When do you start shopping?

[mspink98]

It’s getting close to the time when I can start looking at airfares for out Feb, 2007 cruise. When do you guys usually start looking for hotel/car info? We’ll need a car to get from Orlando to Port Canaveral, and vice-versa, and a hotel for one night near the port. I want to shop for prices ahead of time to get the best deals possible, but I know that some of the auction sites probably won’t have rates for a while. Thoughts?

[lknight27]

That's a tricky question . . . but here I go. I start looking for prices when they become available, however, my rule of thumb is to find a price that I comfortable with and when it reaches that then book it. We all know that airline prices go and down at any given time so there is no way of predicting when is best to buy. That's why I say book when you feel comofrtable with that price. Also depending on how picky you are about flights sometimes the earlier the better. For me to get a direct flight our Detroit metro to MCO, MIA, or FLL can be difficult because not too many airlines fly direct so personally I book mine early because I DO NOT want a connecting flight, but if I was flying from my hometown HUB of chicago then I could wait it out some because ORD and MDW have several direct flights going out daily to this area. I book my flight for my October cruise a month ago because I am flying to MIA and I'm glad I did because prices are up and only two airline fly direct to miami Northwest and American (with only 1 or 2 at the most flight a day that go direct with then times I need on the return) so go figure what the fighting prices will be like if I wait. :)

 

Now in regards to hotels I do the same, if I don't care where I stay or just want a clean 3/4 star hotel I would wait and book it through hotwire or priceline and few weeks/months in advance, but in port locations rooms at certain hotels book up quickly so it will depend on what I want. For my cruise in October I booked my hotel back in December with the cruiseline because I wanted to stay at a 5 star hotel (Mandarin Oriental) and the cruiseline was cheaper than the hotel direct. Good thing I did because alot of cruisers wanted this hotel as well and now it's on a waiting list thru the cruiseline even though we are 7 1/2 months out. To book this hotel direct is $600+ a night :eek: . Another thing too, I recently checked the rates for hotels in Miami during my October cruise and they are outrageous . . some are $300 a night for 3/4 star hotels. So personally I would eye ball that weekend on a regular basis and check the cruiseline hotel rates to see who is cheaper.

 

So it all depends on what you want on this trip and like. If you're in a large city or near a large HUB like Chicgao, LA, New York, etc or if you don't care about layovers you may be able to wait 3-5 months before the cruise. And the same for hotels, if your not picky where you stay wait it out you ususally will find cheaper thu those search engines. But if you want specific details about your flight you're probably better off thinking of a comfortable number for your airline tickets and booking it when the prices hit that amount. Either way in terms of prices going up or down for airline tickets, it's always a gamble.

[Nanatravel]

Kate, don't bid on auction sites this far out. They are non-refundable. You never know what the next hurricane season can do for damages. Cocoa Beach has been hit twice in the last two years. If you find an acceptable rate at a hotel that won't charge your credit card, just book it as a back up; $100 a nite is fair at the Radison for example. Don't forget because you are traveling during prime school break and high vacation time, you may have to pay a little more. If you are traveling with family, maybe Ron Jon's time share would work well and highly worth a higher price. Car rental from MCO to Cocoa can be done 6 months or less out. Budget worked out well for us. Use whatever coupons or discounts you may be able to gather. We paid $25 a day for a full size car and took the ship shuttle bus back to MCO @ $10 pp

(2004). Now airfare is another story. If you have Southwest or JetBlue in your nearest airport, their schedule does not open up until about 4-5 months in advance. Keep checking on kayak.com for the best rates and schedules of other airlines (they do not list the two mentioned above). You will at least know who is quoting what price and the schedules. I booked air with AA in December for next 11/06. Prices went down $10 pp after I booked but then went up more than $120pp for the same great flights which were non-stop. Now lets hope they don't make any flight changes from now until November. Shopping and research are the way to go.

Bon Voyage

Nanatravel

[Lois R]

Hi:) Interesting question. I think it varies from person to person,

trip to trip.

I am sailing from Seattle in October:D

I went ahead and booked my hotel room in Seattle pre-cruise.

After doing much research I realized the prices are higher

than I am used to paying. I booked through SeattleSuperSaver

for 2 nights and am happy with my choice. Silver Cloud Inn for 109.00 per night.

I have heard excellent reviews about it!!!

I just did this in the last 2 weeks.

 

As for airfare.....I am flying into Seattle but my cruise ends

in Ensenada so I am flying home from San Diego~multi city or

open jaw, whatever you want to call it.

It is usually more expensive since it is 2 different cities but I found

an excellent price so I just booked it yesterday.

Just over 300.00 total! That is very good....from FLorida to Washington

and from San Diego back to Florida!

I know I could have probably waited and waited but I feel good

about my results.

Now the only hotel left is in San Deigo....for one night post

cruise. I will find that in the next couple of weeks:)

[mspink98]

I know we want to fly Midwest Airlines, and they have prices released until mid-January 2007. When they release fares for our travel dates about a month later, I’ll be buying, assuming prices are comparable to the January prices. Right now, I’m finding the flights we want (just a month earlier than we want them) for just a hair over $200/person from Milwaukee to Orlando. If the February rates are around there when they’re released in a month or so, I’ll book right away.

I’m pretty confident booking airfare that far out, if I can find a good fare, it’s the hotels I was more wondering about. I hadn’t even thought about the hurricane factor as a reason not to book through an auction site now-I was more concerned about possibly getting a better deal as time went on. Keep the ideas coming!