Alaska - pricing question!

[sueandkent]

We are planning on going to Alaska next summer, Aug 30 Crown Princess from Vancouver northbound. The prices for this cruise (and most other dates) have remained pretty much at brochure price so far. In fact, in the past couple weeks they've gone up but I suspect that's more to do with the Christmas season than anything else.

When can we expect to see some pricing start to move. Final payment for this cruise isn't until June. Last year I remember seeing lots of great deals for these end of the season sailings in Alaska I just can't remember when I saw them. I know some were before final payment.

Thanks as always for the help.

[f-mattox]

It's all supply and demand; if cabins are moving, don't look for any big drops--considering the premium prices for mid-season next year, I wouldn't be surprised if the early and late season sailings are moving pretty well. Wait and see . . . it's all you can do.

[Astro Flyer]

In early June we received an email for 14 days (two 7 day cruises) roundtrip from Vancouver in an inside cabin for $880/pp (tax & fees included). Even with Princess air it was $90/pp/day and for a mid July Alaskan cruise think it was a good short-notice price. Being retired we are able to wait for such deals but that's not an option for many others.

[Jim Avery]

Supply and demand is right. Supply is tight and demand for next year seems to be very high. We booked the Pacific for the first Alaska voyage next May and got the very last suite. The ship is nearly sold out with Suites selling out first, then Minis then Insides. And this for the first one of the season. Makes you wish you owned a bar in Ketchikan.:eek::D

[AKman2495]

Keep in mind that the State of Alaska has kicked in some money for advertising. I have seen some of the commercials, which I expect are driving up demand too.

[Gunner22aa]

As mentioned above it's all about supply and demand. As a business cruise lines keep very good records of what % of the cabins should be sold at any point up in time to sailing date. If the ship is selling equal to or faster than the norm there won't be price drops. They won't sell you something for $100 when people are happy to pay $200. If it is selling slower than the norm then they may offer incentives to book like cost reductions or extra perks onboard such as OBCs and alike. Flash sales sometimes occur after final payment date when its too late for booked passengers to take advantage of them. Most of these are annotated for new bookings only. When this happens you could take advantage of the lower fare but you have to weigh in the cost of any penality you would incure.

[geoherb]

We went to Alaska last year for the first week of August. I waited until May to book--after the final payment date. We got a bargain--paying less than half what the cruise tour was before final payment date. The flip side is that we took a chance that we would not go on a cruise at all. Sometimes the fares don't go down after final payment. If you have your heart set on one particular cruise, I've always recommended booking whenever the price is acceptable to you and not worrying later that someone else may be paying less. And keep watching prices on all acceptable categories of cabins if you book before the final payment date.

[nukesubsailor]

We are planning on going to Alaska next summer, Aug 30 Crown Princess from Vancouver northbound. The prices for this cruise (and most other dates) have remained pretty much at brochure price so far. In fact, in the past couple weeks they've gone up but I suspect that's more to do with the Christmas season than anything else.

When can we expect to see some pricing start to move. Final payment for this cruise isn't until June. Last year I remember seeing lots of great deals for these end of the season sailings in Alaska I just can't remember when I saw them. I know some were before final payment.

Thanks as always for the help.

Here is what I experienced ----

We booked, in March of 2013, an Alaskan tour/cruise for July of 2014.

By mid September of 2013 the land tour part was sold out.

Also in March, a friend booked just the cruise portion. The cabin they booked cost $2279p/p. The same type and category as that cabin today is priced at $2389 and over half of them are shown as sold.

Waiting for a last minute sale certainly can often pay off but don't count on getting the specific cabin you want. You also may end up with no cruise at all if it sells out.

[fishywood]

Keep this in mind:

 

Summer 2014 Princess has only three ships sailing the Voyage of the Glaciers route rather than the four this past Summer;

 

Even though Crown Princess holds more that 50% more passengers than Coral or Island Princess it will attract an even greater disporportionate amount of bookings being the first ship of that size and class to sail Voyage of the Glaciers (rather that the roundtrip Inside Passage route) and enter both Glacier Bay and College Fjord. Also, College Fjord is only on the northbound sailings, which is one of the reasons they sell out quicker than the southbound.

