Outrageous Airfare

[LMKakaThing2]

After crunching all the numbers...we have decided to switch to the Jewel. It'll cost us $400 more in cruise fare(mom needs her balcony) and $35 each day to park the car. However, since we live 8 hrs away, we'll leave at midnight to give us plenty of time to get to the port. Plus maybe $150 in gas. If we were to stay with the Sky, we would end up driving b/c neither of us could find cheaper airfare. Plus 4 nights of hotels,food while traveling, close to $400 in gas. Not to mention parking the car at Miami. Cheapest airfare I could find was $730 Akron-Canton to FLL, plus the cost of atleast 1 night hotel stay and transfers to and from the port. Just not worth it for a 4 day cruise.

[willise]

Our flights from Canada are about $900 per person, return in February to Miami:eek:

 

If only it wasn't February, we'd drive to Portland, ME (like we always do) for a much cheaper fare. We just can't risk a 6 hour drive in February. We could get snowed in for days!:D

[rzdj96]

After crunching all the numbers...we have decided to switch to the Jewel. It'll cost us $400 more in cruise fare(mom needs her balcony) and $35 each day to park the car. However, since we live 8 hrs away, we'll leave at midnight to give us plenty of time to get to the port. Plus maybe $150 in gas. If we were to stay with the Sky, we would end up driving b/c neither of us could find cheaper airfare. Plus 4 nights of hotels,food while traveling, close to $400 in gas. Not to mention parking the car at Miami. Cheapest airfare I could find was $730 Akron-Canton to FLL, plus the cost of atleast 1 night hotel stay and transfers to and from the port. Just not worth it for a 4 day cruise.

 

Smart thinking Lisa. We just got off the Jewel with friends from Ohio. We were home at 0920 and our friends got home (near Randolph, OH) at 4:40PM (after stopping for fuel and lunch). Take I-80 (if you can) all the way. Worked out great sharing the pier parking too.

[youngestof9]

and you get a 7 day cruise instead of a 4 day cruise!

 

I think you made a wise choice. Have fun!

[LMKakaThing2]

Smart thinking Lisa. We just got off the Jewel with friends from Ohio. We were home at 0920 and our friends got home (near Randolph, OH) at 4:40PM (after stopping for fuel and lunch). Take I-80 (if you can) all the way. Worked out great sharing the pier parking too.

 

and you get a 7 day cruise instead of a 4 day cruise!

 

I think you made a wise choice. Have fun!

 

Thank you. I wanted a 7 day cruise to begin with but my mom didn't think she could get enough time off from work. Turns out, it's cheaper in the long run and she won't need to take any additional time off. I really like the idea I'll be home the same day I get off the ship and that it's pretty much a straight shot once I get onto I-80 :D. Plus, I get to sail by the Statue of Liberty!!!

 

Time to change my countdown clock :D

[soaringfalcon]

Alot! There are 3 of us and flights are a minimum of $400. We have a small very fuel efficient car and we would park at the off pier parking in Miami. It also gives us some flexibility with visiting Orlando etc

[TX711]

If we go with the cruise out of Miami, air fair alone is $600 pp. I am also waiting for Southwest to post their schedule.

[ontheweb]

If all of you think the airfare to Miami is ridiculoulsy high, price the airfare to Europe! DW and I are going on an anniversary cruise in August on the Epic. The airfare is more than the cruise fare! And it's lucky we booked the airfare when we did because my wife checked and by the next week it went even higher.

 

In 2007, on another anniversary cruise, we flew non-stop both ways from Newark to Copenhagen for just over $700 apiece including all taxes. I think it's safe to say we will never see airfare like that again.

[Ask4Jay]

@Us2inFL -

We are flying up to FRA to visit family and go to my 60th reunion at 'Germany High'. After that we'll do some sightseeing in Munich and Berlin and fly home FRA-PHL.

 

While you will be on the Epic next year, we'll be on the Star MSY-CPH. Here's hoping for stormy weather. :)

 

 

via iPod touch and Tapatalk.

[shelly11]

Did that. And the price was the same. Even looked at surrounding airports by me and the savings would be around $50pp. Wondering if prices are higher since that's about when the snow birds make their way to Florida?

 

 

Might be. In my research I did find that flights are cheapest 6 weeks before you go & on Tuesday's after 3:30pm. On Wednesday night prices go back up.

[nyyhoneybee]

Not for a cruise but almost $600 per person NYC to Vegas. With airmiles? $5.

 

That's how DH and I are doing our cruise this summer. NY to Barcelona and Paris to NY, with airmiles in first class $311 total.

 

Air miles are love!

 

The flight btwn NY and Cleveland is so fast and SO expensive. Have you priced out the flight? Be careful, it might cause a heart attack...it did the first time I did! (My brother in law, sister in law and nieces are out in Columbus but they were in Cleveland before they moved. Love Progressive Field)

[Caliterp07]

In 2007, on another anniversary cruise, we flew non-stop both ways from Newark to Copenhagen for just over $700 apiece including all taxes. I think it's safe to say we will never see airfare like that again.

