Seattle Area Resident Cruisers - Question

Just moved back to Western Washington after 19 years in MN. Looking at an Alaska cruise in 2017 for 40th anniversary. That one we will book well ahead but do the cruise lines operating out of Seattle have last minute "fill the ship" deals for locals? If so, where to find? Planning to retire here in 8 years or so and cruising will be part of the plan. It really would help the budget to not have to fly to a port. Thanks.

Just moved back to Western Washington after 19 years in MN. Looking at an Alaska cruise in 2017 for 40th anniversary. That one we will book well ahead but do the cruise lines operating out of Seattle have last minute "fill the ship" deals for locals? If so, where to find? Planning to retire here in 8 years or so and cruising will be part of the plan. It really would help the budget to not have to fly to a port. Thanks.

I live across the border in Canada. Never have seen such specials . Because Alaska is so popular they very rarely have to worry about filling the ships.

They periodically have sales for Canadians with "Dollar at Par". If you find a cruise you like and can live with the price for 2017 . Just book it. If price goes down or there is a sale . You can get the booking re-fared .

A long time ago I had read posts about last minute "drop everything and go" fares out of Florida ports. Was hoping same applied but I can see where except in the very early or very late season sailings they would be booked up. We don't mind rain and mist blocking the scenery - we live in it now. ;)

Just moved back to Western Washington after 19 years in MN. Looking at an Alaska cruise in 2017 for 40th anniversary. That one we will book well ahead but do the cruise lines operating out of Seattle have last minute "fill the ship" deals for locals? If so, where to find? Planning to retire here in 8 years or so and cruising will be part of the plan. It really would help the budget to not have to fly to a port. Thanks.

Not aware of such fares, but would strongly suggest you also look at Vancouver departures - either round trip or one-way.

Seattle departures are all round trips (US maritime law) and all sail to the west of Vancouver Island, on big water far offshore. Vancouver departures sail to the east of the island, on sheltered "inside passage" waters with much better views.

You can drive to Vancouver or take the train from anywhere along the Portland - Bellingham corridor. Might be worth it.

We have gotten pretty impressive "move-over" offers a couple of times, since we don't have to rearrange airfare to switch to a different week. Unfortunately, neither time worked for us to do it.

There certainly are some last minute bargains. Usually they are inside and ocean view rooms. The one problem is that currently the discount last minute cruises tend to be one way between Vancouver and Seward, so that does not save you money unless you are looking for back to back cruises and don't mind driving or taking Amtrak up to Vancouver.

Just moved back to Western Washington after 19 years in MN. Looking at an Alaska cruise in 2017 for 40th anniversary. That one we will book well ahead but do the cruise lines operating out of Seattle have last minute "fill the ship" deals for locals? If so, where to find? Planning to retire here in 8 years or so and cruising will be part of the plan. It really would help the budget to not have to fly to a port. Thanks.

You might try here for last minute Princess cruises:

https://book.princess.com/html/global/cruisedeals/last-minute-cruise-deals/#.V3Mq9KJifKg

Tom

The Princess drop-and-go fares have not been great for Vancouver or Seattle last season or so far this season, but when they're good, they're amazing. My record is $349/week in an OV Obstructed from SEA.

I notice there are Alaska sales in the emails and flyers between June and July each year to fill the season.

Just moved back to Western Washington after 19 years in MN. Looking at an Alaska cruise in 2017 for 40th anniversary. That one we will book well ahead but do the cruise lines operating out of Seattle have last minute "fill the ship" deals for locals? If so, where to find? Planning to retire here in 8 years or so and cruising will be part of the plan. It really would help the budget to not have to fly to a port. Thanks.

We're Washington "natives" and enjoy cruising. It is a challenge to find interesting and varied itineraries that cruise out of Seattle. Alaska is great, but it would be nice to have more variety. There are transpacific cruises, but then you have a one-way flight and lots of sea days. There are Pacific Coastal cruises (we are sailing RT out of Seattle in Sept.) with itineraries sometimes offered for spring or fall.

That said, there are many ways to cruise the NW, not all of them on large cruise ships. BC has a great ferry system serving the inside passage. The Alaska Marine Highway offers all kinds of opportunities for travel. Small ship cruises are another option, but I'm not aware of any that cruise directly out of Seattle. Another option to consider are the wonderful week long Columbia River cruises out of the Portland area, certainly driving distance from Seattle for an easy departure.

Hope this helps! Good luck finding your anniversary cruise!

There are Pacific Coastal cruises (we are sailing RT out of Seattle in Sept.)

What Pacific Coastal round trip are you taking out of Seattle in September?

Tom

Oceania and the small ship line Un-Cruise both have Seattle departures that sail east of Vancouver Island although it's unlikely you'd find any substantial discounts on either.

What Pacific Coastal round trip are you taking out of Seattle in September?

 

Tom

We're sailing September 30 on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas - 8 day RT cruise.

Royal's current schedule has Sept. 2016 and 2017 cruises RT out of Seattle.

Just informational: The current best deal for our cruise is a military rate, a very good deal. There are currently some deck 7 balconies available, + many on deck 6.

There are also military rate savings for insides and oceanview.

Thanks for all the input. Even without discounts we will save on airfare. The only local cruise option in Mpls-St. Paul was Mississippi river boats. We don't mind "big water" - lots of that on the trans-Atlantics we've done. Also, given all the sea days on a TA for us a cruise is about relaxing being entertained and fed well. Beautiful scenery is a bonus. We are just happy to be back in WA. :cool:

Funny but I signed up for HAL promo emails and got one from Princess same day (of course they got my email via Carnival) with a Drop & Go promo - 7 day inside for $499. That's almost as low per day as a transatlantic which is our benchmark price level. I told my wife that in the future I need to keep 7 days of vacation on the books - at least until I retire in 2023 when it's all "vacation". ;)