June - Magic for Norway OR Fantasy (eastern itinerary) - ADVICE??

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I would go for that in a heartbeat as to me $1000 would have been "affordable" based on what we did in 2015 for our 11 night Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise, to CPH but even better at $561!!

We ended up going with Iceland Air as they had the best rates and we still paid about $1300 per person for the three of us. We also had to drive to where Iceland Air flies from and had two connections so it was a long travel day indeed. We did two one ways (which Iceland Air does allow) to CPH and stayed 2.5 days prior to the cruise and ours ended in Dover so we flew home from LHR 4 days after the cruise. I had flown Iceland Air many years ago and was just as pleased with them again in summer 2015 - no complaints and they do a great job.

As it's been mentioned, Copenhagen is a highlight for sure so definitely make sure you add in time to explore there as it's WELL worth it - one of our top cities in the world and I've been there several times now.

Good luck!
Heather

 

[swimfin]

While Norwegian is a good option for cheap airfare, I would recommend to shop around. Norwegian is a low cost carriers, so you will pay extra for meals, drinks (even water) and luggage if you get the lowest fare. Legacy carriers will usually include one free bag (50 pounds) as well as two meals (or one meal and a snack) as well as at least all non-alcoholic drinks. European airlines usually also include alcohol for free. So, make sure to compare apples to apples. Also, shop around with regards to airports you can start from as you might get better fares from a different airport if you are flexible. Personally I would hesitate booking seperate flights for a transatlantic trip, i.e. using one carrier to fly to another city and then taking Norwegian from there. If something goes wrong with your first flight and you miss your connection the airline will do nothing for you. If you are travelling on one ticket, the airline will make sure to get you to your destination. However, that could be the next day, so I would advise to arrive two days early if you can.

I usually use www.kayak.com to compare airfare and have found some amazing airfares this year. It definitely seems to be the year to fly a lot!

Also, I just had a look at the www.touringplans.com fare tracker and it seems that the Norway cruise only had one price jump so far. It also seems that there is quite a bit of availability on the DCL website for this cruise. My guess would be that the cruise could be a candidate for an IGT/OGT/VGT fare. The pay in full date for the European cruises is at 120 days, so should be around February 4. It might be worth it to wait and see if you can book the cruise at a discount unless you have an onboard booking which you can transfer.

WOW!!! THANK YOU Flossbolna!!! You are a wealth of knowledge!!! Right now the best airfare for us is booking through a single airline from Denver and making two stops along the way to Copenhagen. It's still running between $560 and $575. Truly appreciate the information of European cruises needing to be paid 120 days out! I had no idea their PIF was this Saturday!!! We won't be able to get our airline tickets for a few weeks so this is perfect timing!! THANK YOU again!!! Cheers!

 

[swimfin]

I booked the 11 night Norway/Iceland cruise in June because of a great deal on air fare. I also had a western carribean booked for July 2017 then last month I saw a round trip direct flight from Newark to London for $650pp on Virgin Atlantic. I had to book it! If feel it's opportunity that may not present itself again and we can always cruise the Caribbean.

YES!!! I'm definitely feeling that way now as well!!!

 

[swimfin]

We did a 7-night Norway cruise on NCL in June 2015. It was amazing! I would second the previous poster who said to shop around on airfare. In November last year we got round trip flights from Denver to Barcelona for March of this year for $393 roundtrip on United. Airfare is crazy right now! What we did in 2015 was fly to London, spend 2 nights there, took the Eurostar to Paris for 2 nights there, and then flew from Paris to Copenhagen. On the way home the best flights we found from CPH to DEN were on Icelandair via Iceland. So we also spent 2 nights there. I think including travel it ended up being a 15-night vacation. It was unbelievable though! Definitely a trip of a lifetime.

As a side note we booked the NCL cruise long before DCL released their 2015 itineraries. I priced the Magic when the fares were released and it was literally double the NCL cost. With the money we saved by staying NCL we were able to do a week in Disney World in October. If money weren't a consideration, I would have loved the Magic in Norway!

THANK YOU!!! Truly appreciate such wonderful information!!! Glad to see another DIS fan from the Denver area!!! Cheers!