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Air fare spoiler

dwelsh

By dwelsh,
in Royal Caribbean International

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dwelsh

dwelsh

Posted
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I just booked for my family on an RCI cruise from Galveston.

 

Now I am having second thoughts, the airfare from any point to Houston is getting more expensive by the day. The air cost will be almost as much as the cruise!:eek::eek::eek:

 

Do you think this factor will cause a drop off of the popularity of this port except for pax who can drive there.

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barbyj

barbyj

Posted
Posted
I just booked for my family on an RCI cruise from Galveston.

 

Now I am having second thoughts, the airfare from any point to Houston is getting more expensive by the day. The air cost will be almost as much as the cruise!:eek::eek::eek:

 

Do you think this factor will cause a drop off of the popularity of this port except for pax who can drive there.

 

Did you check flights into Hobby Airport? Or check with RCCL to see what the cost of the choice air flights are? Hobby is closer to Galveston.

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dwelsh

dwelsh

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Did you check flights into Hobby Airport? Or check with RCCL to see what the cost of the choice air flights are? Hobby is closer to Galveston.

 

Thanks for the tip. Fare from Los Angeles is quoted at nearly $500RT!!

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johneeo

johneeo

Posted
Posted
I just booked for my family on an RCI cruise from Galveston.

 

Now I am having second thoughts, the airfare from any point to Houston is getting more expensive by the day. The air cost will be almost as much as the cruise!:eek::eek::eek:

 

Do you think this factor will cause a drop off of the popularity of this port except for pax who can drive there.

 

A friend of mine and DW got a great deal flying form Atlantic City to FLL. Saved a couple of hundred bucks versus going out of Philadelphia.

 

He gets there, and they wound up charging him a couple of hundred bucks for checked luggage.:eek:

 

He also ordered a water on the flight, goes to pay for it with three dollars cash. Would not accept the cash, only a credit card, so the flight attendant tried to take the bottle of water back. Guy next to him wound up putting it on his card.

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sara mom

sara mom

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Posted
A friend of mine and DW got a great deal flying form Atlantic City to FLL. Saved a couple of hundred bucks versus going out of Philadelphia.

 

He gets there, and they wound up charging him a couple of hundred bucks for checked luggage.:eek:

 

He also ordered a water on the flight, goes to pay for it with three dollars cash. Would not accept the cash, only a credit card, so the flight attendant tried to take the bottle of water back. Guy next to him wound up putting it on his card.

 

Some airlines only except credit cards for in-flight purchases because some flight attendants would pocket the cash.

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beachgrl001

beachgrl001

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A friend of mine and DW got a great deal flying form Atlantic City to FLL. Saved a couple of hundred bucks versus going out of Philadelphia.

 

He gets there, and they wound up charging him a couple of hundred bucks for checked luggage.:eek:

 

He also ordered a water on the flight, goes to pay for it with three dollars cash. Would not accept the cash, only a credit card, so the flight attendant tried to take the bottle of water back. Guy next to him wound up putting it on his card.

 

it HAD to be Spirit airlines...........

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wg6530

wg6530

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Did you check Southwest? Bags fly free comes in really handy for a lot of cruisers:D.

did you remember that domestic flights often go on sale on Tuesday with higher fares, generally, by the weekend?

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RoyalDiamond

RoyalDiamond

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Some airlines only except credit cards for in-flight purchases because some flight attendants would pocket the cash.

Well, as a flight attendant, I think that's fairly rare, although it probably did happen. It's also because of other factors.....the cost of the envelopes, the cost of transporting the cash/envelopes to the appropriate bank for deposit, etc. With credit transactions, everything is done without those costs. When we used to take cash, it would be dropped in a safe at the airport, someone would collect it, it would be sent to the appropriate bank, etc....paperwork, paperwork, too! It went thorough many hands besides the crewmembers. So, this is easier, and cheaper. And these days, it's all about reducing costs. Plus, many passengers would just love to hand us a large bill for a simple 2-dollar purchase. It's an airplane....we didn't have a lot of cash for change!

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negc

negc

Posted
Posted
I just booked for my family on an RCI cruise from Galveston.

 

Now I am having second thoughts, the airfare from any point to Houston is getting more expensive by the day. The air cost will be almost as much as the cruise!:eek::eek::eek:

 

Do you think this factor will cause a drop off of the popularity of this port except for pax who can drive there.

 

Only if the airfare is out of proportion to airfares into other cities where cruise ships are based. Airfares pretty much everywhere have increased dramatically in recent months and I believe that I have read that there are future increases anticipated in the coming months. If you can find cheaper airfare and an equivalent cruise for the same or less money by sailing out of another port, perhaps you should switch, but it looks to me like wherever there are cruise fare bargains, the savings are frequently offset by higher air fares.

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lgonquin

lgonquin

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Do CC posters think that the higher air fares and really bad services given by the airlines is a threat to the cruise industry?

 

I've had the same thought lately. There have been many posts on various threads about the rising cost of airfare. It does seem to be weighing heavily on cruise planners -- including myself.

 

Not shure if it will be a threat, no more than the overall ecomony has/will be to cruising.

 

Perhaps in the end, it will be the locals that can drive to the ports and wealthy that can afford airfare. All of us land locked suckers can start looking for land based vacations:(

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FLHugh

FLHugh

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Do CC posters think that the higher air fares and really bad services given by the airlines is a threat to the cruise industry?

