Alaska Cruises?

[beccaseraph7]

I was looking for a cruise for 3 of us and was just doing some research on Alaska cruises (mostly out of Seattle) and noticed RC's are pretty high at about $3,000+ for 2 people in one balcony room where most of the RC cruises are less than $2,000 for better ships. I got the Allure booked for $2200 in April of 2016 and that ship is ALOT newer than the Jewel. I noticed the Navigator was only $1700 for one date.

 

I figured it was because of where it was cruising to.. but then I looked at Carnival, Princess, NCL, and even Disney cruises and they all were lower priced than Royal's?

 

I was wondering if Royal's prices were way up right now? What is the reasonable price for Royal's cruises to Alaska? What did you pay if you went on one?

 

I haven't decided were we are going yet, but this price seems a little steep to me so wanted to get some information on it before deciding anything, thank you :)

[Johnkut]

We paid less than 2 grand in 2011 and we went in the middle of July. I don't recommend this as a first cruise for anyone, because it is so much different than a Caribbean cruise. They do't have a lot of the activities around the pool like the caribbean. It is a beautiful place and I was glad i went.

[30scruiser]

My mom took an Alaskan cruise this summer and even though she prefers RCI she went on HAL after watching the prices for quite a while because it was so much cheaper, so I think the prices you're seeing may unfortunately be typical. I have no idea why that's the case though. Good luck

[DragonOfTheSeas]

An Alaska cruise requires a lot of research. If you go to the Alaska port of call you can read about some of the topics you should consider.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

Another good place to look for information is this link:

 

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

 

Alaska is a lot more than just the cost of the cruise.

 

For example, are you interested in a round trip or a one-way cruise?

 

Have fun planning your cruise!!

Edited September 22, 2014 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Tapi]

My mom took an Alaskan cruise this summer and even though she prefers RCI she went on HAL after watching the prices for quite a while because it was so much cheaper.

 

We also chose HAL, partly because it was considerably cheaper, but also because the itinerary was better (it visited Glacier Bay, as well as Sitka in addition to Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria). Also, because it was a Saturday departure, it made taking vacation much easier.

 

I monitored prices for a year and half before we sailed, and Royal was consistently more expensive than the others.

[skatermegs]

We also chose HAL, partly because it was considerably cheaper, but also because the itinerary was better (it visited Glacier Bay, as well as Sitka in addition to Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria). Also, because it was a Saturday departure, it made taking vacation much easier. QUOTE]

 

We did the same thing-the prices on HAL were just so much better it was worth it, and the itinerary was better. Did we miss our usual ships? Absolutely!

Alaska itineraries are limited, and each cruise line has to get permission to enter different glaciers-some lines have better times/glaciers that they have permission to enter, so it really matters what you want to see. Also, if you leave from Seattle you tend to go around the outside of Vancouver island, where if you leave from Vancouver you usually get to see the Inside Passage, which is incredibly beautiful! No matter what you decide-remember Alaska is expensive! Everything has to be barged up or flown up, so don't be surprised to find much higher prices. That said, it is absolutely worth it! Save up and do the wildlife excursions- they are amazing.

Megan

[Tapi]

No matter what you decide-remember Alaska is expensive! Everything has to be barged up or flown up, so don't be surprised to find much higher prices. That said, it is absolutely worth it!

 

 

We were actually surprised at how inexpensively we did Alaska. I monitored prices like a hawk, got a killer deal with the airfare, and did a lot of research about how to do each port (with kids) on a budget. Overall, the cruise didn't cost more than a summer Caribbean cruise. In fact, the cruise fare alone was basically the same as what Royal charged us for a 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Enchantment last summer! :eek:

 

 

 

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[hollon]

I was looking for a cruise for 3 of us and was just doing some research on Alaska cruises (mostly out of Seattle) and noticed RC's are pretty high at about $3,000+ for 2 people in one balcony room where most of the RC cruises are less than $2,000 for better ships. I got the Allure booked for $2200 in April of 2016 and that ship is ALOT newer than the Jewel. I noticed the Navigator was only $1700 for one date.

 

I figured it was because of where it was cruising to.. but then I looked at Carnival, Princess, NCL, and even Disney cruises and they all were lower priced than Royal's?

 

I was wondering if Royal's prices were way up right now? What is the reasonable price for Royal's cruises to Alaska? What did you pay if you went on one?

 

I haven't decided were we are going yet, but this price seems a little steep to me so wanted to get some information on it before deciding anything, thank you :)

 

We chose Princess and this was about three years ago and did a southbound cruise. We paid about 1500.00pp for a balcony. THEN, we did excursions, and really this is where you want to put your money, I know you can find inexpensive things to do, but if this is your only trip to Alaska, it's best to save and do excursions. We didn't use our balcony that much, but was so glad we did, b/c we saw dolphins, otters, outside our balcony. We went w/ Princess b/c they went to both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Go to the Alaska Board and you'll get tons of information, and the "ports of call". Alaska does take alot of planning.

[Trekker954]

I've been on a lot of cruises and Alaska was the best and most amazing. I would do a northbound or southbound on Radiance. I don't know why you are only looking at a Seattle cruise. You must go to Ketchikan. And yes it was my most expensive. We spent alot of private excursions as well. But if you want the cruise of a lifetime, please do it and don't want until you get older. We did many excursions that required activity. In/out of small float planes and helicopters. Hikes up to where the bear fish for salmon. I'm glad I was still pretty mobile.

[L454S]

Done Alaska a few times, ALWAYS about the first week of September(near end of season). If that's possible for you check out the prices. We found the cruise prices were much better, both RCCL and Princess.

[Tapi]

I don't know why you are only looking at a Seattle cruise.

 

 

I'll tell you our reasons for choosing a Seattle r/t. We had 14 family members, some elderly who flew all the way from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Getting to Seattle was already a bit challenging for them, and just mentioning flying to/from Anchorage and adding a 3rd leg and another 1,500 miles to their journey wasn't even a consideration. We also had small children, as young as 15 months old so logistically, Seattle was the best decision.

 

Also, for us (a family of 4), roundtrip airfare from Atlanta to Seattle cost a grand total of $800 (yup, TOTAL, not per person). Had we done a one way to Vancouver followed by a one way from Anchorage, we were looking at $3,200 total.

 

We will return to Alaska. There's no question about it. But we will save the one way sailing for when we don't have the same challenges that we had on our last sailing. :)

 

 

 

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Edited September 22, 2014 by Tapi

[Tapi]

Double post

Edited September 22, 2014 by Tapi