First timer, planning Alaska cruise; 3 initial questions

[casperthegm]

I've started my research for our Alaska cruise we're planning to take this coming mid May to early June.  I know this much; we are looking to take a 7 night cruise to Alaska, round trip from Seattle.  There are 3 of us (me, wife, and 22 yr old son), staying in one room, which will be a balcony room.   We're going to spend a couple of days in the LA area prior and then fly to Seattle, so those dates will be locked in well in advance, with no flexibility.  With the goal of finding the most affordable fare, I'm wondering if I should be looking now and the next month or two or if it's wise to wait and see if they lower prices as the date gets closer and they try to fill unsold cabins- not sure I could stomach the roll of the dice.  With all that rambling out of the way; Any suggestions on the best time to think about booking?

 

And in addition to wondering when to book, are there a couple of reputable sites that offer good rates that anyone can recommend?

 

Last question (for the moment) is regarding shore excursions.  Is there a general consensus as to whether or not it's worth it to save money and book directly with the shore excursion companies, or is it generally preferred to book through the ship, since they guarantee they'll wait for you if delayed?

 

Thanks in advance!

[1025cruise]

29 minutes ago, casperthegm said:

 

And in addition to wondering when to book, are there a couple of reputable sites that offer good rates that anyone can recommend?

 

We are not allowed to discuss travel agents/booking sites on this site.

[casperthegm]

Gotcha- thanks for the heads up about that.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Regarding stateroom availability - it is best to book your cabin now, in order to have the best selection of what is still available.  Prices will not really be dropping.   Also, FYI - unless you are traveling early May, the ships sailing from Seattle to Alaska, while not at 100% capacity, the passenger count is high.

 

I would strongly recommend that you arrive in Seattle the day before your cruise.  Even though LA is about 2.5 - 3 hours, you just never know about delays, etc.

 

As for excursions (ship vs private), if you read thru the various Alaska threads, or read thru reviews, you will see that their are some great private whale watching companies, or even float planes that you might still be able to book.

 

Which cruise line are you considering?

[shipgeeks]

Are you sure a balcony cabin will be worth the additional cost?  We were given a balcony on our AK cruise, and we only used it one time the entire 12 days of the cruise.  We spent all our waking hours up on the open decks, watching the scenery and enjoying the sunshine.

Re shore excursions, it's worth doing some research.  The railway excursion we did was only $1 more if done as a ship excursion.  We learned that a local bus could take us to Mendenhall Glacier; that was worth doing on our own.  At other ports we did neither, just walked.

[crystalspin]

20 hours ago, casperthegm said:

And in addition to wondering when to book, are there a couple of reputable sites that offer good rates that anyone can recommend?

Start with the Deals and Find A Cruise menus at the top of any Cruise Critic page. That will give you an idea what is out there (as far as itineraries AND fares). Search the web for more comparisons.

 

Most mainstream cruiselines have in-house liaisons such as HAL's Personal Cruise Consultants or Carnival's Personal Vacation Planners. Although Royal Caribbean never steered me to one...

 

If you prefer to use a Travel Agent, either brick and mortar or through the internet, ask friends/family/co-workers whom they have used, and the benefits they saw.

 

Good luck!

[donaldsc]

There is an AK board on CC.  I suggest that you post specific AK questions on the board.

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

Seattle is worth a couple of days, so you might want to plan for a pre- or post-cruise stay.

[casperthegm]

A quick thanks to all those who have offered their insights- much appreciated.  I've done some further research and I think we'll aim for a trip in mid to late May, probably around the 21st or so. 

 

Based on the itinerary, I think we'll be looking at RC's Quantum or Discovery Princess (anyone have any experience on either?), and we definitely will be going with a balcony- we won't waste the ships offerings but we do like our down time in the cabin as well.  Quantum might be slightly more appealing, but I've seen reports that an ongoing engine issue has forced itinerary changes.  I'm assuming that will be long resolved by the time May rolls around, but it makes me nervous.

 

Anyway, based on what I'm seeing here, there's no benefit in waiting any longer, so we'll probably make a decision this weekend, after a final review. Thanks again to each of you.

[bbwex]

While I have to admit to a preference for private tours, a couple of thoughts:

 

I spent a lot of time perusing the Ports of Call section prior to our trip to get a feel for which tour operators to use at the various ports in Alaska.  Not relying on just one or two comments, but rather reading through and getting many opinions, I was able to narrow it down to sometimes just one in a port and sometimes a couple, but we found excellent tour operators and had a fantastic time.

 

There really is no worry about using a reputable private tour company as far as getting back to the ship on time.  These people's livelihoods depend on their not being late, and I have never heard of a private tour operator's being late.  Even if they are, they guarantee that they will get you to the next port to catch up with the ship.  Stories about people missing the ship are essentially invariably about people who went off on their own.

