Australia Cruise/Airfare timing

[cruzngal]

Hi HAL Cruisers!

 

We are booked on the Circumnavigate Australia cruise in November 2021 on the Oosterdam.  It's exciting to be planning a cruise again!

 

Looking at HAL air travel, I am wondering if there is a sweet spot for timing the airfare bookings when you get the best airfares?  We are traveling Minneapolis to Sydney, and planning to book Business Class, so timing could make a sizeable difference.  

 

Right now the window for booking airfare has just opened, so it's still early.  Our home airline, Delta, does not even have any offerings through HAL.  Not sure if more airlines are offered as time goes on, or if what is there at the beginning is what there is.

 

Hoping that there are enough of our cruisers with experience still checking the website that could give me a little advice.  

 

Stay healthy!

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2021 by cruzngal

[CruiserBruce]

There isn't, in real terms, a sweet spot. There is some guidance commonly given on the Cruise Air board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/77-cruise-air/

 

The benefit on that board is its all about flying, and the extremely huge amount of experience flying located there.

 

Never buy within the first few days of fares being out. Those are frequently the highest fares. Exception...if you are looking for the cheapest award seats. Those usually (but not always) come out early.

 

You need to research the fares. Start before the actual fares come out by simply putting similar dates. So if you are flying out on a Friday for 3 weeks, look at other Friday departures. Look at Thursday and Saturday...sometimes days of the week matter for some routes. Keep track of the fares you see, so you know a general range of prices.

 

Check with the Cruise Air program with HAL. Sometimes their fares can be great.

 

There is no magic to this...just research.

[zelker]

I wouldn't be worried about buying air tickets quite yet.  Several Aussie friends have told us in the past couple of days that it's unlikely that OZ and NZ will open to international travel before 2022 - and that means even they can't travel. I would give that cruise way less than a 50-50 chance of sailing right now.

[Red Haired Lady]

35 minutes ago, zelker said:

I wouldn't be worried about buying air tickets quite yet.  Several Aussie friends have told us in the past couple of days that it's unlikely that OZ and NZ will open to international travel before 2022 - and that means even they can't travel. I would give that cruise way less than a 50-50 chance of sailing right now.

I agree with you.  When I booked it in November I thought there would be no problem, but now I really doubt it will sail.  (I also fly from MSP)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I found that the earlyer you book with Holland the better , you can always cancel and rebook ..

[KirkNC]

Hope springs eternal.

[Mandalay1903]

5 hours ago, zelker said:

I wouldn't be worried about buying air tickets quite yet.  Several Aussie friends have told us in the past couple of days that it's unlikely that OZ and NZ will open to international travel before 2022 - and that means even they can't travel. I would give that cruise way less than a 50-50 chance of sailing right now.

I agree with this comment, too. We're booked on this cruise, but based on what I'm reading these days I am doubtful that it will sail.

 

Nevertheless, we booked our Sydney air through HAL last week and since then the air prices for all flights have increased by almost 10%. As a matter of course, I check back with HAL on air prices regularly and usually get good price reductions along the way. When booking flexible fares through HAL there no cancellation or change costs until payments are due, so it pays to book early.

 

2 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Hope springs eternal.

...and these days we're living our lives vicariously by planning trips that will probably get cancelled... 😞

 

[Mandalay1903]

9 hours ago, cruzngal said:

Right now the window for booking airfare has just opened, so it's still early.  Our home airline, Delta, does not even have any offerings through HAL.  Not sure if more airlines are offered as time goes on, or if what is there at the beginning is what there is.

Delta flights are often offered through HAL Flight Ease in all classes of service.  I think the US to Australia air market is a little off right now because of the border closures, but as things open up I'd expect more flight options to arise. We're booked on Hawaiian Airlines, and Qantas was our next best option.  Good luck with getting things booked.

[GUT2407]

Australia won’t be open to overseas visitors this year, if you book, make sure you can get your money back.

 

[cruzngal]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the great advice, both on airfares and news about when the country will or won't open up.  I wound up booking the flexible airfare though HAL, knowing that I can change or cancel.  It's alot cheaper as well.

 

I want to be hopeful about this cruise, since it will be year #2 trying to get to Australia for a cruise.  But I agree, it's iffy. 

 

Ah well, hope springs eternal...

[zelker]

12 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Australia won’t be open to overseas visitors this year, if you book, make sure you can get your money back.

 

You're confirming what our Aussie friends have told us. 

 

Curious what you think about something that leaves LA in January but doesn't arrive to NZ until February 8, 2022, and finishes in Sydney on the 19th?  A better than 50-50 chance by then perhaps?

[KirkNC]

1 hour ago, cruzngal said:

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the great advice, both on airfares and news about when the country will or won't open up.  I wound up booking the flexible airfare though HAL, knowing that I can change or cancel.  It's alot cheaper as well.

 

I want to be hopeful about this cruise, since it will be year #2 trying to get to Australia for a cruise.  But I agree, it's iffy. 

 

Ah well, hope springs eternal...

Using HAL Flight Ease is usually a great deal but the cancellation flexibility right now is priceless.

[Mickb]

Spoke to a friend in NZ today who says there will be no cruise ships in NZ waters until Jan 22 at the earliest.

[john2003]

Wonder if the season will be so short the cruise lines won't try. Hope not as we are booked for Feb 2022.

[zelker]

1 hour ago, john2003 said:

Wonder if the season will be so short the cruise lines won't try. Hope not as we are booked for Feb 2022.

 

Wouldn't surprise me.  

[GUT2407]

9 hours ago, zelker said:

You're confirming what our Aussie friends have told us. 

 

Curious what you think about something that leaves LA in January but doesn't arrive to NZ until February 8, 2022, and finishes in Sydney on the 19th?  A better than 50-50 chance by then perhaps?

Less than 50-50 in my opinion.