Have to cancel... airfare is a nightmare!!

[Tapi]

Is it the norm for people to book airfare this far out? Although flights are on sale , they usually don't have sale fares until closer to the actual date (30-90days prior). We try to fly SW.

 

 

I echo what others have said about these "normally" and "usually" statements. There's no such a thing. Waiting because "usually" prices will drop "X" days before departure is not wise advice.

 

About Southwest, I've only purchased tickets from them once, and that was when we flew to Seattle for our Alaska cruise. I literally went on their website on the exact date when our dates opened up, and snagged roundtrip nonstop airfare from Atlanta to Seattle for $278pp! [emoji2] 24 hours after I bought those tickets, they had climbed to $450, and a month prior to departure they were in the $700-800's. Had we followed the "usual" or "normal" rules of thumb, we would've been screwed and paid more than double what we actually paid by pulling the trigger half a year out.

 

Because it was an Alaska cruise, we packed more than "normal" so we checked bags (and took advantage of their "free bag" policy). Well, Southwest lost our big suitcase, PERMANENTLY. We never saw it again [emoji36]. But that's a different topic for a different thread.

[realjd]

I echo what others have said about these "normally" and "usually" statements. There's no such a thing. Waiting because "usually" prices will drop "X" days before departure is not wise advice.

 

Why? I'm not wrong that there's usually a sweet spot for cheap airfare. Google it. Airfares are publically published and there are plenty of people who have run the numbers on this. And while it isn't 100% guaranteed, nothing in life is. Airfare, cruise fare, hotel rates, it's all a gamble just like in a casino, or when buying or selling stocks.

 

Here's some more unsolicited flying advice: Delta has the highest on-time percentage of any US airline. Southwest flights to FL are often more expensive than the major airlines even counting bag fees; they don't make their fares searchable by travel sites so it's harder to compare. Discount airlines like Spirit and Allegiant are great until there's a flight delay or cancellation, in which case you're hosed because they don't have interline agreements and they don't have an extensive route network with frequent flights like the major airlines. Always search first class tickets also; flights to leisure destinations like FL often run fare sales on first class seats that cost only slightly more (or sometimes even actually less) than coach seats. If you have a flight delayed or canceled, don't wait in line for the gate agent; get on the phone with the 800 number, or pay the $25 to get in the airline club, or even leave security and go back to the ticket counter where you'll be helped much more quickly by someone who is less rushed to help you find a real solution to your travel problems. Don't book a connection through O'Hare in the winter, or one less than 90 minutes through Atlanta ever.

Edited October 22, 2015 by realjd

[D4]

Do you really want to cruise with all the Spring Breakers? We avoid that chaos.

 

We only cruise during Spring Break season on cruises that are at least 10 nights.

[FlyerTalker]

Why? I'm not wrong that there's usually a sweet spot for cheap airfare. Google it. Airfares are publically published and there are plenty of people who have run the numbers on this. And while it isn't 100% guaranteed, nothing in life is.

Those google results give you stories with some fanciful statistics. It's like the statistician who drowned while walking across a river with an average depth of 3 feet. Take thousands of flights as day, which yield even more city pair/flight combinations, hundreds of tickets per flight and hundreds of days. Now multiply that times many airlines.

 

Even if you do come up with a "date", it is at best an average approximation based on past data. It's like saying that the average temperature in the USA on an annual basis is 64 degrees. What good does that do you for today's weather forecast? Should you just toss on a windbreaker in Fargo in February.

 

Makes for good stories in newspapers and websites. Irrelevant for YOUR ticket purchase.

 

Don't book a connection through O'Hare in the winter, or one less than 90 minutes through Atlanta ever.

More grand (and inaccurate) generalizations.

 

Come on over to Cruise Air forum and post this drivel.

Edited October 22, 2015 by FlyerTalker

[momof3cruisers]

My Grandbabies are in a car for 12 hours when they come to see me. They seem to survive quite well...in fact they love to travel by car and look at it as a real adventure. But then they are pretty used to it, love their in car movies, play on their I-pads (even the little ones). Mom and Dad do sing alongs with the kids, play the alphabet game with billboards. Stop for meals along the way.

 

Flying can have some awesome repercussions for kids. Young ones are not often comfortable with change in cabin pressure. Flight times are only part of the travel time. 2 hours early to the airport, the hassle of security, waiting in the departure lounge, expensive choices for food and drinks on the concourse, waiting for luggage to arrive, struggling with luggage from baggage claim to curbside and at some ports as much as an hour or more to get to the pier. Also, on a flight, kids are caught up in a predominately adult world where fellow passengers aren't often tolerant of an unruly or noisy child.

 

I think car travel and plane travel have their good and bad points but I don't necessarily see one as "better" than another.

