Airfare is Killin' Me!

[LLSullie]

I don't sail until December ... I am HOPING that airfare goes down in the fall. :cool:

[davidBZ]

fatwallet.com/t/63/312271/

 

I've had good luck with mobissimo.com

[Laid-back]

I don't sail until December ... I am HOPING that airfare goes down in the fall. :cool:

 

I think that that might be wishful thinking. I booked a flight from DCA to MIA several months ago and the fare has gone up significantly since then. Depending on the time in December don't forget you are going to be competing with the Holiday travelers. Good Luck!!

[pcur]

Other posters have recommended airgorilla, kayak, and sidestep.

 

I've had good luck with bestfares.

[JENANDGENE]

I agree.... I just recently went to Orlando from CT. We booked the airfare in March and paid about $170 pp. The closer we got to the date the higher it went. I checked the price a week or so before we went and it was up to $320!!! With ever increasing costs of fuel, I don't think we will see any releif any time soon!

 

~Jen

[LLSullie]

Can't get passed $400 pp from Dulles to Puerto Rico, which is ridiculous since my parents are flying out of JFK for $260.

 

I found $170 out of Newark but really don't want the 5 hour drive just to save that money ... thinking my time and sanity is worth that.

 

Hoping as we get closer it will go down. Cruise is 12/10 so also hoping that since this is a holiday lull for the airlines we might see a dip.

[bruce-r]

On March 22 I booked Portland OR to Ft Lauderdale for our cruise leaving on Dec 16 and the airfare has gone up $156 per person since then. I don't think the prices are going to go down between now and Dec, so I'm really glad I jumped when I did. I can only see air fares going the same direction as gas prices.

 

Better get your tickets soon.

[Stacylee]

I find that typically the sales are at about 60 days out. It is too early to expect them now - now they are advertising air sales through June. You have to get through the summer first before the start on the fall season.

 

I am not worried yet - I know I will get a good deal around Sept for our (hopefully) Nov cruise.

[Jeano222]

Stacylee is correct, the prices will fall 2-4 months ahead. I use the cutoff time of 21 days, if there is no sale prior to that time, I book the lowest I can. Also if your city flies to and from the city you want to go to on Southweat then when Southwest releases their fares, many times the other cruiselines will drop theirs too.

[waterrats]

We booked for our September cruise last month and am paying something like $240pp from DCA to MCO (Orlando). We just came back from Tampa last month with the kids. With discounted airfare for the kids, we paid about $266pp. We usually luck out and pay between $150 and $205pp for florida from DCA. I guess airfare is going up.

 

Try some specialty airlines like jetblue or southwest that don't publish their fares on the travel sites.

[cage keeper]

I am also looking for lowest airfares. We are planning to drive to Port Canaveral from CT., but if the price of gas keeps going up we may change our minds.:(

[kaj2870]

I booked the cruise for my family and I last June sailing on Enchantment of the Seas (June 10-15, 2006) and had been checking out the airfare. It was amazing to see how the price changes from time to time. I was going to book the airfare in March but decided to wait until April. Well, I'm glad I did wait because for 16 people to fly from Baltimore, MD to Ft. Lauderdale, FL was $2500.40, which I thought was an excellent price. However, when I booked the airfare on April 14th, the price was $2217.60. So that was $138.60 for round trip per person:) My mother in law couldn't believe the price. By the way, we're flying on Southwest

[LLSullie]

Looks like everybody is about the same price no matter where in DC you leave from :( We're looking in to flying from Philadelphia, it seems to be about $120 cheaper at the moment.

[kaj2870]

I am also looking for lowest airfares. We are planning to drive to Port Canaveral from CT., but if the price of gas keeps going up we may change our minds.:(

 

I know what you mean. We were going to drive from Baltimore to Ft. Lauderdale for our upcoming cruise on June 10 - 15 on Enchantment of the Seas. The were two reasons why I convinced everyone to fly instead of driving (1) The gas prices and (2) riding for 17 plus hours with 16 people and luggage:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: . I hope you will be able to find a reason price for airfare.

