Linda216 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 Just curious, but those of you that have been cruising for awhile may be able to answer this.... I booked my Feb 2020 cruise before flights were available. Now they are available and the cruise price definitely has gone up. Do cruise lines base prices on the fact people will likely wait until flight options are open before they book? I’m glad I went ahead and booked, but I’m kinda stuck with high flight costs that I have to choose from. At least I got the cruise cheap first! (If I would’ve been ‘responsible’ and waited I may not have booked at all. Cruise is more and flights are high) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick M Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 No, as far as I can tell cruise lines do not take flights into account when pricing their cruise. However, the longer you wait to book a cruise the more the price goes up. Generally, the cheapest time to book a cruise is when it is announced. The more rooms are booked, the more you pay for what is left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 Cruise pricing almost always goes UP in price the closer it gets to the date with Royal. For those of us who have to fly and the flights often cost more than the cruise, it is quite the dilemma which to book first and what to wait for to try and make it the best deal possible. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 We do the following in this order: Book a cruise as refundable Book our flights when we see a price we like (or think that airline will only go up) If non-refundable cost is cheaper than our booked refundable cruise, switch to non-refundable I can say that I've noticed a large jump in prices the past week or two. Not sure if it's a result of Kids Sale Free where they have raised prices across the board (as our cruises are too far away to be considered....plus they would be excluded anyways based on the school holiday times) or if cruises have had a general price increase overall. I'm sure the amplifications are rising prices as they have to pay for the renovations somehow. Some examples For our Mariner Aug 2020 cruise, we booked it last Dec , and current price for our stateroom is $600 more than we booked at. For our Harmony Mar 2021 cruise, booked on opening week last Dec, and current price for our stateroom is $420 than we booked at. Since these are so far away, have been monitoring for price drops but it's gone up so much that it's very unlikely. At least are booked at a good price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 Cruise pricing follows supply and demand. If a particular sailing is in demand, prices go up. Early birds often score best pricing. Plus they get best choice of cabins. tiny260 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 The only place where I think Royal MAY take airline prices into account is San Juan. It seems that oftentimes the cruise fares from San Juan tend to be just a bit lower than they would be from a CONUS port b/c they realize that mainlanders have to pay significant $$ for airfare to get there. I may be just imagining it....but it seems that maybe they do consider airfare for that home port. I think WannaCruise has a very sound process. It requires that you have some flexibility and if you find either a cruise fare or an airfare that you aren't comfortable with, then you have to be prepared to pitch it all and start over....but if you are willing to do that, then I think this process makes a lot of sense. I had a holiday cruise booked from San Juan a couple of years ago (the cruise fare prices were GREAT for a holiday sailing) but when we saw the prices they wanted for airfare to get there, we had to cancel and start over with a new plan. Sometimes it just happens like that. WannaCruise and tiny260 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, twangster said: Early birds often score best pricing. Plus they get best choice of cabins. I book early for these 2 reasons, and the price almost always goes up, recently I did score some OBC by re-pricing but that was it. I'm usually booking 2 years in advance. Airfare I start watching as soon as the pricing comes out (330 days for domestic) and try and buy 90-120 days out from the cruise. Recently I was watching airfare for an October cruise out of Port Canaveral (Orlando, MCO) and the pricing had been holding study, but I had to book some business travel also going to MCO and I noticed the price inching up so I decided to go ahead and book the airfare for my October cruise. I checked the price again the next week and the tickets had gone up approximately 25% in 5 days so I'm glad I booked. My dates in October will be Fall break for a lot of school systems, so even though Royal doesn't necessarily crowd source pricing by dates, they do limit KSF because they know when most schools will take breaks, but as @twangster says, they can tell when a sailing is filling up and becoming popular so they do follow a supply and demand philosophy. I do believe that air carriers crowd source by dates when they know a lot of people are going to be traveling. If you don't believe me price tickets sometime for around Thanks Giving and Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jce2 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 I book virtually everything at the earliest opportunity. Booked my April 28th cruise last January and the price has steadily climbed ever since. Booked my Galveston Hotel last June and it has doubled in price since!! Booked my Southwest air fare as soon as the dates opened and the price has pretty much held steady ever since. For my Alaska 2020 trip I have good reason to believe I was the very first person to book a room (the RC operator wasnt even aware they were on sale yet!). Will book my anchorage hotel as soon as it opens (July 2019) and likewise will book air as soon as it opens (August?). I have read the 120 days rule but have never noticed it really make a difference...certainly dnt wait until AFTER the 120 mark to book but booking earlier seems to be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 @tiny260 I’m finally within my 330 day window and flights are super high. Do you find the 80-120 days can truly be a sweet spot for prices? I heard