 

I believe, and as Tapi kind of touched on, it depends on what you kids are used to. By the time we started traveling for vacations much, we had three kids. Five people flying to anywhere from MN at that time was always crazy expensive. We were still in a stranglehold from Northwest at that time and could literally drive to IA to fly back into MN for less than leaving from here to begin with. At any rate...we decided to drive. It wasn't spectacular, but it was worth the savings.

 

At this point, we have driving down to a science. Many years back we figured out a system that worked well for us and having started at such a young age, they are all pretty darn happy travelers. The majority of things that work one way for some, will be the opposite for others. My kids did much better in their car seats than an airplane seat. It was easy to get to easy snacks and drinks on our own time table as opposed to waiting or dealing with cramped spaces. Etc.

 

Different things work differently for everyone.

[E&B]

I echo what others have said about these "normally" and "usually" statements. There's no such a thing. Waiting because "usually" prices will drop "X" days before departure is not wise advice.

 

About Southwest, I've only purchased tickets from them once, and that was when we flew to Seattle for our Alaska cruise. I literally went on their website on the exact date when our dates opened up, and snagged roundtrip nonstop airfare from Atlanta to Seattle for $278pp! [emoji2] 24 hours after I bought those tickets, they had climbed to $450, and a month prior to departure they were in the $700-800's. Had we followed the "usual" or "normal" rules of thumb, we would've been screwed and paid more than double what we actually paid by pulling the trigger half a year out.

 

Because it was an Alaska cruise, we packed more than "normal" so we checked bags (and took advantage of their "free bag" policy). Well, Southwest lost our big suitcase, PERMANENTLY. We never saw it again [emoji36]. But that's a different topic for a different thread.

 

 

This is exactly what we do. And Southwest also allows you to change fares or tickets at the current rate with no penalties and a 1 year credit. We watch the fare frequently. If the price does go down, we get a credit good for one year from the date we booked it. I've also bought connecting flights because they were cheaper and then switched to a direct when that fare went down.

[mabones]

I recently was looking at a February cruise out of Florida to break up the cold, snowy winter of the Northeast. I received an email from JB about an extended Calendar for 2016. Found a great price to Houston from Boston for 84pp each way. I then found a great cruise price on NCL. It will cost us $336 total round trip for the both of us. Never considered Houston because of the distance. Also just had them book us a room which includes transfers from Airport to Hotel then Hotel to Pier. That is also under $200. Can't beat that pricing.

 

You just have to be creative.

[Tapi]

Why? I'm not wrong that there's usually a sweet spot for cheap airfare. Google it.

 

 

Anybody who is in the airline industry can tell you that they've had a good laugh more than once at the inaccurate information that you can google about flying.

 

I agree that there's some value to statistics and data, but the information is too broad and non-specific when it comes to finding airfare. If you find a killer deal on airfare 11 months out, are you going to say "Well, I'm going to wait until 45 days prior to see if the prices drop further because "usually" or "statistically" they do"? NO! I mean, you could say that, but it would be a dumb decision. You need to evaluate each situation on an individual basis.

 

As someone mentioned above, this generalized statistical data is as accurate as saying that the US average temperature is 64. It means nothing. It's useless besides being a fun fact. When we sailed on the cruise to Alaska mentioned above, the statistical information for May showed that we could expect overcast skies and rain most of the time, with temperature in the 30's-50's. Well, what kind of weather did we encounter that specific week? Clear, blue, sunny skies with temperatures in the mid to upper 60's the ENTIRE week.

 

Just like statistical information meant nothing for our specific week of travel, the same can be said about statistical data for anything, not just weather or airfare.

[breenw]

When you choose to travel during known Spring Break weeks, you are going to pay the Piper so to speak. Prices for everything are always inflated.

 

As far as your deposit, Carnival will transfer the deposit to another cruise date and/or ship. Just give them a call.

[scuddles]

OP, I agree with the gang of waiting until its closer for cheaper airfare or flying to a nearby city and driving. We have often had the same issue from SEA and having to travel during school breaks. We paid as much to fly to LAX for our Splendor cruise as we often pay to go to Hawaii. Luckily we don't have that issue any longer as the youngest graduated last spring. Hold tight if this is the cruise you really want and see how the airfare is after the first of the year. That still gives you time.

[realjd]

Don't book a connection through O'Hare in the winter, or one less than 90 minutes through Atlanta ever.

 

More grand (and inaccurate) generalizations.

 

Come on over to Cruise Air forum and post this drivel.

 

Inaccurate? The ORD advice or the ATL advice? Both are common recommendations on FlyerTalk, your namesake. ORD has terrible winter performance compared to other hubs (or even MDW), and it really is just good advice in general to not book short connections at ATL (my usual hub) due to the size of the place.

