Alaska Un-Cuise Advice

[Samz]

We have been looking at a possible Un-Cruise like trip to Alaska one day and I'm looking for any advice on how we might could do it at the least cost.

Looking at their website and just picking a few round trips out of Juneau, the costs for these are ~$11K per couple for one week + airfare. We would fly out of Atlanta and round trip air could add another $2K per couple.

In 2008 we went to Europe for two weeks and "only" spent about $10 or $11K total.

The Un-Cruise experience looks right up our alley...but.

Spending $13K for a one week vacation is really a lot of $ for me. Any cost cutting experience from the folks that have done a Un-Cruise?

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Having been to Alaska on several business related trips and one cruise - you gotta have transportation to see Alaska.


Do your costs factor in rental car or other transportation?


[edit] ah...slow start this morning. Un-Cruise is an actual cruise line.


Another such cruise line is Exploration. So maybe their costs might be lower?


That is the one the DW and I took up the Inside Passage. Very small ship - only 120 people. With a great crew and they get local naturalists and experts to be part of the cruise to give talks and excursions.

 

[athena53]

We've used them twice and love them!


There's a referral credit of $300 (not sure if it's per cabin or per person) if you're referred by a previous passenger. (I'd be happy to do that; I'd also get a credit but we're unlikely to go again. As you said, it's pretty steep.


Ours ran around $3K per person for the cruise itself (so, $6K total) and we used airline miles and hotel points for a lot of the rest although we did pay cash for Alaska Airlines in and out of Seattle and they're pretty expensive.


Keep in mind that, unlike most cruise lines, there are very few add-ins and tips are purely voluntary. Our extras, without tips (they recommend 10-15%) ran $130 or $140 TOTAL and that included my snorkeling expedition, which involved using a whole lotta neoprene from their supply to cover up in the 42-degree water. It also included alcohol but DH and I don't drink a lot and they're very laid-back about bringing your own on board.


Go for it! Send me a PM if you'd like a link to my blog on our trip.

 

[Samz]

.

Another such cruise line is Exploration. So maybe their costs might be lower?

That is the one the DW and I took up the Inside Passage. Very small ship - only 120 people. With a great crew and they get local naturalists and experts to be part of the cruise to give talks and excursions.

BBQ - Is AdventureSmith Explorations the cruise line you guys used?

Small Ship Cruises, Expedition Cruises, Adventure Cruises - AdventureSmith Explorations

Thanks,
Samz

 

[Samz]

Send me a PM if you'd like a link to my blog on our trip.

I'd really like to see your blog from your trips and will PM you about this.

 

[grasshopper]

We are a young at heart, hiking, kayaking, vegetarian couple. We wanted to scratch Alaska of our bucket list, but have a little adventure thrown in. We did the Inner Reaches Eastern Coves with Un-Cruise in 2013. While not the cheapest cruise, it certainly couldn't have been any better. We have also done Hawaii, Sea of Cortez, and have a Galapagos trip booked with Un-Cruiser for next year. We also did the add on Denali/train package, also first class.

 

[akck]

Right now, Delta is flying into Juneau. Because of this, Alaska Air is offering $125 one-way fares from Seattle to Juneau with one week advance purchase. That should save you some on your airfare assuming you can fly at the time of those flights. Your best bet might be to book that segment separately from the rest of your flights. That way you can go with the cheapest carrier to Seattle.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[akck]

When we were flying back to Juneau, there were a lot of people taking a National Geographic small ship cruise. You might search for them. Here's another one I found:

https://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/alaska



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[braumeister]

A couple of years ago we did the Lindblad/National Geographic cruise in Alaska. That might be the most expensive way to do it, but we actually felt as if we got our money's worth.

Incredible memories.
Exploring Southeast Alaska, Alaska's Coastal Wilderness - Lindblad Expeditions

 

[BBQ-Nut]

BBQ - Is AdventureSmith Explorations the cruise line you guys used?

Small Ship Cruises, Expedition Cruises, Adventure Cruises - AdventureSmith Explorations

Thanks,
Samz

No - the Lindbad line linked above.

One of the most amazing parts of the cruise we took was in the fjords area along the Inside Passage - the small cruise ship got into places the big ships just can't and the scenery was amazing.

The captain even found a waterfall cascading into the fjord and maneuvered the bow into it and dared us to go stand under it. There is a shot of about 20 passengers standing under the absolutely frigid water on the bow. Way cool!

 

[Samz]

BBQ-Nut, Athena53, grasshopper, alck,braumister

Thank all of you for the input. Now I have many more choices on how to spend $10 K to $15K for a one week vacation! As far as how we can pay for this trip and still feel OK with our $ situation I think I’ve found the solution…

Using FIRECalc and many other retirement planning tools, a simple matter of adjusting our number of years of retirement or “plan end” (i.e. when we will croak ). This can make a big and real difference on how much cash we will still have on hand for the final arrangement crew & The Big Party.

For now…Summer 2016 is the target for our Alaska small cruise ship with lots of hiking / kayaking / wilderness / wildlife trip.

OMY Syndrome on the big trip I guess.