2021 Travel to Greece (w/Cruise)

[IMATERP]

Several months ago wifey and I booked a 10 day Greek Island Cruise on Celebrity for October 2021. The cruise begins in Venice and ends in Venice. Any predictions on the likelihood of us taking this trip?

Typically, we purchase airfare as early as possible - but I’m probably going to hold out (purchasing the air tickets) until June or July 2021. Hopefully, there will be a vaccination out by then.

I

 

[Aerides]

If you're still interested in going, I'd wait - I'd gamble 70/30 right now it will be available.

But if you would not want to travel without a vaccine I'd probably cancel now, since you probably can do so with no penalty, and rebook closer to the date, when there will likely be deals.

 

[Ready]

I see no point in booking cruises that far out. It will be a long time before cruise ships sell out. Last minute bookings always create good buying opportunities for cruises.

 

[brett]

Keep you eye on pricing. If the cruise price goes down ask for a re-fare. Do it quickly because cruise prices can go up or down for short periods of time.

Since retiring eight years ago we typically have done two extended international trips per year. We find that air prices 30-60 days out can be as or more attractive than buying 90-180 days out. Some of the best international fares(Europe and Asia) we have scored have been booked 10-30 days out.

Greece and Turkey are among our favorite destinations. Last fall we booked an open jaw flight to Athens with a return from London. The fare one week out was very slightly less (probably currency) than we paid 60 days out.

 

[IMATERP]

I see no point in booking cruises that far out. It will be a long time before cruise ships sell out. Last minute bookings always create good buying opportunities for cruises.

We took advantage of a group rate with multiple perks (when we made our deposit.). Mrs. I is still w*rking and we typically plan two week trips based on wifeys slower w*rk schedule.

Our deposit is refundable up to 90 days in advance, hence we don’t have to fully commit until July 2021.

This thread was intended to obtain feedback on probability of sailing/vacation based on recent coved-19 events.

I

 

[DrRoy]

That far out I think the chances are good. That may even be far enough out for a vaccine to be available.

 

[athena53]

I've got a deposit with UnCruise for Belize and Guatemala in October, 2021. I feel pretty confident. They have a pretty generous cancellation policy but I figure we'll be at "the new normal" by then, whatever that looks like. The ship holds something like 75 passengers so I don't feel like it's the same floating Petri dish as the mega-ships. I'll hold off on booking the airfare and carefully examine the provisions of any travel insurance policy.

Keep in mind, though, that Stuff Happens. Now we're all fixated on infectious disease because that's what we're going through now. Remember the other things that can happen depending on your destination. Ten years ago, Eyafjallajokull erupted and messed up travel in and out of Europe. Cover all your bases.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

One would hope with the entire world's focus on covid-19, things would be back to "normal" in a year by Spring 2021 with a vaccine and/or treatments by then and mitigation strategies better prepared for any subsequent outbreak waves (no pun intended).

Being an optimist and a realist, we are hoping to book something for this year but there's not enough clarity yet from cruise operations, to immigration issues, to quarantine on returns, etc. I'm also concerned about locals giving cruise pax the stink-eye with all the bad press.

I've been scanning for deals, particularly for X and RCI but not seeing anything great. However, they're not really big on the discounting versus say HAL or Norweigian, and when they do, it seems like it's for sailings within the final payment period. When X and RCI resume operations, I suspect they'll lean heavily on "perk" promos like free internet, OBC's, specialty dining credits, loyalty point bonuses, etc while trying to limit price discounts.

We did a couple of sailings out of Rome to Greece (and Turkey) on X-Reflection. They were probably our favourite cruises. Wishing a similar great experience for your cruise, IMATERP.

 

[gayl]

Is it possible to purchase airfare through Celebrity? That way you could lock the price in (refaring if it drops) but not pay for it until 90 days ahead of time

 

[IMATERP]

Is it possible to purchase airfare through Celebrity? That way you could lock the price in (refaring if it drops) but not pay for it until 90 days ahead of time

You can purchase Airfare through Celebrity BUT you have to pay for the Airfare at time of purchase. You cannot wait for price drops - like a cruise reservation.

The real benefit of doing this - is that the airline will get you to your next destination (to board the ship) if for some reason the flight is delayed or experiences mechanical problems. This almost happened to us a few years ago and the Delta Rep informed us that they would get us to the next destination if circumstances prevented us from boarding before departure.

 

[gayl]

Oh. Not familiar with that line. I go on Princess and can refare as often as I like & pay for it later. Surprised RCCL is different

 

[brett]

I would not buy air now. Who knows what airlines will be in business or what the actual airline schedules/connections will be. You do not want to end up with a credit if you have to cancel.

We buy air to Europe just about every Sept/Oct and to Asia every Jan. Our experience is that prices 30-50 days out are just as competitive as prices six months out. Our flight to Greece last year (end of August) was slightly less expensive 7 days out than it was when we bought the tickets 35 days out. It was less than the price offered four months prior.

October is shoulder or off season for Europe flights. You should no problem finding a good fare. In any event, we would not even think about booking until after the New Year. More data on covid and ports should be available by then or by spring 2021.