Hard to believe, but true

[bubbles1209]

We have been looking at booking our round-trip air for our June Valor trip for a while. I've been trying to get DH to go on & book it while it was $379 pp with all taxes & fees. Well, today of all days, he calls from work & decides he's ready to book it. I looked it up, and it had :eek: jumped up to $507 pp.:eek: I called my PVP at CCL today, to see what airfare through them would be, and hard to believe, but true, it's :eek: cheaper:eek: Not much, but cheaper, costs only 432 pp taxes & all included through them. I think we're gonna go ahead and take it before it goes up too. Anyone else ever gotten their airfare cheaper through the cruiseline?

[cruisinjerseygirl]

We just did. I booked our upcoming cruise the day after we got back from our last one and was so excited about going on another one that I didn't even think to look at what airfare would be before I booked. When I started looking at airfare 3 months ago it was at $600 pp!!! I was shocked. The pvp said that they had airfare for $325 plus tax so I told her I would go with it but she said that until our final payment is due I can take it off if I want so she said that I should continue to look and I did and the rates only kept going up, now they are at about $1000 or more per person so I stuck with it although it's been a hassle with them I had no choice if we wanted to take this cruise. If you can continue to look around but book it with them then do so but just know that once the final payment is made you cannot get refunded if you find a cheaper flight somewhere... If you do book it with them stay on top of the flight, we got our flight info about 2 weeks ago and I had to shop around and find out that the flights were not going to work for us because of the connection so I had to have them fix it and that was another hassle because it was hard to get through to them for it and I had to stay on top of them to make sure that it was done properly.

[ruskatab]

I am going on Valor in August and flying into Ft. Lauderdale out of San Antonio. We got the airfare for 198.00 total a person last month. I checked a few days ago and it jumped to 398 a person, this is on Delta. I would check around to all the airports in the area and see if you can find a better deal. it saved us alot of money.

[chasetf]

........Anyone else ever gotten their airfare cheaper through the cruiseline?

Sure.... when they put us on the red eye so we have to fly all night and arrive exhausted.

 

Sometimes, like Tahiti, where the options are limited, then it makes sense. In mass markets where there are lots of choices, and you plan early, then you can go at the times you want and pick the seats you want. ;)

 

We never do cruise line's air unless we have to or it is very cost benefical.

[cruisinjerseygirl]

Now that I think about it...also check the sites of the actual airlines not just sites like Expedia, I found for our last cruise that on Expedia I would have paid about $180 more for our tickets than with Continental directly so I went with Continental and saved a few bucks.

[bubbles1209]

I am going on Valor in August and flying into Ft. Lauderdale out of San Antonio. We got the airfare for 198.00 total a person last month. I checked a few days ago and it jumped to 398 a person, this is on Delta. I would check around to all the airports in the area and see if you can find a better deal. it saved us alot of money.

Sad thing is, where we live, there's only 1 airport. Closest airport to us is in Atlanta, which is a couple of hours away. Delta & US Airways flies out of our airport here, and US Air is higher than Delta. DH has to work 9-9 the day before we fly out, and says he doesn't want to drive. We're still looking around, nothing is done in stone yet.;)

[RWolver672]

We did have it happen once that cruise air was cheaper than us booking our own. Remember too, that transfers from the airport to the pier are included in cruise air. So, you do save money on not having to pay cab fare too. I will admit though that the transfers are a headache. You fight crowds trying to board the bus, then you sit til it's full. They were a nightmare in Miami. People pushing and shoving.

[Chigirlcruzin]

Now that I think about it...also check the sites of the actual airlines not just sites like Expedia, I found for our last cruise that on Expedia I would have paid about $180 more for our tickets than with Continental directly so I went with Continental and saved a few bucks.

 

I don't know how these sites are going to stay in business. I think it's more perception rather than reality that you're going to save money. I checked numerous sites for my Imagination cruise to Miami or FLL but consistently found that booking directly through the airline's site was the cheaper alternative. This was true for every airline I checked. These sites add booking fees that you don't have to pay on the airlines' sites.

[torybruno]

Here's a great website to watch airfare prices on:

 

http://www.farecast.com/

[golf43]

Its been along time since we booked air though the cruiselines. So I can't help you with that. Sorry.

 

We live in North Carolina and drive down to the ports. Airfare goes up and down each day. I would keep looking before I paid $507.00 a pp. Have you looked on tripadvisor.com yet?

[albertiger]

You also receive bonus miles for booking directly on an airline web site. Just use the vacation websites as a comparison tool, some charge a fee also!:mad:

[Fun~N~Sun]

I have only used them once but try www.airgorilla.com. We flew $235pp from Baltimore to Naussa......on Labor Day weekend.

[lizardhowson]

All the airline sites will give you the exact same results, maybe just sorted differently...

 

Try http://www.kayak.com/

 

You can select the "Prefer Non-stops" and those flights will come up on the top of the list (most sites don't have this option).

 

I prefer non-stops and am willing to pay more for the convenience. After all, vacations are supposed to be fun !!