Really want to book a Southern Carib...

But the airfare...OMG. For those of you who have booked or have gone on a southern caribbean cruise do you have any tips or tricks for the airfare. Or do you just suck it up and pay the high prices. Im looking into a Southern in January but the airfare for 2 people would be well over $1,100. Is that average for flying into San Juan. I've never flown anything but domestic so I really have no idea what to expect.

But the airfare...OMG. For those of you who have booked or have gone on a southern caribbean cruise do you have any tips or tricks for the airfare. Or do you just suck it up and pay the high prices. Im looking into a Southern in January but the airfare for 2 people would be well over $1,100. Is that average for flying into San Juan. I've never flown anything but domestic so I really have no idea what to expect.

The Breeze, Freedom, and Liberty do the Southern route from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and soon to be, Port Canaveral. Southwest has great fares to FLL and MCO. Check it out. Good Luck!!!!:D

The Breeze, Freedom, and Liberty do the Southern route from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and soon to be, Port Canaveral. Southwest has great fares to FLL and MCO. Check it out. Good Luck!!!!:D

thanks I will check that out!! Do you know when those itineraries are running?

We are cruising on the Breeze in July, and are going to Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba. But when we were looking, I saw the other two ships as well. I would imagine they are doing these same itineraries, intermittently, throughout the year.

Keep us posted, as to what you find.:D

The Valor's itinerary is not really a "SOUTHERN" route. However, it is a very port intensive cruise. Just one sea day.

Good Luck!!!!!!!:D:D

The Southern route on Breeze, Freedom, etc is NOT the same as the Southern Valor route. In fact they share ZERO of the same ports.

As for the original question about airfare, check and see what Southwest's price is. They now fly to San Juan. We took this cruise in September and round trip airfare from Columbus, Ohio to San Juan was less than $300 per person.

Also San Juan is a domestic flight, seeing as how its part of the USA. You will not have to clear customs at the airport, and a passport is not required.

And if you find a price that works for you, let me say you should with out a doubt take this cruise! There is not a better Caribbean itinerary out there if you want to see the most diverse and beautiful set of ports. Each one is unique, yet just as beautiful as the one before it! It was an awesome cruise! Make sure you allow yourself some time to explore San Juan as well, it really is like a 6th port of call. Simply a wonderful cruise!!

The Southern route on Breeze, Freedom, etc is NOT the same as the Southern Valor route. In fact they share ZERO of the same ports.

 

As for the original question about airfare, check and see what Southwest's price is. They now fly to San Juan. We took this cruise in September and round trip airfare from Columbus, Ohio to San Juan was less than $300 per person.

 

Also San Juan is a domestic flight, seeing as how its part of the USA. You will not have to clear customs at the airport, and a passport is not required.

WOW!!! That is a great price to SJU!:D

Yes, the Valor is NOT a Southern itinerary. Southern is Aruba, Curacao, Dominican.

Really wanted to do the Valor, but DH didn't like the fact that there was only one sea day:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Sunshine out of Port Canaveral also has some cruises that include Aruba and Curacao in the Southern Caribbean.

WOW!!! That is a great price to SJU!:D

Yes, the Valor is NOT a Southern itinerary. Southern is Aruba, Curacao, Dominican.

Really wanted to do the Valor, but DH didn't like the fact that there was only one sea day:rolleyes::rolleyes:

The Valor is Southern, its just a different Southern Route. Its ports are certainly a lot farther south than the Dominican. All 5 ports plus San Juan are all further South than the entire Dominican Republic.

WOW!!! That is a great price to SJU!:D

Yes, the Valor is NOT a Southern itinerary. Southern is Aruba, Curacao, Dominican.

Really wanted to do the Valor, but DH didn't like the fact that there was only one sea day:rolleyes::rolleyes:

We have sucked it up and paid the price!!! :D We were actually going to go on the Breeze out of Miami but, the airfare for us to Miami was hundreds more than to San Juan and the Valor cruise was hundreds less than a cruise on the Breeze for the same category cabin so it was a no brainer for us. We absolutely can't wait. :D:p

Southwest's schedule is only out through October currently, but the round trip airfare from Columbus, to San Juan in Oct is only $342 right now.

