How to co-ordinate last minute cruise with last minute flight
 

We (husband and myself) are intrigued with some of the last minute cruise offerings. (Actually, this would be for next year but I enjoy the research, so we can be ready to jump on something.) Have been looking at Vacations to Go but I think there are other vendors as well. The problem is that last minute flights would need to be arranged, too. Last minute flights are expensive. Using the savings from the last minute cruise on an expensive airfare doesn't make sense. I'm trying to picture how all this is co-ordinated. How do you handle this?Thanks very much for any and all suggestions, experiences, etc.

Well, it sure helps if you can find a cruise that you can drive to the port rather than fly.

The one time that I booked "last minute" (which was really about 3 weeks in advance, but I consider that to be last minute) --- we called and put the cruise on hold for 24 hours so that I could make sure I could get reasonably cheap airfare booked before I committed to the cruise.

Really, if you can't drive to the port, your options are pretty limited in getting cheap enough airfare to justify the reduced rate of the cruise.

Please be careful when looking at cheap cruise fares. There are times you may see a fare of $250 but not until you book do you find out that there will be port charges and government fees, etc. of another $250.

I personally think that I can do better by researching THE cruise I want, finding the best prices for it (one place to price shop is www.cruisecompete.com ) and then booking airfare well in advance.

I won't cruise without a balcony, and oftentimes the last minute cheaper fares are inside cabins only.

That's my two cents. I highly recommend educating yourself on all things cruising at www.cruisecritic.com - read the message boards there and ask questions.

Thanks, swaymock. I've looked a bit at cruisecritic. I find that site confusing and poorly organized but I guess it's the place with the most information so I'll continue to do research there. I'll check out cruisecompete, too. At this point, an inside cabin is OK with us. A priority for me, a light sleeper, is a quiet location on the ship. And I'll be sure to add to the quoted bargain price to allow for taxes, etc. We'll probably end up doing what you did: try to hold the reservation while we see if we can get a decent airfare. Again, thanks for your ideas and experience.

You don't mention where you're from - but I know that where I live, looking for less expensive flights isn't as easy as going on Travelocity (which is where I start). Some airlines aren't on there. I've found that if you have about a week, you can usually find something that's not too bad - but I live near DC, so it might just be supply and demand.... PLUS, always look at alternate airports (ie, if you're taking a cruise out of FLL, look at all the other Florida airports - not a bad drive at all from any of them). Also, if you live near multiple cities (I used to live in CT, I would check flights from Hartford, New Haven, Boston and NY), check that as well.... I once drove 2 hours to save $450 per flight out of Boston... Good luck!

Thanks, Debi, for the alternate airport idea. I'll keep that in mind while doing my research.

I frequently pick up these cheap cruise deals. I drive to NYC, but also will block out a couple weeks of time, round trip advance flights booked to Seattle and then wait for the cheap cruise, it always comes up through begining of June- for the last several years. :)

Budgetqueen: you are saying you book air first and trust that there will be some last minute cabins available? One would really need to research this, to pick cities and dates with the most options. Not sure if we have the guts to do this. Interesting idea.

We new a couple that would fly to a major port city and on the day of departure for the various ships would literally walk from ship to ship trying to strike a deal. If they got a deal they would board and go. If they didn't, they would spend their vacation on land and driving. They were successful about 9 times our of ten and do it every year. We have thought about trying it sometime.

Wow. That would take some careful planning for the various options. I'll definitely mull that one over. Thanks fmpden.