Last Minute Alaska Fares?

[Bostonjetset]

We ended up booking a last minute northbound cruise this June (June 19 Zaandam) about 5 weeks before departure and got a pretty good deal. The price was $469 for an inside K cabin and our two kids are just $99 each. We also got a little bit of onboard credit.

 

 

 

If you plan to be wait, it is a good plan to have backups plans (different cruise etc) as you already discussed. .

 

 

 

We had originally booked the Star Princess for June 18 and cancelled right before final payment due to a layoff. I kept watching cruise prices for our original cruise and for Zaandam the next day. One day I got an email for "private sale" on Alaska cruises from HAL. I clicked the link and could see prices as low as $399 for the Zaandam sailing but when I logged on the website, it wasn't available. So I figured it must be for someone who had cruised with HAL before. The next day I got a call from a cruise consultant and the price she quoted was the flash sale from the website. I was surprised that we could get the pricing and booked right away. With the special kids fares, we are paying an average of $284 per person + taxes and fees (which are almost as much as the cruise fare).

 

 

Wow what a steal!! Congrats.

I realize that the one way trips seem to get better last min deals so am not expecting as low as you got. I would love to snag one for 499-599. The taxes for Alaska cruises are ridiculous at 235pp approx. but what can ya do. On our last cruise in Europe the taxes were $95 for 10 nights! It seams Alaska, Panama Canal, and Bermuda have some of the highest taxes. C'est la vie I guess.

 

 

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[Dobermangal]

We booked a late September 7 day r/t Vancouver, in May I think it was, during the view and verandah sale. Our outside category has since gone up over 400 CAD pp and now the Insides are listed as higher than we locked in at. You just never know.

[Bostonjetset]

We booked a late September 7 day r/t Vancouver, in May I think it was, during the view and verandah sale. Our outside category has since gone up over 400 CAD pp and now the Insides are listed as higher than we locked in at. You just never know.

 

Thanks for the input.

I realize there is a possibility of prices going up. Booking in May for a Sept sailing is not really last min though. Often prices do not seem to come down until after final payment according to many on here.

[judydoc]

Wow you got a steal on your 14 night!! :D

Again, I don't expect that much of a deal but I would bite for about 599pp for inside. I think we will wait until at least after final payment. I've not seen any of the HAL sailings sell out for Alaska yet this year until literally right before sailing [i'm talking days]. I know there are "Inspirations" groups on several HAL sailings to Alaska this year but I double checked their site and Sept 10 is not one of them.

 

Thanks for the luck. I will keep checking.

 

Where do you find the HAL sailings to Alaska that the "Inspirations" are on?

[Bostonjetset]

Where do you find the HAL sailings to Alaska that the "Inspirations" are on?

 

Morning, Judy!

 

I heard that this group often sails on Alaska itineraries with HAL, for whatever reason. Since they are not a group I was especially keen on sailing with if I could avoid it, I just Googled "Inspirations cruises" and found their website. It lists all the dates

[janmcn]

I think with all the problems in the Med more people seem to be doing AK cruises this year. Our NA coming up has been sold out for several weeks and now we've heard it's offering "down sells" for people to take less desirable cabins. I think you may be taking a risk for basically a few hundred dollars.

 

 

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[Bostonjetset]

I think with all the problems in the Med more people seem to be doing AK cruises this year. Our NA coming up has been sold out for several weeks and now we've heard it's offering "down sells" for people to take less desirable cabins. I think you may be taking a risk for basically a few hundred dollars.

 

 

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Interesting. I just got back from the Med and it was wonderful. There were no "problems" to speak of. Also, it's a completely different type of trip than Alaska. Europe is all about culture and history whilst Alaska is about nature. I would not think they are interchangeable destinations.

 

I haven't looked extensively at the NA as we prefer to leave from Seattle due to our air tickets but I have not seen any Westerdam sailings on this itinerary sell out. Even the sailings that leave next week still have staterooms available.

 

P.S. I see you did Voyage of the Vikings last year!!! How exciting. That is one of my bucket-list trips. :-)

 

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Edited June 11, 2016 by Bostonjetset

[judydoc]

Morning, Judy!

