Air fare how do you do it as a family?

[legion3]

We live in Florida within driving distance of multiple ports, so we never have factored air costs. However, we wanted to try a cruise out of LA and when we checked air fare it was more than the cruise!

 

Are air costs to FL cheaper or is it crazy priced too? How do you do it as a family of 4+?

[pcvtmom]

We live in Virginia, and drive to Florida for our cruises, whenever possible. We have 6 (2 kids with their spouse/fiance). Flights for the 6 of us to FLL are running around $1300-1600 right now. We are driving instead!

[fergusonvt]

When we cruise as a family we have to factor in airfare as part of the vacation. I've already told DH that we are retiring somewhere a cruise port.

 

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[momof4boys]

First time ever we are flying......usually we drive 2 days, but with 9 people...two cars....flying is about equal to driving! Plus 2 sons and their wives can't take off the extra drive time this time.

 

We got direct SW flights from Kansas City to Fort Lauderdale for about $160 each way for a total of about $320 per person. Yes that is expensive but not as much as hotels, food, and gas for all 9 of us.

 

Add to that our four rooms and yes I wish I got VIFP points for what I pay for our cruise. :D

[bluenoser2]

We just paid the credit card bill for our flights from here in Canada to Florida - all 6 of us - it's best just to close your eyes really tight and do it quickly - like a bandaid - and yes, it's often more than or equal to the cruise itself - I think this time, we managed it a few dollars less than the cruise per person - we don't do a whole family often, but this is a special trip - and it's hard to drive from here to Florida in the winter! (though DH claims that if there's a blizzard warning, he can still drive the distance and make the cruise if we have to!)

[firefly333]

Im not a family, but I have to pay for 5 flights next year, so I have a SW credit card. I have at least one, hopefully two that will be paid in points, and have to pay for the others in cash.

[keishashadow]

We live in Florida within driving distance of multiple ports, so we never have factored air costs. However, we wanted to try a cruise out of LA and when we checked air fare it was more than the cruise!

 

Are air costs to FL cheaper or is it crazy priced too? How do you do it as a family of 4+?

 

depends upon the competition out of your home airport as to flight costs. My market used to have really cheap flights to MCO, now they are harder to find. There are sales and low seasons even to LA (we've gotten reasonable rates in January & Februrary from PIT and even peak travel season have gotten fares I could live with in June/July).

 

I use an airline branded CC to run most of purchases through that helps, a lot, especially on AT where redemption is based on credits earned, not the cost of the flight. Was able to use rewards to fly into SJU which would've cost over $300 per person, one way this May! AT & SWA work out well for us since I book flights when schedules are released then monitor them and any credits I find am able to use when I book subsequent travel.

[klfrodo]

Airfare prices have nothing to do with the cost of the cruise. Why do people even measure the 2 against each other.

 

We live in the Northwest and fly to any embarkation port. It is what it is.

How do we do it as a family? We buy our airline tickets just the same as everyone else.

[mondello]

We live in Florida within driving distance of multiple ports, so we never have factored air costs. However, we wanted to try a cruise out of LA and when we checked air fare it was more than the cruise!

 

Are air costs to FL cheaper or is it crazy priced too? How do you do it as a family of 4+?

Florida is one of the most popular destinations. We are often able to find decent prices for our flights, although many times it is cheaper to fly to a different city and use a rental car to get to our actual destination. Be sure to check prices on flights from other cities in Florida to the west coast.

[chismrules]

We have an American Express that does points, then you can switch to any airline. Granted it takes us years to save up. We are in SC so have never flown untill this year, going to San Juan for southern caribean, can't wait. I looked at airports in charlotte, atlanta, jacksonville etc. for best rates. And figured if we can save $100 each or more than worth driving somewhere then flying. I ended up we are driving to Atlanta buying tickets with Air Tran for 400 each payed half with points. Whereas if I left in Greenville it was over $600 each. Look around at different airports with different airlines. Good luck. I know this is one of our most expensive vacations for our family but I have been saving and planning for a couple of years. Just do it and have fun.

