The Med Thread - All Sailings - Mediterranean

[Skallywag]

Just wonder if you are trying to use Delta miles are they still code-share partners with Virgin - if so you can get direct flight with them (subject to availability from Orlando to Gatwick and then direct flight to Barcelona.

Just a thought - cannot remember who else they code share with. Also I know that Delta fly in about 3/4 times daily into Gatwick, know you have to change at Atlanta but have done this several times.
Just think if you try and go overnight train back and forward to Paris you will end up very tired and that is no fun with small children also.
Brenda

 

[bellelinus]

My questions is.....if we book to NY to Paris, then take the train, can we then return from Barcelona to NY economically, or will that make the price substantially worse?

I've been looking at Delta flying out of JFK nonstop to Barcelona, then flying out of CDG (Paris) nonstop back to JFK, and the price is about the same as a RT between JFK and BCN. Our plan is to arrive in Barcelona a few days early, enjoy the cruise, fly easyjet from BCN to Paris after the cruise, and then enjoy some time in Paris and DLP.

To do this online, select "multicity" instead of one way or round trip, and compare to the RT price.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Wow, I've been doing searches for airfare prices and noticed something odd. I've been using the following dates May 24 through June 6th. It is Thursday thru Wednesday of the following week. Our cruise leaves on July 7th so I can't check those prices. I know pretty much I want to fly with KLM because they have the best times from my airport. Otherwise, we'd have to fly out of SFO which I not sold on yet. Anyways, for the past few weeks the cost of the flight was around $1126 per person. Not bad but not great. I checked today and it $2886 per person. I thought I was seeing double. So do the best prices come out the day they are released or what?? Very confused in the high jump in prices. I also I have been checking out of SFO and the price is around $950 per person but on British Airways. But the flight leaves early on depart day that you'd have to spend another night in Spain before catching a flight out.

Now, that's the other thing I noticed a lot of flights leave 6 am to 9 am range. Too early to leave the day you depart. Another reason I'm sticking to KLM because the flight leaves at noon. So, I'm wondering do European Airlines change your flight times a lot like American does? I'm assuming we can't leave earlier than noon?

 

[BigBlueMan]

I checked today and it $2886 per person. I thought I was seeing double. So do the best prices come out the day they are released or what?? Very confused in the high jump in prices.

Some in these threads would argue that they do. I'm of a different opinion. Depending on the airline, prices are usually a bit cheaper a month or so after they are announced. For example, I've been doing some test dates on my airfare (since my dates aren't available yet either), and I've seen round trip tickets from Paris to Barceona start at $228 (roughly) and a month later be priced at $148.

I did a search this morning for a one-way flight Barcelona to Paris and it was over $700!! A round trip where you throw away the second leg is where I got the $148 rate.

No rhyme no reason on this airline nonsense.

 

[M&C]

Subscribing....

 

[jmcdonnell04]

We have enough points for 4 of us to travel roundtrip to Barcelona from Orlando.

I just called Delta today and the options are horrible. There were basically 2 flights to choose from. One that leaves Barcelona at 7am (which means we get up at 3am) or a flight with 3 stops before getting to Orlando. (not an option with 2 small children)

They said to keep calling every 14 days. This is ridiculous. What is the point of having sky miles if you can't get a flight?

I guess we may have to fly into Madrid or even Paris and take the train.

So....What are your strategies for using sky miles successfully???

Misseulalie -- I was just as frustrated trying to use my Delta Skymiles. We are on the June 16th cruise but we are going to DLP before the cruise. I was happy with Delta that allowed USA to Paris -- 3 day layover -- Paris to Barcelona and then Barcelona back to the USA. There are 5 of us and we had enough for 4 tickets (50K miles per ticket). I called Sunday night at 11:55 pm in order to book the return flight at exactly 331 days. Of course, the more direct flights were not available for Skymile usage. The Delta rep said to try back in a couple of weeks if I was not happy with flight selection. I said how would the flights get better when I am calling at the very second that they would be available. I think he got the picture when a couple of itineraries were snatched up while he was trying to book my tickets. He implied that they only allow 4 Skymile tickets per flight.

I was on the phone with Delta until 2 AM and we have our (4) tickets. The Delta rep was very patient and did the best possible job with the restrictions that were put on him. We live between Cincinnati & Dayton but wouldn't you know it we have to depart from Columbus. Our itinerary is as follows:

Tuesday, June 12
4:15 pm Columbus to JFK
8:40 pm JFK to Paris (CDG) 9:55 AM arrival

Saturday, June 16
10:00 am Paris to Barcelona 11:45 AM arrival (Hooray 11-day Cruise)

Wednesday June 27
12:25 pm Barcelona to Paris
3:55 pm Barcelona to Boston
7:20 pm Boston to Columbus

Only the two USA legs are Delta, the rest of the flights are with Air France.
Again, I am very happy with the extra leg and the flight to catch the cruise could not be better. I am waitlisted for a couple of direct flights (ie. the currently empty Flight # 44 from Cincinnati to Paris non-stop, etc.) so there may be pixie dust magic yet.

