Booking Air and Hotel/Transfers for Southampton

You may be shocked, but in my almost 160 cruises I have never sailed out of Southampton!

So I relied on some friends for help.  First our travel agent Neil and Monika Best of Best Dreamy Destinations (and no I get nothing for mentioning them - they are just great!).  And also our friend Roy Bennett.

First we had to book our air.  We did look at Princess Air, but it was almost $1,000 more per person.  So we booked it on our own.  We found a great deal with Air Transat, via Toronto to Gatwick.  Then for return it was surprisingly a great deal from Orlando.  Originally when we were looking the prices were so high as it is the US Thanksgiving that weekend.  But they have dropped considerably.  So we got a sweet direct flight home.

Now for transfers.  We had looked at the train and the bus and would easily and gladly book those - especially because of the price.  

However, we are  now sailing with some friends Lori and Andy and we decided to spend a bit more and book a car service.  Neil and Monika recommended Blackberry Car service to Southampton.  So for $400 we booked it.  

After flying all night and with a 4 hour time change, not to mention we would be arriving early morning and probably not being able to get early access to a hotel room at Gatwick we agreed it would be better to just push it to Southampton and settle in there.

We looked at a variety of hotel options and settled on a recommendation for the Voco Hotel which is part of the IHG chain.  

So all is in place!

Last Minute Booking - Transatlantic on Sky

 

We just booked!  We had been looking at this trip for awhile but we weren't ready to commit.

This week we booked.  It was too good a deal to pass up.

We booked with Neil and Monika Best of Best Dream Destinations - they are the Best to work with.  Very quick to respond and so helpful - especially for new cruisers.

This will be our first cruise as actual guests in two years.  We have sailed alot (160 days in two years) but it has always been as guest entertainers, and that is a very different cruise.

Now we are back as guests on Princess (with our elite perks).  And with the Premier package (which I still believe is the best package of all lines) and is worth it for us.  

So 16 days, leaving from Southampton and ending in Port Canaveral.

Now off to book air, hotel, transfers and tours.

I Dreamed Last Night

After posting a few things this week I have heard from a lot of you.  Some of you have shared what you have planed in the future with regards to cruising.

That got my interest up.  Which felt so nice to be looking at future itineraries and cruises.

Last night as Bernie was fast asleep I started researching some of those cruises.

Tell me what you think.  Or do you have a future cruise planned, or an interest in a cruise?  Share it with me so we can dream together.

First off was the Sky Princess back in the Baltic next August, with the possibility of doing the trans Atlantic back to North America.

Next!

The brand new ship, Discovery Princess which is set to sail November 2021 - fingers crossed!

I love the European itineraries.  Any of these sparked my interest and are similar to our Island Princess cruises a few years back.  

This 21 day Grand Mediterranean looks so divine.  There are a lot more itineraries and different starting and ending ports so check them out.  

Then the trans Atlantic would be a great way to rest up after that busy itinerary.  

If you are interested in hearing more about these ports here is a link to our trip on the Island Princess.

The Discovery will be sailing in the Caribbean for a bit over the holiday season of 2021 and then it is going South.  Yup it is heading to the West Coast.  

So how does it get to the West Coast?  It won't fit thorough the Panama Canal - even the new one.  So it is doing a 50 day South American Grand Adventure.  

This itinerary is a great way to leave and return to a US port but still get the opportunity to see some amazing places.  An overnight in Rio de Janeiro!  An overnight in Buenos Aires!  An overnight in Lima!  

Don't forget you can always research the ports I have visited by going to the bottom of this page and choosing the port you are interested in from the label section.  It will pull up all the post I have done about that port.  

Likewise you can search in the search bar by typing in a port, ship, itinerary and pulling up all the blog post that mention that.

I am so looking forward when all travel gets back to "normal".  Note the parentheses, because I am not sure it will ever get back to the old "normal".   

So as I sit here and dream of future travels - hey a girl can dream!  I hope you too are dreaming about future travels wherever they may be.

Be kind to one another!

Researching Northern Europe - Must Have

So if you know me the main thing I love about travelling is the research.

If you are cruising to Europe you must get Rick Steve's cruise travel books.  He has two books.  One for Northern Europe Cruise Ports and the other is Mediterranean Ports of Call.

I used the Mediterranean book extensively on each of our Mediterranean cruises.  I now have the Northern Europe book on order from Amazon.

Also make sure to check out YouTube and Rick Steve's page for his shows on Northern Europe.  Here is a link to a valuable show to learn about the entire area covered in one lecture.   

I will also go through Rick's App and download tours and interviews from his podcast about the ports we will visit.

Airfare to Copenhagen

Wow airfare is expensive to Northern Europe.  

First thing we checked out was Princess Air.  We have always had good experiences with Princess Air and the price has always been very competitive.  Unfortunately this time it is not.  Not sure why, but the price was at least 30% more than what I was finding on line.

We looked at a few options.

First option - Round trip direct to Copenhagen.  

Second option - One way direct (meaning one booking) to Copenhagen.

Third option - One way with a cheaper flight to a major hub (London, Dublin or Frankfurt were options from Halifax) and then a cheap separate booked flight to Copenhagen.

Armed with my note pad I started surfing and checking prices.  I did look in an incognito window so that my browser did not follow and trace the continual flight checks.

So results.

First option - Prices were the highest and the routing was not that great.

Second option - Not bad prices, and better flight options.  Also with booking with one booking number so if there is an issue with connecting to 2nd flight we are covered.  Also only have to pay bag fees once.  

Third option - Very good price to London or Dublin, and even Frankfurt (under $400 Cdn).  Then a cheap flight to Copenhagen (around $100).  But we would have to ensure we have a long enough layover to clear customs, get bags, and re check in for second flight and clear security.  Also if there is an issue with connecting to second flight we could be in trouble.  Also we would have to pay bag fees for each flight.  

In the end I think we will go with the second option for a bit higher price (around $600 Cdn.) but more security and no extra fees for bags.

We will book as two one way flights as again it is much cheaper than booking the return flight.

Key in the end is to look at all options and find out what is right for you.

Northern Europe Booked

Last year we started to discuss what areas of the world we still wanted to visit.  Also this year is our 25th Wedding Anniversary and two weeks later is my 55th birthday (I know!  I don't feel it).

One cruise we were really looking at was the Voyage of the Vikings cruise that Holland America offers.  Just check out this amazing itinerary.

Unfortunately it was very expensive and since it is cruise that is only offered once a year, it is very popular.  Which means it is very pricey.  We thought we could just wait and see if the price drops as our friends did this and got a great deal.  

But in the mean time we had also been thinking about Northern Europe. Especially since Princess has asked me twice to be Destination Expert for this itinerary but turned it down since I did not know the ports.  

But it is not meant to be.  Will have to be another year.

Then the other day I was checking out the great sale that Princess is offering. 

So we booked the Sky Princess on a back to back.  This will mean we are sailing for both our anniversary and for my birthday.  Plus it will give us more time to explore and do more research for upcoming presentations.

With this sale you get free WiFi, free gratuities, and free drink package. We made sure to weigh out the price without the perks and the difference was only $350 each leg, each person.  So when we deducted the cost of the gratuities ($14.50 per day x 11 = $170.50), meaning the cost of the drinks package is only $179.50 or $16 a day.  Heck that is easy to justify.  Not to mention the free WiFi (although we get our WiFi - limited - with elite status). 

Our trip starts in Copenhagen. We will head there early and stay in an Airbnb and explore.

Next step is to look at air fares.