alaskian cruise

[Luverly]

I'd like to go on an Alaskan cruise mid-may 2009 for my 5th wedding anniversary. Are there any deal sites I can watch for the best rates? Am I better off booking early or last thing? I'd love any advice or recommendations!

[Annihilate]

There are 7 night Alaska cruises starting at $589 from Travelocity right now. That is a pretty good deal because you are averaging less than $100 per night. I doubt that the prices will drop below $600. That is a pretty good deal already. In addition, some sail dates have up to $200 on board credit too.

I found that the easiest way to search for cruises is to go to travelocity.com.
Select the "cruise" tab then fill out the search as follows:

Destination: Alaska cruise
Length of Cruise: Length
Month: Any month
Day: Any day

Basically leave all the search options blank, and only select Alaska cruise to get the best results.

There are special discounts rates based on residency, age or past cruising experience.
Select that if it applies to you.

After you get the results, sort the results according to price. Find the cheapest cruise with the highest "On Board credit" that fits your travel dates...you can get up to $200 on board credit that you can spend on any thing you choose from duty free alcohol to off shore excursions. The "savings booklet" is very lame with barely any discounts at all, so I would pick the on board credit over the booklet.

I use travelocity to search for the deals, but I actually book with cruisedirect.com because they give out a free 2 night hotels vouchers for any where in the US.

Heres the trick....
Late at night, there will be a link at the top right hand corner of the home page that reads "After hour sale - free 2 night hotel." Basically if you book a cruise outside of their normal busniess hours you will get a free 2 night hotel voucher. I got one of this certificates and I will be using it in Honolulu, Hawaii this August.


I've been on more than 6 cruises, and have book group cruises for friends and family. PM me if you need any help. I can't really think of any other tips at the moment...but here are some random ones off the top of my head.

-When you choose your cabin room, pick the floor that is on the Main Deck (or one floor above or below it). That way it will be really easy for you to get on and off the ship for shore excursions. No waiting in long lines to use the elevators.

-If there is at least one person who is 55 years of age in your cabin, every single person in that cabin will get the special "Senior" rate. It can be applied to up to 4 passengers. Price can be 10%-30% cheaper per person. When I booked my family reunion, I made sure that every cabin had at least one senior so I can take advantage of the discount rates.

[sillybutt00]

I just booked my cruise to Alaska yesterday through costco travel. It turned out to be $885 cheaper than the same cruise through orbitz for the one that departs on July 27th. Here are some specifics for my cruise:

Princess Cruises (www.princess.com)-the Coral Princess to be exact (Vancouver to Whittier, Alaska) for 7 nights. It stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, and College Fjord. For a double occupany balcony on the Aloha deck (the first deck that actually has cabins I believe), it cost me 2952.50 inclusive of all port fees, taxes, and costco's discount from Princess cruise. If you wanted the inside cabin (again on the Aloha deck), it costs $1692.50 (there is no balcony).

I hope that helps. I was advised to check out cruisecritic.com for more information on cruises, what's best, etc. Hope that helps!

[tiff.eng]

princess has 2 for the price of 1 for may 23rd and 25th. $369 or less. it's about the cheapest you can find.