Airfare

[mworkman]

For those of you that have cruises on the books, Do you find yourself a little hesitant booking airfare right now?  I now have reservations on booking future air trans. Our current situation is that we now have 4 e-certs due to the cancellation of airfare from our cruise to Alaska (2), work (1) and land vacation (1).

I have noticed that airfare has increased, as i expected it would.  

What are your current plans for purchasing future airfare tickets? 

[codyh21]

I had airfare booked to go to home and see family, to Florida for visits twice, and to Miami for a cruise all in the next two months.  I have a crazy amount of airline credit and miles banked but thankfully many are allowing you to hold onto them for an extended period.  We unfortunately aren't cruising until next year but I've been taking a look at airfare and it hasn't been too bad (we typically fly from Denver).  For those seeing higher airfare, hopefully airlines will lower prices to get people flying again (much like we're hoping with cruise fare).

I do have to fly a little this summer for work, and from a health/safety standpoint I'm not concerned.  With so few people on flights, there's plenty of "free space" onboard coupled with the airlines are like most other industries getting very good at cleaning their spaces.  

[MaryS]

I still haven't booked my airfare for my August 22, 2020 cruise out of Venice.  Not sure if the cruise will happen so i'm just going to wait.  I'm still checking United out of Newark NJ and the prices have gone up a little over the last few months.

[SpeedNoodles]

I'll be booking my airfare for the Brilliance Group Cruise in a couple of days. Jet Blue is allowing free cancellation/rescheduling of any flights booked through April 30th for travel through November, so I figured I'm pretty safe (otherwise I'd wait, since I suspect this one will get canceled, too).

[steverk]

I booked my airfare for a Celebrity cruise just before everything went crazy.  I'm very pleased.  I got a great price, 2 checked bags, and it is refundable up until 90 prior to departure. (In fact, payment isn't even required until 90 days in advance).

If you got a cruise coming up, I'd suggest calling the air 2 sea people and see what happens.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I booked Air2 Sea air for my upcoming Symphony in August.  I rarely do that for domestic flights but I did it for 2 reasons:

1.  We are flying in on cruise day.  This is, of course, a big no-no, but since it’s a Saturday departure, we didn’t want to waste a day of leave to travel down on a Friday, so we booked same day air.  There is an added bit of protection, booking through A2S.

2.  I am not particularly confident that we will be cruising by August.  Booking through A2S will make it a 1 stop operation to get air and cruise refunds if this cruise is cancelled.

Prices weren’t great but not terrible. We paid an extra $10 PP for booking A2S which wasn’t a show-stopper for me.  I knew ahead of time what the fare should be and they were dead on.  It’s worth $20 for the convenience and peace of mind.

[Andrew72681]

Being based in the DC area and having tons of access to southwest flights I don’t worry about booking them at all. Even before this there’s no change fees and if things come down in price I can reprice them. 

[Matt]

18 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I'll be booking my airfare for the Brilliance Group Cruise in a couple of days.

I need to do that too

[AshleyDillo]

On 4/19/2020 at 7:56 AM, mworkman said:

Do you find yourself a little hesitant booking airfare right now?

Not just for cruises, but for all trips that I had potentially planned.   I still have flight credit from Hurricane Dorian last year that I need to use up and then a flight credit from self-canceling a trip to NY in March. 

It's really hard to hold off on booking with flights being so darn cheap right now, but I don't really want to have the existence of credits force my hand in the future of booking a particular airline just because I have to use the credit up.  I guess in a sense I'll pay a higher premium for the flexibility in the long run.  

[Lovetocruise2002]

On 4/19/2020 at 7:56 AM, mworkman said:

Do you find yourself a little hesitant booking airfare right now?

Yes!  Prices for airfare for Odyssey Inaugural are good right now.  Normally, I would be tracking and buying but now I am hesitant?  Delta has relaxed their policy but it only extends until September 1st at the moment.  I already have airfare purchased for both summer cruises so it makes me nervous to juggle another change if I end up having the change airfare on those two.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Yes!  Prices for airfare for Odyssey Inaugural are good right now.  Normally, I would be tracking and buying but now I am hesitant?  Delta has relaxed their policy but it only extends until September 1st at the moment.  I already have airfare purchased for both summer cruises so it makes me nervous to juggle another change if I end up having the change airfare on those two.

Have you considered booking through A2S ?

[monctonguy]

I have my airfare booked for my Nov Odyssey cruise back home as I was able to switch my flights with United from the April cancellation. But I dont have the flight down booked yet....it was down to $107, but now its over $150...not sure if it will keep climbing and then in the back of my mind I am worried about if the Nov cruise is cancelled or delayed and I have to re-book again or sit on credits again...tough call right now..

[Lovetocruise2002]

23 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Have you considered booking through A2S ?

Never really thought about it.  Is airfare through A2S completely refundable for whatever reason?

