Booking Airfares....now or should we wait?

[SadieC]

Have booked our 25th wedding anniversary cruise to the Med (out of Barcelona) for mid September. Should we be booking our airfares now or do the prices routinely drop as time goes on? Looking for fares from Vancouver to Barcelona-going through London I guess? :rolleyes: Many thanks for any advice you might have!

[happy cruzer]

Try posting to the cruise air board with your dates and airports, you will get lots of good advice. Mainly, you need to determine that is realistic and book close to that price.

[megfla]

Don't wait too long, I booked my flights from Tampa to Barcelona for mid-June a couple of weeks ago (after waiting a while for a price drop) but decided to bite the bullet as I saw the preferred seats were being taken-up on my flights. I'm glad I did as the cost for my exact flights have now increased $500 pp!

[dbarj]

I read an article in USA TODAY recently under the travel section that the best time to book flights on average is 49 days out. Cheapest days to fly are Tues. and Wed. That being said, I'll still be watching flights to San Juan for our cruise next January probably 6 months out.

[miched]

There was a so called travel expert on the news station that knows everything and always gives her advice about traveling. Her advice was that 49 days before you plan on flying is the best time to book a flight because that is when they have the best prices. She stressed and repeated NOT 50 days or 48 DAYS BUT 49 DAYS. My daughter followed her advice. Went to book a flight and there wasn't any available.

 

It is a gamble like anything else. You can wait and theprices may get lower, they may go up and the worst case is that you end up staying at home.

 

Airlines know that many are going on cruises when you fly into certain airports, especially those close to cruise ports. They know what times are also the best. If you look at the prices those that arrive after the ship leaves always seem to be cheaper. Same as when returning. Those that leave very early are also the cheapest because the ship isn't cleared.

 

The pattern is also the same for places like Vegas. When hotel rates are cheap the air fares are expensive. When air fares are cheap the hotels are expensive. Seems to be the same with cruises, the cruises in Europe, Alaska and etc are fairly cheap but the air fare to get there is expensive.

 

 

Tough decision.

 

 

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[Chunky2219]

There's no right and wrong with booking airfares, but the prevailing advice is to book as soon as the schedules come out, 11 months in advance.

 

I was watching flights for our next voyage for almost 12 months before they became available, comparing the previous year's schedules to get some idea of the prices. In the end I booked at 8 months before and got a spectacular deal. Looking a month before our voyage the flights would cost almost twice what I booked at. By six months out, the flights we wanted were not even available and we would have had long layovers if we had waited too long.

 

But my strong advice is to put in some internet time using one of the flight finder sites. The deals are almost invariably much better than going direct with airlines, or at least that's the case in the UK. It's a pity forum rules don't allow recommendations.

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[FunCruiser56]

I started checking 1 yr out for our Hawaiian Cruise, I would also check prices for a date 90 days out. Always the 90 day out price was better. After months of random checking I had a feel for the prices and the availability of seats.

The past month prices have been on a rollercoaster with them heading upwards, then last weekend the prices dropped alot so we did book for about $200 less pp than we expected to pay. Especially for the return leg (we are sailing back) it went down over 50% on SW. We booked at about 70 days out.

 

Yes, it is a gamble to wait, if you see a price your happy with then book it, do your research.

 

Bev

[midwestchick]

I don't know if you've heard of YAPTA, but that's where I got my flight prices. I registered and put in my dates....my preferred flight was $3,000 RT per person. :eek: I got a notification from YAPTA that fare had dropped 62% and I grabbed it....if the cost goes down, YAPTA helps you get a refund...someone who uses them regularly told me that. (I think it has to drop by $100 pp but don't quote me on that) I was also able to choose our seats because I booked early enough. I get notices telling me if flights have gone up or down and by what %. So far, I've only seen an increase. :eek:

Good luck...hope you get what you want.

[twosit]

I don't know if you've heard of YAPTA, but that's where I got my flight prices. I registered and put in my dates....my preferred flight was $3,000 RT per person. :eek: I got a notification from YAPTA that fare had dropped 62% and I grabbed it....if the cost goes down, YAPTA helps you get a refund...someone who uses them regularly told me that. (I think it has to drop by $100 pp but don't quote me on that) I was also able to choose our seats because I booked early enough. I get notices telling me if flights have gone up or down and by what %. So far, I've only seen an increase. :eek:

Good luck...hope you get what you want.

Nancy-

Thanks so much, this looks great. I had never heard of it before. I plan to sign up now.

 

Have booked our 25th wedding anniversary cruise to the Med (out of Barcelona) for mid September. Should we be booking our airfares now or do the prices routinely drop as time goes on? Looking for fares from Vancouver to Barcelona-going through London I guess? :rolleyes: Many thanks for any advice you might have!

