there must be something wrong ..

[blondietink]

... because the cruise I am looking at out of San Juan is cheaper than the airfare would cost us!

 

UGH! How do I justify this added expense to DH?

[larkz]

The San Juan cruise seems to be very reasonably priced most of the time. Flights are a different matter, although they aren't ridiculous at the moment flying out of the Chicago region ($361 per person for next winter.) I've seen them nearly double that price. The day of week that you're flying makes a big difference. Also, I'm willing to drive as far as Indianpolis.

 

Believe me, the itinerary is worth it. I'm considering that cruise for next February.

Edited March 19, 2014 by larkz

[Tapi]

How much is the cruise fare?

 

 

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[t1adams]

Did this cruise last spring break. AMAZING!!! I would really like to do it again one day. It's cheaper because they know we're all going to be spending an arm and a leg to fly down there. I think it's expensive to fly there. I think I managed to get our rate down to $300 round trip, but sometimes it might take creative plan like flying one airline one direction and coming back via another airline. Shop the rates thoroughly!!! We stayed at the Doubletree in San Juan (not Old Town) for just $109 a night and it was rated number two or three on Tripadvisor.

[Cruising Golfer]

You should live in Las Vegas, the air from here is even higher.

Tell your DH it's cheaper than a trip to Vegas...

[KPfromCT]

Agreed!!!!

This cruise is SUPER cheap........

DH didn't want to do it because he love his sea days, and this itinerary has just one.:eek::mad:

The airfare wasn't HORRIBLE, but it may have been comparable to the cruise.

 

One day, I will get DH on this itinerary!!!!

 

A lot of people that HAVE done this itinerary agree that at LEAST one more sea day would have been VERY welcomed. lol

[Cruiseaholichal]

You guys have no idea what expensive airfare is ! Try living in Canada.

[agc291]

If you find a good price on airfare book ASAP. We paid between $350-$400 pp for air and the next week it went up to almost $900 pp. It is CRAZY.

[Levir03]

Agreed!!!!

This cruise is SUPER cheap........

DH didn't want to do it because he love his sea days, and this itinerary has just one.:eek::mad:

The airfare wasn't HORRIBLE, but it may have been comparable to the cruise.

 

One day, I will get DH on this itinerary!!!!

 

A lot of people that HAVE done this itinerary agree that at LEAST one more sea day would have been VERY welcomed. lol

 

My wife and I actually just got back from this cruise a few weeks ago and you are spot on. The itinerary was great, but we were exhausted at the end of it. I would highly recommend spending a few days in San Juan if you can - it was the highlight of the trip for me. We spent three days there prior to sailing, but if we were to do it over again we would have spent the three days there afterwards.

 

Side note: you can sell the expensive airfare to your husband by highlighting the fact that you get to spend extra time in San Juan. It's like two vacations wrapped into one.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Levir03

[Pine Bluff]

... because the cruise I am looking at out of San Juan is cheaper than the airfare would cost us!

 

UGH! How do I justify this added expense to DH?

 

Nope. That sounds about right.

[vfb2girls]

I looked at that same cruise but it is almost 800 a person to fly, we also live in an area that airfare is ridiculous.

[KPfromCT]

My wife and I actually just got back from this cruise a few weeks ago and you are spot on. The itinerary was great, but we were exhausted at the end of it. I would highly recommend spending a few days in San Juan if you can - it was the highlight of the trip for me. We spent three days there prior to sailing, but if we were to do it over again we would have spent the three days there afterwards.

 

Side note: you can sell the expensive airfare to your husband by highlighting the fact that you get to spend extra time in San Juan. It's like two vacations wrapped into one.

 

 

It sounds like you need a vacation from your vacation!!!! Lol. Like Disney!!! So much to see and so much to do you don't want to miss out on it. But you're exhausted when it's over. I need a little more of a balance between ports and sea days. Lol

 

 

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[keith75]

Take a cruise to San Juan for your cruise in San Juan.:p

[peanutzmom]

We'll be doing this itinerary in June. We live in South Florida, so we were lucky enough to get round trip airfare for $190pp. One thing you might try is fiddling with your departure and arrival dates for your flight - based on the day of the week, it might actually be cheaper to fly in a day early or out a day late and pay for an inexpensive hotel.

 

I've been concerned about the lack of sea days, so I'm glad to see it addressed here. When we travel with the kids, we like a port-heavy itinerary because they get bored on sea days. This trip is just my husband and myself (20th anniversary), and I think I'm going to miss my Serenity Deck time! We've been to St. Thomas half a dozen times, so I'm really trying to persuade him to stay on the ship for most of that day and have it pretty much to ourselves...

