How early do you typically book flights for a cruise?

[DaKahuna]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

we would have to spend a night in Florida after the cruise to use Porter 😱

 

 

i could think of worst places to send a night after a relaxing cruise. 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

34 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

i could think of worst places to send a night after a relaxing cruise. 

 

After 3 weeks away , I just want to get home 

spending a night before cruise is ok , but not after 😉

[drakes2]

40 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Wife used Porter to fly to Calgary and enjoyed the flight 

I did look at Porter for our November TA but they only have a 8 am flight out of Orlando, we would have to spend a night in Florida after the cruise to use Porter 😱

 

 

Probably not worth it then as it will cost to spend a night in Orlando. Coming back from Rome next May will use Air Transat they are no better or worse than Air Canada and a fraction of AC's cost. 

[drakes2]

2 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

After 3 weeks away , I just want to get home 

spending a night before cruise is ok , but not after 😉

I hear you. 

[DaKahuna]

Just now, Ex-Airbalancer said:

After 3 weeks away , I just want to get home 

spending a night before cruise is ok , but not after 😉

 

Oh, I understand .. we are pretty much the say way, especially my DW.  
 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

7 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Probably not worth it then as it will cost to spend a night in Orlando. Coming back from Rome next May will use Air Transat they are no better or worse than Air Canada and a fraction of AC's cost. 

The thing that I don’t understand with Air Transat , you cannot ( you can’t do on their website) book a Yyz to the Europe and than Florida to YYZ on the same ticket 🤔

Edited June 23 by Ex-Airbalancer

[mrgabriel]

I book flights as part of my job and we also travel a lot. I always book as soon as dates are confirmed for any trip. 
 

We aren’t fancy first class or business class passengers but I do prefer exit row or the first row of seats after premium economy or whatever class of cabin is up front. Those seats usually go quickly. Depending on who we’re flying with, I am happy to pay for better seats. 
 

We’re flying to Rome in September and our flights have changed a bit since we booked several months ago. Given the flight problems we’ve encountered since Covid, I’m happy to have a confirmed seat. 

[drakes2]

22 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

The thing that I don’t understand with Air Transat , you cannot ( you can’t do on their website) book a Yyz to the Europe and than Florida to YYZ on the same ticket 🤔

No it won't allow a multi city ticket but I don't book on their site I book with Expedia for TD as get a lot of points which I redeem for future travel. I book a hotel and flight to FLL then one way return. The price is the same but basically its 2 separate tickets. If there is a change in flight times or a cancelation I'm notified immediately. Most of the time it's very minor. 

[KKB]

2 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

 

We have found that booking through flight by Celebrity, we can save as much as 20-20% over booking our own.

 

However, that saving is easily offset by baggage and change fees.  So, we are like you and prefer to fly Southwest Airlines.  Generally, cruises are the second week of a four week trip so we hit the port 2-3 days early so flight cancellations are not an issue for us.

We always check flights thru the cruiseline, but generally don't find them cheaper. 

Though we did a TA & UK cruise in April...just needed one way from London to Omaha.

$2Kpp--WHAT??!!

It was CHEAPER to book a ROUND TRIP ticket from London to Omaha (only $1200pp). 

So we did, expecting to just eat that return flight (still cheaper!)

(our friends. booked flights via Princess a bit later for about $800--we were kicking ourselves)

LUCKILY the "return" flight go changed so much that we could cancel & get our money back!!

Just had that thousand dollars hit our credit card this week--nice!

 

[drakes2]

6 minutes ago, KKB said:

We always check flights thru the cruiseline, but generally don't find them cheaper. 

Though we did a TA & UK cruise in April...just needed one way from London to Omaha.

$2Kpp--WHAT??!!

It was CHEAPER to book a ROUND TRIP ticket from London to Omaha (only $1200pp). 

So we did, expecting to just eat that return flight (still cheaper!)

(our friends. booked flights via Princess a bit later for about $800--we were kicking ourselves)

LUCKILY the "return" flight go changed so much that we could cancel & get our money back!!

Just had that thousand dollars hit our credit card this week--nice!

