Air fare spoiler

[Eric97123]

With oil going up and airlines cutting capacity, book as early as you can. I just went to Ft Lauderdale from Portland Oregon for my yearly sailboat trip and I normally pay about $250 r/t this year it was $490. The wife and I are doing our first cruise to from Vancouver BC to Hawaii this September and I booked our return flight yesterday after the price went up $20 per person from the day before. I dont want to be caught with a big $$$ surprise if I waited any longer.

[TxStacey]

You might look into flying into DFW and renting a car to drive to Galveston..it is about a 4 HOUR (EASY) drive but the savings on air could be alot..I booked a flight for my D on American from DFW to Orange County for $216.. RT..and that was at Spring Break

I am trying to get a decent flight out of DFW to San Juan and Spirit is the cheapest..however, thier added on fees worry me...anyone here had any good experiences with them??

[jennmaybe]

I can understand what everyone is saying.....

 

Back at the beginning of Jan, I checked airfare prices for our Oct cruise for 7 days straight, 4-5 times a day. The prices did not move, not one penny. So, I went ahead and booked our airfare. Since the beginning of Jan, our airfare has gone up $800! :eek::eek:! Good thing I booked it when I did.

 

I will say that baggage fees are not an issue for us, because hubby will only fly first class now (hey, he pays for the airfare, so I'm not complaining!), so we don't have any extra baggage fees when we fly. Of course, it's already included in the price, but it's nice not having those extra fees for luggage & drinks (on the plane) once we get to the airport.;)

[milton333]

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.

 

What we did was transfer the points to the airline loyalty program (Airtran), then book from Airtran's website.

 

Note that we did this for FAR FEWER points than if we'd booked directly through AmEx travel. There was a deal where you could get an Airtran credit for only like 2/3 of the normal number of points, but even if the usual conversion rate applied, it was still far more points to book the travel through AmEx versus transferring my points to a linked airline loyalty program and then buying the tickets from the loyalty program itself.

 

But, keep in mind that there may be blackout dates from the airline's points program - you'd want to verify that the flights you want are available to be booked through the airline loyalty program before you transferred your AmEx points there, because it's a one-way transaction.

[TXFrank]

You might look into flying into DFW and renting a car to drive to Galveston..it is about a 4 HOUR (EASY) drive but the savings on air could be alot..I booked a flight for my D on American from DFW to Orange County for $216.. RT..and that was at Spring Break

I am trying to get a decent flight out of DFW to San Juan and Spirit is the cheapest..however, thier added on fees worry me...anyone here had any good experiences with them??

 

 

I think your time is much understated no matter what part of the DFW metroplex you are speaking of. I have done this trip many times, and on a Sunday with light traffic through Houston, it always ends up being 5 to 5 1/4 hours to the port at Galveston (and that is from areas very near DFW Airport). I would not want someone to underestimate the travel time.

[TXFrank]

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.

 

I would guess there is some impact on those that fly from other locations, but since the ships out of Galveston almost always are 75% or more pax from Texas & Louisiana, overall I would not think the impact is that great. I notice Princess is returning to Galveston (with a large ship) in either next year or 2013, so hopefully that is a sign the industry still sees Galveston as a viable market.

[Baseballkurt]

This is why we are going on a back to back, no added air fare. We are flying down on Friday and back on Saturday to avoid a Sunday fly day. Cruising on a Sunday is more expensiveif flying the same day. 687 total for the both of us round trip from grand rapids michigan to FLL RT. On delta using priceline. This price has already gone up.

[scoopgirl]

We had a group when we sailed on the Oasis this past January and I called JetBlue for a group rate and the cost they gave us was more then what was listed on their website. We all decided to get our own airfare. I would watch the JetBlue site for weeks and ended up booking our return flight home, prior to our flight down. Four days later, the price what I was wanting popped up on their site and then I booked the flight down. When it was all said and done, I flew out of Dulles (DC) to FLL for under $ 150.00 r/t and they allow you one free checked bag, plus one carry on and a backpack or purse. If I would have booked their group rate, it would have been $ 280.00 r/t.

