Flights from Cleveland - FLL - anyone?

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

We have been flying frm CLE - FLL for many years, always had a myriad of flight options to choose from. Most recently, used Frontier (for the first time) and loved it...had a super early direct flight and were on the beach by 9 a.m. Now, Frontier has stopped service in between those two cities. I only see Jet Blue with an option (too late of a flight for me, takes away an entire day of vacation), or United with stops (and $$$).

 

Anyone having similar issues? Usually they're quick breaks for me, 3, 4 nights, so I need early flights and relatively inexpensive of course. I'm concerned and hoping this changes in the near future.

 

Thoughts?

[brunello22]

We have been flying frm CLE - FLL for many years, always had a myriad of flight options to choose from. Most recently, used Frontier (for the first time) and loved it...had a super early direct flight and were on the beach by 9 a.m. Now, Frontier has stopped service in between those two cities. I only see Jet Blue with an option (too late of a flight for me, takes away an entire day of vacation), or United with stops (and $$$).

 

Anyone having similar issues? Usually they're quick breaks for me, 3, 4 nights, so I need early flights and relatively inexpensive of course. I'm concerned and hoping this changes in the near future.

 

Thoughts?

 

Nice to see you're already planning another trip back!! Have you checked Southwest into FLL? Or even flying into MIA, although not as convenient.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Nice to see you're already planning another trip back!! Have you checked Southwest into FLL? Or even flying into MIA, although not as convenient.

 

Definitely, my two favorite places are Ft. Lauderdale, and Siesta Key. Love both so much, wish I could come even more often.

 

I did check Southwest, and prices were thru the roof for around the 4th of July. Also, they're not direct, which shaves a significant amount of time off my vacation. I could do a flight with stops, if I got in early enough. The flights I've seen all arrive later, and I'll only have 3 nights to stay.

 

Thanks for the reply though!

[CruiserBruce]

Just looking at some random dates in November, I see Spirit (non-stop)for $127 and United for $170, one stop. Neither seems expensive to me. All the main carriers are above $200.

 

If there is demand, and they can make money, they will schedule the flights. I sense the demand CLE-FLL isn't great.

 

Yes, flying around July 4th is more expensive. Wonder why? Hint- peak vacation season...

Edited March 9, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Just looking at some random dates in November, I see Spirit (non-stop)for $127 and United for $170, one stop. Neither seems expensive to me. All the main carriers are above $200.

 

If there is demand, and they can make money, they will schedule the flights. I sense the demand CLE-FLL isn't great.

 

Yes, flying around July 4th is more expensive. Wonder why? Hint- peak vacation season...

 

Those are very low prices, however in a month I'm not looking into. Also, I've checked Spirit, but again the flights are late afternoon- evening and that is a missed day at the beach for me. Looks like I don't have a lot of options any longer for what I'm looking for.

 

What date do you see for United $170? I've never seen a United fare to Ft. Lauderdale that low. I'd like to take a look.

[CruiserBruce]

Those are very low prices, however in a month I'm not looking into. Also, I've checked Spirit, but again the flights are late afternoon- evening and that is a missed day at the beach for me. Looks like I don't have a lot of options any longer for what I'm looking for.

 

What date do you see for United $170? I've never seen a United fare to Ft. Lauderdale that low. I'd like to take a look.

 

I believe the dates I used were departures in the first week of November, staying for 8 days. When I did the initial search you had not yet posted you were looking for July flights.

 

That is another issue possibly driving up costs is it sounds like you want short trips. There are common restrictions for cheaper fares that you stay over a Saturday night. Are you doing that?

[buckeyecruisers]

We are flying out of Columbus, on Southwest It's a direct flight leaving 6:30am arriving 9:10am. The flight was almost $100.00 cheaper for my wife and myself.

[CantanaLobo]

The de-hubbing of CLE by United is not helping if you want non-stops.

 

AA has a flight that gets into MIA at 8:51 AM on Jul 3, and one that departs MIA at 8:00 PM Jul 8. What dates are you looking at?

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

I believe the dates I used were departures in the first week of November, staying for 8 days. When I did the initial search you had not yet posted you were looking for July flights.

 

That is another issue possibly driving up costs is it sounds like you want short trips. There are common restrictions for cheaper fares that you stay over a Saturday night. Are you doing that?

 

The de-hubbing of CLE by United is not helping if you want non-stops.

 

AA has a flight that gets into MIA at 8:51 AM on Jul 3, and one that departs MIA at 8:00 PM Jul 8. What dates are you looking at?

 

I am staying over Saturday night, yes. I was looking at 7/2, coming home 7/5.

 

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.

[BlueHerons]

Definitely, my two favorite places are Ft. Lauderdale, and Siesta Key. Love both so much, wish I could come even more often.

 

I did check Southwest, and prices were thru the roof for around the 4th of July. Also, they're not direct, which shaves a significant amount of time off my vacation. I could do a flight with stops, if I got in early enough. The flights I've seen all arrive later, and I'll only have 3 nights to stay.

 

Thanks for the reply though!

 

Did you check Allegiant airlines? I know they fly into St.Pete (Siesta Key) and Fort Lauderdale.

[ridgecrest]

LuckiStac13*Majesty*

Did you think about driving to Pittsburgh and taking the 7:45 Southwest flight #528. That is the flight that I will be taking July 9 for my Oasis /Independence cruises. I booked my nonstop round trip flights yesterdayfor $260.

 

Make sure you read the fine print, you must dress in Steelers colors :D :D :D.