I still need to purchase a ticket for the 5th member of our party and Delta quoted me $ 2261.00 for duplicate itinerary ticket. To purchase, the more direct non-stops from Cincinnati to Paris and Barcelona back to Cincinnati is $ 1249.00. And then we can play the round-trip game as mentioned in other posts for $ 148 from Paris to Barcelona.

Sorry for the long post but thanks for letting me vent. I think I am suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome from lack of sleep trying to book these flights. My advice is to book what you can and then hopefully a waitlist may come through. Good Luck to all.

 

[ImprovGal]

In case anyone else was wondering what the heck happened to the "multi-city" option on Air France's website...
According to Air France web support, they've been doing work on that part of the booking engine and it should return on Thursday or Friday of this week.

 

[MJGirl]

I finally got a chance to quote prices. I 'm flying out of Toronto. I was shocked when I was quoted 2700 a person for Toronto to Paris, and only $908 a person from Toronto to London. I'm planning on a week in Paris, so I quoted July 1 to July 19. I think I may fly into London and do a few days there, then take the chunnel to Paris for a few more days! I can't believe the almost $2000 difference in price? Am I that naive?

 

[jlawall]

Ok, I was also burning the midnight oil to check out potential flights next summer. I found some decent prices on a JFK - CDG - Barcelona; Barcelona - JFK trip. That's what I'm going to go for next month..............wish me luck!

 

[scottishwee35]

Subscribing....

I am sorry I dont have clue what that mean?

Scottishwee35

 

[Scratch42]

I am sorry I dont have clue what that mean?

Scottishwee35

Subscribing means that the person wants to get an email everytime that something is said on this thread. That way the person won't miss out on any pertinent information.

j

 

[Scratch42]

I finally got a chance to quote prices. I 'm flying out of Toronto. I was shocked when I was quoted 2700 a person for Toronto to Paris, and only $908 a person from Toronto to London. I'm planning on a week in Paris, so I quoted July 1 to July 19. I think I may fly into London and do a few days there, then take the chunnel to Paris for a few more days! I can't believe the almost $2000 difference in price? Am I that naive?

Which Airline are you looking at?

j

 

[MJGirl]

Which Airline are you looking at?

j

I'm talking Air Canada! Other airlines (Air Transat) don't have prices up for July 07 yet. I'm going to wait awhile before I book!

 

[AnnaS]

Ok, I was also burning the midnight oil to check out potential flights next summer. I found some decent prices on a JFK - CDG - Barcelona; Barcelona - JFK trip. That's what I'm going to go for next month..............wish me luck!

We are on the same cruise and you are also checking JFK airport as well as us. How about Newark, NJ airport. What is CDG?

Will meet up just in case in our cruise meet thread.

Everyone keep the rates coming and thanks a million.

 

[Skallywag]

CDG is Charles De Gaulle airport in paris.

 

[jlawall]

Hey Anna, I believe you are in Staten Island, am I right?? CDG, is Charles de Galle which would get us to Paris.............I believe our other DisFriends from Staten Island are planning to go to Paris as well..............JFK appears to be cheaper than Newark from what I learned so far.....???

 

[Scratch42]

I'm talking Air Canada! Other airlines (Air Transat) don't have prices up for July 07 yet. I'm going to wait awhile before I book!

Thanks! I was hoping since you said it was way out there! I won't travel Air Transat after they took a day away from a WDW trip!

Have you checked Continental? What about ZOOM Airlines. They fly to Paris but unfortunately for me they fly Sunday too early, Wednesday too late.

j

 

[OurDogCisco]

MV Photon had posted this on the regular Cruise page so I thought I'd copy it and move it over here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1184080



Many veteran Mediterranean cruisers assert that their experiences have been enhanced via the use of private tour guides at several ports.

Potential advantages include:
customized itineraries
see exactly what you want
leave once you've seen enough
luxury Mercedes mini-vans
access to ancient & narrow inner-city streets, off-limits to large buses
not touring with lots of other people's children (...sorry!)
no waiting for stragglers to return to the bus
opportunity to bypass lines at popular attractions (w/ licensed guides)
While such tours may appear to be costly at 450 - 660 Euro/day, that fee covers an entire party of 6 - 8 passengers; thus, the cost per person is competitive with that of the cattle calls.