[WAAAYTOOO]

6 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Never really thought about it.  Is airfare through A2S completely refundable for whatever reason?

As far as I know, if Royal cancels the cruise, A2S is completely refundable.  Not sure about any other circumstances.

[klc317]

We couldn't get a complete refund on our airfare for our cancelled Apr. 4th cruise.   They airline was not very accommodating until both our flights were cancelled anyway as well.  Now we have up to 6 months credit to rebook something and use clear until the end of 2021.     Not sure what and when we will be able to travel again but I'm sure we will have a better idea in 6 months.  Just going to let things ride for awhile.

[TXcruzer]

12 minutes ago, klc317 said:

We couldn't get a complete refund on our airfare for our cancelled Apr. 4th cruise.   They airline was not very accommodating until both our flights were cancelled anyway as well.  Now we have up to 6 months credit to rebook something and use clear until the end of 2021.     Not sure what and when we will be able to travel again but I'm sure we will have a better idea in 6 months.  Just going to let things ride for awhile.

If your flights were cancelled you should have been given the option of a full cash refund

[DDemuth]

4 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Never really thought about it.  Is airfare through A2S completely refundable for whatever reason?

 

When we booked transatlantic flights, there were options for refundable and non-refundable fares.  My understanding is that RCI will refund a refundable fare upon cancellation but will send you to the appropriate airline for non-refundable fares.  In the latter case, it is the airline policy prevails.  That is how it was explained to us; don't know how widely applicable that will be to A2S fares in general.

When we recently cancelled our summer Mediterranean cruise, the RCI agent looked up our A2S fares and included them in the refunded amount (cancellation occurred before final payment date).

[WAAAYTOOO]

Since I do not know the answer, either...I am going to ask the expert.

@AnnetteJackson, if you book non-refundable air fare through A2S and Royal cancels your cruise, what is the process for getting airfare refunded ?

Thanks !!

[AnnetteJackson]

If refundable air - Royal will issue FCC 

If nonrefdunable you will need to work with the airlines directly

I can say that this one tends to depend on who you get.  We have had clients get FCC for both types of airfare.

Good luck on this one as its a little all over the place.

[mworkman]

Found this for airfare and hotel if you purchased it via RCL:

 

[teddy]

We passed up the cheapest flights I have seen for our cruise this coming November.  They keep dropping

We have every intention of going on our cruise, however my wife thinks we'll see lower fares once summer arrives.  While I enjoy winning bets with my wife, I hope I lose this one.   

[Kathleen]

We have airfare booked on Delta for a September cruise to the Greek Islands. Just this week Delta has now extended their “no change fees” policy on tickets where travel would be through September 30, 2020. They are giving you through September 2022 to reschedule your travel . This provided me with a good bit of comfort knowing if we opted out of cruise our airfare would be able to be used on future travel without loosing the exhorbitant change fees, especially for international travel! I had read that United and American had lengthened theirs and I am now happy to see Delta has done the same.

[DunkelBierJay]

I subscribe to a few airfare alert services and know the approximate price I want to hit, and will book when I see it. I set it for airports near the cruise destination as well. For example, for a Baltic cruise next year from Copenhagen, I am looking at CPH, Amsterdam + train or EasyJet, Hamburg + train or Easy Jet...that kind of thing.

[CurtisM]

Not at all, now is the time to buy. I booked my airfare for September last week and got a killer price flying out of my regional airport (10 minutes from house) to Miami for $200 per person.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I thought I would check and see if I made a mistake by already purchasing my RT airfare for the October 2020 group cruise on Brilliance.

I purchased RT First Class DCA-BOS-DCA (10/18 Oct) on Feb 6 for $807.60.

I did a mock booking for the same exact itinerary a while ago and the total was $896.40 so it's actually more expensive now than it was back when I booked it in early Feb.  I'm sure there are deals going on somewhere, but they never seem to find me !!  Now I'm glad I booked when I did.  Now, let's just hope that the ship sails !!

[WannaCruise]

Our March Break flights are getting released now.  ("To" flights are open for some airlines.  "Return" flights are almost there).  Normally we jump on the flights right away as the price only increases from the release day.  I've been checking daily and even yesterday there was a Delta flight for $331 (one way) and today it is $514.  But we are holding off.  Guess we will have WestJet credit if we cancel our August cruise so we can put that towards the March flight.  I was very tempted to purchase the one way Delta, and then put any credit towards the return. ...but we are hesitating and holding off. It's definitely a chance....if we buy now, we would save in the end if all is good in March.  But if cruises are still not started up in March, then we lose flight money (which we may or may not be able to put to use for another flight).

For our Dec cruise, we are holding off.  Not sure if this cruise will go ahead, and in theory, we could drive to NY if we had to.

[Lovetocruise2002]

5 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

Our March Break flights are getting released now.  ("To" flights are open for some airlines.  "Return" flights are almost there).  Normally we jump on the flights right away as the price only increases from the release day.

Same...I did not buy yet either...

