Maddy

We've decided on Cozumel for the first time- Memorial Day week - and are trying to decide whether to book airfare now or wait for better prices. Right now tickets on Continental out of Newark are ~ $750 which seems expensive to me. We can also leave out of JFK or LGA if prices are better but right now I don't find anything from NYC much cheaper. <BR><BR>Is it likely I'll see a sale to Cozumel from Newark/NY for May? I'm not familiar with how pricing works for this market but I can't recall seeing Cozumel listed as a destination when I've looked at the airlines sale ads. Is $750 a decent fare? If not, any alternatives you can suggest would be appreciated. Thanks for your help. <BR>

Nancy

Maddy,<BR>You have a couple of options.<BR>You are right - $750 is waaay too high.<BR>You need to wait.<BR>We go to Cozumel every year in May from RDU.<BR>What I do is to keep checking airfares to Cancun on AA or Delta, and when it gets down to $300 to $350 I book it.<BR>(If you can get a flight to Cozumel for less than $400., book it <BR>I then book my flight to Cozumel from Cancun separately on Aerocaribe/Aeromexico/Mexicana.<BR>(It's a 20 min. flight that runs $50. to $100. pp rt and runs multiple times daily.)<BR>In 2002, we flew for $330 pp. total.<BR>May is low season, and you might have to wait a little while to get your price, but it WILL finally go way down.<BR>You can also try one of the auction sites, but I'm not a fan of those because most don't let you choose your flight times.<BR>Just keep watching, and the prices will go down.<BR>Have fun!

Maddy

Nancy thanks very much for your help. I thought $750 sounded high but I know in certain non-competitive markets prices sometimes are out of whack. I will definitely wait and keep an eye out for the sales to Cancun that you mentioned. <BR><BR>One additional question ….is it worth looking into one of the charter operators? I'm hesitant as I've read some horror stories about Apple and others. I also don't want an all-inclusive package type deal as I already have the Inter-Continental in mind for hotel. Any thoughts on whether doing air only on a charter is an option worth considering?<BR>

Nancy

You have definitely picked the right hotel 2003 will make our tenth year of staying there. You'll love it.<BR>If you have access to a charter and the price is right, I'd probably go with it.<BR>The risk you run with charters is that if something goes wrong with the plane, or if there are scheduling/weather issues, they don't have other aircraft to put you on or cooperation with the other airlines to get you on another plane.<BR>We have flown charters a couple of times to the Bahamas and never had any problems, but it's a risk you run.<BR>From what I understand, the surprise most people get with Apple and the like are hotels not up to expectation.<BR>You wouldn't have to worry about that with the IC - it's a great place!

Linda

Book the air as part of a package and you will get better air rates and you'll also get the hotel you want.

Maddy

Nancy I'm glad to hear that we've chosen wisely on the hotel. Any particular type of room/location I should request or try to avoid? <BR><BR>I have exactly the concern you mentioned regarding the charter. I don't want to lose days out of a week vacation because of a problem with an airplane. <BR><BR>I did check into Continental's vacation package but the price didn't change much compared to booking the components myself. I think I'll just wait out the sales for the time being...

Nancy

Maddy,<BR>There are 3 main sections to the hotel - the tower (it's about 5 stories) and 2 two story low rise sections.<BR>One lowrise section has the Reef Rooms (the best rooms that are huge and just steps from the beach), and the other wing has the deluxe beachfront - 1st floor - and deluxe oceanview - 2nd floor - rooms. The tower has the oceanview rooms. On the back side of the reef rooms and the bottom of the tower are the garden view rooms.<BR>The reef rooms are the most expensive, then the dlx ocean front, then the deluxe ocean view, then the oceanview, then the garden.<BR>We have stayed in all the room categories, and the best are the reef rooms, but they are very pricey. ($300 to $500 per night.)<BR>Just about all of the rooms but the garden view have a very good ocean view.<BR>If you find you are in the tower, request an upper room for a better view. <BR>Since it is off-season, you may get an upgrade, or you can check the website.<BR>Sometimes they have special offers like getting an automatic upgrade or getting their delicious breakfast buffet ($20+ pp) free for two every day, or double miles, etc.<BR>It is a wonderful place, and they go so far to make you feel right at home.<BR>You will love the hotel and its warm staff. <BR>We may be there at the same time - we will not book until fares come down.<BR>Have a great time...

GM

We've found that calling Continental and Delta direct instead of just relying on the Net can brings some great bargains - even better than the Net most of the time.<BR><BR>Sometimes their Cool Vacations or Delta Vacations offer even better rates than doing air / land deals separately.<BR><BR>Hope this helps - you'll love Cozumel.

Maddy

Nancy, thanks for the very helpful hotel details. The reef rooms sound wonderful but are more than we'd want to spend. I'll definitely at least request an oceanview on a higher floor though. <BR><BR>I'm considering joining IC's Six Continents club - it's a little pricey to join - I think $150 - but you get a free weekend night and upgrades which essentially offsets the cost of membership. <BR> <BR>American had an ad in the paper today touting sale fares to Cancun from the NY area but the prices were still pretty high. GGM I will take your advice and try calling the airlines directly periodically to check prices also. You are right as I know from past experience that sometimes Continental's website is screwy and doesn't pull up all the flights that are available. <BR><BR>I'm so glad to hear all the positive feedback on Cozumel…now the hard part will be waiting to book airfare so it will really feel like we're going and I can start planning restaurants, side trips etc. <BR>