My family and I would like to take a 7-day cruise to Greece next August/September 2009. However, with the price of oil steadily increasing, airfare costs just as much as the cruise booking. Where can I look for affordable cruise packages that include airfare? Thanks in advance for your expert assistance.

Most cruise lines the air is just an add on package. You would need to compare their add on price to what you could get air on your own. Often when adding on the cruise lines air transfers are part of the package also. Sometimes certain premium/deluxe cruises have 2 for 1 airfare offers. I believe Oceania has the 2 for 1 airfare deal right now. If you go through a Travel Agent they may be able to find a better airfare through a consolidator.

I'm not sure the bargain you're looking for actually exists. It's simply very expensive to fly any great distance right now. I had a similar disappointment in finding air rates that put a cruise I desperately wanted to book into the, looking for something else for next cruise category. In my case the cruise was this summer and air was even higher, last minute. My air would have bee over 4 1/2 times the cost of the cruise.

Also, with the dollar so weak against the Euro, once you get there, things are quite expensive. If you do happen to find some miricle air pricing, post it for us. I just don't think it exists at this point.

Cheers, Neil