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You can fly into Rome and take the high speed train to Venice. You can also go a few days early if the prices are cheaper.
Yep...tried every city (airport) within 10 hour train ride. All are in the same ballpark pricing which is outside my budget.
That said, my app that I rely on a lot has told me "don't buy yet. We estimate prices will drop 50% between this date and this date". They have not been incorrect to date, and I am hoping this info is correct as well.
My concern is that since we have only 48 hours, less time lost in time change, to get from DFW to our embarkation point, I don't want to risk changing planes a whole bunch of times, and would rather change planes either at beginning point country (US) or ending point country (Italy) so there are not extra issues with passports/immigration or anything.
And holy shyte don't get me started on my fears about lost luggage and changing planes.
I really should have booked further out, but there is a whole list of (boring) reasons that I needed it to be this date. I'll just have to keep all digits crossed, pray, meditate, and whatever else I can do!
And holy shyte don't get me started on my fears about lost luggage and changing planes.
You may want to look into trip insurance even though it's an additional expense. That way, if you're delayed in getting to the ship and need to catch it at another port, you're covered. It will also cover if you get stuck somewhere overnight due to a missed connection. Sometimes the airlines come through with decent vouchers, sometimes they don't. I've gotten a "distressed passenger voucher" (essentially a coupon for a discounted rate) and found out the hotel was full when I called; gave up on another hotel for which I had a voucher after calling 3 times and being assured their shuttle was on the way with no results and finally made my own arrangements. They're also not responsible for weather-related delays.
I have read through the cruise threads over the last few days, and still have questions.
About us:
Mom, Dad, 2 young adult daughters
We eat healthy and all work out
We are very middle class/ paycheck to paycheck
First cruise
Narrowed down to Alaska, or various European itineraries
Time somewhere in the 7-14 day range
Youngest daughter in school, so cannot leave until after May 22
Needs/Questions:
-well-equipped gym, classes would be nice, free is almost essential - hardly see mention of this
-food always available (free version of food), as we eat 6 small meals, not B-L-D
-Other than the previous, do not care much about food, needs to be healthy but not delicious, and I only see talk about the taste quality
-Need most/everything possible to be FREE per what I said above- please advise on things costing extra, other than food and alcohol which has been mentioned a lot
-Would prefer as few kids as possible, none would be nice, especially under 12- teens ok
-Don't care too much about "service" or the "personal touch" type anyway. What was described about Quantum of the Seas sounded awesome to me! I like to be self-sufficient and not have to ask for anything ever if possible
- When one does elect to pay extra for drinks, etc, what kind of cost are we talking about? Disney prices, or typical prices?
- After the initial paying for the cruise itself, and the airfare, and the excursions, what extra spending money does one need?
Here are some of the answers but certainly everyone has a different idea of "free" or overall costs. Are you thinking inside or outside cabin, night time activities, 1 cabin for all of you, etc. and on and on.
Ok,, yes, I think all cruise lines have complementary gyms if working out is all you want. They have classes as well, but you may or may not have to pay.
NCL does have food service 24 hours a day, I am not positive about the other lines, I think most do have food available a good part of the day. As for healthy meals, that has to be up to you, but here are always options available. There is no extra charge for good unless you choose to eat in a specialty dining room.
Drinks: it seems Princess has the best drink prices while NCL probably the highest: RCI is in the middle. You will find prices higher on all ships than on land. Depending what you or hubby drinks will determine how much to plan to spend on alcohol The most expensive cost you will have other than maybe tours will be daily service charges, better know to most of us as gratuities or tips.
How much you spend above and beyond the cruise costs is totally up to you. Often you see the term "nickel and diming" when you get on the ship, but again, it is like any other vacation, how much you spend is very personal.
As for kids, you are cruising during the height of the season; of course there will be an number of kids. Of course more on Disney and the prices for Disney are almost double other lines: the least amount of kids would be on Holland America, but I don't think your girls would have as much fun as on the 3 major lines, Norwegian, Royal Car and Carnival. Remember the bells and whistle activities are where they get you.
To be honest, I think with your first experience cruising and your questions you really need to talk to a travel agent. They normally do not charge for their services or if they do, it is only about $20, that is if you book and they can lead you in the right direction. Trying to do this on your own when it is your first cruise and money is an issue can be a poor decision.
well now I see you have already booked: sounds like a good deal, what line did you book with and I am sure, without us telling you, there will be many hidden costs but some you can escape from if you are careful. As I said in my first message what you spend is partially up to you. I will add excursions are not cheap and yes as said, you really need to take out travel insurance. Going to Europe on a shoestring can be a bit scary.
