when to book flights

[newcruiser,2012]

My husband and I are booked on our first cruise on the Crown Princess in March. My question is when to book our flights? We will be travelling from Nova Scotia, Canada and my question is do I book now or hold out until after New Years hoping for a better deal on the flights?

[paul929207]

No one can predict where airline prices will go. If you see a price you think is reasonable, grab it.

[DGNY]

I know prices just dropped significantly for my cruise in April (NYC - FLL). So, it may be a good time to buy for you now or very soon.

[cruisenuts4life]

We are cruising in April and flights are $108.00 pp which is pretty reasonable so we booked it,I wouldnt wait too long.:)

[texasdillo]

We are also booked on the Crown in March. Airfare has doubled from Austin to FLL since bookings opened back in the summer. We usually book our airfare as soon as we can. In our case and based on the past few years experience, we have noticed that prices continue to go higher and higher until the flight is fully booked.

[Liz54]

The US airfares are a fraction of ours. You can subscribe to emails from Air Canada - they seem to have their lowest prices late Tuesday night or early Wednesday AM. West Jet is also a possibility.

 

We are seeing such dreadful prices for February that we are likely going to drive!!! (This weeks seat sale (lol) was $1000 per person return!)

 

Lots of people get to the nearest US airport and take flights from there. Bangor, for you?

 

From Canada Princess may give you a better price, its worth checking.

 

Also, I have got great pricing between Christmas and New Years from Air Canada

 

Bottom line is to decide what you are willing to pay and grab it when you see it.

 

Good luck!

[RealDeal]

I wouldn't wait...March is high season! As soon as you see a "good" fare, grab it. I already booked for May out of NJ & prices have already increased.

[geoherb]

I usually book our air as soon as I have our cruise dates. Lately we've been flying Southwest, but I don't think they fly to Canada.

[newcruiser,2012]

I agree...if I could book a flight for $108.00 I would in a heartbeat, but when our flights are $1500-$1600 I would like to get the best deal I can. We have thought about driving to Bangor but when you factor in time, gas, and weather so far the discount has not been enough.

[Dietemann]

We have thought about driving to Bangor but when you factor in time, gas, and weather so far the discount has not been enough.

Talking about weather, everyone suggests to fly in at least one day in advance.

[Pam in CA]

I recently booked my flights for next October's cruise and was able to use my AA miles to upgrade from coach to Biz or First Class. On an overnight flight, that makes a huge difference to me. The one thing I've found over the years is that the closer to flight date, the higher the price which is why I book as soon as I can.

[RealDeal]

Like Pam, I too have already booked flights for next Oct. to LA and was able to use my Continental frequent flyer miles...for a change! $1500-$1600?? YIKES! For that kind of money, it might be worth driving down to the States.

[umieesa]

I have a lot of experience in this department and I can tell you that usually closer to the time fares go up, contrary to popular belief.

 

And as a fellow Canadian I can tell you we are extremely more limited, and no offense to our neighbours to the south, but I would personally choose a Canadian carrier to a US carrier any day. If you book with a US carrier you can guarantee that your flight will not be direct, and generally their on-time performance is usually less than stellar, plus they will charge checked baggage fees.

 

Saying all that you are pretty much limited to Westjet, Aircanada and Air Transat. Westjet offers a sale every Thursday from 1-4 MST that you might want to look out for. Plus Air Canada has been having a few sales, one of the most recent included flights up until March. I would sign up for their emails so you can be first to know when a sale is released, but also check their site frequently for unannounced sales. Especially Saturday mornings tend to be cheap no matter which airline.

 

Air Canada though has now added a checked baggage fee, where Air Transat and Westjet have not, but this might not be a concern if you don't plan to check luggage anyway.

 

March is high season and depending when your cruise leaves (if it's closer to March Break) than I can guarantee fares will go up closer to the time. I would book no later than third week of January, but would be more inclined to book this month. I would guess that in the next week or two Air Canada will have another sale. Usually these are released Tuesdays. After doing a quick search now and seeing the prices I would personally wait. Florida is one of the number one destinations for Canadians and it usually goes on sale.

 

Sorry for the long post, but hope it helps! :)

[CFD130]

We are cruising in April and flights are $108.00 pp which is pretty reasonable so we booked it,I wouldnt wait too long.:)

 

 

$108 is "pretty reasonable" where are you flying??? Thats almost cab rates LOL

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

All based on supply and demand and with going in March the demand is usually higher due to the school breaks. You may get a seat sale but that is a crap shoot

Also a fellow Canuck, we prefer to fly out of Buffalo with Jet Blue direct to Orlando and save considerably than flying out of Toronto because of the lower taxes and flying from a US state to a US state.

We stay overnight the night before in Buffalo which is no different than Toronto and we find Jet Blue an excellent carrier. We have had no problems so far.

 

I have a lot of experience in this department and I can tell you that usually closer to the time fares go up, contrary to popular belief.

 

And as a fellow Canadian I can tell you we are extremely more limited, and no offense to our neighbours to the south, but I would personally choose a Canadian carrier to a US carrier any day. If you book with a US carrier you can guarantee that your flight will not be direct, and generally their on-time performance is usually less than stellar, plus they will charge checked baggage fees.

 

Saying all that you are pretty much limited to Westjet, Aircanada and Air Transat. Westjet offers a sale every Thursday from 1-4 MST that you might want to look out for. Plus Air Canada has been having a few sales, one of the most recent included flights up until March. I would sign up for their emails so you can be first to know when a sale is released, but also check their site frequently for unannounced sales. Especially Saturday mornings tend to be cheap no matter which airline.

 

Air Canada though has now added a checked baggage fee, where Air Transat and Westjet have not, but this might not be a concern if you don't plan to check luggage anyway.

 

March is high season and depending when your cruise leaves (if it's closer to March Break) than I can guarantee fares will go up closer to the time. I would book no later than third week of January, but would be more inclined to book this month. I would guess that in the next week or two Air Canada will have another sale. Usually these are released Tuesdays. After doing a quick search now and seeing the prices I would personally wait. Florida is one of the number one destinations for Canadians and it usually goes on sale.

 

Sorry for the long post, but hope it helps! :)

[SailingRookie]

We are sailing from San Francisco to Vancouver in May 2012 going one way and flying back. This is just a 2 day get away.

 

I booked our flights thru Princess because I was worried we wouldn't get a flight back if we didn't book right away, since our ship isn't bringing us back to San Francisco, that would be a huge problem.

 

I paid just over $700, for 2 passengers, one way plane tickets VFR to SFO. Princess said the tickets are refundable and changeable.

 

I too am wondering if I could find a better deal or if I should leave well enough alone. But if it helps you I did like the option to change or cancel by booking thru the cruise line. If I do find something better I have the option to make the change.:rolleyes:

[caribill]

I paid just over $700, for 2 passengers, one way plane tickets VFR to SFO. Princess said the tickets are refundable and changeable.

 

:rolleyes:

 

Have you priced booking a Princess Xfer to Seattle and then flying from Seattle to San Francisco?

[suzyed]

We are cruising in April and flights are $108.00 pp which is pretty reasonable so we booked it,I wouldnt wait too long.:)

 

Especially if your cruise is close to Easter (April 8th), which is also spring break time!

[Bowie MeMe]

OK I am sitting here trying to determine the best time to buy tickets roundtrip to Beijing on United (IAD to PEK) then a one way from PEK to Bangkok.

 

Soon as they come up (approx Dec. 15, 2011) or wait until I get back from the Star Princess in early Feb. I am seeing $1,500 pp roundtrip. $2,200 open jawed.