 

I heard that this group often sails on Alaska itineraries with HAL, for whatever reason. Since they are not a group I was especially keen on sailing with if I could avoid it, I just Googled "Inspirations cruises" and found their website. It lists all the dates

 

Thankyou for the info!

[Sea Turtle]

Bostonjetset,

 

Hope your strategy works out! :)

 

If all else fails, redeposit your FF miles. Depending on your FF status with AA you may pay no fee or at the most $150 per ticket. If all miles were pulled off the same account, the redeposit fee would be $150 for the first ticket and $25 for the second ticket. https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/redeemMiles/award-travel.jsp#reinstating

 

I've had to redeposit award travel tickets more than once. While cancellation is a major disappointment and sometimes at a cost, I've always been rewarded by my new game plan for using that mileage. :cool:

 

Enjoy the day!

[Bostonjetset]

Bostonjetset,

 

Hope your strategy works out! :)

 

If all else fails, redeposit your FF miles. Depending on your FF status with AA you may pay no fee or at the most $150 per ticket. If all miles were pulled off the same account, the redeposit fee would be $150 for the first ticket and $25 for the second ticket. https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/redeemMiles/award-travel.jsp#reinstating

 

I've had to redeposit award travel tickets more than once. While cancellation is a major disappointment and sometimes at a cost, I've always been rewarded by my new game plan for using that mileage. :cool:

 

Enjoy the day!

 

Thanks for the well wishes!

I was aware of AA's rule regarding the miles but would like to avoid that if possible. {remember when redepositing FF miles had no charge? good ole days lol}. Aside from the $150 each [tickets were bought from two different accts], there is also the fact that we both work still and have scheduled this time off so cancellation is a last resort...we would likely do a land trip in the PNW if all else fails.

 

I am confident that we will end up with something between the NA, Westerdam and NCL Jewel but Westy is my preference.

[cruising cockroach]

Fares have been rather high this season. I've been keeping an eye out for the past two years, generally on B2B Vancouver-Alaska HAL cruises. 3 seasons ago, "last-minute" fares for insides have dropped to USD 299+ taxes level. I believe HAL had a lot more ships based in Vancouver that season which is why fares were that low. Sailings were cut back subsequently with some ships shifted down to Seattle. Fares have gone up since then. Been tracking them the past two seasons. Might have gotten the Oosterdam for C$343 2 years ago but nothing less than USD 398 last year. An then add the taxes and fees for B2B which would come up to ~USD490.

[Bostonjetset]

Fares have been rather high this season. I've been keeping an eye out for the past two years, generally on B2B Vancouver-Alaska HAL cruises. 3 seasons ago, "last-minute" fares for insides have dropped to USD 299+ taxes level. I believe HAL had a lot more ships based in Vancouver that season which is why fares were that low. Sailings were cut back subsequently with some ships shifted down to Seattle. Fares have gone up since then. Been tracking them the past two seasons. Might have gotten the Oosterdam for C$343 2 years ago but nothing less than USD 398 last year. An then add the taxes and fees for B2B which would come up to ~USD490.

 

Thanks for the detailed analysis with actual examples!! I much appreciate it.

 

$299pp would be unreal...:eek: I am not expecting that kind of deal though. I would be happy with 399/499 + taxes. Perhaps even 599 if there is some other bonus like free grats or upgrade to OV or something. My eyes are still peeled. I check every day haha.

[cruising cockroach]

If you're not hung up about ex-Seattle departures AND have the time, I am seeing a 14 day Noordam cruise in August that seems to be running less than most 7-day RTs for the same cabin category.

[SilvertoGold]

If you're not hung up about ex-Seattle departures AND have the time, I am seeing a 14 day Noordam cruise in August that seems to be running less than most 7-day RTs for the same cabin category.

 

There are three Noordam 14 day Collectors now, two of which are priced at more that than the sum of the north and south bounds. You really have to watch the pricing!

 

None of these are "good" deals, compared to the past few years and not as good as the one we saw in May for less.

[Bostonjetset]

If you're not hung up about ex-Seattle departures AND have the time, I am seeing a 14 day Noordam cruise in August that seems to be running less than most 7-day RTs for the same cabin category.

 

There are three Noordam 14 day Collectors now, two of which are priced at more that than the sum of the north and south bounds. You really have to watch the pricing!