[hftmrock]

last year we drove to Florida and back when we went to Universal. We are a family of 4.

 

the cost to drive for us was 'fairly' close to what it will cost to fly. The research I did this year showed me that we would need to fill up my car(SUV-gas guzzler) 5 times to get to Florida (we live in NY) and that costs about $50 each fill-up ($250 total). Add in a hotel stay if you dont want to drive 20+ hours with 2 kids and that is $100 each way. Then add food for the trip.

 

Gas - $500 total ($250 each way)

Hotel $200 total ($100 each way)

Food $200 total ($100 each way if you have dinner at a restaurant)

 

totals $900. I got airfare for my family of 4 for under $1000 so it paid to fly.

 

I know you could possibly do some cheaper than what I put but this is how I figured it for us.

[hftmrock]

Airfare prices have nothing to do with the cost of the cruise. Why do people even measure the 2 against each other.

 

 

they don't 'TECHNICALLY' have anything to do with the cruise but it a VERY important factor when choosing a cruise and figuring our your vacation budget.

 

We live in NY and there are cruises here. But it is still cheaper to fly to Florida and go on a cruise there, than take a cruise in NY.

 

When we planned our trip we looked all ports that we could drive or fly fairly inexpensively to before making a decision.

 

They dont have anything to do with the cruise. It has A LOT to do with planning the cruise

[Crazy4Koko]

it is brutal, isn't it? All you can do is your research, get an idea of what it might cost you for the time of year you want to cruise ( summer is more expensive all the way around...)..suck it up and do what ever you can to reduce the pain... be it credit cards with airline miles, being 'brand loyal' to a certain airline and doing what EVER you can to rack up FF miles, and double checking airports a little farther away that you can shuttle to/from for less money than the cost of getting to a specific airport where you want to cruise from ( I.e...sometimes even a rental car may be much less expensive..pick up at airport A..drop off at airport B and cab/shuttle to cruise port. You can stay at a less expensive 'offsite' hotel that way, too)

[Redsfan]

if we were to fly out of Toronto down to Florida we would pay around $2,220 on a good day for the 5 of us. Out of Buffalo we typically fly for half that....

[mrsjetpup]

We live in Washington state and this year my family of five is cruising the week before Christmas time. I was dreading the airfare portion, at first they were coming in at about $800 per person round trip to Miami. I kept watching like a hawk, and trying different airports in the area.

 

Well, ended up getting flights at $302 per person by flying in a couple days early and into Fort Lauderdale and waiting a few days after the cruise and flying out of Orlando. So, the money we would have spent on airfare we're going to spend visiting Mickey!

 

Living in the Pacific Northwest we just know that when we book a cruise, airfare is going to be part of the expense. My husband refuses to cruise to Alaska, he grew up in Anchorage :rolleyes: Good thing I love to research good deals!

[AVShockey]

We choose the cruise based on which is the cheapest port to fly into. For our family of 4, the airfare is typically $1200 to $1600.

[njoyndride]

Coming from California we feel your pain. We usually book our cruise a year or so out. I watch the airfares and always shop alternative airports, even with some additional cab/shuttle it's worth it. SFO to FLL or MIA is usually in the $400 range for us off season.

 

For LA try Long Beach and Orange County along with LAX.

 

Good luck!

[pe4all]

We usually book our cruises a year in advance. As soon as air opens, (330 days in advance) we grab it - usually very early (4 or 5 a.m.) in the morning. We have always lucked out with good prices for direct flights for the 4 of us. OR I use my AA or Jetblue credit card to get at least one way free. We also find that booking one way flights usually works out cheaper than booking round trip flights. Also, we have the luxury of flying into JFK or LGA - we sometimes mix and match airports to get the best price.

