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There doesn't seem to be a specific forum about general travel questions like this, so I'm throwing this in the Lounge. If my questions are answered someplace, please let me know.
Here's the scenario: We have a Covid-cancelled cruise credit we'd like to use next year on a cruise from Rome to Athens, or alternately, from Athens to Rome - the cruise line has the same cruise in two directions - same price, itinerary, and in-port times. All that changes is the port order, and departure/arrival ports. We want to spend a few days in Athens seeing the local sites there, and also doing a train-based trip in Italy to view a few select cities there, as well. Again, the order of these is easily switched either to before or after whichever way the cruise booking shakes out.
I'm researching airline options and generalized pricing for flights from and to Las Vegas. I'm looking at flying into Venice, touring our way down to Rome, and boarding the ship. Or, alternatively, flying into Athens, seeing the sites there, boarding the ship, and then touring from Rome up to Venice after the cruise, if that works out better. Everything is wide open.
So far, I'm looking into flying into or out of either Venice or Athens. And that's where the questions come in. Everyone seems to have this back pocket method they prefer to accomplish a trip like this. I'm interested in knowing specifics of how to get the best price and itinerary for it. I've heard sometimes it's better to fly to an East Coast city first, (like NYC, for example), then flying nonstop to the final destination. Others have talked about doing one of those Stopover flights through Iceland. (Although it doesn't seem like Icelandic Air flies to italy or Greece.) So I'm not sure what to do. I've tried using Kayak to get general numbers and stopover cities for flights, but everything seems to have huge layovers in one direction or the other. Is there a better airline than another for this? I see some flights by a brand I'd want (e.g. British Airways), are operated by American Airlines. So that's not necessarily what I'd want.
Is there a better/best way to get a good plan for flights like this? Our plans are to fly Premium Economy at minimum. Layovers aren't a deal breaker, but we'd rather not have them be longer than is helpful. A 24-hour layover in some airport seems counterproductive, and would be very frustrating. Are there better connection sites to get someplace? Is booking a Multi-city flight a better way to get to a better stopover city? Which would you recommend?
As you can see, there are many questions. Any experienced advice?
Thanks,
Dave
Here's the scenario: We have a Covid-cancelled cruise credit we'd like to use next year on a cruise from Rome to Athens, or alternately, from Athens to Rome - the cruise line has the same cruise in two directions - same price, itinerary, and in-port times. All that changes is the port order, and departure/arrival ports. We want to spend a few days in Athens seeing the local sites there, and also doing a train-based trip in Italy to view a few select cities there, as well. Again, the order of these is easily switched either to before or after whichever way the cruise booking shakes out.
I'm researching airline options and generalized pricing for flights from and to Las Vegas. I'm looking at flying into Venice, touring our way down to Rome, and boarding the ship. Or, alternatively, flying into Athens, seeing the sites there, boarding the ship, and then touring from Rome up to Venice after the cruise, if that works out better. Everything is wide open.
So far, I'm looking into flying into or out of either Venice or Athens. And that's where the questions come in. Everyone seems to have this back pocket method they prefer to accomplish a trip like this. I'm interested in knowing specifics of how to get the best price and itinerary for it. I've heard sometimes it's better to fly to an East Coast city first, (like NYC, for example), then flying nonstop to the final destination. Others have talked about doing one of those Stopover flights through Iceland. (Although it doesn't seem like Icelandic Air flies to italy or Greece.) So I'm not sure what to do. I've tried using Kayak to get general numbers and stopover cities for flights, but everything seems to have huge layovers in one direction or the other. Is there a better airline than another for this? I see some flights by a brand I'd want (e.g. British Airways), are operated by American Airlines. So that's not necessarily what I'd want.
Is there a better/best way to get a good plan for flights like this? Our plans are to fly Premium Economy at minimum. Layovers aren't a deal breaker, but we'd rather not have them be longer than is helpful. A 24-hour layover in some airport seems counterproductive, and would be very frustrating. Are there better connection sites to get someplace? Is booking a Multi-city flight a better way to get to a better stopover city? Which would you recommend?
As you can see, there are many questions. Any experienced advice?
Thanks,
Dave
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