Airline Sticker Shock

[Jim Avery]

Lois & I are suffering severe SeaDream withdrawal and have been trying to fit something in this Fall/Winter. Would love to try the Antigua or Barbados itineraries but the flights are horrendous. I know we live in a backward part of the world and have to rely on flights from Podunk National (VPS) or the new, improved Podunk Inter National (ECP) but we are seeing flights that involve 16+ hours flying time (not total travel time) and costing around $1,300 for the "cheap seats". Really makes SD a non event. How nice a Miami sailing would be right around now. We really envy you lucky ones that live near to a major airport and get the good deals. The only Caribbean air gateways that are any where near reasonable for us are SJU, STT, SXM. Will probably end up on which ever we can make flights work for. After all, SeaDream is the destination, not St. Somewhere.:D

[knotheadusc]

My husband and I experienced that sticker shock when we booked our Antigua to Barbados cruise for November. What we ended up doing was trading in some credit card points to get cash off the ticket. We're having to use an airline we don't usually use, take early flights, and sit through layovers in Miami, but our next SeaDream will surely be worth it!

 

Hope you and Lois can find a deal soon, Jim!

[vandrefalk]

Jim, we ended up having to go to jax -- fly from there to Mia and then to Barbados. means 2nigts in Jax, but cheaper than one extra night in Barbados!

 

Have you thought about figuring out some way to get to Miami and then flying to BGI?

VandrefL

[Jim Avery]

Jim, we ended up having to go to jax -- fly from there to Mia and then to Barbados. means 2nigts in Jax, but cheaper than one extra night in Barbados!

 

Have you thought about figuring out some way to get to Miami and then flying to BGI?

VandrefL

 

Hi Karen. Happy 4th! Believe it or not, from either of our option airports, to get to Miami, FL from Destin, FL you have to go to either ATL or IAH!!!:eek: Dont ask me to try to explain the workings of the airline industry. Last time to SXM, it worked as good as it does from here. Had to fly VPS to CLT?!? to SXM. Yep, go North to get South. Might have to drive to ATL to get a decent flight.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Orange County, CA to Barbados is a daunting affair :-( Was all set to work it out to do the 11/13 cruise that picks up Monserrat and the Grenadines. Then Mrs D consulted that dang Iphone and snuffed out my dreams by reminding me we have to dog-sit for the neigbors then, in payment for them taking care of our rabid beast while we were in Europe :(

 

Well, at least I get to visit the other Monserrat in April... No volcanos though :o

 

Happy 4th all! It's rapidly approaching margarita hour(s) here in SoCal:D

[Sheltieluv]

Good morning all

We are having the same airline sticker shock scenario here. Trying to fly from Syracuse to/from St. Thomas, and even San Juan----either the airfare is prohibitive, have to make 2 connections, or it's a "can't get there from here" (easily) situation.

Good grief, getting to Bonaire 15 years ago was easier, I swear!

The price of oil has come down; wish the airline ticket prices would follow suit, but we all know that's not gonna happen.....:(

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend!

[frequent traveler]

We too are in sticker shock -- trying to get 4 of us from GSO or CLT to ST. Thomas on Dec. 22 -Never had to pay $800+ for a flight to STT before! If we were going in Sept would only be 422 as Kayak keeps trying to convince to go at a different time!

 

But I am bound and determined to spend one Christmas on SD - even if I have to work until I'm 80 to pay the bills . . . .

 

FT

[fpebbles]

I haven't been paying very close attention to the flights as I have to wait to make sure that the vacation time works out first.

 

I always use yapta dot com to monitor flights (maybe you all already know and use that site and use it or sites like it--but like SD and a few other things it's something I could sell even tho I don't sell!--and yapta is FREE!).

 

I'm going to enter my flights 'cause you all are scaring me...

[Jim Avery]

fpebbles, thanks for the Yapta tip. Hoping for any reductions in air. Funny, dont seemto mind paying for SD but HATE overpaying for airline/airport "fun".:eek:

[knotheadusc]

That's because flying sucks. The whole process of traveling by air is, at best, an uncomfortable experience, even if you're in first class. SeaDream, on the other hand, is pretty much a guaranteed good time.:p

[kathyanddanny]

pebbles, does Yapta work on all airlines or only american? going to give it a try.

[fpebbles]

Yapta works for most major airlines. And it works in several ways. I use it watch flights before I book and to monitor prices after I've purchased. With the fees it's rarely worth applying for a refund, but it can be--one time (this was an anomaly, but still, it only takes once) it was worth several hundred dollars.

[whatnot]

Just booked our flight to Barbados for our Jan 28 cruise. It was quite expensive. We do have to take a 6:50 am flight to get there, but atleast we get there at 2:55 pm. Not too bad . The problem is trying to get back to Raleigh. There's no way to get off the ship and comfortably make a flight in the morning. Then the next flights leave so late that you can't get home until the next day. So we are using Hilton points and staying over until the next day so we can get a 10:35am flight that goes to Dallas. And then a flight from Dallas to RDU that gets in at 8:50pm. A long day but better than leaving on a 6:30 am flight that makes you spend 7 hours in the Miami airport before getting a flight home, or having to spend the night in the airport before arriving home the next day.

[Jim Avery]

Just booked our flight to Barbados for our Jan 28 cruise. It was quite expensive. We do have to take a 6:50 am flight to get there, but atleast we get there at 2:55 pm. Not too bad . The problem is trying to get back to Raleigh. There's no way to get off the ship and comfortably make a flight in the morning. Then the next flights leave so late that you can't get home until the next day. So we are using Hilton points and staying over until the next day so we can get a 10:35am flight that goes to Dallas. And then a flight from Dallas to RDU that gets in at 8:50pm. A long day but better than leaving on a 6:30 am flight that makes you spend 7 hours in the Miami airport before getting a flight home, or having to spend the night in the airport before arriving home the next day.