 

If you wait for the discounts to start rolling when the season starts, you may just find your preferred dates already sold out. And with an open-jaw itinerary, whatever you save on the cruise fare is often less that the premium you pay the airlines for booking air at the (relatively) last minute.

 

EDIT: Just noticed your planned sailing date of August 30--which is Labor Day Weekend in the US. A potential double-edged sword. People wanting to sail this weekend will be making their plans well in advance. But if there are any unsold cabins after final payment date your may get a real bargain; air from the Lower 48 will be very hard to come by at the last minute, and those of us whose time is their own tend to avoid travel on a holiday weekend. Just more variables to your roll of the dice.

Edited December 17, 2013 by fishywood

[sueandkent]

Keep this in mind:

 

Summer 2014 Princess has only three ships sailing the Voyage of the Glaciers route rather than the four this past Summer;

 

Even though Crown Princess holds more that 50% more passengers than Coral or Island Princess it will attract an even greater disporportionate amount of bookings being the first ship of that size and class to sail Voyage of the Glaciers (rather that the roundtrip Inside Passage route) and enter both Glacier Bay and College Fjord. Also, College Fjord is only on the northbound sailings, which is one of the reasons they sell out quicker than the southbound.

 

If you wait for the discounts to start rolling when the season starts, you may just find your preferred dates already sold out. And with an open-jaw itinerary, whatever you save on the cruise fare is often less that the premium you pay the airlines for booking air at the (relatively) last minute.

 

EDIT: Just noticed your planned sailing date of August 30--which is Labor Day Weekend in the US. A potential double-edged sword. People wanting to sail this weekend will be making their plans well in advance. But if there are any unsold cabins after final payment date your may get a real bargain; air from the Lower 48 will be very hard to come by at the last minute, and those of us whose time is their own tend to avoid travel on a holiday weekend. Just more variables to your roll of the dice.

 

This is exactly what I am banking on. We picked that date because it is the first week of school (also Labour Day long weekend here in Canada too) and that will pretty much eliminate families from booking that week. We want to sail Alaska but if we can't get it booked for what we are willing to pay then we'll just wait another year. It's a short flight to Vancouver for us, plenty available as well and even getting back from Alaska isn't that bad, not quite as expensive as for those in the lower 48.

I guess I'll just keep watching. There is lots of availability according to our TA and not even a roll call for this date started here on CC. I'm not so sure this particular sailing is a supply and demand issue.

[sassyredhat]

We have taken 2 Alaska cruises, and did not have a price drop on either one.

 

Pat

[DrivesLikeMario]

My southbound sailing has been just about sold out for months. I usually don't like to book that far in advance but when I saw how low inventory was, I booked. I got the last port side balcony - must've been a cancellation.

 

AK is selling really well this year. The specials usually seem to pop up around March or April for the May sailings. The specials for the late season come up after the final payments are made usually. The prices can be fantastic, but you really have to be flexible on type of cabin, sail date and location of the cabin.

[San Diego Ellie]

Last year it paid to wait. They had a special sale for the 14 day version of the Vancouver to Anchorage and Anchorage to Woodier that included prepaid gratuities, an onboard credit, and very reasonable prices. I would gamble waiting. Also, just learned from my TA that on Dec. 27 there will be a special sale that includes Alaska cruises.

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

We booked passage for Southbound Alaska in Aug 2013 to sale in Sept. The price did go down. We had booked an inside cabin, but ended up upgrading to an oceanview. I believe it was the 2nd last sailing of Sapphire Princess for that season. Also never made it to Ketchikan due to hurricane force winds. That was some RIDE!

[DrivesLikeMario]

The earliest May sailings and the last few AK sailings are usually the cheapest and usually have the best last-minute deals. Just FYI.

[Host Jazzbeau]

If Canadians book under the same terms as US (e.g. deposit refundable until final payment), it doesn't cost anything to book now and ride the price down with each sale. Last year we booked an IA cabin at $1,299 pp at launch, but by the time of final payment our cost had been reduced to $774 pp (and we kept the same cabin).