Total cruise Cost

[geoherb]

I worked hard to keep our first Alaskan cruise under $2,000 per person, including our flights to Seattle (including three nights before the cruise there) excursions, tips, wine, etc. We did most of our excursions on our own--except for snorkeling in Ketchikan through Princess because of the limited amount of time we had in that port. We did not do the most expensive types of excursions--helicopter and airplane rides--but still had a great time.

 

Our second Alaskan cruise came in at even less money. Once again, we did not do any expensive excursions. We kayaked in Ketchikan, did a walking tour on our own in Juneau, including riding the tramway to the top of Mount Roberts (and back down), and rented a car in Skagway to drive into the Yukon. I loved being independent of a tour group. We stopped when and where I wanted to (I do admit to being in charge, with DH just along for the ride.)

 

I'm looking at another Alaskan cruise this August. This time, we'll be doing the land portion in addition to cruising, so it will be more than $2,000 per person. (Just the plane tickets and cruise fare almost add up to that amount.) But it's 12 nights.

[Seminolevet]

We're making it a "bucket list" trip, so for one week DIY land tour, one week Southbound Island Princess, balcony room, 2 extra nights in Vancouver, round trip from Florida (probably the worst possible state to get flights to Alaska to, with the exception of perhaps Puerto Rico), and some pretty pricey excursions (flightseeing, glacier dogsledding, Anan Creek fly-in for bear watching), we're looking at around $10-11K. That's for 2 people.

 

If I count all the pre-cruise shopping for gear, probably a bit more, but I'm going to say I'll use those clothes again, so they don't count ;)

 

We're pretty frugal in other aspects of our life, so this is a splurge :)

[kr9457]

We are doing a 12 day cruisetour with Celebrity. We have a congiere suite booked and are booking all the tours we always dreamed of doing. I figure cost will be about $12,000 for a couple when we are done. This will be a once in a life time trip and don't want to regret not doing something. There are so many places we have seen and want to see that we will most likely not get back here so we wanted to make sure we don't regret that there was something we didn't do.

[Marillian]

Like other posters, this may be a once in a lifetime experience so we are splurging. I estimate it will cost around $12,000. It's our first cruise and first time to Alaska. Not including the new clothes we intend to buy for the trip, here is an estimated breakdown of our costs thus far:

 

We are in an aft ocean suite. We also have reservations in the Steak house. So the cruise expense, including the daily required and voluntary gratuities is costing around $5600.

 

I cashed in some frequent flyer miles for two R/T airfare tickets from New York to Seattle, although I paid an extra $400 for the "premium extra leg room seats".

 

Airport Parking: $200.00

 

Trip insurance: $400.00

 

Downtown Seattle hotel for one night prior to cruise and one night after cruise = $450.

 

Town Car service - 4 trips (from airport to hotel; hotel to pier; pier to hotel; and hotel to airport) $200 (including gratuity).

 

Shore excursions are booked: $3,000.

 

Meals in Seattle and in ports: Estimated $500-750.

[mytime53]

I have to say that a lot of you are making me feel really thrifty about our 6 week trip that included Boston, NYC, London, 2 days outside London, and then 3 weeks in Africa.

[rhlaw]

We are doing a 12 day cruisetour with Celebrity. We have a congiere suite booked and are booking all the tours we always dreamed of doing. I figure cost will be about $12,000 for a couple when we are done. This will be a once in a life time trip and don't want to regret not doing something. There are so many places we have seen and want to see that we will most likely not get back here so we wanted to make sure we don't regret that there was something we didn't do.

 

I agree with you and we are doing the same thing,our kids are grown and we are treating ourselves.

[RAYJO]

7 Nt So.Caribbean on HAL Westerdam on Apr 1 2012. Total expenses $8450.00 for the two of us. Flights from Maine, one day pre-cruise, cruise,(deluxe suite) and 1 day post cruise, etc..

[RAYJO]

Going on RCCL to Alaska next year. Extra person and extra room. OMG..

[donaldsc]

Sounds very reasonable to me.

 

DON

[donaldsc]

I love the response "I refuse to toal it up". I wish I had almost not done that. We're both 30 so I thought totalling it up would be the adult thing to do :)

 

But, yeah it's alaska so I am just going to stop paying attention to it from now on. I am glad we were atleast on the right track and not being ripped off

 

We did a 3 month driving trip to and in AK last summer. I know how much gas cost (about $2000) because I was interested in how much gas we used. I do not know and do not want to know how much the rest of the trip cost. If I did, I might not want to do my next major driving trip which will be to see the rest of Australia.

 

Better to enjoy and not know.

 

DON

[gkrnjlr]

I'm with the others who refuse to total it up. For our family of 5 we've got two cabins - a mini-suite and an inside booked. We've got excursions in two ports and the other ports we're doing it ourselves. We have air fare from SC to WA and a week pre-cruise in the Seattle area.

 

I never really stopped to look at the total price. If I do that now I'll probably feel like we should cut back a little.

 

This is our second trip to Alaska and I'm not sure how soon we'll be headed back again.

[frugaltravel]

I have to say that a lot of you are making me feel really thrifty about our 6 week trip that included Boston, NYC, London, 2 days outside London, and then 3 weeks in Africa.

 

lol. Me too. I don't spend as much on weeks of travel that some people here spend on a week or two. But neither is "right" or "wrong", just different.

[Budget Queen]

I have to say that a lot of you are making me feel really thrifty about our 6 week trip that included Boston, NYC, London, 2 days outside London, and then 3 weeks in Africa.