 

Your weather analogy doesn't work. You saying the average temperature in the US in Feb is 64 would be like me saying the average fare price 3 months out is $250. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying fares tend to be lowest around 3 months out. An equivalent comparison would be like saying temperatures in the US tend to be are lowest in January. Or that it typically rains more in Florida in the summer. I can't say for sure that it's true for every airline and every flight, but it's a good generalization.

 

I'm also going to say that booking flights the day before are generally super expensive. Are you going to argue I'm wrong with that also? But there's thousands of flights across many airlines so how can I generalize like that?

[riclop]

Howdy folks!

 

Thought we found the perfect cruise for the family, but doesn’t look like it is going to work out. Eastern Caribbean, on the Breeze, sails March 26th, 2016. We fell in love with ship and ports, but when it came time to book airfare we were brought back to reality! We will be flying out of SLC, can’t find anything that works for less than $900 each. Family of four, can’t justify spending more on airfare than the cruise. Luckily, booked with the $50 deposit special, so I am only invested $200.

 

Question, we have found another cruise that we would like to switch to. Sails out of Port Canaveral in May, and flights can be found for around $300 per person. Our PVP said the deposit is non refundable, what are the chances they allow us to use the deposit towards another cruise?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

It's a very bad time of the year. $$$$

[Club Disney Chandler]

Why? I'm not wrong that there's usually a sweet spot for cheap airfare. Google it. Airfares are publically published and there are plenty of people who have run the numbers on this. And while it isn't 100% guaranteed, nothing in life is. Airfare, cruise fare, hotel rates, it's all a gamble just like in a casino, or when buying or selling stocks.

 

Here's some more unsolicited flying advice: Delta has the highest on-time percentage of any US airline. Southwest flights to FL are often more expensive than the major airlines even counting bag fees; they don't make their fares searchable by travel sites so it's harder to compare. Discount airlines like Spirit and Allegiant are great until there's a flight delay or cancellation, in which case you're hosed because they don't have interline agreements and they don't have an extensive route network with frequent flights like the major airlines. Always search first class tickets also; flights to leisure destinations like FL often run fare sales on first class seats that cost only slightly more (or sometimes even actually less) than coach seats. If you have a flight delayed or canceled, don't wait in line for the gate agent; get on the phone with the 800 number, or pay the $25 to get in the airline club, or even leave security and go back to the ticket counter where you'll be helped much more quickly by someone who is less rushed to help you find a real solution to your travel problems. Don't book a connection through O'Hare in the winter, or one less than 90 minutes through Atlanta ever.

 

 

I totally agree with the sweet spot statement. Back in April we booked the Vista for a June 2016 Mediterranean out of BCN. as soon as flights were available for booking in June this year I was checking on a regular basis. Most flights round trip from PHX were about $1500. I looked diligently scouting travel and airline websites, then one Monday evening towards the end of August I got on the cheapoair app on about died, I found flights for $750/person round trip. I booked them for my family immediately. The next evening they were at $950 and the day after that they went up to $1700 where they have remained. I can say with 100% confidence I found a sweet spot.

 

We always book our vacations well over a year in advance and 90% of the time, I've found my sweet spot for domestic airfare at the 90 - 120 day out range.

[trixiegal]

I fly Southwest almost exclusively and I don't agree there is a particular time frame to get better fares. It really depends on the market and supply and demand, which has been explained over and over again in this thread. I check fares every single day for weeks at a time. If the fare drops past the typical $99 or $129 Wanna Get Away fare then I buy. Then I continue to check to see if that fare drops or not. It doesn't always go lower and I end up buying one of the fares at $99 and get the other fare at a lower "sale" price. I may check other airports in my region and fly one-way from one airport inbound and one way outbound. Works for me because I live in a major metropolitan area on the East Coast.

 

I like flying SWA because of the no baggage fees for 2 bags, ability to cancel or change flights with no fee and, most of all, accumulating Rapid Rewards points to use on free flights. The website is so simple to use! The only thing is you have to track your credits for flights that dropped in fare or were canceled via your flight confirmation number. They don't track it for you. Keep a spreadsheet or note on your phone(like I do) to keep track and use them before 1 year.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

Just heard an interview with a flight guru on TWC say that statistically the best time to buy is 57 days out and the best day is on a Tuesday. Not saying it's true, just passing on what I heard on TV.

[Donh44]

Howdy folks!

 

Thought we found the perfect cruise for the family, but doesn’t look like it is going to work out. Eastern Caribbean, on the Breeze, sails March 26th, 2016. We fell in love with ship and ports, but when it came time to book airfare we were brought back to reality! We will be flying out of SLC, can’t find anything that works for less than $900 each. Family of four, can’t justify spending more on airfare than the cruise. Luckily, booked with the $50 deposit special, so I am only invested $200.

