We are now planning our 6th Transatlantic Cruise, with three additional days visiting Rome, Italy before the cruise starts. We were wanting to visit St. Peter’s Basilica and the other Major Basilicas in Rome during the current “Year of Mercy”, decreed by Pope Francis. Since this cruise starts in the port of Civitavecchia, which is about an hour train ride from Rome, we decided to go on this cruise as well as our visit to Rome.
The cruise is 14 days in duration, with stops in Livorno, Italy, Toulon, France, Barcelona, Spain, and The Azores. Although we have visited all of these ports before, we are already planning some different activities from anything we have previously done in each of them. There are 4 port days and 10 sea days (our favorites), and we will be staying in an inside cabin.
The pricing for the cruise and flights through Princess was really good, but could have been better if we had made the decision to go about a week before we did. Initially, the one way airfare to Rome was $333 per person, but as we should have known, “when you snooze, you loose” with travel planning, and the flights went up to $497 per person by the time we committed to go.
We actually learned a lot more about the cancellation policies and how the airline flights work through Princess Cruises, and although we know better for next time, we could have reserved everything without any cancellation costs at the time we initially saw the cheaper flights. Not a cheap lesson, but now we know the rules.
This cruise reservation was unfamiliar territory for us since this cruise was booked more than 75 days before it departs, which is also the deadline for the final payment, which is a much farther out in advance than any cruise we have taken lately. Plus, we have only used the Princess Airfare on two recent cruises, both of which were booked less than 45 days out. Anything booked more than 75 days in advance is almost fully refundable, and the airfare is both changeable and can also be cancelled up until 45 days out. Had we booked at the time when the airfare was cheaper, we could have cancelled everything without penalty. Now we know, but our wallet is thinner as a result. Still, the price for the 14 day cruise and one way flight to Rome is about $1350 per person, not bad.