my small dilemma...

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Hi All-
We (DH, 3 boys, and I) have our 1st 3nt Wonder cruise set for Feb '05. We are all looking forward to it. I know it doesn't sound like a dilemma, but here it is...
We will be visiting my DH's parents before our cruise. They normally live by us, then spend 3 winter months in Destin, FL (about 1 hr from Alabama in the panhandle). After the visit, we will be driving the 9 or so hours to the port. We plan to fly out of MCO to get back home to MA.
BOY OH BOY, the airfare is crazy fror Feb. '05! I have checked all the airlines that fly into any airport within 1 1/2 hours of my in-laws. We are looking at $400pp!! No it's not a typo. We typically pay about $250pp to fly R/T from Manchester, NH to Fort Walton Beach, FL. We thought of flying from Logan (Boston) to MCO (JetBlue!)and making the drive to Destin, but we will lose another day of our vacation (already losing 1 to drive from Destin-the port), and add the added expense of another car rental day plus gas, not to mention the transfers to, or parking fees at Logan.
Looking at this, I have been wondering (no pun intended) and thinking about different scenarios. What would you do if this was your situation?

1) Cancel the whole vacation, save for another year or two, and take a 7nt cruise when we visit DH's parents...

2) Go as planned so our kids don't plan a revolt...

3) Hold out to see if the air goes down before the critical cancellation dates approach...

4) Enter the lotery, win, and plan yearly Category 1, 7nt alternating Eastern/Western cruises...

5) Any other ideas...

I am hoping the air fares go down after elections.........

I'm not going to get frustrated if we have to postpone. We will go, it's just a matter of timing. There are far more important things in life to get freaked out about.

Thanks for any suggestions!
Happy Day!
~Sue

 

[tevagirl]

#4.........definately.

 

[Ella2]

Definitely don't panic now about airfare prices in February of 2005! It is WAY too soon for any fare sales for that period.

I would suggest you sign up with one of the fare watching services (like Travelocity) that monitors airfares for your arrival/departure cities. They will e-mail you with updates to fares as they come out.

You've got PLENTY of time before your final payment is due and I bet you'll find decent airfare by that time.

Enjoy!

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Hi Sue, sorry to hear about the dilemma.
I'd hold out and keep an eye on the airlines. Something much more affordable is bound to turn up closer to your travel dates. We're waiting on airfare to San Juan for September. Going rate now is $500+, but I've seen specials come thru for $269, so we're keep our fingers crossed and waiting it out.

Good luck!

ps. Personally, I really like #4

 

[Poly Pal]

I'll bet you are trying to get to Florida sometime around President's Week in February next year which is school vacation in much of the Northeast. Don't wait to book your air. The prices most definitely will not go down. They will only go up.

The only alternative is to wait for Southwest to open up for your specific dates and then start calling as soon as they do. But be forwarned, even Southwest will not offer their lowest fares for travel during that very busy time of year.

Have a great cruise!

 

[kristen821]

in chicago the airfare doen't go down until at least 5 months before the trip when southwest comes out with thier price. wait and the airfare will go down

 

[CGC33A]

It is WAY TOO SOON to worry about it. Start watching now, so you can recognize good fares when they arise. I would expect decent prices to show up in the fall. Consider trying different dates if you can work it, such as flying in on Tuesday instead of Wednesday & staying over to Monday instead of flying out on Sunday. Also check Jacksonville. Might be a better choice instead of MCO. Straight shot west to the panhandle, and only a bit (2-3 hours) north of the port.

 

[Princess49]

I would go register on all of the airline sites & the travel sites- I signed up for emails from Jetblue & Southwest I picked my favorite destinations & they send me specials all the time. (if you don't want to clog your mail box up with specials make a seperate address- yahoo.com has a free mailbox & then you will get all of the specials in the same place) Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz- you can get emails from them letting you know about specials- even Bj's vacations sends them to me. GOOD LUCK! (I can't even find fares for this Dec to figure out when it's best to cruise- I'm suprised you are looking into next feb!!)

 

[MO64RN]

I may be able to help. Pan Am flys from Boston/Portsmouth to Sanford/Orlando Airport. It is about an hour from port and about 2-2.5 hours from where your parents are. Just checked and they do have Februarys schedule and I priced round trip for about $250.00. .

I am not sure now that I reread your post the distance to Destin from Sanford. Are you sure they are 9 hours from port Canaveral? Sounds kind of far to me.

 

[MO64RN]

oops! just checked map quest and Destin is further than I thought. Sorry.