MONDAY OR SUNDAY ?

ps416 · May 24, 2006

Hi Everyone,

I have a crazy question. Is there any advantages/disadvantages to starting a cruise on a Monday or Saturday. My girlfriend and I have narrowed down our cruise to a 5 day western on Carnival in January. Now

we can't decide on a Saturday or Monday start day. We will be flying in from New Jersey and from what I have read it seems it might be good to come in the night before.

Any comments welcomed.

Dan · May 24, 2006

I don't see any real plus or minus to either. Depends on your schedule, and which works better for you as far as time to prepare to elave, and time to take care of things like laundry and whatever when you get home. Coming home on a Thursday might be a little less hectic as far as airport congestion goes, since mid-day, when you would be flying, is generally the lull period on a weekday. If you do the Monday sailing, you will fly home on Saturday, and will likely have a lot more cruise fliers to deal with at the same time. This also affects prices for flights since mid-day weekend flights are more popular from cruise ports.

Flying in the day ahead is always a good idea, especially in winter. Gives you some leeway should the weather mess up schedules, helps make sure your lost luggage cacthes up with you before the cruise, and gives you an opportunity to have a relaxing night before the cruise knowing you only have a cab ride to the ship the next morning, not a 3 hour flight.

JoeyandDavid · May 24, 2006

If both cruises are identical.. then i would then focus on which flight would be cheaper.. depending on the day of the week you can save a few dollars

teacp · May 24, 2006

I just got a great price on a flight out of Newark for Ken & I. ...........223 roundtrip per person

ps416 · May 24, 2006

Thanks guys.

I was told that it is cheaper during the week. But, if we go for saturday,

we would have to catch a friday flight. Are the prices higher?

Maria, I'm assuming you guys are in new jersey? Which airline do you use or prefer. All of this is new to me. I find myself during alot of research.I've

never even been on an airplane.

JohnG · May 24, 2006

The downside of flying Saturdays for a Saturday sailing is that the airlines somtimes have less flights to/from some airports on weekend days.

Dan · May 25, 2006

I think you'll find that fares fluctuate throughout the day. Flights around noon and later in the evening on a weekday are usually cheapest. Plus if you are looking at January, that's usually a slower travel time, so there are usually lots of seat sales to be had. I'm not sure of your dates or cities, but I just priced out Jan 5 from Newark to Ft Lauderdale on Jetblue for $258 pp round trip, or $218 pp from JFK. That would fluctuate a bit since Jan 8 is as far as their schedule goes right now.