What is a good price on Alaska cruises

dtbach · Oct 10, 2017

I know what the price points are for Caribbean and Panama cruises (i.e. good deal, just OK deal) but am lost when it comes to Alaskan cruises.

Is an Oceanview room on Holland America 14 day for $2000 a decent deal or just a pedestrian ho hum offer.

Teacher Terry · Oct 10, 2017

I can't remember what we paid to go to Alaska but it was the first time we went on Princess and it was terrible. Everything about the cruise was bad. I wish we would have stuck with RC but Princess was leaving from a port we did not have to fly too.

97guns · Oct 10, 2017

I was eyeballing 7 night trips from Seattle for $449 but that was last minute pricing, would have had to leave within 2 days and I had no airfare. Last minute airfare was expensive so it wouldn't have been a huge savings. If you live in Seattle then you can really go cheap

97guns · Oct 10, 2017

I think the alask cruise season ended in September

dtbach · Oct 10, 2017

97guns said:
I think the alask cruise season ended in September

This is for June 2018

Teacher Terry · Oct 10, 2017

We book ours ahead too. We have one booked for 2/2018 and 2/2019. WE have noticed that we can take 2 other cruises for the price of one going to Hawaii so destination helps determine cost.

calico1597 · Oct 10, 2017

We did a 12 day land and cruise with balcony package to Alaska in June, it was booked in fall of 2016. Cost was $5100/person, included flight from Chicago to Fairbanks. Five days touring and a seven day cruise to Vancouver, then flight to back to Chicago. In my head it was just ok, I wasn't in awe of any of the scenery. You can see mountains of the same magnitude here in the states. We did see glaciers on the cruise you can't see here, but they probably a quarter mile away. Glad we went, won't pay that again. Went on Princess, very disappointed in the food. Probably spent an extra $3-4K on extras (sightseeing, meals and souvenirs)
.

Teacher Terry · Oct 10, 2017

Looking back I think we paid 3000 for 2 people for a 10 day cruise with an ocean view room. that was before all the extras were added in like excursions, alcohol, etc. I loved Alaska but my husband not as much. I was glad we went. Our last 2 cruises we took a interior room and actually loved how dark it is to sleep. We are only in our room to sleep or shower so mostly had the curtains to the window closed otherwise people could look into your room.

Bamaman · Oct 10, 2017

We have been saving the Alaska cruise until we get "old.".

At those prices, I could take 3 -5 repositioning cruises to/from Europe. Our 4/2017 cruise Ft. Lauderdale to Rome was $80 a day for both of us x 13 days.

I use Vacations to Go to shop for cruises and we have a cruise specialist travel agent at Avoya Travel that books our trips.

Nemo2 · Oct 10, 2017

Bamaman said:
We have been saving the Alaska cruise until we get "old.".

Which is exactly what we say about that, and taking the train across Canada......"If we can't do that then perhaps we can do this".

Teacher Terry · Oct 10, 2017

WE took a cruise from Boston to 2 ports in Maine and then to 2 in Canada. That was a great cruise. We actually did a ton of walking in Alaska. It was really beautiful but once was enough. Nemo and BM you guys are my heroes for cheap cruises and I am looking into the tips you gave me. One problem we have is that with 3 dogs we are on a 10 day limit to be gone per my doggie sitter who is my son

)

CardsFan · Oct 10, 2017

dtbach said:
I know what the price points are for Caribbean and Panama cruises (i.e. good deal, just OK deal) but am lost when it comes to Alaskan cruises.

Is an Oceanview room on Holland America 14 day for $2000 a decent deal or just a pedestrian ho hum offer.

Sounds like a decent deal to me, but I only have one data point.
July 2016, R/T from Seattle, Princess Cruises. We paid about $1,300 p/p ($2,600 total) for 7 days, inside stateroom.

To date, this is our only cruise. We are glad we did it.

FWIW, we only did the " minor" excursions. On this cruise you could easily double your price if you wanted to cruise the glaciers by plane or copter, or go on a dogsled trek.

dtbach · Oct 10, 2017

I'm just wondering if waiting until Mar/Apr there might be better deals. Really don't care about the room (just sleep in it and then I'm out and about) or which cruise line I go on. I'm thinking the deals might get better as they try and fill up the boat.

