European Cruise and Tour Deals
Did you ever want to take a European Cruise or Tour? Well, you may have noticed that they are cheaper than ever this year. The problem is that they are cheap because airfare is expensive but we can help you get there. We are currently seeing airfares for July and August that regularly run $1500 or $1600 per person so we are telling people to avoid peak season unless you have kids or teach. If you have credit card miles or frequent flyer points then you are in business as the airlines have released more seats and the alliances have made it easier to use miles. The miles+ generic airline cards like Capital One are easier to use than regular frequent flyer miles, but you will need more miles this year to pay for tickets. The ground cost is cheaper all year, so go anytime you can get seats. Put the seats on hold for a few hours and call us to see what deals fit the available dates AS WE HAVE PLENTY OF LAST MINUTE EUROPE DEALS!!!!. We do pre and post hotel stays so we can fit any air dates you can get into a cruise. If not, plan for the off season as the cruises will still be cheap and the airfares will go down. Expect European air prices to stay high because of the consolidation in the industry due to mergers, alliances and code shares. The airlines have been conservative with capacity so they can run up the prices once they collude with other carriers using alliances and code shares. We are telling people to book early to get the best airfare deals but we are getting some last minute deals when the airlines get too greedy and have seats to sell. We are good at knowing which foreign carriers operate alliances with which American carriers so we regularly mix Air France and Delta or American with British Airways or Iberia.
Some of the cruise lines have air credits to help soften the blow as do some of the European Escorted Tour Companies and River Cruise Companies. We are finding that Barcelona or Zurich is sometimes cheaper than Rome or Venice on the airfare and many of the cruise lines have moved ships to that home-port. If you are one of our Tampa based customers, remember we have the new nonstop Edelweiss Air flights from Tampa to Zurich. We use European airlines and trains to move people around the continent so you can be creative about using airports like Milan, Pisa or even Paris or London to get more airfare options. Many of the escorted tour companies have air credits we can deduct from the trips and with those type of trips, we have begun using “negotiated” airfares again that the tour companies have under contract as they have become cheaper than published air when we can find the seats. During the period of cheap airfares we stopped using the bulk fares in lieu of instant purchased sale tickets offered by the airline. With the advent of higher fares, our vendors airfare programs have become relevant again in some instances especially when they take $200 or $250 per person off of the airfare inclusive package tour. We expect with the week economy that they have to break a little bit by late August as they have been so aggressive that people are holding out, especially the Europeans.
A good travel agent is worth his weight in gold if you want to see multiple cities or do a cruise-tour of Europe. The economy is weak in Europe right now so exchange rates between the Euro and the dollar are reasonable. The final point about high airfares is to stay two or three weeks to amortize your ticket cost if you can afford it. We are getting good hotel rates and the high speed trains connect the major tourism centers. Many hotels include breakfast and many European cities offer price fixed lunches that are very affordable for a three course meal or hot tables where you can name a plate of food. Europe also has a great selection of “street food” and markets plus a number of wonderful parks that make a great place for a low priced picnic with the locals.
Our suggestion is if you are flexible about when you go to Europe, examine late September through early November to get the best deals and book now while the guys at the cruise line are trying to correct the mistake of moving too many ships to Europe. If you are not flexible, book right away but plan to pay a little more for airfare than you have in the past.
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