I just booked a last minute cruise

That leaves out of Fort Lauderdale on April 7th. I live in SW Michigan and can not believe the prices for flights out of Chi and Det! Any suggestions on airlines or flights that leave from cities in a 5 hour driving radius like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Columbus. . .?

Do I fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale? And how close is the Port?

I hope this is in the right section and thanks for any info.

Last minute cruise may equal cheap pricing. Last minute air usually equals expensive pricing. Supply and demand.

There is no "magic" website. ITA may be your best resource - include airports up to 200 miles distance from DTW.

As for MIA vs FLL....put in both airports for your arrival. Then you can use your own cost-benefit analysis.

That leaves out of Fort Lauderdale on April 7th. I live in SW Michigan and can not believe the prices for flights out of Chi and Det! Any suggestions on airlines or flights that leave from cities in a 5 hour driving radius like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Columbus. . .?

 

Do I fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale? And how close is the Port?

 

I hope this is in the right section and thanks for any info.

If you hurry you can book Allegiant out of Grand Rapids (nonsto) for less than $400. rt.

You will have to arrive a day early and stay a day after your cruise (I assumed a 7 day cruise) to take advantage of their flight schedule.

You have no alternative but to book an expensive fare.

You are within a high price period for almost every airline and you are backing into a holiday period. Add spring breaks to the equation and you can easily see the results.

Look at one way fares. And you can use different airlines too.

If you have not cruised before do pay careful attention to your arrival and departure times.

You can get a good idea of fares using Kayak too. Southwest flights are not available on Kayak.

If you are flying in the day of, fly into FLL. If you can come in on the 6th look at PBI (West Palm) or MCO (Orlando) too, or even TPA (Tampa).

If you have not cruised before and are faced with flying in the day of the cruise, please, please post your options before you book. There are posters who can tell you what flights and airlines would be best to get you to the ship, and home.

I really appreciate the feedback. Thank you so much.

The high airfare might have been part of the reason a cabin was available at the last minute. Hopefully you got a great cruise deal that helps offset the last-minute airfare.

Since you're willing to drive up to 5 hours, also consider flying out of your home airport to a more distant Florida city, then renting a car. Check Ft. Myers, West Palm Beach, or even Tampa, Orlando, and Melbourne.

That leaves out of Fort Lauderdale on April 7th. I live in SW Michigan and can not believe the prices for flights out of Chi and Det! Any suggestions on airlines or flights that leave from cities in a 5 hour driving radius like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Columbus. . .?

 

Do I fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale? And how close is the Port?

 

I hope this is in the right section and thanks for any info.

If you fly into Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) the port is about a 5 min cab ride from the airport. If you fly into Miami (MIA) you're about 1/2 hour from the Fort Lauderdale port. If you fly into West Palm Beach (PBI) it's about an hour.

As for the price, as others mentioned you're inside the 14 day window when prices generally skyrocket, AND you're contending with spring break/Easter break pricing.

Have you tried southwest, JetBlue and frontier? Fort Lauderdale is generally less expensive than Miami. Many of the low cost carriers have pulled out of Miami for this reason.

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I live in SW Michigan and can not believe the prices for flights out of Chi and Det!

Check other dates. Air prices can vary drastically based on the number of ships (cruisers) in port on any given day. Sometimes the savings in air fare can pay for any extra day or two.

I booked two tickets out of Columbus on US Air for a total of $660. Really appreciate all the helpful replies. Now we just need to see if our bathing suits still fit. . . It's been a long winter!:)

$660 for two...not bad at all.

Columbus is a great airport. I'm 2 hours north and sometimes there are some awesome deals that take us down there for departure. In the future, I highly recommend checking out CAK. It's a great airport that is about 45 minutes south of Cleveland. They hvae airtran/southwest that has some pretty decent flights into FL.

I booked two tickets out of Columbus on US Air for a total of $660. Really appreciate all the helpful replies. Now we just need to see if our bathing suits still fit. . . It's been a long winter!:)

With a cheap last minute cruise and your good job on finding flights you can afford to go buy a new suit to celebrate!

We fly from the west. We typically check air for MIA, FLL, and PBI. It is not unusual for us to fly into FLL and home from MIA or vice versa.

Don't rule out Ft Myers (RSW) It's a hidden gem. $150 pp rt cheaper than FLL. 2 hour drive to Miami. $50 large SUV rental.

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