[WAAAYTOOO]

46 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Same...I did not buy yet either...

Me 3.  I looked, but the dates weren’t yet available. 

[teddy]

On 4/22/2020 at 10:06 AM, teddy said:

We passed up the cheapest flights I have seen for our cruise this coming November.  They keep dropping

We have every intention of going on our cruise, however my wife thinks we'll see lower fares once summer arrives.  While I enjoy winning bets with my wife, I hope I lose this one.   

Never mind.  I booked our flights.  $234 total for two people round trip from Maine to anywhere is awesome.   The cheapest we have ever flown out of Portland, Maine in the past was for over $500.  

My wife did tell me she reserves the right to tell me "I told you so" if fares drop.

I was able to add the flights to our existing trip insurance policy with no additional cost.

Said screw it and booked a room for the night before the cruise too.
 

[CJS2766]

I am in the same situation. My  cruise is in November and really wondering? Is it going to happen?? Normally, I would have my flights planned by now as I like to do things early. Honestly? I see flights from D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale still way expensive! Wondering if and when prices will go down if at all??

[SpeedNoodles]

9 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I purchased RT First Class DCA-BOS-DCA (10/18 Oct) on Feb 6 for $807.60.

 

Ok, it sucks living in MN.  Delta main cabin is $956 from MSP-BOS-MSP  - first class would be $1950 - ha.  I paid about $750 for Jet Blue.

[mworkman]

For us to fly to MIA and back home..we’re looking at $845, normally it’s been around $500.

[Ogilthorpe]

Currently, airfares most places are down at least 50% for most domestic destinations from our airport (ELM) ... Delta First Class to MIA : $450 +/- ... almost makes me want to book air THEN find a cruise!

[Chadster]

This why I'm really hoping they'll be able to be cruising from Cape Liberty; the fare from DC to Newark has held steady around $150 roundtrip or so. I'll venture to ports farther south and west when airfares and cruise fares together give me a similar value. For now, I'll just enjoy the extra sea days that come from sailing from up this way.

[USCG Teacher]

2 hours ago, Chadster said:

This why I'm really hoping they'll be able to be cruising from Cape Liberty; the fare from DC to Newark has held steady around $150 roundtrip or so. I'll venture to ports farther south and west when airfares and cruise fares together give me a similar value. For now, I'll just enjoy the extra sea days that come from sailing from up this way.

My $0.02 here, if you're thinking of flying DC to Newark, have you considered Amtrak?  I've made that trip (and New York Penn - D.C.) plenty of times, and it's a really easy and relaxing 3 hour trip. Hourly departures, no security, plenty of leg room, and fares usually around that $150 roundtrip price on a bad day.  Don't mean to sound like an Amtrak salesperson here, just throwing another option at you if you're planning that trip!

[Chadster]

10 hours ago, USCG Teacher said:

My $0.02 here, if you're thinking of flying DC to Newark, have you considered Amtrak?  I've made that trip (and New York Penn - D.C.) plenty of times, and it's a really easy and relaxing 3 hour trip. Hourly departures, no security, plenty of leg room, and fares usually around that $150 roundtrip price on a bad day.  Don't mean to sound like an Amtrak salesperson here, just throwing another option at you if you're planning that trip!

Oh, yeah, Amtrak is certainly on the table, too. We're connected to DC via commuter train, so that's a really nice option, too. Hop off at Union Station, walk a little bit, and oh, look -- I'm in line for my train!  And on the weekends, I can grab a shuttle and get the train in Baltimore. Honestly, with all the cost-cutting the airlines have done in recent years and all the extra fees and whatnot, Amtrak is an attractive choice.

One of these days for a trip besides cruising () I'd like to take Amtrak across the country, and maybe connect up into Canada.

For purposes of this thread, I was just saying that airfare differences between the northern ports and the southern/western ports makes taking the ships up this way much more attractive!

[USCG Teacher]

17 minutes ago, Chadster said:

For purposes of this thread, I was just saying that airfare differences between the northern ports and the southern/western ports makes taking the ships up this way much more attractive!

Understood and agreed!   

[CJS2766]

So far, the cheapest I have seen from D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale is about $325 per person round trip. This would be in first week in November. Does that seem high? I'm thinking so, but wanted to get other members replies.

 

Thanks!

[teddy]

29 minutes ago, CJS2766 said:

So far, the cheapest I have seen from D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale is about $325 per person round trip. This would be in first week in November. Does that seem high? I'm thinking so, but wanted to get other members replies.

 

Thanks!

booked this yesterday. 
 

Portland, Maine to Miami. November 8-13. 
 

$234 total round trip for two people. ($117 each)
 

American Airlines basic economy. One stop in Philly each way. 

[Quilter620]

We just booked yesterday for March 2021. We got non-stop round trip ticks from Indianapolis to Miami for $400 with trip protection. Last year we waited until 6 months out and ended up paying even more.