FIND CHEAP Airfares
People can sugar coat it all they want but the cruise price isn’t the only thing you will have to spend money on when you go on a cruise. There are many things you must budget for when planning for a cruise. Like if you have to fly to the embarkation port. Airfare can be expensive but if you plan well enough and use a few tricks I've learned you will be able to budget a decent fare.
As you may already know – I love to find the best deals - Here are a few tips I have learned that have produced excellent results for me in the past. I use a few different search engines and individual airline websites to find the best fares.
1. BE FLEXIBLE -check different airports, DATES AND TIMES - The price difference between 2 airports can be enourmous. We live within 45 minutes to 1.5 hours from many airports. I always will check the closest 1st but we are flexable enough that we have saved hundereds of dollars by just traveling another 30 minutes to a different airport. This also applies to the airport you fly into many times Fort Lauderdale may be less expensive to fly into instead of Miami. Times and the day you fly could also make a huge difference too.
2. be prepared to buy immediately. I have been doing this for a long time and know what airfares are good from the airports I can fly out of. You will have to do a little research on what fares are good for your particular airports. As soon as I see an airfare that is a great price I purchase. Great airfares might not be available if you wait.
4.Frequent flyer miles -If you have a credit card already or are looking for one get one that has frequent flyer miles. You can accumlate enough for free airfare from regular purchases. Many credit card companies will send you coupons and some offer discounted companion fares. Sometimes you get emails that offer free bonus miles for buying certain products etc.
5.Check the cruiseline airfare -It's normal for a cruiseline airfare add-on to be way more expensive than it would be if you purchased your airfare seperatley. But always check, there has been a few times when the cruiseline would run a special for a certain departure and it will run into huge savings.
6.Check South west Airlines. - They do not show up in search engines. They normally have some great web specials and bags still fly for Free.
7.Track your Fares - I use Yapta.com to track flights before and after purchase orbitz will refund if the price goes down