 

We're flying from DC to Copenhagen in July for just over $800. We're flying out on July 4th though, which I think is a low travel day in the US for obvious reasons.

 

I never book the cruise or the airfare ahead of the other. I watch the airfare to a variety of locations, and when a good deal comes up I'll find a matching cruise (or the other way around) and book both at once. It's how we got to cruise 12 days in the eastern med WITH airfare for under $4k total last fall, and how we'll do 9 days in the baltic for the same price this summer.

 

It helps that I don't care which ship or which line we take--a cruise is a cruise to us, it's just fancy transportation to interesting places!

[ontheweb]

We're flying from DC to Copenhagen in July for just over $800. We're flying out on July 4th though, which I think is a low travel day in the US for obvious reasons.

 

I never book the cruise or the airfare ahead of the other. I watch the airfare to a variety of locations, and when a good deal comes up I'll find a matching cruise (or the other way around) and book both at once. It's how we got to cruise 12 days in the eastern med WITH airfare for under $4k total last fall, and how we'll do 9 days in the baltic for the same price this summer.

 

It helps that I don't care which ship or which line we take--a cruise is a cruise to us, it's just fancy transportation to interesting places!

 

I see your point, but that cruise in 2002 was for a special occasion, our 30th wedding anniversary. We found a cruise that was exactly what we wanted, for instance not a lot of Baltic cruises include Oslo. It also fortuitously turned out that our TA had booked a block of cabins, and had a very reasonable price. We booked it way in advance. (It was actually the only time we had multiple cruise booked at the same time as we had a Bermuda cruise already booked for the previous summer.) Our TA advised that we book air through Princess so we would at least always have air, and then start looking when airfare for our dates in August 2002 became available.

 

Funny story about the airfare--- we looked and were not finding fares that much lower. Finally, we got a price we could live with. I got a quote from A Continental representative on the phone. It was good for 48 hours. Before I consulted with my wife, and we would make a final decision, I checked the Continental website. There was a fare for our flight for about $200 per person less! I called back with my reservation number and mentioned the website price. I was told that I had to do that on line and to grab it quickly because it would not be available for long.

 

So, I filled out the form, and hit submit. And a pop-up came up that said technical difficulties try again or it gave an 800 number to call. So, I tried again. Same results. So, I called the 800 number. The representative after I told her what had happened and my name, came up with my name and my wife's name! I had not given the airline her name when I got the original quote! It seems we were already on the plane through Princess air, which was why I could not book it.

 

She asked if I had already paid for the airfare. I told her no; I had only paid a refundable cruise deposit. She suggested that I drop the air, and then rebook it. I told her I never wanted not to have airfare, could she take us off and then book us at the low internet price and I would call our TA after getting off the phone with her ro cancel our Princess air. After a pause, she agreed to do that. For the price we got on that internet special, we could have flown a 3rd person and still paid less than Princess was going to charge us for the two of us.

 

BTW, here's a review of that cruise which I wrote for cruisecritic:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=33517

[thinfool]

Yes, air fare is stealing my joy! We need tickets from somewhere in the northeast to somewhere in south Florida (I've tried every airport I could). It's nearly $900 everywhere I look. We need it in August though so we'll wait a little longer to book.

 

Have you looked at Allegiant out of Corning?

[momoftwinteens]

I hear your pain! I was pricing airfare for our upcoming CCL cruise from VT to MIA one way and US Air was over $600pp. I know JetBlue to FLL will be cheaper so am waiting for that to open up to book. Then I have to book one way from San Juan home. The airfare when all is said and done will cost as much as the cruise.

 

Kathy, look up Yapta.com. I used them when booking our flights from BTV to MIA. They constantly check air prices and let you know by e-mail whenever prices move up or down, letting you know when is best time to buy. That website ended up saving me an awful lot of money.

[Poppet1964]

If all of you think the airfare to Miami is ridiculoulsy high, price the airfare to Europe! DW and I are going on an anniversary cruise in August on the Epic. The airfare is more than the cruise fare! And it's lucky we booked the airfare when we did because my wife checked and by the next week it went even higher.

 

In 2007, on another anniversary cruise, we flew non-stop both ways from Newark to Copenhagen for just over $700 apiece including all taxes. I think it's safe to say we will never see airfare like that again.

 

No kidding! We're going on the EPIC out of Barcelona in June.... 3 of us, total cruise fare, $2600, total airfare $4800. Crazy! Might not have done it had I realized.....:(

[edawn]

Have you looked at Allegiant out of Corning?

