Vacation Travel Tips: Save on Cruises for a Sea Vacation and When to Book Airfare for Thanksgiving

Put the sea in the vacation season this year, with expert tips for setting sail with the best cruise deals on deck, plus tips on timing for savings on airfare this Thanksgiving.

Brian Kelly, founder of The Points Guy, joined “Good Morning America” ​​Friday equipped with his best tips for booking vacation travel.

Tips for Saving When Booking a Cruise Vacation

“Buying a cruise is like buying fashion. If you want the shiniest, prettiest new ship, you're going to pay top dollar,” Kelly said.

Book a 90 day cruise

“Ninety days before departure, cruise lines actually start offering discounts on cruises. So that's the 90 day window where you want to see what discounts are being offered, and they can be substantial,” he said. -he explained.

Kelly suggests checking trip planning websites like Vacations To Go, which has a 90-day tracking showing all available cabins.

“You may not have your best choice, but the offers can be substantial,” he said. “And we're about 90 days before Christmas and the holiday season, so maybe it's time to start looking.”

Best luxury cruise deals: transatlantic crossings

“Part of a luxury cruise is just staying on the ship. On most cruise ships, you can get entry-level cabins around $1,000. For luxury lines, you're talking about $4,000 and up,” Kelly began. “But here's a special tip: between October and November, (some) of these luxury cruise ships go from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean.”

“So you can undertake a transatlantic crossing, which may not sound luxurious, but when you're on one of these fancy ships where the ship is the destination, you can have a 13-day crossing, including a week in the Caribbean, at a lower cost than (the price of) a week in Europe.

Last Minute Cruise Deals Under $100 Per Day

Although the choice may be limited for last-minute planners, Kelly said, “There are deals where you can spend less than $100 a day to take a Caribbean cruise. »

“I highly recommend going through a travel agent if you're booking cruises,” he said, adding: “Pick the two that have the best (offer), then have them negotiate against each other for additional benefits, upgrades and things like that.

Kelly suggests using a virtual service like Cruise Compete that does this step for you once you've selected where and when you want to travel.

Where to book cheap plane tickets for vacation

Kelly and other travel experts often refer to the time frame for booking the best plane ticket as: »the Goldilocks window“, which consists of booking at least 60 days in advance for international and around 45 days for national.

Book Thanksgiving six weeks in advance

“For this Thanksgiving trip, luckily this week and next week in general are the best,” Kelly said Friday. “It's about six weeks before the date, and Thanksgiving is a little later this year, so you're not short on time.”

Kelly added: “If the price looks good on Google flights – it will tell you low, medium, high – if you see something in that medium or low range, take it. Even if it's high, what you If the airline ends up lowering the price, follow it – and you can get a voucher back.”

If the price drops enough, even by a small amount, Kelly said, “You can get a voucher in your account for the difference from the price drop” by going online and rebooking directly with of the airline.

Golden rule for booking flights: advance purchase requirement

Scott Keyes, another travel expert from Going.com, formerly Scott's Cheap Flights, regularly reminds people to follow this golden rule of air travel: push back when to book based on your departure date, in order to align with an airline's “anticipated purchasing requirements”. » found in the fine print of the pricing conditions.

“Take a calendar and circle 21 days before your travel date,” he said. “This must be your sort of deadline to book your flights.”