When to book Alaska 2012?

[am2]

Looking at taking the Inside Passage roundtrip Vancouver cruise in June or July of 2012. Would like to use frequent flyer miles for the airlines, and they are starting to become available that far out. Since there will be 4 of us (DH, 2 kids, and me) I can't wait too long. Trying to decide if I should reserve the airlines now but wait to book the cruise (I assume there will be deals at some point?) or just go ahead and book it all. Any advice?

[CruiserBruce]

If you are going to book the flight, that is going to lock you in to the dates. Why wait to book the cruise?

[localady]

I am sure a travel professional can speak to this better, but I have not seen a lot of "deals" for Alaska in the past couple of years.

 

I say book early, as we have, to get the best cabin or cabins possible. By booking early, we where able to book a BB cabin for hundreds less than a B or A cabin, though they are virtually the same. :D

[kazu]

I am sure a travel professional can speak to this better, but I have not seen a lot of "deals" for Alaska in the past couple of years.

 

I say book early, as we have, to get the best cabin or cabins possible. By booking early, we where able to book a BB cabin for hundreds less than a B or A cabin, though they are virtually the same. :D

 

I agree - and if the price goes down you'll get the benefit if you're watching as long as it is before final payment date:)

[DaveOKC]

Most of the deals I have seen for Alaska have been for May and Sept sailings. Plus, I think the deals really depend alot on which type of cabin you are looking at. The deluxe suites seem to go UP in price rather than down (due to limited supply on the smaller ships IMO), while the less expensive rooms are more likely to see a price drop (more cabins to fill).

 

By the way, I think you will like the inside passage cruise. I suggest you look at the Volendam, as it departs mid-week with the result being in ports during less crowded times (most of the ships depart and return on Sat and Sun, thus are in the same ports on the same days). Also, the Volendam is a fine ship and the Alaska route is a great run for them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Alaska is a very popular destination.

I would book the cruise now -- and do book your air once you have the cruise confirmed.

It is extremely rare for Alaskan prices to drop.

[spacepotatoes]

We are doing the same itinerary next August. We've had it booked since April, mostly to lock in the price. It may still go down between now and final payment but from what I've seen for this season, it probably won't.

[BumperII]

The answer is really very simple. You put a lot more at risk by delaying the booking than you could possibly hope to gain by delaying. The ability to use the frequent flyer miles makes a significant reduction in the cost of your vacation.

The first step is to be sure that you really want to take this cruise.

In your shoes, I would first get all my ducks lined up. HAL will hold a cabin for 24 hours to give you time to make the initial deposit. During that 24 hours, I would be booking my frequent flyer airline tickets, and once that is locked in, I would pay the cruise deposit.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Asap asap

[am2]

Okay, thanks everyone. When the flights become available, I'll go ahead and book the cruise as well.

 

We're planning on getting a "J" inside cabin for the four of us, and my parents will get an oceanview cabin that will hold 3 so they can take one of our kids if they want to. I do want to make sure we don't get a cabin over the nightclub, so getting to pick our cabin will be good.

 

I remember hearing that AAA offers early booking deals, but my local AAA office said those don't come out until fall. I guess that's why I was thinking of waiting. But I really don't want to go through AAA anyway, since my parents have a cruise TA they have used for years. The prices he quoted were pretty much the same as HAL online. Is that what I should expect?

[am2]

Most of the deals I have seen for Alaska have been for May and Sept sailings. Plus, I think the deals really depend alot on which type of cabin you are looking at. The deluxe suites seem to go UP in price rather than down (due to limited supply on the smaller ships IMO), while the less expensive rooms are more likely to see a price drop (more cabins to fill).

 

By the way, I think you will like the inside passage cruise. I suggest you look at the Volendam, as it departs mid-week with the result being in ports during less crowded times (most of the ships depart and return on Sat and Sun, thus are in the same ports on the same days). Also, the Volendam is a fine ship and the Alaska route is a great run for them.

 

We did consider the Volendam, but the option of using the Crows Nest is appealing since we'll be in an inside cabin (more space, less cost for the 4 of us) and the Volendam apparently still allows smoking there while the Zuiderdam does not. Looks like a perfect place to drink coffee, play board games, and relax, but not a chance for that if there is smoking anywhere nearby. I can't tolerate smoke, but my dad would absolutely throw a fit if he even caught a whiff of it.