 

 

Thanks for the thought. It's a good idea. I haven't checked this option. I don't think Alleigiant flies to Ft Lauderdale anymore. I think they still fly to Orlando. We actually flew Allegiant to Ft Lauderdale last year...boy what a time. The flight down was delayed an hour...not biggie. The flight home was delayed about 7 hours! The plane blew a tire landing in Ft Lauderdale and they had to fly a plane down from Orlando to take us home. We got home at 1 o'clock in the morning to show up for work at 8 am. I think we spent more in the airport bar than we did for the flight :p

[momoftwinteens]

After crunching all the numbers...we have decided to switch to the Jewel. It'll cost us $400 more in cruise fare(mom needs her balcony) and $35 each day to park the car. However, since we live 8 hrs away, we'll leave at midnight to give us plenty of time to get to the port. Plus maybe $150 in gas. If we were to stay with the Sky, we would end up driving b/c neither of us could find cheaper airfare. Plus 4 nights of hotels,food while traveling, close to $400 in gas. Not to mention parking the car at Miami. Cheapest airfare I could find was $730 Akron-Canton to FLL, plus the cost of atleast 1 night hotel stay and transfers to and from the port. Just not worth it for a 4 day cruise.

 

May I suggest driving to Albany instead of NYC? My sister and I did that for our cruise on the Jewel last fall. Parking in Albany was $10/day. We took the AMTRAK to Manhattan for less than $40 per person each way and after a ten minute cab ride from Penn Station, we were at the pier.

[lolo6223]

Have you looked into flying out of Akron/Canton airport to LGA? Airtran has deals for nonstop flights starting at $79 each way. I try to fly out of CAK as much as possible instead of CLE.

[Caliterp07]

I see your point, but that cruise in 2002 was for a special occasion, our 30th wedding anniversary.

 

Yes, I imagine that when we get to 30 years, I'll be pickier about finding the perfect trip! We're just celebrating 4 this summer--we have a ways to go to catch you guys! Congrats on a long marriage worthy of celebration!

[Jasalth]

I tend to agree with MegaBus all the way! I almost booked a 12 day cruise from NYC other than my 11 day from Miami just because of the MegaBus fair from Pittsburgh to NYC!

 

I refuse to fly my family anywhere. 4 people just make it WAY to expensive! We will end up turning our 11 day in 2013 into a 14 day total with driving. Even with gas, 3 hotel stays, and food on the way down, I will end up saving close to $600 by spending 3 days driving. Even though it is over the Thanksgiving holiday, my husband's company doesn't not work that week anyways because of Black Friday sales, and the week after is really slow also. Have 80 hours of vacation time which 40 have to be used that week, or no pay for almost 2 weeks anyways.

 

For those who are taking a bus outta Pittsburgh, look into Spirit Air (I think...) out of the Latrobe, PA airport. They don't fly Sundays so would have to stay over 1 extra day, but fairs are at the MOST $400 round trip to FLL/MIA. The price LOOKS cheaper, but they are a nickle and dime airline (every luggage, and even a bag of pretzels will cost you!)

 

Also about the Mega Bus from Pittsburgh area (since it was mentioned) other than getting to NYC, it isn't that hard to get to Baltimore for cruises out of there also. It means making a stop in Washington DC and then getting on another bus for 3 hours, but it is still less than $60 a person!

 

Now if we can just get a Mega Bus from Pittsburgh to well.. anywhere in Florida I would be SOOO on that!

[chipmaster]

Anyone remember the profit/loss for airlines and the cost for your most recent car fillup?

 

I am no fan of high airfares but I airlines should be able to make a profit!

[cooki801]

Just be glad you have the option to drive to a port.

We are currently looking at just under $600 pp to fly to Tampa and back because we had to schedule our cruise to return two days before Christmas and EVERYONE and their dog are trying to go "home" for the holiday.

I am watching the prices every few days and have alerts set to give me a heads up on price drops but in the end I know I am probably not going to wait as long as I usually do to book a deal because of the same holiday problems for low cost airfair is going to be few and far between

[kcdancerkc]

Thanks for the thought. It's a good idea. I haven't checked this option. I don't think Alleigiant flies to Ft Lauderdale anymore. I think they still fly to Orlando. We actually flew Allegiant to Ft Lauderdale last year...boy what a time. The flight down was delayed an hour...not biggie. The flight home was delayed about 7 hours! The plane blew a tire landing in Ft Lauderdale and they had to fly a plane down from Orlando to take us home. We got home at 1 o'clock in the morning to show up for work at 8 am. I think we spent more in the airport bar than we did for the flight :p

 

Allegiant had a gate at FLL a couple weeks ago after we got off our carnival cruise! We went with SW - free bags

[bigfig63]

I am on the Breakaway inaugural out of Southhampton. Airfare not available for April 2013 yet but just for fun did a comparison for Detroit/Toledo to London Gatwick.

 

Detroit to London non stop r/t $1005

Detroit to london non stop one way $1300 (yes more then r/t)

and the kicker,

Toledo, OH to London, $883 r/t. Toledo-Chicago-Manchester-London. Using 3 aircraft, 3 airports and 3 sets of pilots and flight attendants and still cheaper, go figure!