Let me add one more thing: I notice someone mentioned having the tips removed it you want, yes you can but please do not even consider that. If you can afford to cruise, you can afford to pay the gratuities. Don't make the hard working drew suffer because you have a reason for not paying the tips and don't use the excuse you will tip in cash. The reason I say this, there are a lot of people who work hard to make you cruise a good experience and you never see them, but they are part of the tipping pool. You have no way to let the know how much you appreciate what they do for you
well now I see you have already booked: sounds like a good deal, what line did you book with and I am sure, without us telling you, there will be many hidden costs but some you can escape from if you are careful. As I said in my first message what you spend is partially up to you. I will add excursions are not cheap and yes as said, you really need to take out travel insurance. Going to Europe on a shoestring can be a bit scary.
Let me add one more thing: I notice someone mentioned having the tips removed it you want, yes you can but please do not even consider that. If you can afford to cruise, you can afford to pay the gratuities. Don't make the hard working drew suffer because you have a reason for not paying the tips and don't use the excuse you will tip in cash. The reason I say this, there are a lot of people who work hard to make you cruise a good experience and you never see them, but they are part of the tipping pool. You have no way to let the know how much you appreciate what they do for you
Thank you!
I booked MSC out of Venice-->Kotor-->Mykonos-->Santorini-->Cephalonia-->Bari
I have a gentleman who regularly takes my fitness class who travels the world, mostly on cruises. Since I am sure he does not come to my class to get a relentless barrage of questions each time, I try not to bug him, so I bug y'all instead ...but I do ask him a few quick things from time to time. He has filled me in (as well as cruise critic forum) on how MSC is Italian and so is the food, and lack of English spoken, etc. I am fine with it all.
The ship is the Opera which is small and there are not the fantastic fun-filled things on all the Royal Caribbean and Carnival commercials, but the time on the ship is short. There are no sea days at all I am pretty sure.
Once at the stops, there is also a very quick turn around time- I believe 8-10 hours everywhere except Santorini is a little longer.
I am paying for the cruise and airfare. My girls know that anything else they can pay for themselves. I did get some on-board credit so may buy one excursion with that, but since the turn around time is so quick, I really plan on just walking around the cute towns, beaches, etc. Just the fact that I am in Europe for the first time in my life IS the excursion!!
Both of my girls are servers, and so none of us have it in our hearts to forego or delete tipping. I totally agree with you.
My shoestring budget is a concern, but when is it not?? Whether I have thousands of dollars lying around or not, no one knows how much time they have left, and dammit I don't want to just sit here TX and go work-home-eat-sleep every single day until that last breath. Money comes and goes- that I can figure out somehow. Should there be a REAL emergency (God forbid) and I am 5000 miles from home, I am sure my dad would not hesitate to help.
You may want to look into trip insurance even though it's an additional expense. That way, if you're delayed in getting to the ship and need to catch it at another port, you're covered. It will also cover if you get stuck somewhere overnight due to a missed connection. Sometimes the airlines come through with decent vouchers, sometimes they don't. I've gotten a "distressed passenger voucher" (essentially a coupon for a discounted rate) and found out the hotel was full when I called; gave up on another hotel for which I had a voucher after calling 3 times and being assured their shuttle was on the way with no results and finally made my own arrangements. They're also not responsible for weather-related delays.
Good advice. Sort of.
When travelling, the REAL financial risk is medical. Nearly all health insurance policies do not cover services out of the US. If you need to be medically evacuated from a cruise ship,the bill you receive will be in The TENS OF THOUSANDS. Get sick or have an accident in a foreign country. . . . Yikes.
The policies that are purchased to cover medical typically also have some coverage for missing bags, missed flights, flight delays, etc. They may also cover you if you have to cancel your trip for medical reasons or and death/illness in the immediate family prior to departure.I
THOSE are the insurance policies that should be purchased.
My personal opinion GENETALLY is that unless you can afford to absorb the cost of a mised flight, you shouldn't be travelling. But I already know I'll be slammed for that.
In addition to the app, there are web sites like Dan's Deals and the 'Mileage Run' section of Flyer Talk where information on short term unadvertised airfare sales gets exchanged.
Because many of the cheaper types of transatlantic tickets still require you to go out and back and/or have a Saturday night stay, remember that you often need to get either a standard round trip or what's called an open jaw/multicity ticket to get a good price instead of two one way tickets.
Many airline web sites will bury the multicity option in some sort of 'advanced search options' menu so it can take a little hunting to find.