[TheParrotHeads]

I don't sail until December ... I am HOPING that airfare goes down in the fall. :cool:

 

Good afternoon LLSullie,

 

I haven't posted on here in a very long time, mainly we have many land vacations planned for all of 2006--took a year off of cruising. No worries we will be back for March of 2007, but not sure which cruise line we'll be returning to.

 

I did see your post and thought I might throw my $.02 in as well. I'm somewhat of an aviation junky, so I thought of this as a fun challenge. I did find something for you on Continental at $278 per person. Here comes the "But." But, it is out of Richmond (RIC), Virginia and you connect in Newark then onto San Juan. There are no long layovers or tight connections. Again, this does mean you would have to leave on Saturday and not Sunday. You might have already planned on this, I don't know. There are no operated flights on Sunday for Continental to San Juan out of Richmond.

 

Depart:6:30 a.m. Richmond, VA (RIC)

Arrive: 7:44 a.m.New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)

Flight Time: 1 hr 14 mn

Flight: CO2341

Aircraft: Embraer RJ145

 

 

Connect time in New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty) is 1 hour 16 minutes.

 

Depart: 9:00 a.m. New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)

Arrive: 2:14 p.m. San Juan, PR (SJU)

Flight Time: 4 hr 14 mn

Flight: CO471

Aircraft: Boeing 757-300

Travel Time:

6 hr 44 mn

 

<<<<<<<RETURN>>>>>>>

 

Depart: 1:00 p.m. San Juan, PR (SJU)

Arrive: 4:32 p.m. New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)

Flight Time: 4 hr 32 mn

Flight: CO476

Aircraft: Boeing 737-800

 

Connect time in New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty) is 43 minutes.

 

Depart: 5:15 p.m. New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)

Arrive: 6:40 p.m. Richmond, VA (RIC)

Flight Time: 1 hr 25 mn

Flight: CO3253

Aircraft: Embraer RJ135

 

 

There is Delta for 330 per person out Richmond (RIC) to San Juan (SJU) on Sunday. Flight times are good for your trip.

 

Delta Air Lines Flight DL6090 on an Embraer ERJ-145 (jet)

Departs Richmond, VA (RIC) Sun, Dec 10 7:00a

Arrives Orlando, FL (MCO) 9:05am

 

Layover in Orlando 2 hrs 0 min

 

Delta Air Lines Flight DL890 on a Boeing 757

Departs Orlando, FL (MCO) Sun, Dec 10 11:05a

Arrives San Juan, PR (SJU) 2:54p

 

<<<<<<RETURN>>>>>>

 

Delta Air Lines Flight DL893 on a Boeing 757

Departs San Juan, PR (SJU) Sun, Dec 17 3:45p

Arrives Orlando, FL (MCO) 5:56p

 

Layover in Orlando 2 hrs 54 min

 

Delta Air Lines Flight DL6093 on an Embraer ERJ-145 (jet)

Departs Orlando, FL (MCO) Sun, Dec 17 8:50p 1 hr 55 min

Arrives Richmond, VA (RIC) 10:45p

 

There is even a better flight out of Philadelphia if that is closer to you than Richmond. It is on US Airways and is NON-STOP for $321.00. All flights and times for both Sundays are prices at 321.00. So you could find the times that work best for you. There are plenty to choose from for each Sunday. The same prices apply if you are looking for a departure on Saturday vs. that of Sunday.

 

This is a game of roulette around the holiday times, especially in peak caribbean season. You may find last minute fares, but with all of the traveling I do, economy fares do nothing but go up, especially to peak destinations, during high season (JMHO). It is up to you, but I would not wait. Jet Blue and other LCC (low cost carriers are not going to be any lower). Just look at their rates for the low season (hurricane season). They are not going to be lower than that during high season. JetBlue is no longer the LCC they once were. And taking into effect this and with JetBlue posting two consecutive quarter losses, higher oil prices, etc., I doubt you will find anything lower. We left in January after the New Year for our Adventure Cruise in 2004. Though the cruising industry may offer competitive inside cabin fares during this time, there was no relief in airfare. I believe Continental out Newark was right around 275 for us.

