the cruise we signed up for( which was a special price) All info will be sent to our travel agent who will take over from now on. We need to make an appointment with her. I was just trying to do some homework before we meet with travel agent.

[784caroline]

Depending upon when you made on on-board reservation at the "Special Price" I would check simply the RCL website to see if those prices still hold or are they cheaper today. The other issue with bookking on-board is the OBC offered on board is NOT in many cases combinable with any OBCs offered by a Travel Agent or discount prices offered by the cruise line itself.

Bottom line is that On-Line OBCs are not the deal they once were 2 plus years ago. YOu will not lose anything but you certainly dont gain anything by early booking except cabin selection. A good agent can explain all of this .

Also be aware I just saw some November 2009 transatlantic 14 day fares for Celebrity for as low as $399 plus taxes/person for an Inside Cabin. If you like inside cabins you cannot stay home at that price!

LAST CALL!
$ 399 pp- 14 nt. Fall Trans-Atlantic
Promotion expires: Friday 10/30/09
Not valid with any other promotion or discount
New Bookings Only


BONUS: Book one of the following sailings by
Friday 10/30/09 and you also receive:
An onboard Coupon booklet


11/28/09 Celebrity Century- 14 nt. Fall Trans-Atlantic
(Barcelona/SPAIN, Cartagena/SPAIN, Gibraltar/UK, Madeira (Funchal)/PORTUGAL, Tenerife/CANARY IS., La Palma/CANARY IS., Miami)
Inside: $ 399 pp
Oceanview: $ 599 pp
Balcony: $ 1099 pp
Suite: $ 1298 pp

11/28/09 Celebrity Summit- 14 nt. Fall Trans-Atlantic
(Barcelona/SPAIN, Provence (Marseilles)/FRANCE, Valencia/SPAIN, Malaga/SPAIN, Agadir/MOROCCO, Tenerife/CANARY IS., San Juan)
Inside: $ 399 pp
Oceanview: $ 699 pp
Balcony: $ 899 pp
Suite: $ 1699 pp

[Avista]

Thank you everyone for your posts and suggestions. We spent a day on our computer researching cruises and yesterday morning with our travel agent. Decided to transfer our repositioning deposit on Royal Caribbean, which we made onboard a cruise, to an Oct 7 day cruise out of Tampa on the Radiance. If we find a good deal, may take another cruise before then. We also like Elderhostel. So may things to do! At least we got the repositioning cruise question taken care of. Price was great, but at least $1500 more to return home. Yikes, that another cruise.