Alaska Cruise Fare Compare: Is All-Inclusive Luxury Actually Cheaper?

[LauraS]

Cruise Critic has just posted the following news:

Fare Compare, Alaska Cruises: All-Inclusive Vs. A La Carte Ships

Read the entire news article...

[Itasca]

Regent is my favorite cruise line, but let's compare apples to apples here.
I was very interesed in you numbers as I was trying to make the same comparison.
Regent was my first and favorite cruise line, but they are getting pricey.
Let's compare apples to apples here.
A balcony cabin is $1000 pp more than the figures you quoted, and Alaska w/o a balcony?
Also the Navigator lost what passed for an observation lounge on the last refurb
according to the website, it's now part of the spa.
Mariner is a better ship for the Alaska cruise.

[KC Gorilla]

Originally Posted by Itasca

Regent is my favorite cruise line, but let's compare apples to apples here.
I was very interesed in you numbers as I was trying to make the same comparison.
Regent was my first and favorite cruise line, but they are getting pricey.
Let's compare apples to apples here.
A balcony cabin is $1000 pp more than the figures you quoted, and Alaska w/o a balcony?
Also the Navigator lost what passed for an observation lounge on the last refurb
according to the website, it's now part of the spa.
Mariner is a better ship for the Alaska cruise.

Please clarify your comments. I looked up the same cruises as the article and the prices were exactly as quoted by the author in the comparison.

[hondorner]

Originally Posted by KC Gorilla

Please clarify your comments. I looked up the same cruises as the article and the prices were exactly as quoted by the author in the comparison.

Itasca was comparing the price of a balcony suite on Regent versus the ocean view cabin. Navigator has only a few oceanview cabins, and they go fast. Most passengers end up booking one of the balcony cabins. On my last cruise on Regent Navigator, all the category H & G (oceanview) were gone, as were all the category F balconies. We had to book a category E balcony at a higher rate.

Itasca was also commenting that cruising Alaska without a balcony would be a bummer.

[Erica@cruisecritic]

I just wanted to jump in and add my two cents! I specifically chose the lowest Regent price available, but it's true that if you wanted a balcony it would cost more. Like I said in the article, you have to do the math according to your preferences.

But I have to say, from personal experience, when I went on a Regent Alaska cruise, I found the balcony overrated. It was freezing on the balcony at sea, so it was no good for having breakfast on the balcony. During scenic cruising like Tracy Arm or Hubbard Glacier, we found the balcony really limited our view and always ended up racing to the top deck for a 360-degree view. And we never had to fight crowds up there, as you do on a bigger ships. So for me, a balcony on a small-ship in Alaska is somewhat over-rated. But I understand why people really like them.

[HiltonHeadrover]

I'm responding to the article comparing Regent and Celebrity cruises to Alaska. We just returned from 20 days on the Navigator, and we are believers that all-inclusive in most cases beats the competition. After trying Oceania, Cunard, and Crystal, we came to the conclusion that Regent is best for us. No, it's not for those who care about big shows and flashy entertainment. Even we true believers find the evening fare more than a snore at times. However, the 4 new production numbers are a lot of fun.

And, a small ship gets you closer into the views and action, not to mention the ease of getting off and back onto the ship.

Paying upfront and then enjoying the cruise makes sense to us. The ambiance, service, staterooms, and quality of food more than make up for the entertainment. The loyalty program soon brings free internet and phone. And it means that each time you travel on Regent, you are likely to run into familiar faces among the passengers and the crew. So, don't be fooled by the sticker price.

[newfarmers]

That's a great comparison Erica. We cruised last year with RCCL and through CC met a fellow Australian couple who had sailed Regent either two or three times prior to our Asia cruise. They kept saying that we needed to add everything up and we'd be surprised at how little the difference (in the scheme of spending over $10 or 15k for a holiday) would be.

For us, our biggest savings would be our 'extras' bill on the ship. We would normally drink a bottle of wine at dinner and we don't look for the cheapest. We like our afternoon cocktails or beer by the pool and while watching a show. We buy specialty coffees and have used the 'pay for' restaurants on the four cruises we've taken so far. We try to avoid ships shorex but that is due to the crowds and would imagine they would be more large van than tourist coach with Regent. Although we can't get the free air here in Australia Regent still offer the two for one deals etc

Think we'd be more $1000 each over a week not even considering taxes or hotel.

Maybe I'll start investigating. Was looking at HAL's 12 Norwegian Coastal on Ryndam next year. Maybe I'll see what Regent is offering.

thanks, Peter

ps, I'll also add my two cents on balcony for Alaska. On Infinity for the Alaska segment of our cruise we had an outside. I'll agree with what Erica said, for us it was also freezing when we cruised in late September. When we were at Hubbard we went out on to the veranda of some friends and it was sooo cold. Was much better up in the Constellation Club, or even down on the boat deck where it was more sheltered. We then moved to a balcony for the Hawaii segment and that's where the balcony came into its own Same with our veranda suite on Rotterdam. We enjoyed it every single day.

[Psoque]

It does not make sense to compare penthouse on Celebrity to Luxury lines...In my opinion, it is always unwise to pick the most expensive room in an average hotel, but to find a "decent but not top price" room in a great hotel.

Of course it makes sense to sail on a luxury line if you are willing to pay for a penthouse accomodation in a less than luxury line...it is actually rather silly to do otherwise.

[DGF]

Originally Posted by LauraS

Cruise Critic has just posted the following news:

Fare Compare, Alaska Cruises: All-Inclusive Vs. A La Carte Ships

Read the entire news article...

Thanks for the most interesting article

But one critque if I might, to be more accurate one should be comparing the same type of accommodations on each ship to get the true comparison- i.e. balcony accommodations on both Regent Navigator and Celebrity. There is a big difference between a window and a balcony cabin in use and enjoyment on an Alaska cruise with its beautiful scenery. Balcony is also a great place to have your dinner or night time cocktails watching the scenery go by

DEAN

[pacheco18]

Interesting article -- I try to compare various cruise line options every time I book.

With respect to Regent, for many of us the "included" shore excursions are worthless. Like many others, we only do private shore excursions in groups of 6 or 8. We would still be paying for those if we were to sail Regent. Additionally, many veteran Regent cruisers (not all) have complained about the included shore excursions.

[tetleytea]

I see nothing wrong with comparing an owner's suite on a mainstream line with a stateroom on a Regent or a Crystal. It's a dollar-for-dollar comparison. That's apples-to-apples, fair and square. It wouldn't surprise me if the owner's suite on Norwegian turned out to be the better deal at all.

[commodoredave]

Thanks to this article, we did a similar comparison between Celebrity and Regent for an Australia to NZ cruise in January of 2012. On a per diem basis, it actually worked out better for us to take the cheapeast balcony cabin on the Voyager (356 sq. ft.) versus a Sky Suite on the Century (246 sq. ft.).
There were a number of factors that worked in favour of Regent, including airfare which can otherwise be costly when you don't return from the same city (Sydney versus Auckland) and are travelling a long distance (from Toronto). Also, I'm told that shore excursions in places like New Zealand are more expensive than some places, and therefore represent good value when included.