97guns · Oct 10, 2017

The closer the sailing get the cheaper it will be, learned that on my last cruise to Alaska when I was talking to a guy from Seattle, he told me he bought his ticket the day before for $350, I had paid $1000

Teacher Terry · Oct 10, 2017

But if you fly then there cost is sky high.

97guns · Oct 10, 2017

Teacher Terry said:
But if you fly then there cost is sky high.

Yep, that's what the deal breaker is, I'm close to a port but haven't found any spectacular deals sailing from there.

Mr._Graybeard · Oct 10, 2017

We took the cruise on Celebrity 14 years ago, so our pricing is undoubtedly obsolete (DW set it up anyway, so I have no idea). But I noticed on the overland part of the tour how much better our accommodations looked compared to the Princess lodgings. Again, that was awhile ago.

brett · Oct 11, 2017

If you are embarking in Seattle you want to be on a ship that sails the inside passage. Many of the Seattle departures take the other route. It is not as scenic.

brett · Oct 11, 2017

If you are embarking in Seattle you want to be on a ship that sails the inside passage. Many of the Seattle departures take the other route. It is not as scenic.

Have no idea of the right price since we live in the area and would only take a late booking cruise. We are retired. Lots to choose from. The trick is to get two last minute 7 day cruises. One up, one down, with perhaps a day or two in between that you can spend in Alaska. Alternatively, there are the combo cruises that include a a 7 day cruise and a 2-4 day land trip.

sengsational · Oct 11, 2017

It depends on what's included in the $2000. The prices in this table do not include the port tax or tips. If that price is from the cruise line site, I would check that same cruise with a cruise travel agent. There's probably a "cruises.com", or I use "vacationstogo".

You can see that unless it's a repositioning, the prices are segregated by cruise line. Of course this is data pulled from one place, so no guarantee that you can't get better prices somehow.

Also, it's not apples-to-apples comparison across cruise lines...the cheaper ones will nickle and dime you, whereas the expensive ones include more...maybe drinks, maybe shore excursions, maybe specialty dining, etc.

And this list is "cheapest oceanview", which might be an obstructed view, or a less desirable cabin.

CyclingInvestor · Oct 11, 2017

I have taken 6 alaska cruises in the past 4 years, all on Holland America, and have paid between $799 and $1199 (+port) for each 14 day cruise with outside cabins on each, all out of Seattle. My friend watches cruise prices like a hawk, and usually buys about 2 months before sailing although sometimes much closer.

Two weeks ago we took the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego, 5 days in a Neptune suite (huge) for $799+port.

dtbach · Oct 11, 2017

Thanks sengsational

That is about the same price as the one I'm looking at. I don't have the option of really waiting until the last instant as I have a window to go and also live in Wisconsin so need to line up flights etc.

I think I have my answer though. It's a decent if pedestrian deal. I can live with that.

sengsational · Oct 11, 2017

I don't think a last minute buy for a "smack in the middle of the season" Alaska cruise is a good idea. That being said, if you were a gambler, you could pick the cruise, book the air, and monitor the price and space availability. I did that on a trans-Atlantic, and the first part of waiting saved me money, but I kept waiting and during the nail biting part, it didn't save me any more. I was looking at the possibility of having all the cheap cabins gone, and having to book a suite or something. That wouldn't have been the end of the world, but I didn't end-up having to do that.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/cruise-pricing-as-sailing-date-approaches-87485.html

Oh, and on the ship, I heard people that had booked in advance kept watching the price. They were able to "rebook" if the price went down. I don't have any experience with that, but heard bunches of people talking about it. It was a cruise that probably wouldn't have filled-up unless they did some pricing actions, which might not happen on your cruise, being in the prime season.

Winemaker · Oct 11, 2017

Teacher Terry said:
But if you fly then there cost is sky high.

Can't one buy 2 cheap tickets ahead of time to Seattle, like 6 months in advance? If you don't land a cheap cruise in 6 months, change the flight to a different time.

athena53 · Oct 11, 2017

Winemaker said:
Can't one buy 2 cheap tickets ahead of time to Seattle, like 6 months in advance? If you don't land a cheap cruise in 6 months, change the flight to a different time.

Have you tried to change flights lately? Unless you're in Business Class or have ultra-Elite status it will run you $200-$300 per person, plus any additional cost difference between the current airfare and what you paid. The airlines, other than Southwest, are merciless on this.

What is a good price on Alaska cruises

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