On Jun 27, 2:23=A0pm, D Ball wrote:
> Warren, did you decide on Aer Lingus or other that offers the less
> expensive, but more 2-hop flights?
Here's an update. I chose Aer Lingus rather than Iceland Air because
it offered flights for each outbound leg. I fly to London via Dublin
and stay for 3days/2nights. Late afternoon on the third day I fly Aer
Lingus again to my embarkation port for one final night.
The fares were equivalent. Aer Lingus also offered both arrival and
departure from London Gatwick which allowed me to pick a hotel in
London convenient to Victoria Station for the Gatwick express. If I
flew in to Heathrow and out from Gatwick then I'd have to compromise
on location for access to/from one of the airports. I go from baggage
claim, to express train from the terminal, to hotel (right across the
street from Victoria) - and back again just as easily.
I could have gone to my embarkation port directly via Dublin with only
one connection (saving having to do the final hop on a third flight)
but the choice was either a 90 minute connection or sitting around
Dublin airport for about 10 hours. The fare would have been slightly
lower to do this. I didn't have any interest in spending more than an
overnight at the embarkation city so it was either spend a couple of
days in Dublin or London. I have old friends that I wish to see in
London and it's my favorite city after NYC. Plus, Ireland is on our
list of major land-vacation destinations within the next few years
anyway.
Total for the outbound (all one way): $422. Total for all flights
including post cruise back home from Florida: $550. Three nights hotel
total (both European 4 star hotels offering discounts): $450. Total
pre-cruise travel costs (before meals other than breakfast): $1000.
Cruise line air flying directly to embarkation on some unknown
itinerary with a definite connection somewhere in Europe without
hotels: $1000
Other than Iceland Air, all other airlines priced out at well over
$1300 one way to get to embarkation with or without a stopover at just
about every major European gateway. If I "cheated" and booked
roundtrips, the fares dropped to between $5-600.
Lesson learned (to bring this back on topic so I don't completely
hijack Dory's thread): with a little research and taking control of
the arrangements you can enjoy decent extra time pre-cruise, building
in a travel pace that totally eliminates any "what if I miss the ship"
anxiety.
Warren |