New York, Boston, Baltimore to Guadeloupe, Martinique for $178 Roundtrip on New Norwegian Routes

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From December 3, 2015, Norwegian is launching service from New York, Baltimore, and Boston to Guadeloupe and Martinique. Introductory fares start at $178 roundtrip.

Norwegian is the low cost carrier that I’ve featured a few times recently for roundtrips to Stockholm, Oslo, and Madrid in the $250-$400 range.

Now under the Open Skies agreement between the United States and Europe, Norwegian is launching Caribbean service to two islands that are French overseas territories.

Contents of this post:

1. Cheap Fares
2. Optional Extra Fees
3. Some Fares Cheaper in Dollars, Some in Norwegian Krone
4. Why Martinique and Guadeloupe
5. Best Way to Buy the Ticket

$178 Roundtrip to Guadaloupe or Martinique

Search and book on Norwegian.com with their low fare calendar by selecting “Search Low Fare Calendar” on the search screen.

Each city pair has $79 southbound fares on at least one day of the week and $99 northbound fares on at least one day of the week. For example between New York and Guadeloupe, Monday outbounds and Friday returns are the cheap dates.

For Boston to Guadeloupe, Sunday outbounds and Thursday returns are cheapest.

Pick the cheapest dates for $178 roundtrips between all city pairs. Sample dates: February 22 to 26 from New York to Guadeloupe.

Currently travel is bookable on Norwegian through late March 2016.

Extra Fees

All the cheapest fares are in the “Lowfare” bucket. That comes with one free carry on that weighs up to 10 kg (22 lbs.) Check out my post on one bag travel.

Everything else costs extra.

Your first checked bag is $17 each way. Seat selection is $17 each way. If you want both, you can get a LowFare+ fare for $24 extra each way that includes one free checked bag and seat selection.

The eat on board menu is limited, but you can preorder from a bigger selection.

All the add ons are expensive, so I suggest traveling with just one carry on, packing snacks, and taking whatever seat they give you for free. Then you can’t beat a $178 roundtrip to the Caribbean.

Pay In Dollars or Krone

Flying Norwegian, fares between the United States and Europe price cheaper on the Norwegian-facing site in Norwegian Krone, but these base fares to the Caribbean are actually cheaper in dollars on the US-facing site.

However, if you want the LowFare+ fare that includes a free checked bag and seat selection, those add ons are cheaper when purchasing in Norwegian krone. To do that, start on the Norwegian version of Norwegian.com. Use Google Chrome to translate the page to English. Pay with a card with no foreign transaction fees.

The same fare above that cost $226 costs 1,736 NOK or $222.31.

Why Guadeloupe and Martinique

Let me outsource this to Norwegian, which made:

• 5 Reasons to Visit Martinique
• 5 Reasons to Visit Guadeloupe

As French possessions, Americans can enter without a visa for tourism of under 90 days.

Best Way to Buy the Ticket

Buy with the Citi Prestige® Card, especially if you buy in krone because it has no foreign transaction fees, so you will get the interbank rate on the conversion from Norwegian krone to dollars. The first $250 in flights and fees per calendar year are refunded to you as a statement credit. This includes fees like the checked bag fee, seat reservation, or meals that you purchase at the time of ticketing or later. After the statement credit, you can get a free roundtrip with checked bag and seat selection.

If you’ve already maxed out the statement credit, you will still earn 3x ThankYou Points on the award taxes. The Citi Prestige® Card also comes with a 40,000 ThankYou Point sign up bonus.