Not sure where you need to fly from, but $1100 seems pretty darn high to me.

If you are not a carnival only type of cruiser, then you should check Royal caribbean.they have the explorer out of port canaveral going to aruba, bonaire, curacao and labadee. Also they just added S. Caribbean itineraries from Tampa and Ft. lauderdale.

If you are a carnival only type of cruiser, then keep an eye one south west. We booked a tampa to san juan for $99 per person.

If you are not a carnival only type of cruiser, then you should check Royal caribbean.they have the explorer out of port canaveral going to aruba, bonaire, curacao and labadee. Also they just added S. Caribbean itineraries from Tampa and Ft. lauderdale.

 

If you are a carnival only type of cruiser, then keep an eye one south west. We booked a tampa to san juan for $99 per person.

I am not a carnival only at all, I actually like Carnival, but am not exclusive to them at all. I do however tend to check with Carnival first when looking though, because I think their prices are really great. I'm not into paying way more for a cruise when I don't have to. However if I find a great deal, I'll take it!

Thank you to whoever mentioned checking southwest!!! I was actually going to check their site and then I though to myself that they were only domestic?? Don't really know why I thought that? But thank you because that could save me some serious cash. My sister lives right by Midway and I always use her as an airport shuttle!

For my upcoming trip next week, we paid deerly for SJU from NYC over $1000 for 2. I do not like to pay that much. Last December 2012 we went on the same ports out of SJU with 4 of us Christmas week and paid much less. I think it is hit or miss. We love the Southern Carribbean eitht these ports or some that are further south. Hope you enjoy your time.

I am not a carnival only at all, I actually like Carnival, but am not exclusive to them at all. I do however tend to check with Carnival first when looking though, because I think their prices are really great. I'm not into paying way more for a cruise when I don't have to. However if I find a great deal, I'll take it!

 

Thank you to whoever mentioned checking southwest!!! I was actually going to check their site and then I though to myself that they were only domestic?? Don't really know why I thought that? But thank you because that could save me some serious cash. My sister lives right by Midway and I always use her as an airport shuttle!

Check out NCL also...they have 10 and 11 day Southern Itineraries out of Miami. We did one this past December with them, and already booked another for Dec 2014....for a REALLY good price!!

But the airfare...OMG. For those of you who have booked or have gone on a southern caribbean cruise do you have any tips or tricks for the airfare. Or do you just suck it up and pay the high prices. Im looking into a Southern in January but the airfare for 2 people would be well over $1,100. Is that average for flying into San Juan. I've never flown anything but domestic so I really have no idea what to expect.

We booked direct flights on Jet Blue out of Newark, NJ for $351 per person round trip. Check different airports as an airport an hour further away may have a drastically different price. Also check back regularly as prices can change day to day. Good luck

One other thing. Done just look at expedia or Priceline or something like that. If you know an airline flies out if a certain airport, try their direct website. An example, Southwest does not post airfares on any 3rd party websites (that I'm aware of). You have to book directly from their site and unless you go to their own site you would have no idea what their fares are.

We are looking at prices out of O'Hare and for 3 of us is around $1000 total for our Feb cruise on the Valor. We are extremely lucky we have 3 major airports that we can choose from, O'Hare, Midway and Detroit. O'Hare and Detroit are usually the better priced airports for us. Hope you find some cheaper flights!!!! :)

I live within driving distance of Port Canaveral so that's our preferred port. We were excited to see them starting to offer the southern route - previously it was bahamas (3-5 days) or Eastern/Western routes.

We're booked on the Liberty 9/26 sailing. I know you've already booked your cruise/flight, but for the benefit of others, you can check prices not just for Orlando International (MCO) but also Melbourne 'International' (MLB), which is a *tiny* airport which is really more like a regional airport, however I've found that sometimes prices into/out of this airport are cheaper than Orlando. It's actually my preferred airport to fly through. Not just because I live close to it but because it's so small - there's only 7 gates and I never see more than 2 active at any time. The only downside is that Delta and United (or maybe it's USAir) are the only major lines that service it and the only major airports you're going to get a direct flight from are their hubs - Atlanta, Charlotte and (I think) there are direct flights from NYC. But you'll definitely get in/out of that airport with very little hassle compared to Orlando.