 

Absolutely, the extra fees the airlines charge, it's really difficult to determine what your airfare is really going to be. From a Marketing standpoint, these extra fees are just a cover for the final fare so you have to really dig to get comparative pricing. Then you have to deal with the TSA and the porno cam at the airport. When you consider the price of the cruise, the extras you spend on board, the airport to ship transfers, and the airfare you are between 2 and 3 times the cost of the cruise. And to top it off, there are 2 or 3 miserable hours on a over crowded airplane.

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Luv2CruiseRCL2

Luv2CruiseRCL2

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Do CC posters think that the higher air fares and really bad services given by the airlines is a threat to the cruise industry?

 

I hate all the fee's that airlines keep adding on. Cruiselines do it to, but I can chose not to do them and save myself the money. Kind of hard to not pay for my bags $50-$75 per way is an extra $100-$150 ontop of the flight.

 

If I could drive to a port I would, but it is a long drive from Kansas City.

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milton333

milton333

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Some tips for cheaper airfare:

 

  • Sunday is the most expensive day to fly. If you return on a Sunday, consider staying over until Monday. We saved $450 for our party by flying back on Monday, rather than the Sunday that our cruise returned to port.
  • Remember that some carriers do not list with the online travel sites. Check Southwest directly, and remember that American has a dispute with some travel sites as well.
  • Investigate whether it's cheaper/more convenient to book one-way flights on different carriers, vs. roundtrip. You may have enough miles or reward points to purchase a complete one-way ticket on more expensive airline, and can do a one-way return on a discount carrier.
  • Do you have an AmEx card? I know that you can "advance" yourself points up to a specified limit, and can transfer those points to certain airlines for rewards travel. You have to use the card enough to make up the points advanced w/in 12 months or they'll charge you a fee, but the fee was going to be less than the cost of the airfare and we'll use the card enough to make up the points anyway.
  • Consider driving to a more distant airport near you for a cheaper flight. Look into Allegiant and other super low cost carriers that may fly out of small regional airports that you wouldn't consider ordinarily.
  • Consider flying into a more distant airport, renting a car and driving to the port. Yes, it will be a pain in the butt. But depending on your budget, it may be worth it.
  • Don't buy airfare over the weekend. Try to buy on Tuesday afternoon. There may be sales for travel within the next 90 days - I wouldn't ordinarily book more than 90 days out. Subscribe to FareCompare, Airfarewatchdog, and other fare watching sites for fare updates.

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dwelsh

dwelsh

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Some tips for cheaper airfare:

 

  • Sunday is the most expensive day to fly. If you return on a Sunday, consider staying over until Monday. We saved $450 for our party by flying back on Monday, rather than the Sunday that our cruise returned to port.
  • Remember that some carriers do not list with the online travel sites. Check Southwest directly, and remember that American has a dispute with some travel sites as well.
  • Investigate whether it's cheaper/more convenient to book one-way flights on different carriers, vs. roundtrip. You may have enough miles or reward points to purchase a complete one-way ticket on more expensive airline, and can do a one-way return on a discount carrier.
  • Do you have an AmEx card? I know that you can "advance" yourself points up to a specified limit, and can transfer those points to certain airlines for rewards travel. You have to use the card enough to make up the points advanced w/in 12 months or they'll charge you a fee, but the fee was going to be less than the cost of the airfare and we'll use the card enough to make up the points anyway.
  • Consider driving to a more distant airport near you for a cheaper flight. Look into Allegiant and other super low cost carriers that may fly out of small regional airports that you wouldn't consider ordinarily.
  • Consider flying into a more distant airport, renting a car and driving to the port. Yes, it will be a pain in the butt. But depending on your budget, it may be worth it.
  • Don't buy airfare over the weekend. Try to buy on Tuesday afternoon. There may be sales for travel within the next 90 days - I wouldn't ordinarily book more than 90 days out. Subscribe to FareCompare, Airfarewatchdog, and other fare watching sites for fare updates.

 

Thank you for your excellent post. Have you any tips for a group fare, I have 21 in my party!!

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Desert Cruizers

Desert Cruizers

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A problem we have encountered trying to use our Am Exp Points, was they won't allow you to book your flights on your own, you have to go thru their Travel Dept and end up paying the going rate. Example, we wanted a 1 way air to Barcelona out of our home city, we would have been looking at AA going price of over $1200 pp. Our TA thru his consolidator got our flight on US Air for $1228.20 total. Our return flight on AA out of FLL was done thru our Diners Points. Let me add, we will leave from our home city in So Calif thru Phoenix to Phil then BCN and won't have to deal with LAX.

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johneeo

johneeo

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A problem we have encountered trying to use our Am Exp Points, was they won't allow you to book your flights on your own, you have to go thru their Travel Dept and end up paying the going rate. Example, we wanted a 1 way air to Barcelona out of our home city, we would have been looking at AA going price of over $1200 pp. Our TA thru his consolidator got our flight on US Air for $1228.20 total. Our return flight on AA out of FLL was done thru our Diners Points. Let me add, we will leave from our home city in So Calif thru Phoenix to Phil then BCN and won't have to deal with LAX.

 

Going thru Philly?

 

Good luck!:eek:

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