 

That's why I want to book my return from Rome next May ASAP as I know the flight will sell out at the current price. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

40 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

No it won't allow a multi city ticket but I don't book on their site I book with Expedia for TD as get a lot of points which I redeem for future travel. I book a hotel and flight to FLL then one way return. The price is the same but basically its 2 separate tickets. If there is a change in flight times or a cancelation I'm notified immediately. Most of the time it's very minor. 

I use Expedia for TD but we gone with CIBC Ventura Visa now , 

I did like how easy it was to book online with it 

 

[phoenix_dream]

6 hours ago, missingyou said:

Thanks to all - this has been great information!  From Pittsburgh it looks like direct to FLL the only choice is Southwest or Spirit.   So it sounds like booking now is the way to go,  unfortunately Spirit doesn't have flights open for those dates yet.  

 

Again - much thanks!

 

It's fortunate Spirit doesn't have flights open yet. Definitely not an airline I would fly. And do yourself a favor and come in at least 2 days before if possible in January.  These days many flights are 100% full and if canceled it can take time to get on another.  Truthfully from Chicago in the winter we fly in 3 days before to be safe. I know not everyone has that luxury but I recommend it if you can.

[lifeisrealygood]

We always book our air travel as soon as the bookings open ( 9 to 12 months out) or as soon as we book our cruise if it is within that window.  We normally fly United, and living near Chicago, we get to find direct flights to pretty much everywhere in the world.  I will visit United's web site twice daily for a few weeks, and jump on one that I feel is pretty good.  We usually use Miles to book, and it is amazing how different the miles are, as they change daily, often even during the same day.  As we are getting older, we now treat ourselves to first or business class pretty much all the time, and want to book early to get the seats we want.  

 

With United, it is not unusual for our flight times and even the flight number to change a few times during the 9 or 12 months leading up to the flight.  

[CDNPolar]

We book as early as schedules come out.  Often as early as 270-300 days in advance of the cruise.

[NMTraveller]

We book as soon as the flights become available then select the exit row seats for extra legroom.

Sometimes premium economy,  but mostly exit row ...

[SoloAlaska]

6-8 months for international and 4-5 months for transborder and domedtic is my rule of thumb.

 

I learnt to never book as soon as the flight is released. Air Canada released its flights a month before Porter and was very expensive. Once porter released Air Canada lowered its prices. My uncle insisted we book our flights with Air Canada which was expensive but arrived much earlier. He really wanted direct. A month later our flights were changed and no longer direct. The only good news is because of the change if our flights price goes down I can cancel and rebook without penalty.

[drakes2]

46 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

6-8 months for international and 4-5 months for transborder and domedtic is my rule of thumb.

 

I learnt to never book as soon as the flight is released. Air Canada released its flights a month before Porter and was very expensive. Once porter released Air Canada lowered its prices. My uncle insisted we book our flights with Air Canada which was expensive but arrived much earlier. He really wanted direct. A month later our flights were changed and no longer direct. The only good news is because of the change if our flights price goes down I can cancel and rebook without penalty.

Air Transat back from Rome next May one way flight to Toronto is $598 CAD. Flights by Celebrity is charging $769 but refundable with fees. Big deal I'd rather book on my own. Air Canada is over $2K one way.  For my trip to FLL I can fly Porter for $200, Celebrity doesn't offer Porter airlines 

[SoloAlaska]

40 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Air Transat back from Rome next May one way flight to Toronto is $598 CAD. Flights by Celebrity is charging $769 but refundable with fees. Big deal I'd rather book on my own. Air Canada is over $2K one way.  For my trip to FLL I can fly Porter for $200, Celebrity doesn't offer Porter airlines 

I’m flying to London from Montreal with air transat (with a porter codeshare) for $455 CAD. Same with NCL bogo flights, they are often more than booking on my own and I rather have control over my flights. I could have flown TAP for a few bucks cheaper but would have lost 3-4 hours in London which is worth much more than $20 to me. 
 

The Ottawa to FLL on porter comes in much later in the evening on the direct flight so my uncle didn’t Want to take the risk. Anyways the flight now has become very expensive at $960 CAD return and that’s by adding a day at the end of our cruise to save on air. We paid a little less with AC and get free luggage with them. Either way I’m not too happy and flying from Canada has become insanely expensive with certain cities.

