Can Alaska be done on a budget?

[Gizmorella]

Hello, I’m fairly new to cruising so I hope you can all bare with me! I have only been on one cruise with my partner to the Norwegian Fjords (It was amazing and really gave us the cruising bug!). The dream now is to visit Alaska, our only problem is the budget. So I was wondering in your experience cruise critic cruisers can Alaska been done on a budget of around £3000 ($4789 US dollars)

 

The factors are -

1. We live in the U.K (flights alone will probably be half the budget)

2. We want to see as much as possible! Land and Cruise (Denali Park - Cruise through the Inside Passage - Glaciers.

3. Neither of us drive.

 

I have been researching and have seen the options for cruisetours, but they never seem to leave much time in Denali or leave us stranded on the opposite end of the map from where we need to be for a return flight.

 

I also understand that i’ll need to keep excursions to a minimum as they can be very expensive, but I hope to see as much wildlife as possible and cultural exhibits (Native American art).

 

Thanks all for any helpful suggestions or tips!

[PennyAgain]

In my many years of travel in Alaska I can say that I am very careful with money. I look for the least expensive rooms on ships (usually in September) and am happy just being on the ship. You have the same food, entertainment & views from the decks as those who pay many times more.

 

Start by looking at packaged holidays out of the UK and study up on your options.

 

In lieu of a cruise/tour package, I would seriously consider doing a cruise and then self-driving with plenty of time at Denali National Park. Driving in Alaska is plain and simple. Self-driving a car or even a caravan should be part of your thinking on Alaska.

 

You can save a lot of money by self catering many of your meals on land. I do. I buy a cheap cooler and keep basic food, beverage and snack items in my car. I shop in Anchorage to get better prices as things get more and more dear as you go away from the city.

 

Prices will be cheaper than what you have to pay at home! You have to eat where ever you are, so don't be overwhelmed by the idea of having to buy food on your Alaska trip. Beer is cheaper in Alaska!

 

Watch for posts from BudgetQueen and FrugalTravel for really good ideas.

[mapleleaves]

There is train and bus service to Denali (and Seward and Whittier).

There is only one departure per day to Denali so it is somewhat limiting:

http://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel/Transit/Schedules/tabid/98/Default.aspx

 

The Park Connection bus has 2 departures a day to Denali.

http://alaskacoach.com/

 

If you don't have your own transportation you'll need to stay near the Denali Park entrance or find a hotel that offers transportation to/from. If you don't mind a shared bathroom there is a nice hostel at Denali (with a shuttle) that has private cabins/rooms. Look at the Denali Chamber of Commerce web site: http://www.alaskaone.com/_dcc/accommodations/

 

There are free and low cost things to do at every port. Borrow an Alaska travel book from your library to learn about the ports. Google each town's Visitor Information web site to find ideas. Read Member Reviews of Ports to read what past travellers have done.

 

Price Condor Air as an option.

[agabbymama]

I'm not sure what is on offer from the UK, but I did a HAL 11 day cruisetour for $2150 pp (US dollars)/1346 pounds. So you'd have to add airfare to that, but I feel with a budget of $4789, it is definitely doable. Our total trip was $3050 pp including food.

 

Being from the UK, I would advise against driving in the US (opposite side of the road). While Alaska driving may be EASY for US travelers, maybe not so easy for Brits.

 

We left Vancouver sailing Northbound to Tracy Arm, Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. We left the ship in Skagway and headed up the Yukon Whitepass Rail Road into the Yukon, visiting Whitehorse and Dawson City. Riverboat to Eagle Alaska, back on a coach to Chicken, Tok and Fairbanks. Train to Denali (only 1 overnight) then ending in Anchorage.

 

We had 3 days on the ship and 8 glorious days on land. I only paid extra for 1 excursion to Jeff King's Husky Homestead (4 time Iditarod Champ), while at Denali.

 

The tour itself included enough sights and sounds of Alaska, that we didn't feel the need to do a lot of extras. Coach travel isn't for everyone, but I like the idea of someone to rely on if things go wrong, they meet you at the airport, they transfer your luggage, tell you where to be & what time to be there, then you sit and enjoy the scenery and visit a lot of sights along the way (that you may not have ever heard of), then transfer you to the airport at the end of your trip/ready for your flight home.

 

A lot of posters on this board advocate independent travel, but that isn't necessarily always the best for everyone. Do your research as others have posted. Each Port has a planner that they send to the US for free, Not sure about the UK. Then go to HAL or Princess websites and see what is on offer for UK passengers.