 

I would suggest watching the various travel sites and airlines websites and see when their pricing changes, it is worth the savings.

[Raenstoirm]

Oddly enough our flight friday is much more expensive then are flight home on sunday. That being said though, the airfare for 2 people ran nearly $1000! :eek: before those dreaded bag fees!

 

dh said we could have cruised on Disney (with its $4000 price tag) for the cost of our RCCL cruise, flight and drinks! I told him he should have thought of that before! ;)

[retiredonthesea]

When you live in the upper midwest (SD) you have to fly everwhere or take an extra two days to drive to any port--rather fly and go in a day early and leave the day after the cruise is over so fly home on Mondays. This has saved us a lot. We also do FF miles with our CC (Capitol One) Haven't paid for airfare on our last three cruises. We charge EVERYTHING to our card and pay it off every month!!

 

Our main hubs are Minneapolis or Denver--so weather is a big factor--the extra days are well worth peace of mind!! I still will cruise and factor in the airfare as part of the vacation---it's the luggage fees that I have a problem with.

 

On our last flight (Delta in Nov.) they where taking only CC's for drinks & snacks-- I think in MHO this will be the norm in not so far future.

[TxStacey]

I think your time is much understated no matter what part of the DFW metroplex you are speaking of. I have done this trip many times, and on a Sunday with light traffic through Houston, it always ends up being 5 to 5 1/4 hours to the port at Galveston (and that is from areas very near DFW Airport). I would not want someone to underestimate the travel time.

 

 

You are right Frank..I was thinking DFW to Houston..Galveston is probably another hour from Houston..We have driven it several times also..it really depends on traffic in Houston as to the exact time. I would count on 5 hours..or more..of course, Texas is so big so that's not that far to us :)

[Desert Cruizers]

johneeo, to clerify, we leave palm Springs, Ca, connect in Phoenix, then Phil , have a 2 hr layover in Phil take the 6:30 PM flight out straight to BCN arriving around 8:30 AM Oct 26th. Not sure what you meant by good Luck.:confused:

 

Milton, since we don't cruise or fly enough, we don't have enough airline points with anyone carry also not sure how it works. When Am Exp came up with their price of over $2500 for the two of us, when our Cruise was under $4,000, I was concerned we wouldn't really save and wasn't clear when she explained to me we could get airline points then they would allow our points toward what the airline gave us. Was totally confusing I have to admit. :)

[Raptor2010]

We waited until last week to book our flights from Houston to Orlando and it a good thing we did because flights went from just at $800rt for two to $616rt for two. They are still lower today than they have been in quite some time. It is much cheaper to fly to Fort Lauderdale from Houston than to Orlando and you still have to either pay for a shuttle or rent a car to drive to Port Canaveral. :eek:

[johneeo]

johneeo, to clerify, we leave palm Springs, Ca, connect in Phoenix, then Phil , have a 2 hr layover in Phil take the 6:30 PM flight out straight to BCN arriving around 8:30 AM Oct 26th. Not sure what you meant by good Luck.:confused:

 

:)

 

Philly has a well deserved reputation of having a bunch of bumbling idiots in charge.

[WET193]

If it makes you feel any better, it's $557 to fly from Shreveport to Houston....And it's less than a 5 hour drive.

[FLACRUISER99]

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

 

And it was still a lot cheaper than anyone else!:rolleyes:

[nomoreknothead]

Airfare is outrageous! We "HAVE" to make a trip to Cozumel in June to use our time share and Total cost RT for 2 people $930.00! The all-inclusive resort for 5 nights is only $600.00!!

 

This cruise is luckily within driving distance but come September , Ouch!!! Flying to Seattle then home from Vancover!

[Desert Cruizers]

johneeo, hopefully it will be their day off when we fly.:). we bought our flight tickets back in Jan when the prices were down, now they are up. If RCL ever decides there is a market on the West Coast again, we won't have to fly, unless its up North. The cost differance to fly our of PS versus LAX, about equals a hotel room/food & gas, if we were to drive up to Los Angelas and stay overnight, so since we have an Intl Airport we can fly points East, connecting in DFW or Chicago. DFW is our main connection East.

