What do y'all do when your man comes back from a deployment if you have to fly to his base? How do you go about buying a plane ticket - and how far in advance do you book it? Have any of you had the homecoming date change after booking a flight? If so, how drastic of a change was it from the original date?
I really want to fly to my DB's base and surprise him when he gets back from his current deployment, but the date isn't set in stone (of course!), so I'm a little unsure of how to go about doing so.
I hope this makes sense, if it doesn't, sorry!
Any advice would be really appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

I don't really know, but I wanted to say good luck!!

good luck ... if you find anything out let me know i'll be in the same position soon enough

well as of right now, we have a pretty set date of when he will be home. we are not flying we are driving (14 hours yuck!) and we are getting there the day before we think he will be home. he might be home the day after that, but wed rather be there earlier then later. last year when he got home, his parents drove down again to surprise him, and they were there early, but then he got home early, so it worked out good.

i guess i'd wait as long as possible to book my ticket, db says that usually within 2 weeks of when they will be leaving the country is when they pretty much know...but OF COURSE that is all subject to change as we all know. i'd say book your flight 2-3 weeks before he's supposed to be home, and you can always change it, there might be some fees, ask the airline when you book. good luck!! homecoming is so exciting isnt it?!?! :goodvibes

I would wait as long as you can to book it. I tried that the first time and didn't realize rules about getting on base, etc. But I agree a day early or so is great in case something changes.

Is his family going? They might be helpful too.

Good luck & enjoy!

No advice here either but sending some :goodvibes Your way!

I would gladly make a 14 hour drive instead, but driving isn't an option for me, unfortunately as he is based out of Hawaii currently. ;) That is another reason why I'd like to book tickets as soon as I can so I might actually be able to afford to go. However, the possibility of his homecoming date changing is a big factor there. Thanks for the suggestion of checking with the airlines about possibly changing flight dates if the return date changes after buying tickets. It might be cheaper to buy tickets farther in advance and then pay a fee to change the dates rather than wait until last minute to buy the tickets.
As of right now, I don't think any of his family will be going over there (all the more reason why I really want to get over there if possible - I want him to have someone there for him when he gets back! Oh! Plus he told me the other day on IM that he really wishes he could see me right after he gets back, so I would really like to surprise him if I can).
Now I have another question...since I am currently 'just a girlfriend', do any of you know how I would be able to get onto the base for the homecoming (especially if he does not know I'm coming)?
I agree, homecoming is very exciting...now if everything will just work out...
Oh, why is he based out of Hawaii? :duh
Thanks ladies!

DH's homecoming was in Germany and I lived in the States. We waited until about a month before he was supposed to be home and then he booked me a ticket, rented me a car and mailed me the keys to his apartment. I flew in two days before he got home and I had to drive on the Autobahn for the first time in a rental car to find his city and then his apartment - I was soooo scared but it ended up being just fine. I couldn't get on the base without a military ID or an escort and we weren't married yet, so DH arranged for meet to meet up with another wife and we drove the 40 minutes or so to the base. Such a hassle but sooo worth it.

I would gladly make a 14 hour drive instead, but driving isn't an option for me, unfortunately as he is based out of Hawaii currently. ;) That is another reason why I'd like to book tickets as soon as I can so I might actually be able to afford to go. However, the possibility of his homecoming date changing is a big factor there. Thanks for the suggestion of checking with the airlines about possibly changing flight dates if the return date changes after buying tickets. It might be cheaper to buy tickets farther in advance and then pay a fee to change the dates rather than wait until last minute to buy the tickets.
As of right now, I don't think any of his family will be going over there (all the more reason why I really want to get over there if possible - I want him to have someone there for him when he gets back! Oh! Plus he told me the other day on IM that he really wishes he could see me right after he gets back, so I would really like to surprise him if I can).
Now I have another question...since I am currently 'just a girlfriend', do any of you know how I would be able to get onto the base for the homecoming (especially if he does not know I'm coming)?
I agree, homecoming is very exciting...now if everything will just work out...
Oh, why is he based out of Hawaii? :duh
Thanks ladies!

yikes i guess you can't really drive to hawaii!! i think if it was me id go for booking the ticket earlier, because im a big fan of finding good deals and i know the longer you wait the more expensive they get, plus flying to hawaii is never cheap-ive never even been but ive heard-so i guess id say go for it and just get there a day or 2 early? I'd totally find a way to go though esp if his family can't make it!! As for getting on base since you are a girlfriend i'm not sure how that will work out if he doesn't know you are coming, i feel like he'd need to get you a pass or something like that. i donno tho i have never dealt with that. good luck with everything let us know what you decide to do!! :goodvibes

I'm planning this at the moment. I figure: Get the tickets as late as possible, make damn sure they're refundable/changeable, and plan to get there the day before he's supposed to. :dunno That's as far as I've gotten in the thought process.

i think if it was me id go for booking the ticket earlier, because im a big fan of finding good deals and i know the longer you wait the more expensive they get,

I've heard that the best time to buy tickets is three weeks before you want to leave. Airlines drop their prices on Tuesday evenings, so the best time to look for good deals is Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Good luck!

Our command told us repeatadly that we weren't allowed to visit the base until they were done with de-mob. :shrug And the homecoming dates were all so vague that we had a window of about a month when they'd be home..

i wouldnt book a flight. i would wait until he is home and then buy a ticket. but that is just me. good luck

If you go onto orbitz.com, you can buy refundable tickets so that if the dates change, you can switch them easily by just calling them. They cost a bit more, but it's REALLY expensive to change them if they're not refundable. As far as the dates go, definately book as far in advance as possible-you will get a cheaper fare. I recomend getting there at least a day early just to be safe. Early morning flights and overnight flights are also cheaper, as is flying out Tuesday through Thursday. I found out that by leaving an hour earlier in the day, I saved about $400, so it's definately worth it to get up earlier! To get on the base, I would try to check if there are any other wives going to meet them when they come in. IF so, try to arrange to go with them. If not, you can always tell him that you have a big suprise waiting for him at someplace off base and tell him that he needs to go and pick it up asap. Then he shows up and SUPRISE!!! It's you!!:P

Are you in contact with the commands ombudsman? If so, she would be the most helpful person to talk to about arranging an escort onto the base and anything else you might need. If you don't know who your ombudsman is ask your db to find out for you in your next email.

good luck!!!

I've heard that the best time to buy tickets is three weeks before you want to leave. Airlines drop their prices on Tuesday evenings, so the best time to look for good deals is Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Good luck!

good to know!! i was wondering about that the other day...when they drop their prices that is.

another way to get cheaper tickets is to buy from the airline's website directly not go thru orbitz, or expedia etc. because they charge services fees.

Thanks for the suggestions and advice Ladies!! Hopefully I'll be able to get this all figured out somehow. No, I don't have any contact with the ombudsman at this point. (What exactly does she do? I've never even heard of her). Do you think asking him for the ombudsman's information would make him kind of suspicious? :thinking Maybe I'll have to find a way to contact one of his buddies and ask them or tell them what I want to do and ask them to keep it a secret (do you think that would be okay, or is that not advisable?). Or...maybe I should get his Mom to ask him for the info...hmmm...

To get on the base, I would try to check if there are any other wives going to meet them when they come in. IF so, try to arrange to go with them. If not, you can always tell him that you have a big suprise waiting for him at someplace off base and tell him that he needs to go and pick it up asap. Then he shows up and SUPRISE!!! It's you!!:P

HAHA! You crack me up! This could work though...;)

most airlines recommend buying 2 weeks or more in advance. after that the price can and usually does go up on a daily basis