[jetsfan]

We are a family of 6 and are cruising to Alaska July 31st. We are flying on SW to SeaTac for about 2200.00. As a previous poster said it is the cost of vacationing. When you have been a family of 6 for this many years you get used to the cost of taking everyone, everyplace. If I let airfare bother me, or the 2 hotel rooms, or 6 meals 3 times a day,we would not go anywhere:)

 

We could drive to FL for cruises as we have family that live up and down the East coast, but I want to get there quick. I don't want to deal with I 95 and all the bs of driving. We have a Yukon and the cost to fill it up, plus hotels and food adds up. In 1 hour we can be to JFK, parking the car, and in FLA in no time.

 

I can say the cost of the cruise may influence our trip, but if I want a particular cruise bad enough, we just go and pay the piper.

[Not_Done_Living]

If its just the 4 of us, we fly -- greater than 4 we drive. DW has a habit of "adopting" our nephews/nieces during vacation time which adds 2 people.

 

I can do Toronto to Port Canaveral in about 22 hours straight through, with stops for food(and smoking cause I don't smoke in the van with my kids in it)

 

Gas is about $250 each way

Meals for 6, (at Cracker Barrel) $240 each way.

No hotels ( I take a two hour nap at a rest stop from 4 am to 6 am).

 

Even flying out of Buffalo costs us about $250 per person r/t so driving is always cheaper.

[RollerCoasterLover]

I recently moved 1500 miles away from my family. So this year (from now until new years) I have already spent $1700.00+ on plane tickets. (It is just me, nobody else flying). We have always cruised within driving distance from home because there is at least 5 people every time we go. (That is why we usually always choose Mobile [not anymore :(] or New Orleans)

 

This year's cruise is driving distance from home, but I incorporated it into a plane ticket I had to buy anyway and drive in with my family. I will be flying to St. Louis before Thanksgiving, then driving with my family to the pier in New Orleans.

[MommaOf3Princesses]

We live in Florida within driving distance of multiple ports, so we never have factored air costs. However, we wanted to try a cruise out of LA and when we checked air fare it was more than the cruise!

 

Are air costs to FL cheaper or is it crazy priced too? How do you do it as a family of 4+?

 

We are a family of 5, and airfare is just part of the total price when planning a vacation. I wish wee were closer, then we would have more money for the cruise or vacation! We fly (am i allowed to name the airline???) a lowcost carrier that offers good prices from our home airport CMH. It helps, but is usually $1000-1500 for all of us round trip.

[sailor05]

If you know what dates you're aiming for, put in airfare alert on one of the travel sites. I would say the name but you know the rules...(but it's the name of a small 2 person canoe)...;)

[askimdog]

Yes, the flight is the killer, just gotta keep an eye for deals, we don't have any air miles saved or anything and only fly to cruise every 12-15 months. We always fly-in a day or 2 before the cruise and stay a day or 2 later. Plus we only cruise from ports we have friends in to save on hotel fees. We also carry on everything and never pay for luggage. Wife, daughter and I go for 10 days and each have a rolling store-above suitcase and a backpack or beach bag.

 

This past January our flight from Minneapolis to Tampa for the 3 of us was total $660.00...ouch!!! Though we need to drive 5-6 hours to just GET to the airport as well!

 

The cruise cost was 1100.00 for our cabin ( 3 of us). So yes, it all adds up and the number gets ugly. In fact, financially we are canceling cruise for 2013 and planning next to cruise January 2014.

[larkz]

This is one of the reasons why it irks me when people make snide comments about Carnival being the "Walmart of the seas," and insinuate (or say outright) that the clientele are lowlifes.

 

Middle class families with 2 or more children must carefully plan their vacations and endeavor to get the best deal for their limited budgets. The cost of booking flights is shooting up -- while the majority of North Americans do not live within reasonable driving distance of a port, nor can they spare extra driving days for their vacations. And yes, the cost of everything else involved in getting to the ship is often way more than the cruise itself.

 

I cruise either solo or with my adult daughter, and even then the cost of flying from Northern Illinois (Rockford, O'hare, Milwaukee, or Midway) has made me gasp in recent years. I give a lot of credit to anyone who can wrangle together a big family vacation.