Is it too early?

[laedw]

To book our flights and hotel room now for our May 2012 cruise out of Miami, FL? I looked at reserving our flights today with AA out of Chicago and the fares are high but reasonable. I also spoke with a RCCL customer rep who advised me to wait until November if I decided to use their Choice Air program. I fear that as we get closer to the cruise date the airfare cost will be even higher. Any thoughts? :confused:

[cruiseguy1016]

We always cruise in March. We usually book our flights in December or January as I have found that that's when flights are normally at their lowest.

[laedw]

That's a thought. Since we are cruising in May, we may get a low fare if we book after the first of the year.

[firefly333]

I booked hotels for march and april already, but Im waiting on SW to open to book flights.

 

I personally would not book choice air .. I want to totally pick and have control over my flight.

[BillOh]

Just be prepared for a lot of email messages about it. The airline frequently adjust the time of arrival/departures by just a few minutes and send out messages, which send me to scramble to see if it is major or not.

[dedosr]

If you are from a city served by SW, book now, and keep a check on fares. If the fare drops it is so easy to get the credit. I currently have over $300.00 credit from dropping airfare that can be applied to a future flight. Future flight must be within 1 year from the day the tickets were purchased.

[reallyitsmema]

If you are from a city served by SW, book now, and keep a check on fares. If the fare drops it is so easy to get the credit. I currently have over $300.00 credit from dropping airfare that can be applied to a future flight. Future flight must be within 1 year from the day the tickets were purchased.

You can't book SW for May 2012 yet, they haven't opened those dates yet.

 

Unless you are seeing a really good fare, I wouldn't book air yet. I would keep checking periodically though just in case someone opens up decent fares.

[brwneyedgirl86]

I booked hotels for march and april already, but Im waiting on SW to open to book flights.

 

I personally would not book choice air .. I want to totally pick and have control over my flight.

 

We booked Choice Air- found great prices AND were able to pick which carrier and dates/times/seats we wanted. Besides, there is more protection booking with Choice Air relating to your cruise.

[cb at sea]

If you find a price you like on air, you can book it...then do NOT keep checking prices...you'll drive yourself crazy! I generally book air about 60 days out.

The hotel...book whenever. They usually have liberal cancellation policies, so if you find something better, cancelling isn't a problem. Not so with the airlines!

[sjcruiser]

SW flights arent out yet for that period. SW only shows flights 5-6 months out, so they're up to the first week in March right now. Since I usually never book a cruise more than 6 months out, I get my flight either on SW or another airline as son as I make the deposit, then the travel/cruise insurance is next.

 

Happy Sailing.

[Butterfly625]

We booked Choice Air- found great prices AND were able to pick which carrier and dates/times/seats we wanted. Besides, there is more protection booking with Choice Air relating to your cruise.

 

I agree, we also just booked Choice Air last night. I've been watching and their fare is comparable to the all of the others so we chose the Airline, seats and times better for our plans. I do feel there will be more protection with them along with the insurance we purchased after we booked the cruise. Our trip is in March, and SW isn't posting rates for our date yet, but they also don't have flights that fit into our pre-cruise vacation plans.

 

For our cruise this past March we booked this week (a year ago)also and we did see prices rise, so we are satisfied and won't be looking anymore.

 

Butterfly625

[laedw]

If you are from a city served by SW, book now, and keep a check on fares. If the fare drops it is so easy to get the credit. I currently have over $300.00 credit from dropping airfare that can be applied to a future flight. Future flight must be within 1 year from the day the tickets were purchased.

 

I'm departing from Chicago but Southwest doesn't fly into Miami. It flies into Ft. Lauderdale. How far is that from downtown Miami?

[laedw]

I just googled the distance from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to port of Miami and learned it is 29 miles and takes roughly 40 minutes to an hour. I also checked out the betterbidding website. Someone asked for suggestions for getting from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to the port of Miami. The overall response was to fly directly into Miami because transportation from Ft. Lauderdale to the port of miami is cumbersome and/or expensive unless you plan to rent a car. Not!

[PantherFan]

I would recommend SAS transport from Fl Lauderdale to the Miami port. they were excellent when we used them ridesas dot com

[Marie51]

I just googled the distance from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to port of Miami and learned it is 29 miles and takes roughly 40 minutes to an hour. I also checked out the betterbidding website. Someone asked for suggestions for getting from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to the port of Miami. The overall response was to fly directly into Miami because transportation from Ft. Lauderdale to the port of miami is cumbersome and/or expensive unless you plan to rent a car. Not!

 

A taxi ride from FLL to the port of Miami will be about $80. There are shuttles that you can take that are much less expensive.

[dawnvip]

www.yapta.com allows you to search and track airfares and hotel rates ahead of time, as well as track airfares once you have bought the tickets. Certain airlines will allow refunds on any price drop, other airlines only on price drops over a certain amount...

Good website because even if you don't buy your tickets through them you can still get the refunds!

[Pushka]

From Australia, we are travelling in July 2012 and our flights were booked as soon as they came out - based on Frequent Flyer points and one return flight was paid for. Flights to Europe are hellish in mid 2012 for us because of the Olympics and they arent going to get cheaper. But within the USA they may get cheaper because of the Olympics.

 

Plus its kinda nice seeing all the flights from Australia, Heathrow and Barcelona just sitting there waiting for us!:D

[Jimnbigd]

Remember, it is recommended to fly in the day before the cruise.

[DonnaK]

I wouldn't book now. A lot of airlines, not just Southwest, only open up bookings 6 months in advance. (We are also planning to cruise in May and are waiting on JetBlue).