any advise to purschase air fare please

[weswas]

We are sailing in May 05 and I have been looking for an online agency to buy air fare. I have found that the airline is the cheapest but was wondering if any one has used Travelocity, expedia etc.? I'll take the good the bad and ugly stories.

 

UNTIL WE SAIL AGAIN.......

[Brneyznfl]

I prefer to buy directly through the airline website for several reasons.

 

First more often then not I find a cheaper rate versus Travelocity, Expedia etc. Second, I will relate to you a little story about my boss's daughter. She booked through a 3rd party agent. She was in CA visiting friends. When she went to the airport she realized she was suppose to have left the day before. (yes was stupid not to read carefully, but she's young) They told her she would have to purchase another ticket for over 1,000 to get back to FL. She called her dad in a panick and he asked me to help. I called Delta and was able to book her another ticket back. They offered to just replace her ticket for free of charge but since she went through a 3rd party, they weren't able to do it. If you get into a situation, I think if you book directly through the airline, they are more easily able to help you.

 

Next Cruise: Alaska - 2005!

 

Triumph, Inspiration, Holiday, Explorer of the Seas, Granduer of the Seas, Glory, Conquest, Sensation

 

[mayrashke]

I,too, will go through the airlines. Not too many bargains out there right now yet for when we go in Jan./05. We are lucky enough to be able to drive to Seattle where ,for the 4 of us, it will be much cheaper then leaving from Vancouver,Canada. Good luck to you.

 

Valor Jan.23/05(W.Caribb.)-we are all going and are very excited!!!!!!!!!!!

SeaPrincess Jan./01(W.Caribb)

[jleq]

You're nearly a year away from your flight. The "discount airlines" [southwest, AirTran, et al] won't be posting their rates for months. When they do so, many of the other airlines will match them/come rather close.

 

Find an amount you want to pay. Many "third party" websites [Travelocity/Orbitz] will send you regular e-mail updates should the fares reach the amount you wish to pay. You don't have to book through them...but that will give you an inkling where the airfares are.

 

 

[serene56]

I have my air flights for Feb 2005 already. I check all the online agencies but found when I went to the airlines web page I saved a great deal of money. I found airtran to be the cheapest and got my flights for 123 pp that price includes all taxes and service fees. I also found that weekends are the most expensive to look for air fares.

If your cruise is out of Miami look for airfares to Fort Lauderdale too. I saved over 100pp and that price included renting the limo roundtrip to Miami

 

Living on Earth is expensive,

but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.

 

Going NOWHERE

 

 

 

Miracle, February 13, 2005

Legend, October 22,2004

Voyager August 31,2003

Victory September 22,2002

Regal Empress,June 2001

Sensation,August 2000

 

 

[fhowell2]

Try SideStep.com

You can keep track of several discount airlines and when you want to book or check ut flight times, SideStep kicks you over to the airline website.

 

Rick

 

12/2004 Spirit(S.Mexico)

09/2004 Paradise(Panama Canal)

05/2004 Mercury(Alaska)

02/2004 Regal Princess(Hawaii)

01/2004 Ecstasy(N.Mexico)

12/2003 Ryndam(Sea of Cortez)

09/2003 Paradise(E. Carrib)

02/2003 Conquest(W. Carrib)

05/2002 Elation (Mex.Riviera)

[dustyroad]

i have my flight bought already for may of 2005. it was cheaper to go through northwest airlines and i did not have to pay a booking fee like travlocity and expedia charge. also if the cost of the flight goes down i can deal with northwest to get a credit. and i am buiding up my miles for a free flight in the future.

 

DUSTY

 

Carnival Spirit, 9/10/03 Alaska glacier bay

 

Carvival Spirit, 5/11/05

Alaska glacier bay again

[weswas]

I have been doing some searching and it does seem like the actul airline prices are cheaper than the online agencies. I do have lots of time and will continue to shop. Thanks for all your input it has helped ALOT!!!

 

UNTIL WE SAIL AGAIN.......

[nancy M.]

I booked through Travelocity but have not used it yet. We leave this coming Saturday. So far though they have kept us updated with things. They did send us an email saying that if we miss our flight they are not responsible for setting us up with another flight. I don't find this to be a problem. We are leaving in plenty of time to get to the airport their normal 2 hours early.

 

I would be happy to email you back after we return and let you know how the flight went and if there were any problems. I shopped for airfare for over a month and found them to have the cheapest rates. We are booked on United and saved about $100 pp by booking through Travelocity instead of United.

 

Nancy

Carnival Conquest---My first cruise

And the Valor 6/12/05

 

Carnival Valor--- Voyager group cruise

[kristikae]

One thing about Sidestep...they load all kinds of nasty spyware on your computer when you download the program.

 

Kristi -

"No shoes, no shirt, no problem..."

