When to book excursions

[prmrolltide]

We are going on cruise July 5, 2016. When should we book our excursions? Are private operators available to book now for next year? Our first cruise to Alaska. Can't wait!

[CruiserBruce]

I think it is a bit soon- I would be booking the winter.

 

But you could contact the venders you are interested in and ask about their booking schedules.

[Italy52]

We have two favorite small boat whale watching operators that we like to use while in Icy Strait. I have contacted both (we are doing a B2B cruise) and have secured reservations for June 2016.

 

If you are interested in a popular operator for any port then I would contact them ASAP and inquire about availability.

[travgurl]

We leave this Tuesday. I booked all of our excursions privately after doing a lot of research and making the choice of what to do at each port and what company to choose. I actually began booking late last summer, had is all done by fall. Once you know what you want to do and what company, why wait? We are so excited about our trip and very happy about what we will be doing at each port. Good luck in your planning!

[Putterdude]

Any excursion with a finite number of seats such as flight tours should be booked as early as possible. Fishing charters also sell out early so late this year or early next would be a good idea.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Putterdude

[Budget Queen]

I usually late book, and don't have much problem getting the tours I want.

 

There are some very limited tours that do need to be booked further in advance, Anan is one, as example.

 

What I do suggest, is you have your ENTIRE itinerary and port activities figured out, before you get into reservations. Know details that will benefit you with timing, vendors, alternatives etc, before you get all excited and randomly book. I see, some schedules that could be improved and a better use of time in some cases. It's up to you to determine, how active or busy you want your short port time to be. Don't get caught up in what other people do. Find your own way and make the best plans for YOU. ;)

[ProfessorandtheGeek]

We are going to Alaska in May 2016 and all of our excursions are booked already for Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Seward.

 

Book as early as they will let you.

[EMED2010]

It depends on what you are doing. I booked Island Wings for Anan in March 2014 for August this year to secure my spot. I lost out on fishing in ISP because the vendor I chose would not take my reservation when I called in September. He told me he would take reservations in January but when I called then, he was filled. And so was everyone else so I had to book fishing in Seward instead. Live and learn. I booked whale watching in Janurary and heli-dogsled in May. The heli-dogsled takes full payment so I don't think they sell out as quickly:rolleyes:

[watchdiva]

We have floatplane booked, whale watching booked, taxi tour booked. We are sailing next May. Never too early to reach out for tours with limited availability.

[Keith1010]

If you book private excursions I would do the research now and then check with them later this year to try to lock in excursions.

 

Keith

[Cruisingthesuitelife]

As soon as my reservation for May this year was booked (itinerary opening day mid Feb 2014) I began contacting companies. I already knew what I wanted to do in each place and had done the research beforehand. All of my excursions were booked by May 2014. When I contacted some companies, I was told I wasn't even the first to enquire!

 

If there is something you want to do, why wait to book it and risk missing out?

[xlxo]

@prmrolltide: to clarify, which July 5 cruise are you on?

 

If you are on a Glacier Bay cruise.... you may want decide whether you want to explore Tracy Arm too. If the answer is yes, you want consider booking the aways popular (and sold out) mid-cruise excursion to meet Sawyer. This excursion saves you a few hours for Juneau as you don't need to retrace 50 miles of ocean with the mid-cruise meetup.

 

Another excursion to consider whether you want is a ship tour. These behind the scenes tour include stops to the bridge, theatre, kitchen, engine control and sometimes where they hide the beer. These tours are usually limited to a dozen passengers on each sailing.

Edited July 19, 2015 by xlxo

[bluebeard39]

We are going on cruise July 5, 2016. When should we book our excursions? Are private operators available to book now for next year? Our first cruise to Alaska. Can't wait!

 

We are going July 8 2016 and have most of our excursions booked or being held. Some private operators will take your name and e-mail and get back to you after September.

[knbcruisers]

Book early for what you really want, but I would also suggest getting the Groupon app. Starting in December there were quite a few good deals available for the summer season. In January

I got a flight tour from Talkeetna for $220 for 2 people.

[bethohio3]

I've timed it all sorts of ways.

 

We leave in 42 days--and I'm booking excursions this week. It may mean we don't get to do everything we want to do, but I had plenty of in between trips to plan for!

[prmrolltide]

Thank you everyone! Now to figure out what to do. I'm pretty sure we'll do whale watching in Juneau. Other than that, I have no idea :) Suggestions are appreciated. We are sailing carnival so will be Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.

[xlxo]

Yes, the number of excursions is very overwhelming. It's not uncommon for some to make multiple Alaskan trips to try experiences missed on a previous trip. Here's some excursion ideas. Note, once you get off the boat.... the excursions for all the cruise lines is about the same....

 

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[emeraldcity]

I booked the zodiac boats in Ketchikan through Royal Caribbean about a month before the cruise, Chilkoot charters for bus/rail trip in Skagway about the same time ... then I booked the McKinley flghtseeing with glacier landing the day before and the whitewater rafting in Denali two days before (both through our RCI land tour director.