Don't know your exact dates but with ITA Matrix, I can currently find a single connection routing depart DFW-Venice on May 22 and return Bari-DFW on June 2 with Air France as the marketing carrier for $1586 each. Which is still not great but better than $2K each. The hard point is avoiding a double connect on the return since Bari is mostly used for European low cost carriers rather than the bigger alliance partners that would make a one connection route easier.
Italy is part of the Schengen free travel zone along with France, Germany, etc. You clear immigration at your first point of entry into Schengen and if you want to fly from France to Italy or Germany to Spain, etc. within Schengen there is no additional immigration checkpoint- it's just like flying a domestic ticket in the USA.
When travelling, the REAL financial risk is medical. Nearly all health insurance policies do not cover services out of the US. If you need to be medically evacuated from a cruise ship,the bill you receive will be in The TENS OF THOUSANDS. Get sick or have an accident in a foreign country. . . . Yikes.
The policies that are purchased to cover medical typically also have some coverage for missing bags, missed flights, flight delays, etc. They may also cover you if you have to cancel your trip for medical reasons or and death/illness in the immediate family prior to departure.I
THOSE are the insurance policies that should be purchased.
My personal opinion GENERALLY is that unless you can afford to absorb the cost of a missed flight, you shouldn't be travelling. But I already know I'll be slammed for that.
I agree (GENERALLY)- I'm on Medicare and they don't cover at all outside the US. My Medigap does, but with a $50K lifetime limit. I'm in excellent health but I'm also taking trips that involve "boulder scramble" hikes, snorkeling off Alaska, the occasional cave visit, climbing around inside a dormant volcano, etc. I take a good look at "evacuation" coverage limits as well in case I need to be taken off some remote mountain.
As for missed flights- sure, I can handle an overnight in a hotel. It gets more expensive if you arrive late at a cruise port. Unless you booked air through the cruise line they don't take responsibility for getting you to the ship at the next port. And, if you take Airline A across the Atlantic and then connect to Airline B, booked separately and not in any alliance with Airline A, Airline B doesn't care if Airline A got you there too late to make your flight. You may get re-booked on another Airline B flight but pay an exorbitant walk-up rate.
When travelling, the REAL financial risk is medical. Nearly all health insurance policies do not cover services out of the US. If you need to be medically evacuated from a cruise ship,the bill you receive will be in The TENS OF THOUSANDS. Get sick or have an accident in a foreign country. . . . Yikes.
The policies that are purchased to cover medical typically also have some coverage for missing bags, missed flights, flight delays, etc. They may also cover you if you have to cancel your trip for medical reasons or and death/illness in the immediate family prior to departure.I
THOSE are the insurance policies that should be purchased.
My personal opinion GENETALLY is that unless you can afford to absorb the cost of a mised flight, you shouldn't be travelling. But I already know I'll be slammed for that.
Do you (or anyone) know about/ have had to use before the alleged "trip insurance" that comes with many credit cards? My understanding- and I am an insurance underwriter mind you - is that it is secondary to almost everything else- your other insurance, anything the companies offer, etc.
I'm gonna go read the fine print about it, but I believe even some trip insurance policies are a drop down over underlying and are not full coverage.
I agree (GENERALLY)- I'm on Medicare and they don't cover at all outside the US. My Medigap does, but with a $50K lifetime limit. I'm in excellent health but I'm also taking trips that involve "boulder scramble" hikes, snorkeling off Alaska, the occasional cave visit, climbing around inside a dormant volcano, etc. I take a good look at "evacuation" coverage limits as well in case I need to be taken off some remote mountain.
As for missed flights- sure, I can handle an overnight in a hotel. It gets more expensive if you arrive late at a cruise port. Unless you booked air through the cruise line they don't take responsibility for getting you to the ship at the next port. And, if you take Airline A across the Atlantic and then connect to Airline B, booked separately and not in any alliance with Airline A, Airline B doesn't care if Airline A got you there too late to make your flight. You may get re-booked on another Airline B flight but pay an exorbitant walk-up rate.
I had considered this too.
My thinking was that, since there is currently no direct flight DFW to Venice, I would attempt to get flights that change planes either in beginning country (US) or ending country (Italy) so that there is less chance of hassles with immigration, passports, other delays (?)
I have also considered the (possible-God forbid) loss of luggage. Cannot imagine 4 of us going 10 days without any clothes, etc...I mean would they even TRY to get lost luggage to us at a port stop? I would think not.
Therefore, I told everyone I think it is best to pack very very tightly in carry ons and not check bags.
Thoughts?
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...but I do ask him a few quick things from time to time. He has filled me in (as well as cruise critic forum) on how MSC is Italian and so is the food, and lack of English spoken, etc. I am fine with it all.
