Blessinghs4travel

8 hours ago, fshagan said:

 

There is a trip insurance board here on Cruise Critic. My go-to vendors for trip or trip medical insurance are tripinsurancestore.com (agents there help you) or for self-service insuremytrip.com.

7 hours ago, resetjet said:

I would book when you find a deal you can live with.  Don't wait for some crazy deal, it really doesn't work that way unless the date you are looking for is underbooked and usually its on short notice.  9 times out of 10 you will lose if you wait, assuming you had a good deal already.  As far as perks, the big problem with sail away is it is guarantee room.  You don't get to pick location, and to me that is a deal breaker.  If you don't mind, its fine, you may luck out or choose to bid on an upgrade and luck out.  

As far as perks, they are not that big of a deal unless you are a heavy drinker.  The rest are worthless for what you pay.   If you have at&t you are better off getting a wireless at sea package with them instead of the wifi.  

7 hours ago, resetjet said:

I would book when you find a deal you can live with.  Don't wait for some crazy deal, it really doesn't work that way unless the date you are looking for is underbooked and usually its on short notice.  9 times out of 10 you will lose if you wait, assuming you had a good deal already.  As far as perks, the big problem with sail away is it is guarantee room.  You don't get to pick location, and to me that is a deal breaker.  If you don't mind, its fine, you may luck out or choose to bid on an upgrade and luck out.  

As far as perks, they are not that big of a deal unless you are a heavy drinker.  The rest are worthless for what you pay.   If you have at&t you are better off getting a wireless at sea package with them instead of the wifi.  

Thank you for the info!  I truly appreciate it!  It will come in handy for many trips I’m sure!!

Another tip - ALWAYS ALWAY ALWAYS keep your medication AND jewelry with you - don’t put it in checked luggage.  If your flight is delayed or the luggage doesn’t make it on board the flight - you will still have medication with you and any valuable items.  Enjoy!  Safe travels!! 

Try Southwest - if they have their specials running - we’ve bought tickets from $39 each way SMF TO SEA.  Added bonus on Southwest is that you get TWO FREE checked luggages per ticketed person.  We have used Alaska Air so many times and are just so sick of the flight delays and constant late flights with not even an apology.  If you are a first time cruiser - I suggest using NCL - the don’t nickle and dine you for me very single thing and often for a slaughter higher price you can get many perks with the AT SEA incentives (can chose drinks, specially restaurant, other perks - you decide how many or how little will be best for your wallet! Once you cruise - it will be the way you will always want to vacation!!  Hope that helps.

5 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Each of their promos lasts 4-5 days then they extend it. They've been doing this for quite some time. The current promo has been extended 4-5 times and the only time you'll see something different is probably if they have a Christmas or New Years sale but based on NCLs history don't expect much. They'll throw in $1 deposits and call it a sale.

 

Also, to add on to what everyone else is saying...they cost of the beverage package isn't just the $20 per person per day. In order to qualify for the beverage package you have to book a category that is eligible which is usually $300-500 per person more then a sailaway rate. So the cost of the perks is the difference in pricing plus all the service charges. You can usually get 4-5 drinks per day AND buy a dining package and still come out ahead with a sailaway rate.

 

Lastly, tickets between Sacramento and Seattle are generally under $200 per person and a quick search found tickets as low as $140 on Alaska and Delta. I'd rather do that and know the exact times and itinerary rather then risk getting some flight that makes several stops and gets you in at 2am.

On 12/17/2018 at 6:16 PM, fshagan said:

The service charge / gratuity on the drink package will cost you about $20 per day per person. On board a ship, mixed drinks are usually $8 to $15 or so (plus 20%), so drinking two or more drinks a day makes it a good deal. But if you're like us, and don't drink that often, then getting the drink plan "free" (plus $20 a day) is not a deal. 

 

We do like the dining options, though. They still cost you 20% of the the normal cost for the freebie, but I think it was $14 to $18 per person for the entire cruise when we had a three meal option. We felt that was a good deal. 

 

If you are planning to do the ship's excursions, then the excursion deal gives you $50 per cabin credit, so it does help. We usually plan our own excursions so this doesn't apply as much to us, but it would have when we first started cruising. 

 

I'm not sure the reduced air fare to Seattle is a good deal. Usually I find I can shop and get better air deals. If you're a person that does that regularly you will probably be able to do better on your own. But it can be a savings if your home airport lines up with one of the "most savings" offers. 

 

These deals have been going on for the better part of three years, uninterrupted, with only minor changes from month to month. Don't feel pressured to buy now because of the promos. But if you find a price, and you like the promos, go for it! Alaska is a wonderful place to cruise!

 

Cruise lines have draconian cancellation policies and almost never give you your money back, not even if an NCL crane at the port topples over and smashes your car, trapping you in it until the ship leaves. They are absolutely heartless and adhere strictly to the terms and conditions. Within the no-refund period you won't ever get your money back, so consider it gone at the time you make the final payment no matter what happens. If that bothers you, ask about trip insurance. If you're willing to take the risk then realize there are no refunds, no allowances, no pity, no nothing from the cruise lines. If you are an American, while in the US ports your regular medical insurance will cover you, but may not "on the high seas" between ports, and the shipboard infirmary charges like an ER at home.  Canada will not cover you while in a Canadian port, and they will charge you more than a US ER does. Even if I don't get trip cancellation insurance I always get trip medical insurance. Getting both will set you back from 5 to 8% of the total cost of the cruise.

I haven’t heard of trip medical insurance - l certainly would like to look into this — could you give me the site or any info?