[coachw]

As someone mentioned. I got flight non stop to Miami from Cleveland for $170 on American Airlines. Spirit also had decent fairs to Fll. Both in July.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Did you check Allegiant airlines? I know they fly into St.Pete (Siesta Key) and Fort Lauderdale.

 

I did...and the flight was late afternoon/early evening and wasn't that inexpensive. That may change though, as they are brand new to CLE. I will keep checking. Thanks!

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

LuckiStac13*Majesty*

Did you think about driving to Pittsburgh and taking the 7:45 Southwest flight #528. That is the flight that I will be taking July 9 for my Oasis /Independence cruises. I booked my nonstop round trip flights yesterdayfor $260.

 

Make sure you read the fine print, you must dress in Steelers colors :D :D :D.

 

Ha! I am actually a Steelers fan, so that's fine with me :)

 

We have discussed driving to Pittsburgh before, however for a short weekend trip, it doesn't make sense for us. Good idea though, thanks for replying.

 

I know I probably sound difficult, but we LOVED this last flight we grabbed, Frontier, non-stop for under $200. We were on the beach eating breakfast by 9, 9:30. So we are spoiled!

[lindy sails]

Try Akron Canton. Great airport

Very reasonable parking rate.

[dougtr]

My GF and I just booked a 14 day cruise from Miami on CCL in October. We had the same issue when looking for flights from Cleveland.

 

Many flights seemed to come in too late on the day of departure.

Spirit and Delta were the only options but they didn't come into FLL until 2pm. There are no good options for CLE - Miami that we found that were reasonable.

 

We decided to take Jetblue (free checked bag) CLE-FLL (6pm-9pm) the day before and get a hotel nearby. I think we will stay at Sleep Inn ($100) with free breakfast and free shuttle from the FLL. In the morning we will just take a shuttle van to the port of Miami ($15 to $20pp).

 

We are flying home from FLL on Spirit ($85 + bag fees) at 3pm on Saturday.

 

CLE - MCO Orlando option. Rent a car ($50) with no additional fee for one way rentals in Florida. Drive to MIA and get to the ship or drop off luggage and additional passengers at the ship first. That works pretty well and we have done that before. You just have to make sure you have plenty of wiggle room. The drive is easy and about 3-4 hours if I remember.

 

CLE - PBI is another alternative but that would require renting a car and the flights we found didn't come until the afternoon which would cut it close getting to the ship.

 

CLE - RSW (Fort Meyers) is another option to fly into if you find a cheap flight early. Rent a car and drive to MIA.

 

To us the flight prices on coming in early were much more than us flying in the night before with the addition of a hotel. Also it makes for a nice rested start of the cruise. Rushing to a cruise ship sucks!

 

 

Hope this helps

Edited March 16, 2015 by dougtr

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

My GF and I just booked a 14 day cruise from Miami on CCL in October. We had the same issue when looking for flights from Cleveland.

 

Many flights seemed to come in too late on the day of departure.

Spirit and Delta were the only options but they didn't come into FLL until 2pm. There are no good options for CLE - Miami that we found that were reasonable.

 

We decided to take Jetblue (free checked bag) CLE-FLL (6pm-9pm) the day before and get a hotel nearby. I think we will stay at Sleep Inn ($100) with free breakfast and free shuttle from the FLL. In the morning we will just take a shuttle van to the port of Miami ($15 to $20pp).

 

We are flying home from FLL on Spirit ($85 + bag fees) at 3pm on Saturday.

 

CLE - MCO Orlando option. Rent a car ($50) with no additional fee for one way rentals in Florida. Drive to MIA and get to the ship or drop off luggage and additional passengers at the ship first. That works pretty well and we have done that before. You just have to make sure you have plenty of wiggle room. The drive is easy and about 3-4 hours if I remember.

 

CLE - PBI is another alternative but that would require renting a car and the flights we found didn't come until the afternoon which would cut it close getting to the ship.

 

CLE - RSW (Fort Meyers) is another option to fly into if you find a cheap flight early. Rent a car and drive to MIA.

 

To us the flight prices on coming in early were much more than us flying in the night before with the addition of a hotel. Also it makes for a nice rested start of the cruise. Rushing to a cruise ship sucks!

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Thanks, it does. I'd be happy to take that 6-9 flight, b/c I wouldn't have to ruin a day of vacation traveling. I will look into Jet Blue to see if I can snag one of those.

 

This really has not been an issue as we've always had early morning flights available. Concerning for sure!

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[dougtr]

I agree a 6am flight out of CLE will work best for you. And with a direct flight you will have plenty of time to get to the ship.

[jb456]

Spirit has direct flights and deals sometimes at $34.50 each way. Yes you read that right :D $69 roundtrip.

 

You have to check there site each day after 11am EST is when they change prices / deals and they do this every day.

 

If your a planner and need to book months in advance it probably won't work out for you as they don't do deals months in advance. Deals are usually just 1 to 2 months ahead of time. For instance right now there are deals for end of April / May but the deal is ending in a few hours as its been running since yesterday.

 

But for example if someone wanted to fly from Cleveland to FLL for a week getaway they could do so right now April 28th to May 6th for $69 roundtrip. Checked bag fee is almost same price LOL at $30 each way.

 

Screen shot on link below showing its $34.50 each way

 

http://postimg.org/image/42bw7w6hz/

[jb456]

Also if Columbus area works then Allegiant goes from there sometimes as low as $45 each way.

 

If both airports work you could look at flying from one and returning to the other if prices are better.

Edited March 17, 2015 by jb456