that on the podcast too and I’m hopeful maybe flights might soften a bit. . It IS over Presidents’ Day week so.....but we can be flexible w days. tiny260 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 With the exception of the Orlando flight I just mentioned, yes, 80-120 days seem like a good sweet spot for domestic flights, International is different. If you are flexible on you departure and possible return dates that will help. There are a couple of APP's that I use, one is Skyscanner, they will track pricing and send you notifications if the tickets go up or down, also Hopper, they will track pricing and also provide analytics if they think the price is trending down or trending up. There are other, like Google flights that allow you to move the slider around and look at a calendar view, this is a great view and baseline if you are flexible. @Andrew72681 and @twangster might have other tools, they fly a lot more than my 8-10 trips a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 @tiny260 thanks for the app recommendations. That should have been part of my question! I have been looking at the flights on google calendar daily but an app with alerts on my parameters would be nice. Any other tips on scoring a decent price on flights is greatly appreciated! Love this blog community. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGSLC5 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 5 minutes ago, Linda216 said: @tiny260 thanks for the app recommendations. That should have been part of my question! I have been looking at the flights on google calendar daily but an app with alerts on my parameters would be nice. Any other tips on scoring a decent price on flights is greatly appreciated! Love this blog community. Ahh now I know why your flight is so expensive.. I assume your cruise is out of South Florida.. During presidents week here in South Florida we get a TON of people from New York and New Jersey visiting us that week and the flights are always so high. Also hotel rates for that week are crazy. If I were you I would look into hotel rates now and see if you could find a deal. I always find that week of Feb is crazy down here. Sorry for the bad news and I wish I had some tips for you but I really don't. I have friends who live in NY who are teachers and always want to come that week but the flights are always so high they don't come but maybe Spirit will have some deals? keep checking as it gets closer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 @AGSLC5 yeah we tend to visit my in laws during feb break every year and had some delta cash we could use the last two years. This feb we drove and it really stunk! (From Michigan). So I’m hoping we don’t have to do that again. But it’s an option. (It cost us $500 to drive total). Regarding hotels...we’re lucky and can dodge that bullet at least. Staying with in laws for a few days before and after the cruise. So at least there’s that. AGSLC5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Linda216 said: @tiny260 I’m finally within my 330 day window and flights are super high. Do you find the 80-120 days can truly be a sweet spot for prices? I heard that on the podcast too and I’m hopeful maybe flights might soften a bit. . It IS over Presidents’ Day week so.....but we can be flexible w days. I find 45-90 days out to be the sweet spot for most of the legacy airlines. I use Google flights to track flights and monitor prices. Southwest typically has the lowest prices early on in the booking window, but at least with them you can cancel and rebook to take advantage of the lower prices without any change fees. tiny260 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 I'm cruising out of Florida that week, too. It's just too early for me to think about airfare. It seems to be best within 120 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew72681 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 3 hours ago, tiny260 said: With the exception of the Orlando flight I just mentioned, yes, 80-120 days seem like a good sweet spot for domestic flights, International is different. If you are flexible on you departure and possible return dates that will help. There are a couple of APP's that I use, one is Skyscanner, they will track pricing and send you notifications if the tickets go up or down, also Hopper, they will track pricing and also provide analytics if they think the price is trending down or trending up. There are other, like Google flights that allow you to move the slider around and look at a calendar view, this is a great view and baseline if you are flexible. @Andrew72681 and @twangster might have other tools, they fly a lot more than my 8-10 trips a year. One thing to keep in mind if booking flights for a cruise, if you can book with southwest you’re covered if the price goes down. You can rebook the flight and get the difference back in travel funds to be used for your next trip. tiny260 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 I'd love to try Southwest, but I can't cope with not being able to reserve my seat(s) when I book. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 1 minute ago, SpeedNoodles said: I'd love to try Southwest, but I can't cope with not being able to reserve my seat(s) when I book. +1. That and having to change planes. Barely any non-stop SW flights from DTW. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 55 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: +1. That and having to change planes. Barely any non-stop SW flights from DTW. Same here. DTW so SW sounds awesome but not practical for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 15 minutes ago, Linda216 said: Same here. DTW so SW sounds awesome but not practical for us. The only place SW is good for from DTW is Chicago. Useless for cruising though. We usually fly Delta for vacations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 @Lovetocruise2002 yeah Delta is where it’s at for Detroit travelers. Right now I could get a flight for $226 but it would make the kids miss some school days and we’d have a lay over in Dallas on the way home. (American Airlines). So I’ll hold out but Feb 2020 is pricey thus far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose City Cruiser Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 21 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: The only place SW is good for from DTW is Chicago. Useless for cruising though. We usually fly Delta for vacations We used JetBlue and Delta as our airlines for cruising. But now JetBlue no longer has direct flights to FLL/MIA from DTW. So I will now stick to Delta. They have been great to us. Very accommodating when we used them for our destination wedding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betatke1480 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 26 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: The only place SW is good for from DTW is Chicago. Useless for cruising though. We usually fly Delta for vacations. One upside to living in the midwest, and very near STL, is that SWA flights are plentiful and inexpensive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 25 minutes ago, Linda216 said: So I’ll hold out but Feb 2020 is pricey thus far! Warning...if you read the beginning of my latest blog (from March) I made the mistake of following the 90 day rule for March travel. I tracked prices as soon as they were released and they completely sky rocketed after. When we ended up booking, around 90 days out, they were lower but never as low as first release. I continued to track it afterwards and it never went down. I will be booking March 2020 airfare as soon as it gets released this time around. 10 minutes ago, Rose City Cruiser said: We used JetBlue and Delta as our airlines for cruising. But now JetBlue no longer has direct flights to FLL/MIA from DTW. So I will now stick to Delta. They have been great to us. Very accommodating when we used them for our destination wedding. I have friends who always fly jet blue or frontier but I hate their times. I am not one for early morning or red eye flights. 9 minutes ago, betatke1480 said: One upside to living in the midwest, and very near STL, is that SWA flights are plentiful and inexpensive... Sure, rub it in again. I might have to avoid you for 9 days in July. betatke1480 and tiny260 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 45 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Warning...if you read the beginning of my latest blog (from March) I made the mistake of following the 90 day rule for March travel. I tracked prices as soon as they were released and they completely sky rocketed after. When we ended up booking, around 90 days out, they were lower but never as low as first release. I continued to track it afterwards and it never went down. I will be booking March 2020 airfare as soon as it gets released this time around. I have friends who always fly jet blue or frontier but I hate their times. I am not one for early morning or red eye flights. Sure, rub it in again. I might have to avoid you for 9 days in July. Ugh really? Feb dates are like $600 though!! It’s gotta go down, right? Well worst comes to worst we can drive. But honestly we just drove last month and it stunk and is exactly WHY we decided to cruise for the first time! We needed something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 4, 2019 Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 29 minutes ago, Linda216 said: Ugh really? Feb dates are like $600 though!! It’s gotta go down, right? Well worst comes to worst we can drive. But honestly we just drove last month and it stunk and is exactly WHY we decided to cruise for the first time! We needed something different. I can only speak from my one time experience flying to Florida during March. We usually cruise in the summer and so we were newbies at spring break cruising. Anyway, at release, 11 months out, it was about $580pp RT. I thought for sure it would go down as we usually pay about $300-$350pp from DTW to either FLL or MCO or MIA. The price quickly jumped into the $600, then $700, then $800 range. The type A in me was starting to freak out. At 90 days, it went back down to $628pp. I grabbed it then, still stunned that I was paying double what I normally pay. I watched it after and it never went below that amount. It just went back up. I will be grabbing my flights for next March shortly lol. Lesson learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted April 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 @Lovetocruise2002 good info. Thanks!! If we drove it would only be $500 total. But geez it was bad. Ice storms, flooding, high winds, multiple accidents..... Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 4, 2019 Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 My airline (Sun Country) doesn't even release flights much farther than 4-6 months ahead of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 4, 2019 Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 30 minutes ago, Linda216 said: @Lovetocruise2002 good info. Thanks!! If we drove it would only be $500 total. But geez it was bad. Ice storms, flooding, high winds, multiple accidents..... Yes, driving for us would be way too stressful and not worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlohaLivin Posted April 4, 2019 Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 6 hours ago, AshleyDillo said: I find 45-90 days out to be the sweet spot for most of the legacy airlines. I use Google flights to track flights and monitor prices. Southwest typically has the lowest prices early on in the booking window, but at least with them you can cancel and rebook to take advantage of the lower prices without any change fees. Apparently the research shows 54 days is on average the lowest price so right there in your range. Of course destination and time of year matter (we got the Delta One seats on the non-stop to Honolulu nearly a year out). Luckily Atl has a lots of flights each day into every Fl location. But I can rarely wait that long since we like that 11-1pm Atl to Florida and those seats tend to get booked (we try to use our miles to upgrade to 1st class for the 2 free bags each with a max of 70 lb ). I never claimed that I am a minimalist packer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted May 30, 2019 Report Share Posted May 30, 2019 Booked my Southwest fare for December 2019. It is opened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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