[cdamion]

I have done Southern Caribbean cruises on other lines, and while they are all amazing, the itinerary on Carnival is the best.

 

No, it is not a good itinerary if you just cruise for sea days, but if you are like me at all and enjoy uncommon ports, it is definitely more than worthwhile.

 

It justifies the cost of the airfare in my opinion.

[soulsistah007]

You guys have no idea what expensive airfare is ! Try living in Canada.

 

Yes, flying from Canada is expensive but its more cost efficient to fly out of the US.

 

This was my favourite cruise!!! With cruise fare and air fare flying out of Buffalo, it cost each of us $1000. Totally worth it! The ports are all fantastic! Would do this again in a heartbeat!

[seashinesunshine]

... because the cruise I am looking at out of San Juan is cheaper than the airfare would cost us!

 

UGH! How do I justify this added expense to DH?

 

Hopefully someone didn't already post this, but my computer won't let me look at the other posts, slow internet.....

I find it is cheaper to fly home the next day, the early am flights are SO much cheaper that we save money even with the extra night in a hotel and food etc.

[blondietink]

Well, we are planning on spending a few extra days in San Juan while we are there anyway, but it is a good thought to do it at the end of the cruise.

 

Since we are a family of 4, it puts the air cost considerably higher. I have checked Buffalo, Rochester, Cleveland and Pittsburg and they are all running right around $500 per person. I even checked Charlotte, and believe it or not, it was almost the same price! Won't even consider Toronto as the taxes put any cheaper airfare higher.

 

So, right now we are talking around $1000 per person including airfare, then when we add on tips for 4 and whatever else we buy .... YIKES!

 

Las Vegas would be cheaper for sure.

[pauleydm]

This is why I am thankful that I live in Florida...5 ports to choose from without worrying about airfare. Of course, when we start our northern cruise itineraries (Alaska, Canada) that will be a whole other matter:)

[jmcancruise]

We never fly from Canada. Always fly south from Bangor, Portland or Boston.

[TheCalicoCat]

... because the cruise I am looking at out of San Juan is cheaper than the airfare would cost us!

 

UGH! How do I justify this added expense to DH?

 

Airfare is why we pretty much so far have stuck to our home port - Baltimore. Our first cruise (someone else chose it) was out of San Juan & was very nice. Lot's to see & do there if you want to arrive early & explore the island.

[cruzin4our10th]

My parents just returned from this trip and we actually picked the week of the cruise based on the days we could get cheapest airfare. The flew down of Thursday as it was cheapest and stayed a few days. They had planned to go on Friday but the airfare savings was three times that of the 4* beach front resort on hotwire. We did get $372 out of Chicago. The weeks before and after as well as the Friday they wanted to go was $708

[MNelson486]

I have avoided this itinerary in the past due to the expensive airfare for MSP. I am a Delta elite member -- but they wanted like $800. I found southwest/air tran would get me there for 1/2 the price. So that is what we did!

 

Looking forward to checking out this cruise in July this year!

[lostdart1]

Carnival can draw from 3.7 million people who live in Puerto Rico....plus as one poster mentioned flights from Florida, particularly Ft Lauderdale and WPB can be had for fairly cheap.......

 

Direct flights from the new York Metro area run under $350......for that matter most east coast cities can be had for under $350 RT

 

Plenty of people for Carnival to draw from.........

 

Cruise also could be cheaper because they use less fuel........

Edited March 19, 2014 by lostdart1

[christyran1228]

... because the cruise I am looking at out of San Juan is cheaper than the airfare would cost us!

 

UGH! How do I justify this added expense to DH?

 

 

I am in the EXACT predicament. We are currently booked on the Triumph for November in a Balcony for 4 days. I did a mock booking for the Valor trip in the same time frame for 7-days in an inside cabin and it's $.82 cheaper. Granted, it's not a balcony ... but honestly, I really don't care about that.

 

The airfare is the kicker for us, too. Right now, I'm currently using the following:

 

"But it's our 10th anniversary and we never even had a honeymoon!"

 

"Your boss is from Puerto Rico, and you could really suck up by asking him the best spots to see, etc!"

 

"I really haven't seen a discount for buying roundtrip ... we can buy the trip there in May (Can't book November Southwest flights until May), and then the return trip a the next month!"

 

"I'll be your best friend!!"

 

"I'LL SELL MY PLASMA to pay for the tickets!!!"

 

 

I really want that particular cruise. lol