But the airfare...OMG. For those of you who have booked or have gone on a southern caribbean cruise do you have any tips or tricks for the airfare. Or do you just suck it up and pay the high prices. Im looking into a Southern in January but the airfare for 2 people would be well over $1,100. Is that average for flying into San Juan. I've never flown anything but domestic so I really have no idea what to expect.

We did SC two years ago and because of surgery I booked first class tickets to the tune of $650/pp, this year we are going back and everyday I was on looking for tickets. It was going to be the same price for economy as I paid for FC two years ago. It eventually paid off and I just lucked out and got tickets for FC for the same price and then I called our friends and told them to book now, within 30 mins the price for FC had gone up another $500/pp and they had to book economy for the price I got FC for. You just never know, keep checking everyday.

The Liberty will be running Southern Caribbean once it's in Port Canaveral, 8 days with stops in Grand Turk, Curacao, and Aruba. 4 sea days, which is what I was looking for, I like my ports but I really like the sea days.

Carnival recently opened 11-day and 10-day cruises on Triumph leaving from Galveston (fly to Houston), ending in San Juan (southern islands) and leaving same day from San Juan returning to Galveston (eastern islands) -- BUT they are not Jan 2014--they are Oct-Nov, 2015 and again in Jan 2016.

Well... this may not exactly fit what you are looking for.

But the airfare...OMG. For those of you who have booked or have gone on a southern caribbean cruise do you have any tips or tricks for the airfare. Or do you just suck it up and pay the high prices. Im looking into a Southern in January but the airfare for 2 people would be well over $1,100. Is that average for flying into San Juan. I've never flown anything but domestic so I really have no idea what to expect.

I just looked at the entire month of January and you can easily get $330-$360 per person out of ORD on connecting flights leaving on Saturday return on Sunday.

I just posted non-stop flights below that are $377 per person. These flights would be perfect for the January 25th Valor Cruise.

I have no idea where you found $550 p/p tickets but there are way better prices out there.

Chicago (ORD) to San Juan (SJU) - Sat, Jan 24 United Airlines, Inc. 1688Dep: 8:20AMArr: 3:05PM4h 45mBoeing 737Economy (L)

San Juan (SJU) to Chicago (ORD) - Sun, Feb 1 United Airlines, Inc. 1680Dep: 3:55PMArr: 7:13PM5h 18mBoeing 737Economy (S)

Cost per passenger (including taxes & fees) $377.00Total cost for 1 passenger $377.00

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Fare 1: Carrier UA LNN2A9SN CHI to SJU (rules)

Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code L

Covers ORD-SJU (Economy)

$134.00Fare 2: Carrier UA SNN7A9SN SJU to CHI (rules)

Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code S

Covers SJU-ORD (Economy)

$194.00US September 11th Security Fee (AY) $5.00US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) $9.00US International Departure Tax (US) $17.50US International Arrival Tax (US) $17.50 Subtotal per passenger $377.00Number of passengers x1 Total airfare & taxes $377.00

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Fare construction (can be useful to travel agents)

CHI UA SJU 134.00LNN2A9SN UA CHI 194.00SNN7A9SN USD 328.00 END XT 35.00US 5.00AY 9.00XF ORD4.50 SJU4.50

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There is a holiday/celebration in January. I forget what it is at the moment. That can make airfare and hotel prices go up.

We were looking this past January but it was too expensive. Southwest had good deals other months though. So keep checking them.

I did notice that the flight home On Sunday is expensive with southwest. They must know the cruise schedule. It is the only one available and it more expensive than others.

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We went to San Juan in March for a Valor cruise on American from AZ for less than $400 each. Just watch the prices closely, you should find some not too bad. And Valor's itinerary is amazing.

Just booked yesterday for $348 on US Airway. Fly in on thursday to unwind and then stay 1 extra day to miss airport congestion. This is our third cruise in a row on the Valor best itinerary ever after 35 years.