SadieC-

That YAPTA site looks pretty good to me. IMO, if you are booking travel for peak periods--it is often best to book early. Off-peak there ore often specials so it can be best to wait for them. Hope you have a great anniversary cruise.

[midwestchick]

Nancy-

Thanks so much, this looks great. I had never heard of it before. I plan to sign up now.

 

 

SadieC-

That YAPTA site looks pretty good to me. IMO, if you are booking travel for peak periods--it is often best to book early. Off-peak there ore often specials so it can be best to wait for them. Hope you have a great anniversary cruise.

 

You're welcome, twosit. I've also found that booking flights on a Tuesday is when I've found the best prices....and sure enough, it was a Tuesday I got my notification and booked. Flights to Europe are expensive and the connections are not always the best for us out of Chicago. We connect in Atlanta and all of our flights are Delta. When we fly domestic, I always try to use Southwest.

[Lastdance]

There was a so called travel expert on the news station that knows everything and always gives her advice about traveling. Her advice was that 49 days before you plan on flying is the best time to book a flight because that is when they have the best prices. She stressed and repeated NOT 50 days or 48 DAYS BUT 49 DAYS. My daughter followed her advice. Went to book a flight and there wasn't any available.

 

It is a gamble like anything else. You can wait and theprices may get lower, they may go up and the worst case is that you end up staying at home.

 

Airlines know that many are going on cruises when you fly into certain airports, especially those close to cruise ports. They know what times are also the best. If you look at the prices those that arrive after the ship leaves always seem to be cheaper. Same as when returning. Those that leave very early are also the cheapest because the ship isn't cleared.

 

The pattern is also the same for places like Vegas. When hotel rates are cheap the air fares are expensive. When air fares are cheap the hotels are expensive. Seems to be the same with cruises, the cruises in Europe, Alaska and etc are fairly cheap but the air fare to get there is expensive.

 

 

Tough decision.

 

 

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Yes, 49 days is good; however, if you want a particular seat, you need to start earlier and daily! Depends on the amount of time you have and patience!

[Jetswdo]

Here's what works for me.

 

1. As soon as I book a cruise, I research thoroughly the prices for the year before to get an idea what to expect.

 

2. I write down which airlines have the best routes/times/ aircraft used and connections.

 

3. Once it is determined which airline(s) will work, if booking is available for the day I want and the price is within $50.00 of the lowest fare for that time last year then I grab it. If not available or it looks too much then I wait, but check frequently to see if flight is filling up. My flights on Delta have gone up so far $400 per ticket. When I booked it, it was the same price as the cheapest it was last year for that time.

 

4. Yapta and AirfareWatchdog works great. I booked Jetblue as soon as the flight I needed was ready to book. Yapta informed me that the price went down 10% ($45. per ticket- for two of us that's $90.00. I called up Jetblue immediately and that amount of money was placed as credit for the next flight I book.:D

[yogimax]

Unfortunately, no one can give you a definitive answer.

 

The price is largely determined by supply and demand, which can vary greatly and is somewhat unpredicatable.

 

If you find a fare you can live with, better to book it as soon as you an.

[fla jack]

Don't forget to check Celebrity's Choice Air.

They usually block space & get a good price.

Jack

[Chicago Boy]

Have booked our 25th wedding anniversary cruise to the Med (out of Barcelona) for mid September. Should we be booking our airfares now or do the prices routinely drop as time goes on? Looking for fares from Vancouver to Barcelona-going through London I guess? :rolleyes: Many thanks for any advice you might have!

 

 

We are doing a Trans Atlantic from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale late November. Our travel agent went through Celebrity's Choice Air program. We paid under $600.00 a ticket from Chicago to Barcelona. If you don't use a travel agent you might consider contacting Choice Air yourself. We have always had excellent service and their prices are excellent. Enjoy your cruise.

[midwestchick]

We are doing a Trans Atlantic from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale late November. Our travel agent went through Celebrity's Choice Air program. We paid under $600.00 a ticket from Chicago to Barcelona. If you don't use a travel agent you might consider contacting Choice Air yourself. We have always had excellent service and their prices are excellent. Enjoy your cruise.

 

Choice air was higher for me than what I booked. I guess it all depends...last year we did a last minute two for one deal and the airfare was included...Azamara used Choice Air. What I didn't like was the worry we had about Lufthansa being on strike...it was quite nerve wracking. We did not fly Lufthansa to France but some people on our cruise did and they went on strike the day we left for our cruise...people were stranded and missed 2 days of the cruise.

That was a great deal from Chicago to Barcelona. We paid $500. last fall to go from Chicago to Aruba....up $100. from the previous year.