Jump to content

Booking airfare 6 months out, and then cruise last minute?


TravelDiva88
 Share

Recommended Posts

DH and I are just back from a wonderful cruise on the Sky, and contemplating our next trip. We're NCL loyalists, but open to trying other lines.

 

For our anniversary in September, we are contemplating booking our flights as soon as the flight schedule for SW opens for a major port city (probably Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, or Galveston).

 

Each port has between 3 and 7 cruises leaving the weekend we would be looking to cruise. I've played the "book early" game for years, and I'm sick of getting screwed by last minute price drops. The plan would be to wait to book the cruise until 5-7 days out- we aren't picky, and would be fine with a GTY inside room.

 

The risk, of course, is that prices go up. However since it's hurricane/shoulder season, I'm not worried about that risk. I do plan to keep a spreadsheet of our options and use some of the online tracking sites to keep an eye on the situation. DH has not done most of the Caribbean, and pretty much all of the itineraries look appealing.

 

Our options would look like this:

 

1) Book a cruise at potentially a rock-bottom price.

2) Get priced out of desired cruises, and have a 7 day land based trip.

3) Have a hurricane blow up and cancel the trip altogether, holding our SW airline credit for a trip later in 2014 or early 2015 before they expire.

 

 

The biggest downside I'm seeing is having only a week to figure out excursions, but since many of the cruises overlap ports of call I can plan a few "for sure" options after we pick an embarkation port.

 

Am I missing any glaringly obvious flaws with my plan?

Edited by TravelDiva88
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would find the cruise and then book the flight.

 

My experience is that the lowest price rooms go first as do the best located rooms in all categories and on many cruises if the price goes down you can followup to get a lower price.

 

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For that market and timeframe, I like your plan. The twice I've cruised with NCL, we booked 1 and 2 weeks out, and both times got the exact cabin type and location we wanted. Of course, there's a degree of risk, but I think your prep work seems to be mitigating most of those risks.

My suggestion would be to book airfare going down to FLL on a Friday and returning on Sunday, thus giving you the option of leaving either Saturday or Sunday, and with enough time to allow for a Miami departure. That would probably give you the greatest number of options.

The only thing you haven't mentioned is pre-cruise hotel, but at that time of year, you should be able to find something last-minute.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would find the cruise and then book the flight.

 

My experience is that the lowest price rooms go first as do the best located rooms in all categories and on many cruises if the price goes down you can followup to get a lower price.

 

Keith

 

Agree find a cruise you like and the cabin you prefer then book the airline.

If cruise prices change you can upgrade to a higher category. Also make sure hotels are available. You mentioned Galveston so you might consider adding New Orleans to the mix. NOLA has Carnival, NCL and RCI. My experience with NCL is you'll get better OBC if you book at least 9 months in advance.

Edited by kcwingwalker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would depend on the cruise itinerary, time of year, etc. Are you likely to find an inexpensive cabin at the last minute in the Caribbean or Alaska -- probably, if you aren't picky. But, I would consider this a risky proposition for a repositioning cruise, or unique itinerary. Last year, we took a wine cruise (Pacific Coastal repo) on Celebrity's Millennium. We booked almost a year in advance, and many of the best cabins were already gone. My regular checks for price-drops only yielded one small price reduction -- and that was right after we booked. Bottom line -- as the months went on, the cruise filled up, and prices steadily rose. Before final payment date, several categories were already sold out. That's one time I was really glad we booked in advance!:cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would find the cruise and then book the flight.

 

My experience is that the lowest price rooms go first as do the best located rooms in all categories and on many cruises if the price goes down you can followup to get a lower price.

 

Keith

 

I agree with that advice if you're picky about room location :) We just got off a 4 day on the Sky over Thanksgiving. Price dropped from $299/pp to $109/pp for an inside, and the drops all came after final payment. We were able to upgrade to an OV, but it still kind of smarted.

 

 

As to wwcruiser's point- we're looking at your generic Caribbean sailings. No exotic ports or special itineraries.

 

 

And Twickenham- our plan is to book an early AM flight down on Saturday (heck, we live on the edge) and a late Sunday flight home. We'll also book a fully refundable room on both Saturday nights, and cancel the one we don't need (either on the front or back end).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because the entire point of the exercise is the cruise, and not the flight, it makes sense to book the cruise first, taking advantage of any price drops which come in prior to final payment date. Then, keep an eye on flights and book when the price "feels" right. The cruise is virtually certain to big the big ticket item, so it makes sense to get what you want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did something similiar last year in Oct. I booked a return flight from FLL on a seat sale and waited for the 90 day final payment window. There was 9 ships due in the morning of the flight so I knew I'd be on one of them or at worst, a land vacation in Florida. I ended up getting a TA from Southampton at a bargain rate. I took a 1-way charter to London also at a bargain rate.

 

I think you've thought out your plan well so go for it. You've nothing to lose money wise, just vacation wise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would go down late Friday rather than Saturday, but I see no problem with your plan. Flying into either FLL or PBI, then looking for cruises out of POM, Port Everglades or Canaveral gives you plenty of options.

 

I would start looking at the 75 day window, however, rather than waiting until only a couple of weeks out. I've seen a number of prices nice and low about 4-6 weeks out, then start to creep up again as the sail date gets close.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are you booking your flights with airmiles points? I have always thought that this would be a great idea. I would plan to be in for a Saturday cruise and fly out a week later on the Sunday. That way you could take a cruise on either Saturday or Sunday. I would fly into FLL or MIA as this gives you the most options. It's a great plan if you can stick it out until the fares are at their lowest. Good Luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we didn't have to get our vacation time scheduled far in advance, we'd always cruise this way. The element of surprise makes it very exciting.

 

Sounds like a great plan and you'll probably get a good deal on the cruise.

I'm a little confused as to when you plan to get airfare? We find the best air deals 7-15 weeks out. We don't fly Southwest however, so maybe they have different price trends?

 

Good luck and have fun. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no penalty for canceling or changing SW flights. Might have to pay a higher price for the next ticket or a lower price for the next ticket just depends on what you do.

 

Therefore you have very little risk in booking the air first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we didn't have to get our vacation time scheduled far in advance, we'd always cruise this way. The element of surprise makes it very exciting.

 

Sounds like a great plan and you'll probably get a good deal on the cruise.

I'm a little confused as to when you plan to get airfare? We find the best air deals 7-15 weeks out. We don't fly Southwest however, so maybe they have different price trends?

 

Good luck and have fun. :)

 

Southwest's prices tend to creep up after the schedule is released. But if the price of the flight drops you can rebook and the difference is valid for 1 year from the original date of booking. We've piecemealed a vacation together form leftover travel funds (I track them in a spreadsheet) and reward miles in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have done something similar this time around.

 

I have already booked our flights for next August. We were going to do a flight down to Florida EARLY Saturday morning and home on Sunday afternoon, but we decided that the best prices were to commit to a Sunday sailing, so we have a later flight out on Saturday and a Sunday return. Flying into and out of West Palm and the flights from NJ were $213 each.

 

Now I'll sit and wait for the Freedom and Allure prices to move around and I'm sure that I'll get one of them for the price that works. For us, the air is a significant cost, and I have seen flights go up into the mid to high $300s to Florida. I simply will not pay that. So I'd rather have the cruise up in the "air" instead of the flights.

 

I did the same cruise week last year and watched very decent prices come out after June. So that's what I'm looking at now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...