 

Then lastly, enjoy your cruisetour! Alaska is awesome!

[Gizmorella]

Thanks everyone for the info so far, it's all very helpful. I see I need to do whole lot more planning, but I have picked up a lot of valuable information from reading other posts. Also does everyone agree you need to book a year in advance for Alaska??

[DragonOfTheSeas]

This web site is a good resource, too.

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/juneau.html

 

I like the tab that tells you about touring each port on your own. It might be a little less convenient--but, a great deal cheaper.

 

For example, we took the city bus in Ketchikan to Totem Bight Park and Potlach Park. It was $1/person per trip. Admission to both parks is free. We took the 9 am bus (30 min trip) and got back to the center of town by lunch time. We walked onto Creek Street and had lunch--but, we could have jumped back on the ship to save money. Then there was plenty of time to see the rest of the sites and do a little shopping. [there were several sales going on]. We spent $20 that day and that included lunch.[shopping items are not included in that total]

[frugaltravel]

Thanks everyone for the info so far, it's all very helpful. I see I need to do whole lot more planning, but I have picked up a lot of valuable information from reading other posts. Also does everyone agree you need to book a year in advance for Alaska??

 

Do you "need" to book a year in advance? No. But if you truly want to travel on a budget, you need to start planning 15-18 months in advance and start booking shortly thereafter. For example, you can book a car rental now for next summer, but it will cost you a lot more than if you had booked it in July for next summer. The sooner you start planning and booking, the more familiar you are with less expensive options and the less likely such options will sell out.

[Gizmorella]

That's a great link, thanks for sharing! It's a great resource for looking into different excursions.

[bonvoyagie]

Here are some more planning resources:

http://www.travelalaska.com/

http://cruiseportinsider.com/index.html

 

Since you do not drive then you are indeed limited to either using the bus or train for transportation. Both the AK RR and GreyLines of Alaska offer tour packages that come in all shapes and sizes as well as costs. Then there is also the cruisetours offered by the cruise lines.

[JJPacer]

We did an 8 day pre-southbound cruise land tour on our own. We bought the

Alaska Tour Saver Book for $50. The book has buy one and get one free coupons for hotels, attractions, transportation, restaurants, tours, etc. Here's the website: http://www.toursaver.com/ You can see all the coupons that are offered in the book on the website. We used these coupons & saved $1K on our trip. We didn't have any problem using the coupons. All the venders honored them. We did book our coupon activities, hotels, etc. early.

 

The first time we went to Alaska, we were on a tight budget. You can definitely do inexpensive activities at the ports and have a memorable experience.

 

It is our experience that you can plan your own tour for less money, than by using a cruise/tour group. Once you have an idea what you want to do, compare the prices of the two and see how it comes out for you. Good luck & welcome to America!

[laughing husky]

Half of your travel costs will be over the Pond....There might be some cheaper alternatives to that....Icelandic Air will start flying from Europe to Anchorage this spring....it should be a huge boon for budget minded European travelers...Condor also flies direct to Anchorage over the pole and it is a much shorter trip from Frankfurt. If I remember correctly it is about 7-8 hrs...out of Frankfurt. Hope this helps...

[petlady7]

We are expats living in France and have booked a cruisetour 12days with Princess mid June , we phoned them direct for the best price , you can find their number on their website

We will be travelling from France to Heathrow then onto Vancouver , the price for the two of us was just under £5000 for all transfers and 2 nights in Vancouver , hope this helps

The cruisetour or the Vancouver hotel does not include meals , we find Alaska very expensive compared to our last big cruisetour to the Far East but I understand that the costs for the cruiseships are lower in the Far East

[frugaltravel]

I dont agree wuth agabbymama that you should write off a possible car rental just because we drive on the other side of the road. I have driven in the UK and elsewhere on the other side of the road. It isnt that bad Plus we use automatic transmissions making it even easier.

[mapleleaves]

From the OP's first post:

 

<< 3. Neither of us drive >>

[AKKarl]

Try Icelandair for at least one direction. I found a few flights on their website, one way Heathrow to Anchorage via Reykavik for 427.10 GBP per person including taxes, fees etc. You could fly into Anchorage, tour, cruise to Vancouver and have many options including Icelandair or British Air from Vancouver or Seattle.

 

They also have flights from Manchester and Glasgow if one of those cities is closer to you.