 

None of these are "good" deals, compared to the past few years and not as good as the one we saw in May for less.

 

Unfortunately I am tied to Sept 10th and would not be able to do a 14 night trip this fall. :(

[geoherb]

I just started looking at fares for August. HAL's email offer was misleading about the free gratuities/beverage card. My travel agent's quote for the price that included this promo was $169 more per person after taking into consideration how much the promo was worth.

[SilvertoGold]

I just started looking at fares for August. HAL's email offer was misleading about the free gratuities/beverage card. My travel agent's quote for the price that included this promo was $169 more per person after taking into consideration how much the promo was worth.

 

This is pretty common!

 

There are some good fares out there: keep looking!

[geoherb]

The fare was good, just not as good as it would have been with the beverage card and gratuities included in the flash promotion. From HAL's website--following the link I received in the email--it made me think we were getting a really great deal.

[Bostonjetset]

The fare was good, just not as good as it would have been with the beverage card and gratuities included in the flash promotion. From HAL's website--following the link I received in the email--it made me think we were getting a really great deal.

 

Yes! The same thing happened to me!

 

HAL really should do something about the way they offer promotions. I can't recall ever having this issue with other lines I've sailed.

 

They advertise these huge promotions and send special personalized emails with one's Mariner info embedded on the email asking one to click on the offers. When you log in, the sailing page shows the Mariner price AND still has the "Anniversary Sale" logo on the left corner next to the date. Yet when you try to book it does not give you everything that is advertised.

I'm sure somewhere in fine print it states that you can't get both [in order to cover themselves legally] but they certainly make it look like you will get all that is displayed.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Bostonjetset

[cruising cockroach]

There are three Noordam 14 day Collectors now, two of which are priced at more that than the sum of the north and south bounds. You really have to watch the pricing!

 

For the one I'm watching (well within the 60 day window now), the "collector" is actually 10% cheer as of last night. HAL seems to have dropped the Mariner discount (or rather, lowered fares to the Mariner level) within a day.

 

None of these are "good" deals, compared to the past few years and not as good as the one we saw in May for less.

 

What were these deals? My benchmark was for May '13 cruises which ran about USD299 each way.

[SilvertoGold]

I noticed the Noordam July 10 is up this morning. It was the best pricing of this season for the B-B.

 

There are a few good deals in the sense that they are lower priced than what has been offered for this season, not compared to a few years ago (the golden age for HAL Alaska), alas.

 

A wild ride is in store for those looking for a deal. Quite a turn-off, I have to say.

[cruising cockroach]

I've only been checking for the middle 2 weeks of August as that's my time frame. If one's a plain schmuck looking for a cruise, HAL is offering the collector for less (over CAD 100) than the 2 B2B composites, but any status appears to result in the 2 B2Bs being offered for about CAD 60 less than the collector. Still about CAD120 per person per cruise more than I want to pay for now though.

[SilvertoGold]

I've only been checking for the middle 2 weeks of August as that's my time frame. If one's a plain schmuck looking for a cruise, HAL is offering the collector for less (over CAD 100) than the 2 B2B composites, but any status appears to result in the 2 B2Bs being offered for about CAD 60 less than the collector. Still about CAD120 per person per cruise more than I want to pay for now though.

 

Me, too.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll start looking at the "status" B-Bs. This is becoming v-e-r-y annoying.

Edited June 20, 2016 by SilvertoGold

[cruising cockroach]

(the golden age for HAL Alaska), alas.

.

 

Was this when, IIRC, there were about 4 ships doing Vancouver-Seward or v-v?

[geoherb]

I bit the bullet and booked today for August on the Amsterdam. The price may come down tomorrow, but we're still paying less than we did for our first week-long cruise to Alaska over a dozen years ago. We have a Cat. H on the Lower Promenade. According to the photos posted by someone, the view isn't bad from our cabin.

 

The agency I went with was $165 cheaper for the two of us than booking directly with HAL. I'm still not sure why our regular TA's price was higher than HAL's price. But I'm satisfied with purchasing through this online agency. I booked one other cruise with it. I was able to sign in on HAL's website a couple of minutes after hanging up the phone with the TA. We're booked!

Edited June 21, 2016 by geoherb