Fantasy 3/95, Fascination 12/01, Conquest 1/03, Glory 9/03, Conquest 1/04, Mariner 9/04, Miracle 2/05

[fhowell2]

Kristi,

You are correct. I use SPYBOT and SPYWARE BLASTER religiously and Sidestep is one of the few programs whose spyware I allow to remain on our computer. You do not deal with Sidestep when you want to make a reservation because it directs you to the airline/hotel/rental webside and you deal with them directly. No added fees like orbitz, travelocity, etc. I have added an article from today's LA Times re Sidestep. It is for your and anybody else's information re 'finding a deal'.

June 20, 2004

 

THE INTERNET TRAVELER

The mixing link between consumers and low-fare carriers

 

INDEPENDENCE AIR AIRLINE

 

TRAVEL INDUSTRY

 

INDEPENDENCE AIR AIRLINE INTERNET COMPUTER NET

 

 

By James Gilden, Special to The Times

 

 

Independence AIR, another entry in the low-fare-carrier derby, has taken to the skies, serving 35 East Coast and Midwest destinations from its hub at Washington Dulles and gearing up for West Coast service (location to be named later) in the fall. Like many of its low-fare brethren, it is looking to the Web to help it keep fares low.

 

Its goal is to have the highest percentage in the industry of consumers booking directly at its website, http://www.flyi.com , said Rick DeLisi, a spokesman for Independence Air, because distribution costs are lower than through traditional third-party online agencies such as Expedia or Travelocity. "All of those other common sites are part of the GDS [Global Distribution Systems for airlines reservations], and that just requires additional cost that we believe would have resulted in higher fares," DeLisi said.

 

Independence Air joins other low-fare airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue whose fares can be booked online only on their sites. How then does a consumer find these fares without having to shop each of their sites?

 

That's where SideStep (www.sidestep.com) comes in. It is not yet one-stop shopping, but SideStep is, as the name implies, a step in searching the Web for deals. It's a tool that travelers in the know have been using for nearly four years.

 

"Our core customers are avid travelers," said Phil Carpenter, vice president of marketing for SideStep. "They take six to seven flights per year and are serious do-it-yourselfers."

 

SideStep is not a booking engine but a search engine, a sort of Google for travel. Its free software program must be downloaded, but it's easy to use. SideStep then searches other websites for airfares, hotel rates or rental cars.

 

If it finds a deal you like, you usually are connected directly to the site offering the deal. There is no fee for SideStep, though there may be booking fees at the sites to which you are directed. (Commonly there are booking fees at third-party sites but not at supplier sites, though every one varies.) Because SideStep can send consumers directly to supplier sites, low-fare airlines have embraced it.

 

"They deliver the customer to jetblue.com, where the transaction is completed," said Todd Burke, a spokesman for the airline. "This is in keeping with our 'consumer direct' model."

 

SideStep searches dozens of websites, including JetBlue, Southwest and Independence Air, as well as Orbitz, InterContinental Hotels and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. (Expedia and Travelocity are not searched.)

 

Because travel suppliers often reserve their best prices for their own websites, consumers can find deals that otherwise might take hours of searching through numerous websites.

 

I compared Orbitz and SideStep using a flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas at midweek with a three-week advance purchase. (These fares may no longer be available.)

 

Orbitz displayed three flights from LAX starting at $82 on United, US Airways and American. All fares included Orbitz's $6 booking fee. SideStep found six fares starting at $76 on US Airways, Southwest and Aloha (out of Burbank); the $82 fares on United and American; and a $95 fare on JetBlue (out of Long Beach).

 

Some caveats: SideStep comes back with only four search results for each airline, so you may not see every available flight. Also, SideStep does not have agreements with every travel supplier. For example, the $82 SideStep fare was through Orbitz. By going directly to the United or American site, you could save the $6 Orbitz fee.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact James Gilden at http://www.theinternettraveler.com .

 

Rick

 

12/2004 Spirit(S.Mexico)

09/2004 Paradise(Panama Canal)

05/2004 Mercury(Alaska)

02/2004 Regal Princess(Hawaii)

01/2004 Ecstasy(N.Mexico)

12/2003 Ryndam(Sea of Cortez)

09/2003 Paradise(E. Carrib)

02/2003 Conquest(W. Carrib)

05/2002 Elation (Mex.Riviera)

[weswas]

Nancy that would be great let me know how it goes and have a great trip

 

UNTIL WE SAIL AGAIN.......

[tgmtgm]

I like using itasoftware. It shows all available flights, and is not a booking agency. When you click on the details tab, it gives you the break down of the fare, as will as the toll free number for the airline, or if you prefer to use a travel agent, you can print out the page and take/fax it to them. Make sure you click "log in as a guest" to be able to access the search engine. It helped me find the exact airfare I wanted for an upcoming Oct. cruise on the Triumph.

 

Holiday 01/98

Fantasy 10/99

Celebration 01/00

Triumph 11/01

Monarch of the Seas 11/01