 

Good luck and if I can help you in anyway, please don't hesitate to ask. :)

[TheMiz]

I booked the cruise for my family and I last June sailing on Enchantment of the Seas (June 10-15, 2006) and had been checking out the airfare. It was amazing to see how the price changes from time to time. I was going to book the airfare in March but decided to wait until April. Well, I'm glad I did wait because for 16 people to fly from Baltimore, MD to Ft. Lauderdale, FL was $2500.40, which I thought was an excellent price. However, when I booked the airfare on April 14th, the price was $2217.60. So that was $138.60 for round trip per person:) My mother in law couldn't believe the price. By the way, we're flying on Southwest

 

 

Well you are one of the lucky ones!

As was I but I booked in March for our Aug saling on the BOTS. My fare from my home in oHIo to Spain was $1122 pp on Delta, many of our group waited for a better fare they booked 2 weeks ago for $1167 but they have to drive to Cleveland for their flights.

 

Having just ckecked http://www.kayak.com my fare IF BOOKED today would be $1774 pp.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[crusinhokie]

LLSullie

 

I'm facing the same problem from the DC area in early Jan 07. I was all about jet blue from Richmond (easier on everyone in the family but me) until my dad mentioned the issue of snow storms in the winter. Would hate to risk a dc and nyc storm messing up our cruise. we will try priceline and other sites though.

[brn2crz]

I don't sail until December ... I am HOPING that airfare goes down in the fall. :cool:

 

Theres only one answer for this problem....

 

Move to a port city!!! :p

[wrp96]

Theres only one answer for this problem....

 

Move to a port city!!! :p

 

Yeah, we don't have many ports here in landlocked Arkansas. New Orleans is the closest, next is Galveston.

[yj2cute]

I've got the same problem, but mine is probably worse. I need to fly to Orlando during Christmas time! The prices now are very high, but I know in the fall they will be higher and won't come down. I checked for this same time period late in the fall last year and had to give up a good cruise price b/c the airfare was around $700. I'm looking from Newark to Orlando. I was kinda waiting on Jetblue, but as Parrothead said, they have been no bargain since they came to Newark. We don't have Southwest near us. The only other options may be USA 3000 but they don't have their rates out yet either.

 

Any ideas?

[KalenaD]

I am convinced it doesn't matter anymore WHERE you are going, all that matters is getting on an airplane. They seem to be charging around the same no matter where you go. I just bought airfare for our dec 2 cruise, Seattle to Fort Lauderdale $273 per person, this is from WASHINGTON STATE!!!!! Funny thing is, my mom is going with us but flying from Las Vegas where they live, it is costing her $40 MORE than our tickets.

[azjacque]

For us from Phoenix to Hobby, SW Airlines does not post fares that far out in advance (we're going on November 26th). Right now they only have reservation bookings up to September! I'm getting ansy, I want to book our flight now so it's out of the way!

 

Good luck LLSullie! Sounds like you got some good advice!

[cb at sea]

I've found airfares are usually less about 3 months out. Unless you need a very specific flight, I'd wait to book. This far out, I'm sure the prices are quite high!

[beach08]

It sounds if everyone is facing the same problem, inlcuding me last week I was checking air from BWI to MIA for Feb 2007, American Airlines had perfect flight intinerary for $189.00 PP, now the same flights this week are $267.00.......I knew I should have jumped on it.

Cruising could become an issue...with the additional expense of AIR.

We have port in Baltimore, but the ships or intineraries are not appealing.:mad: :mad:

[brn2crz]

For us from Phoenix to Hobby, SW Airlines does not post fares that far out in advance (we're going on November 26th). Right now they only have reservation bookings up to September! I'm getting ansy, I want to book our flight now so it's out of the way!

 

Good luck LLSullie! Sounds like you got some good advice!

 

I was the same way last year waiting to book Hou to Orlando..I wanted to get the 79 pp...but I booked at 99 because I was scared to wait..Sure enough,they came out...But....There were never any available when I tried to book,and take the credit...SO...I know how ya feel