Tips for first time flyers!!

[Matt&Delta]

Would love to get all the tips we can. Sailing on Triumph Dec 11.

Tips on finding lowest airfare we be nice, we will fly out of Atl to mia either morning of or night before which ever best price. Any tips on packing when flying, transportation to port from airport, or to hotel if we fly in night before. We've cruised several times but always drive to port this is our first time flying, we need all the help we can get!:-):cool: :) :D

[greatam]

Please book your flights NOW. You have probably missed most of the 21 day advance purchase tickets and are now entering the 14 day advance purchase period. I see tickets available on both Delta and AA for $150.00 + taxes, etc. Those won't last long.

 

You also have to deal with your return flights. Assuming a 7 day cruise, your return will be at the beginning of the crucial holiday period.

 

If the tickets are much over $200.00pp, I personally would drive. Not a bad drive, don't have to worry about the weather. Spend an extra day traveling and enjoy a little more vacation.

 

Unless you book VERY early flights (like 6:00AM), please fly to Florida a day before your cruise. Too many things can happen out of a big airport like ATL. All it would take is a snowstorm in Chicago to back up flights all over the country. Save your sanity and go a day early, although Friday and Sunday fares are usually higher.

 

Use Priceline for a hotel. Usually pretty good hotels in the Miami/FLL area for not too much money. Check "Biddingfortravel.com" before you bid.

 

If you need further help, please ask specific questions. We will all try to help all we can. But get those flights booked NOW. I am having a hard time finding a reasonably priced flight from Phoenix or Los Angeles to NY on Dec. 8, so I know tickets are getting tight. I fly for business over 100,000 miles per year and play this airline game all the time.

 

Gina

[Matt&Delta]

I'm finding pretty good flights for Friday afternoon and return on the 18th afternoon.Every site checked is right around $150.Expedia Travelocity etc.

About priceline I've read in some posts people went four star for as little as $40, is that really possible, would hotels actually take a bid that low? How bout transportation after we get there?

Thanks for help

[greatam]

Yes, you really can get 3 and 4* hotels for very little money. It all depends on availability. I have used Priceline frequently for leisure, and except for one hotel in Boston, have been generally pleased with what I got.

 

Please look at the "biddingfortravel.com" website and info about bidding on Priceline. It is pretty specific. I just took a peak and for your dates, seeing quite a few $40-50.00 prices for the Marriot and Hilton in Miami. Those hotels are only rated 3*, but $40.00 is Motel 6 price.

 

As for transportation, either rent a car or use taxis. Getting to the pier would be better addressed on a specific cruiseline board.

 

And please, book your flights ASAP. I still haven't found a flight from Phoenix or LA to NY for less than $400.00, and most flights are closer to $500.00. This summer, it was $250-300.00 all the time.

[Globaliser]

Yes, you really can get 3 and 4* hotels for very little money. It all depends on availability. I have used Priceline frequently for leisure, and except for one hotel in Boston, have been generally pleased with what I got.

 

Please look at the "biddingfortravel.com" website and info about bidding on Priceline. It is pretty specific. I just took a peak and for your dates, seeing quite a few $40-50.00 prices for the Marriot and Hilton in Miami. Those hotels are only rated 3*, but $40.00 is Motel 6 price.

I can't reiterate enough how important it is to go to http://www.biddingfortravel.com and do two things:-

1. Read all the tips that they post about how to bid and how not to bid. These are in the Hotel FAQ section. Make sure you understand the strategy, and the logic behind it. Unless you understand how the Priceline system works (which they explain) and the relationship between the system and the strategy, you run the risk of bidding blindly and either shutting yourself out for 72-hour timeouts for no good reason by bidding too little, or bidding far too much than you need to.
2. Check the relevant boards for reports of winning bids in the hotel quality categories that you're interested in, to get a feel for the prices in this hidden and very opaque "market".

The 72-hour timeouts are a rule of Priceline: If you bid and fail, and you want to increase the price you've bid without changing any of the other parameters of your bid, you have to wait exactly 72 hours before you can bid again. Adding a higher quality level doesn't count as a change in parameters for this purpose. And if your dates are fixed (which they are for a one-night pre-cruise) you can't just change the dates of your stay.

 

The site suggests that you bid through their preferred link (which I suspect earns them commission) - but you don't have to. It's also a courteous thing to do to post the details of your wins to help others, but I suspect that few of the users of the board ever bother to do that.

 

I don't use Priceline much myself, but when I have done it has generally yielded good results. In March I got a 4* hotel in really good area of Atlanta for $54 a night plus taxes.

[Globaliser]

Don't forget to look at AirTran. Although for your dates, it currently looks like they might actually be slightly more expensive than the other carriers mentioned.