 

Question, we have found another cruise that we would like to switch to. Sails out of Port Canaveral in May, and flights can be found for around $300 per person. Our PVP said the deposit is non refundable, what are the chances they allow us to use the deposit towards another cruise?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Have you checked about purchasing airfare thru Carnival? There are pros and cons. I just came off of a cruise to New England out of New York. I live in Florida. They got me a RT airfare from Tampa to Newark and LaGuardia to Tampa for $299. There is no way that I could have gotten flights that cheap on my own. Sometimes the timing of the flights are weird. Worth a shot to check it out.

[FlyerTalker]

Just heard an interview with a flight guru on TWC say that statistically the best time to buy is 57 days out and the best day is on a Tuesday. Not saying it's true, just passing on what I heard on TV.

This may be "statistically" true, but in practice it is not something you want to use to make your purchasing decisions.

 

It's akin to the old joke about the statistician who drowned while walking across a river that was an average of two feet deep.

[carib1]

We just returned from a cruise that left from Miami, We fly Southwest and flew into West Palm Beach, rates were way cheaper and then we just took the Tri-Rail down to Miami for $6.90 pp. It all worked out great!

 

Also doing it next year during Spring Break, we are cruising out of Ft Lauderdale on 3/26/16 (Easter Sunday and Spring Break) and flying into West Palm Beach, rates were about $200pp cheaper.

Edited October 27, 2015 by carib1

[JohnSpo]

Another tip is to look up airfares as "one way". You can fly one airline on the departure flight and a different airline on the return flight. Doing this you will see the price of each direction. You may find a cheaper combination of flights this way.

[itchintocruise]

We just returned from a cruise that left from Miami, We fly Southwest and flew into West Palm Beach, rates were way cheaper and then we just took the Tri-Rail down to Miami for $6.90 pp. It all worked out great!

 

Also doing it next year during Spring Break, we are cruising out of Ft Lauderdale on 3/26/16 (Easter Sunday and Spring Break) and flying into West Palm Beach, rates were about $200pp cheaper.

 

Just curious, but how did you get from the train stop in Miami to the cruise port? We are leaving on the Breeze Dec 19th and flying into FLL.

[carib1]

Just curious, but how did you get from the train stop in Miami to the cruise port? We are leaving on the Breeze Dec 19th and flying into FLL.

 

We flew in a day early, so we went from the Tri-rail to the Metro-rail to the Metro-mover which stopped in front of our hotel. Total cost was $8.90 pp to go from West Palm Beach to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Miami, then we took a cab to the port the next day, I think that was $15.00.

 

You can take the Tri-Rail to the Miami Airport station and still use Carnival transfer or you can take a cab from there.

 

It was super easy, even with luggage!!!

 

We are going to do the same thing next cruise that leaves out of FLL, flying into West Palm Beach then taking the Tri-rail to FLL Airport station then a cab to the port from there.

Edited October 27, 2015 by carib1

[itchintocruise]

We flew in a day early, so we went from the Tri-rail to the Metro-rail to the Metro-mover which stopped in front of our hotel. Total cost was $8.90 pp to go from West Palm Beach to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Miami, then we took a cab to the port the next day, I think that was $15.00.

 

You can take the Tri-Rail to the Miami Airport station and still use Carnival transfer or you can take a cab from there.

 

It was super easy, even with luggage!!!

 

We are going to do the same thing next cruise that leaves out of FLL, flying into West Palm Beach then taking the Tri-rail to FLL Airport station then a cab to the port from there.

 

Thanks for the info...I will check it out.

[LaCal]

Hope you read this in time:

 

Jet Blue is having a Flash Sale and RT airfare would be $368 pp during the dates you need (If you don't mind flying into Ft Lauderdale and can fly home Monday instead of Sunday:confused:).

 

I always fly into Ft Lauderdale when cruising from Miami. Plenty of shuttle services to the Miami port.:D

 

Just FYI.

 

Wow that was a great sale.....Were flying from LAX TO FORT LAUDERDALE on March 18th and coming back March 28th 2016. One day before and one day after our cruise

 

I've been pricing airfare and the sticker shock was crazy....I'm still trying to wait for a airfare sale or see someone post about a sale or special....were also trying to just get a direct flight both ways

 

I always get nervous though that if I wait till Jan/Feb to book the air that prices may be higher then today's rates 😳😳🙈

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated Thx

[mapsmith]

It is only a four hour drive if you are going 80MPH . .

 

Which is slow on Alligator Alley.

[belkin]

Which is slow on Alligator Alley.

 

I will agree with that. I drive it often and people fly by me going at least 90mph. Takes us about 2 hours and 15 minutes from the port in Miami to home in Fort Myers.