[TahoeBob]

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.

I don't know when yopu are going on this cruise because you did not post any dates.

I just went to southwest web page and put in a random date ofor the middle of May from LAX to Hobby. $209.00 pep person round trip. In any book that is very cheap.

[Tucker in Texas]

There is no way you can drive from DFW to Galveston in 4 hours. I live halfway between Galveston and Houston (about 20 minutes from my house to the port) and drive to Ft. Worth frequently to visit relatives. It is six hours with a fast food stop and another potty stop. I think once we made it in 5 hours with no stops--husband was in a hurry to get home to watch a football game (lol).

 

Even if you put the pedal to the metal, you won't make it in four hours because you most likely will be given greetings from the local police department in Buffalo, Madisonville, or Waverly. Then you have to deal with construction on I-45 from outside Houston down to Galveston. We call it the 401K because people go to work on that stretch of the freeway and retire still working it. Usually, there has been construction around Corsicana, too. Road crews here take great pleasure into funneling everyone down to one lane even on Sunday when no one is working.

 

Then, what do you do with your rental car when you get to Galveston? There are no rent car places open. I don't even know if they have a key drop if you are willing to pay through Monday.

 

Tucker in Texas

[dwelsh]

I don't know when yopu are going on this cruise because you did not post any dates.

I just went to southwest web page and put in a random date ofor the middle of May from LAX to Hobby. $209.00 pep person round trip. In any book that is very cheap.

 

We are flying to HOU on Xmas day returning Jan, 2nd. SW does not have flights posted yet!!

Yes, $209RT is very reasonable. Enjoy your cruise!!

[Azspeed]

Tried today to take advantage of a smoking good deal out of New Orleans at Thanksgiving. Less than $700.00 PP for a balcony on the Voyager.

RCCL lost the booking when I priced air from Phoenix to New Orleans...$700.00 PP.

Somethings wrong when air is more than the cruise. Not to hijack the thread, but those of us that had West Coast options till now are screwed.

[tiyana4]

Airfare is outrageous! We "HAVE" to make a trip to Cozumel in June to use our time share and Total cost RT for 2 people $930.00! The all-inclusive resort for 5 nights is only $600.00!!

 

This cruise is luckily within driving distance but come September , Ouch!!! Flying to Seattle then home from Vancover!

 

This is EXACTLY why we sold our timeshare a few years back. The fees associated with getting there or trading it often outweighed the maintenance fees/cost of the week(s). When airfare costs more than your actual vacation, it may be time to look at alternative vacation options.

[dizzlepop]

We are flying to HOU on Xmas day returning Jan, 2nd. SW does not have flights posted yet!!

Yes, $209RT is very reasonable. Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Some airlines (well, the one I work for, JetBlue) will send out an email the day before a schedule extension to its loyalty program members. Maybe Southwest does, too?

[dizzlepop]

We had a group when we sailed on the Oasis this past January and I called JetBlue for a group rate and the cost they gave us was more then what was listed on their website. We all decided to get our own airfare. I would watch the JetBlue site for weeks and ended up booking our return flight home, prior to our flight down. Four days later, the price what I was wanting popped up on their site and then I booked the flight down. When it was all said and done, I flew out of Dulles (DC) to FLL for under $ 150.00 r/t and they allow you one free checked bag, plus one carry on and a backpack or purse. If I would have booked their group rate, it would have been $ 280.00 r/t.

 

I would suggest watching the various travel sites and airlines websites and see when their pricing changes, it is worth the savings.

 

Group rates are not always the best deal, price-wise. I know yours was calculated as an average of the fares available (because I work for them, but not in Groups). One thing that makes Groups a good method for some is the flexibility of adding customer names along the way; when you book individually you provide names right then, and they may not be changed. Also, payment for groups isn't due at booking, unlike individual bookings. Just a little background/different perspective for you :)

 

Yes, first checked bag is free, so are the snacks, full cans of soda, etc., the DirectTV and XM Radio! And don't forget the nice legroom! :D