[drakes2]

4 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

I’m flying to London from Montreal with air transat (with a porter codeshare) for $455 CAD. Same with NCL bogo flights, they are often more than booking on my own and I rather have control over my flights. I could have flown TAP for a few bucks cheaper but would have lost 3-4 hours in London which is worth much more than $20 to me. 
 

The Ottawa to FLL on porter comes in much later in the evening on the direct flight so my uncle didn’t Want to take the risk. Anyways the flight now has become very expensive at $960 CAD return and that’s by adding a day at the end of our cruise to save on air. We paid a little less with AC and get free luggage with them. Either way I’m not too happy and flying from Canada has become insanely expensive with certain cities.

Pearson (YYZ) is pretty good for flights and many of the airlines fly several times a day. I see West Jet and Porter is charging the same but WJ is too early and as I fly out a day in advance chances are my room won't be ready. I also prefer Porter's service and the 2 and 2 seat configuration.  I'm going to call FBC and see if they will match Air Transat price on the return from Rome in May.  That way I can pay for the flight next February. Doesn't hurt to ask

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

I feel like I've just lost the grip on how much flights are "supposed" to cost as I'm currently watching on prices from Toronto to Orlando, for a Port Canaveral cruise, over the December holidays.

 

I'm fully aware that I'm flying to a primo tourist destination at a peak time but the prices are still nuts. I basically have to fly on Air Canada and last year I was similarly watching prices for New Year's Cruise out of Tampa, hoping they'd just drop a bit or there would be a sale, and in August the prices shot up substantially and I had to suck it up. 

 

I'm definitely hoping to avoid that again but unless there's some sort of Canada Day sale coming, I'm not sure how much longer I feel comfortable waiting. It's easier if you have more flexibility than I do but it definitely feels like playing a game of chicken with the airlines and their pricing algorithms these days.

[6rugrats]

There is no reason for airfare to be low for Christmas travel.  You'll pay a premium for these days, and tickets have been for sale since about late Feb. for these dates.  I would guess some of the lower fare buckets may be sold out.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

34 minutes ago, TJ O'Pootertoot said:

I feel like I've just lost the grip on how much flights are "supposed" to cost as I'm currently watching on prices from Toronto to Orlando, for a Port Canaveral cruise, over the December holidays.

 

I'm fully aware that I'm flying to a primo tourist destination at a peak time but the prices are still nuts. I basically have to fly on Air Canada and last year I was similarly watching prices for New Year's Cruise out of Tampa, hoping they'd just drop a bit or there would be a sale, and in August the prices shot up substantially and I had to suck it up. 

 

I'm definitely hoping to avoid that again but unless there's some sort of Canada Day sale coming, I'm not sure how much longer I feel comfortable waiting. It's easier if you have more flexibility than I do but it definitely feels like playing a game of chicken with the airlines and their pricing algorithms these days.

We doing our first  cruise that ends in Port Canaveral in November not very excite about it either compared to FLL , Mia , or Barcelona 

It is like getting off in Rome with the hour long drive to the airport 🙄

[Cooper30]

19 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

It's fortunate Spirit doesn't have flights open yet. Definitely not an airline I would fly. And do yourself a favor and come in at least 2 days before if possible in January.  These days many flights are 100% full and if canceled it can take time to get on another.  Truthfully from Chicago in the winter we fly in 3 days before to be safe. I know not everyone has that luxury but I recommend it if you can.

Agreed. 
 

We’re cheap….err….thrifty but one round trip on Spirit (BOS-FLL) was more than enough. 

Edited June 24 by Cooper30

[Dobby36]

On 6/23/2024 at 6:41 PM, phoenix_dream said:

It's fortunate Spirit doesn't have flights open yet. Definitely not an airline I would fly. 

I would also avoid Spirit.  If you are set on a nonstop from Pittsburgh you might consider flying into Miami. Especially since you are coming in early. It’s only 30 min drive from Port Everglades, and American Airlines serves this route nonstop, and flights are on sale now for Jan. 
 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Book our return flight after a December TA in February on AC MCO to YYZ 

just got notice the flight has been changed from 2:30 pm to 11:30 am 

just wondering if this is doable after a transatlantic? 
Never been to Port Canaveral before so not sure timing for international flight