While I claim no first-hand expertise, I have spent many hours perusing the Boards at several cruise forums (e.g. – www.cruisecritic.com) to compile this list of recommended firms & guides at Disney Cruise Lines’ 2007 European ports of call, in rough order of the frequency & enthusiasm of endorsements:

Barcelona
www.pepitotours.com/private-tours-barcelona.html Jose Soler
http://wwguides.com/forums/member.php?u=243
www.gobarcelona.com/
BCNtour-taxi Armando Panedas
(34) 60-419-756 armandopanedas@vodafone.es
www.barcelonatourguides.com/ Patrick
http://www.taxiinternacional.com/en...ternacional.htm Angie

Palermo, Sicily
www.easytoursicilia.it/indexe.htm Sylvano Lunetta
www.sicily-tour.com/ Stephen Davies
www.sicilylife.com/Tours.htm

Don’t miss the Capuchin Catacombs:http://www.palermoweb.com/sottopale...cappuccini1.htm

Naples (Pompeii)
http://driveamalfi.com/ Salvatore Lucibello, Adriano, Roberto
www.drivesorrento.com/ Nello Russo
www.seesorrento.com/chi_sono_eng.html Marcello Maresca, Eugiene, Marco
www.aptours.it/Site/default.asp?Lang=EN Alberto
www.francescomarrapese.com/excursions.htm Francesco
www.pleasantravel.com/index.htm Mariano Fiorentino
www.jackthedriver.com/ Jack, Lorenzo Bianco
www.benvenutolimos.com/ Giovanni
http://www.sorrentocardrivers.com/S...ult.asp?Lang=EN Raffael
www.cuomonet.it/ Renato
http://aldotaxi.net/ Aldo
www.driverinrome.com …but avoid Guiliana
http://tourofitaly.com/
www.hiddenitalytours.com/ Mariano Fiorentino

Olbia, Sardinia


Civitavecchia (Rome)
www.limoinrome.com/home.htm Claudio Caponera , Fabrizio
www.driverinrome.com/ Daniele Melaragno, Remo (his father), Pepe, Manny
http://romeinlimo.com/ Duman & Carlo
www.romelimousineservice.com/ Max Leotta
www.romecabs.com/ Stefano Costantini
www.romeconnection.com/ Marco

Don’t miss the Scavi Tour (Vatican necropolis):http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/i...0040112_en.html

La Spezia (Florence / Pisa)
www.florencetour.com/ Paola Migliorni
www.tuscanyinmypocket.com/ Guido
www.abcwine.it/off shore.htm Carla Giomi
www.papillonservice.com/ Lisa, Roberto
www.tuscanybytaxi.it/ Ricardo
www.sunflower-tours.com/services.htm Giovanni Sirabella
www.limoinrome.com/home.htm Claudio
Alessandro Cammilli alecamma@hotmail.com
Pauline Priore paulinep@tin.it

Pre-book tickets to Ufizi and Academia Galleria:www.florenceart.it/
Dial 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) 055-294-883 during the hours of 8:30 AM -6:30 PM M-F & 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time.

Pre-book to Leaning Tower of Pisa (available 45 – 16 days in advance): www.opapisa.it/boxoffice/index.jsp

Marseilles
http://rendez-vous-provence.com/en/contact.html Olivier N’guyen
www.taxidurand.com/guide2.htm
www.provence-taxi-tourisme.com/
http://www.provence-travel.com/prov...ers/cities.html Catherine D'Antuono
http://provencesightseeing.com/
http://provencetours.free.fr/accueil_anglais.htm
Villefranche (Monte Carlo / Cannes / Nice)
www.revelation-tours.com/cruise.html Michel LeGrand, Isoline
www.dream-tours.com/layout.php?page=106&lang=us Alain, Frederic, Jean Marc
www.azur-guides-interpretes.com/ Sylvie DiCristo
www.riviera-prestige-tours.com/ Eva Devemy

P.S.- The more renowned guides are often booked up months or more ahead of time. More than a year in advance, we have already reserved our guides (the top on each list) for the 28 July 2007 11-day cruise.

 

[carolmb]

Thanks for posting the above list. I have been pouring over the cruise critic message boards for ideas. We definetly want to go the private tour route. I figure our kids, DS almost 9 and DD 6, will get more out of a tour that can be somewhat tailored to them. I guess I need to get busy and start lining up the tours. Thanks again.
Carol

 

[OurDogCisco]

Thanks for posting the above list. I have been pouring over the cruise critic message boards for ideas. We definetly want to go the private tour route. I figure our kids, DS almost 9 and DD 6, will get more out of a tour that can be somewhat tailored to them. I guess I need to get busy and start lining up the tours. Thanks again.
Carol

I'm starting to feel better about this trip especially hearing about others bringing their kids. My kids will be 9 1/2 and 6 when we go but they are girls.