 

Yeah, me too, I'm sitting in Paris right now writing, from a little guesthouse, that is "budget and basic". got here this morning via Eurostar after being in London for almost a week. 2 week TransAtlantic cruise prior, with a week in New Orleans to start. Gone 5 weeks this trip. :) I like frequent and repeative travel- 17 weeks this year. Others will certainly greatly enjoy their trips too. It's wonderful, so many options are available, isn't it?

[Gotta Go Cruisin]

Yawn...:rolleyes:

[frugaltravel]

Yawn...:rolleyes:

 

No one is forcing you to open or read any threads. So don't just yawn; maybe go to sleep?? :confused::D

[Gotta Go Cruisin]

Maybe we could stay on Topic and quit Hijacking the Thread. Most posters seem to try to stay with the general theme here, but then it lost its course. I believe the OP wanted to get an idea about if they were over or underspending for their AK cruise. Its turning into something different. Please read the rules of the board and keep them in mind when posting. Thanks :D BTW, I think the OP is just about right with what they are spending for their Alaska Adventure. Alot depends on your personal preferences, what you want to see and do. Enjoy your vacation! :)

[gkrnjlr]

Yeah, me too, I'm sitting in Paris right now writing, from a little guesthouse, that is "budget and basic". got here this morning via Eurostar after being in London for almost a week. 2 week TransAtlantic cruise prior, with a week in New Orleans to start. Gone 5 weeks this trip. :) I like frequent and repeative travel- 17 weeks this year. Others will certainly greatly enjoy their trips too. It's wonderful, so many options are available, isn't it?

 

Wow! Nice trip!!! You'll have to share pictures when you return!

[Gotta Go Cruisin]

Facebook is a good option. I just bought Stock, so please visit often. :rolleyes:

We're off to Alaska in two days. :) I don't know how much $$$ we'll spend, but I'm sure it will be worth every penny.

[krispykreme97]

I'm up to about $6000 for 4 including cruise, flights, pre-cruise hotel, excursions, transportation, and city passes.

[paddingtonbear]

I have to say that a lot of you are making me feel really thrifty about our 6 week trip that included Boston, NYC, London, 2 days outside London, and then 3 weeks in Africa.

 

lol. Me too. I don't spend as much on weeks of travel that some people here spend on a week or two. But neither is "right" or "wrong", just different.

 

Yeah, me too, I'm sitting in Paris right now writing, from a little guesthouse, that is "budget and basic". got here this morning via Eurostar after being in London for almost a week. 2 week TransAtlantic cruise prior, with a week in New Orleans to start. Gone 5 weeks this trip. :) I like frequent and repeative travel- 17 weeks this year. Others will certainly greatly enjoy their trips too. It's wonderful, so many options are available, isn't it?

 

It is great that a cruise gives you the option to be a little more frugal or splurge. Just the cabin type and number/type of excursions makes a huge difference in Alaska. I can see why people make it a once in a lifetime thing. Our airfares are steep from Australia so we've decided to do one longer trip every two years.

 

It takes a lot of research to find a reasonably priced hotel with the facilities you want in Canada and Alaska. Still research is part of the fun.

[Bigduff14]

Honeymoon for us. Dont wanna know. Id say Im in the 8k range before we even get there.

[7uvus]

This will be our third Alaska cruise, but the first without the balcony. We weren't even planning on this one because of tight finances. BUT...we saw the $399 on Princess southbound, mid June and jumped. Granted, it's inside guarantee, but we got our airfare covered by FF miles! With hotel for one night, transport, cruise and tips (also covered by ship board credit), my dh and I are going on our Alaska cruise for less than $1300 for the two of us. We also don't buy much inboard, and won't do excursions costing more than the city bus. This was a fun challenge for me! It's either be super cheap this time, or don't cruise! Of course the cruise wins!

[Budget Queen]

This will be our third Alaska cruise, but the first without the balcony. We weren't even planning on this one because of tight finances. BUT...we saw the $399 on Princess southbound, mid June and jumped. Granted, it's inside guarantee, but we got our airfare covered by FF miles! With hotel for one night, transport, cruise and tips (also covered by ship board credit), my dh and I are going on our Alaska cruise for less than $1300 for the two of us. We also don't buy much inboard, and won't do excursions costing more than the city bus. This was a fun challenge for me! It's either be super cheap this time, or don't cruise! Of course the cruise wins!

 

This has my way of travel for years. Enjoy the ride. :)

[mytime53]

Yawn...:rolleyes:

 

Maybe we could stay on Topic and quit Hijacking the Thread. Most posters seem to try to stay with the general theme here, but then it lost its course. I believe the OP wanted to get an idea about if they were over or underspending for their AK cruise. Its turning into something different. Please read the rules of the board and keep them in mind when posting. Thanks :D BTW, I think the OP is just about right with what they are spending for their Alaska Adventure. Alot depends on your personal preferences, what you want to see and do. Enjoy your vacation! :)

 

Facebook is a good option. I just bought Stock, so please visit often. :rolleyes:

 

I'm assuming the posts were directed to, among a few others, me...

I was going to ignore them, but obviously changed my mind. I check this site nearly daily, frequently more often. I become familiar with many of the posters due to the time they spend on here, and watch them grow from wary newbies (both to the "forum community" and to the state of Alaska). I'm familiar with others because they spend just as much, or even more time than me; they truly love this place, whether they are residents or frequent travelers here, and also want to help visitors have a wonderful time. I spend time looking up facts to make sure any info I give is accurate, and not just a hazy recollection. I think I have helped at least a few people have a better trip. I get nothing out of this except the satisfaction of helping people enjoy the area in which I live. Rarely is there even a thank you. If I (and the others who you would admonish to stay on topic) am not deserving of the occasional aside comment, then one of us is in the wrong "community".

[jetsfan]

Nicely said.