 

This is in great part exactly why we have not pulled the trigger on a SD for this fall/winter. Not only are the prices way up, the scheduling from our part of the world almost guarantees a wasted day either going or coming. As a small business guy, every day off is an expense. Don't mind it for SD but hate it for the airlines. That is why I have said before, why not a MIA departure??:D:D

[Jim Avery]

Just booked our flight to Barbados for our Jan 28 cruise. It was quite expensive. We do have to take a 6:50 am flight to get there, but atleast we get there at 2:55 pm. Not too bad . The problem is trying to get back to Raleigh. There's no way to get off the ship and comfortably make a flight in the morning. Then the next flights leave so late that you can't get home until the next day. So we are using Hilton points and staying over until the next day so we can get a 10:35am flight that goes to Dallas. And then a flight from Dallas to RDU that gets in at 8:50pm. A long day but better than leaving on a 6:30 am flight that makes you spend 7 hours in the Miami airport before getting a flight home, or having to spend the night in the airport before arriving home the next day.

 

Now that you have booked and paid for your 1/28 Barbados cruise, I regret to inform you that you will be sailing with the infamous Ganttc and company.:eek::eek::eek: Ok, you will enjoy them. :D

[knotheadusc]

Just booked our flight to Barbados for our Jan 28 cruise. It was quite expensive. We do have to take a 6:50 am flight to get there, but atleast we get there at 2:55 pm. Not too bad . The problem is trying to get back to Raleigh. There's no way to get off the ship and comfortably make a flight in the morning. Then the next flights leave so late that you can't get home until the next day. So we are using Hilton points and staying over until the next day so we can get a 10:35am flight that goes to Dallas. And then a flight from Dallas to RDU that gets in at 8:50pm. A long day but better than leaving on a 6:30 am flight that makes you spend 7 hours in the Miami airport before getting a flight home, or having to spend the night in the airport before arriving home the next day.

 

We have a similar issue coming in and out of RDU. We're flying AA to Antigua and from Barbados for the Nov. 13th cruise. AA keeps changing the times, especially out of Barbados. Originally, we were supposed to leave Barbados at 7:30am, but now it's changed to 6:30am... which means we either get up before the sun to leave or change to the flight that goes to Dallas at 10:30 am and come in later. It's a real pain. I wish SD would leave out of Miami sometime.

[vandrefalk]

Now that you have booked and paid for your 1/28 Barbados cruise, I regret to inform you that you will be sailing with the infamous Ganttc and company.:eek::eek::eek: Ok, you will enjoy them. :D

 

Really?? Well, he and company will have to contend with about 12 other SD addicts (including WhatNot, CDreamer, Fpebbles, et. al) -- Who should be more scared of whom? :D

 

Travel to Barbados is NOT easy. We have to go out of JAX at 6 am, which means going down the day before. One night in Barbados at the Courtyard -- we do have a flight in the afternoon after disembarking, but don't get back into JAX til midnight - thus, another night in JAX, but cheaper than another night in Barbados. Also better than flying all over the country. Boy, do I miss the days of regulated flights and fares! I know, that really dates me!

 

Wouldn't be any easier for us to get to Miami and for southern caribbean, it doesn't make sense to go out of San Juan or any place fairly easy to get to. Oh, well, just the price we must pay to indulge our addiction! :)

 

Vandrefalk

[Jim Avery]

SD have done (rarely) a Miami or Palm Beach departure. Would love to see a few more. Does it really matter if the beach/bar is in the Bahamas instead of the BVI?:D A summer cruise up the East coast with a pop over to Bermuda would do the trick too. Heck, Leave MIA, steam in circles for 7 days, and go back to MIA. :eek::D

[CDreamer]

Just got a call from my brother, who is also booked on the same Jan '12 Barbados cruise as us and several of the other CCers above.....

 

Without any warning from the airline, our flight home was changed from a respectable 10:30am departure time to very early in the morning, making it impossible for us to catch. So now we too are delayed home by a day.:mad:

 

Whatnot, looks like we'll not only be toasting each other on SD but also on the first leg of our flight home that next day! :rolleyes:

[vandrefalk]

WHAT -- you're going to party without me?????

Vandrefalk

[whatnot]

Well, Vandrefalk, you could change your flight and stay over with the rest of us!

 

And CDreamer, you scared me to death, so I immediatly checked my reservations to see if they were still OK and they were. So you must be taking the 10:35 flight on Tuesday to Dallas that we are taking. So sorry that happened, but it just seems to be another in the saga of you can't easily get home from Barbados. I thought it was just those of us on the east coast with bad connections but obviously they aren't much better for the west coast.

[CDreamer]

whatnot, you are SO right - CHECK YOUR FLIGHTS!! :eek:

 

Our r/t flights were all set and we were happy with them but then - again, without any notification - they suddenly switched our departure time to 6:30 (or so) AM.

 

This left us with two choices for that same day: either connect through JFK with a late night/early morning arrival time then long drive home (we didn't like this option), or take another flight out with several connections (no thanks).

 

So, for us, it just made more sense to stay overnight and wait the extra day for decent departure/arrival times with just the one stop in Dallas.

 

And Vandrefalk, whatnot DID offer a very good solution - you and Mr. Vandrefalk could stick around and indulge with the rest of us. ;)