 

Private tours are usually cheaper than ship tours if you get six or eight people to go in together.  That is a great advantage of using your Roll Call here on CC -- you can let other passengers on your cruise know that you have a tour set up, and it is usually easy to get others to join you.  That is a little bit more difficult on Alaskan trips because so many families are together, but it is still very doable.

[Ferry_Watcher]

On 9/14/2022 at 8:36 AM, casperthegm said:

I think we'll be looking at RC's Quantum or Discovery Princess

The Discovery Princess carries about 3,600 passengers, and the Quantum OTS 4,900.  While I can't imagine that the Quantum will be at full capacity, but I do know that on the June 6th sailing there were just over 4,200 passengers.  Also, the Discovery Princess sails on Sundays, the Quantum on Mondays - if that matters to you.

[Aquahound]

On 9/14/2022 at 8:36 AM, casperthegm said:

Based on the itinerary, I think we'll be looking at RC's Quantum or Discovery Princess (anyone have any experience on either?)

 

I have cruised Quantum to Alaska and on a sister ship of Discovery.  I recommend Quantum.  Both are fantastic cruise lines but the biggest problem with the Discovery class of ships is a lack of external views.  Quantum, on the other hand, has the forward (and sides) facing Solarium, and the rear facing Two70 lounge.  Quantum also has the North Star.  I thought it was a little gimmicky until I went up in it. The views from up there are amazing.  Google those lounges and North Star to see for yourself.  

 

And yes, I do recommend booking, at minimum, a balcony.  Having 3 grown adults in the room will be tight and having that extra balcony space will be helpful.

[SbbquilterUT]

Another consideration - since you are three so cost times 3 for things, in Juneau we rented a car ( bus tickets to Mendenhall were $30 each) so we saw the glacier and hiked, then headed to Alaska Brewing Company for a tasting flight of goodness, then a drive along the water for a bit, dinner and then back to the port.  Same in Skagway, rented a car and drove along the Yukon Highway to Emerald Lake with plenty of stops along the way.

[CruisingWalter]

On 9/11/2022 at 7:46 PM, casperthegm said:

I've started my research for our Alaska cruise we're planning to take this coming mid May to early June.  I know this much; we are looking to take a 7 night cruise to Alaska, round trip from Seattle.  There are 3 of us (me, wife, and 22 yr old son), staying in one room, which will be a balcony room.   We're going to spend a couple of days in the LA area prior and then fly to Seattle, so those dates will be locked in well in advance, with no flexibility.  With the goal of finding the most affordable fare, I'm wondering if I should be looking now and the next month or two or if it's wise to wait and see if they lower prices as the date gets closer and they try to fill unsold cabins- not sure I could stomach the roll of the dice.  With all that rambling out of the way; Any suggestions on the best time to think about booking?

 

And in addition to wondering when to book, are there a couple of reputable sites that offer good rates that anyone can recommend?

 

Last question (for the moment) is regarding shore excursions.  Is there a general consensus as to whether or not it's worth it to save money and book directly with the shore excursion companies, or is it generally preferred to book through the ship, since they guarantee they'll wait for you if delayed?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

First off as others have mentioned, we cannot discuss travel agents on this site because cruise critic is owned by a major online travel company. But yes you should absolutely book through a travel agent or independent travel advisor. We have been cruising since 2006 and still use a TA for every cruise. In the beginning we leaned on their knowledge to help us pick the right ships and right cabins for each cruise. depending on the type of cruise you're taking, the type of ship and cruise line that makes the most sense will vary. Now that we're veterans of cruising, we still use TAs primarily to deal with changes and alterations. They have to deal with the cruise lines, airlines, etc..., we don't. We just tell them what the changes are and get on with our day. Word of mouth is honestly the best way to find one since we cannot give out any names here on CC.

 

I will say we did Princess to Alaska a few years ago doing a full Land/Sea Tour and it was the most incredible vacation ever. We spent the first 7 days in Fairbanks, Denali and Copper River staying at Princess lodges and doing all sort of land based adventures. Then we met the ship in Whittier and did 7 days on the ship visiting Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay and ending up in Vancouver BC. We tacked on 3 additional days in Vancouver. I took over 3300 photos. 🙂 I think I took over 500 on the train ride from Fairbanks to Denali alone. 

 

Princess and Holland America have been doing Alaska longer than most everyone else out there and have really nice sized ships for seeing that area of the world. I personally recommend folks look at smaller ships because Alaska is all about "Alaska." It's insanely beautiful and it's a port heavy itinerary. So booking on a large Royal or NCL ship with ropes courses, waterparks and everything else is a bit of a waste for me. You won't really take advantage of any those activities on the upper decks because you'll be off the ship and Alaska tends to be rainy. We cruised on the Sapphire Princess and it was absolutely perfect. She holds about 2600 guests, 13 decks and just the perfect size for an Alaska tour. Princess has great entertainment and we've always enjoyed the food and service on board. Holland America also has some really great ships headed up that way. 

 

As for excursions, you probably already know that if you book yourself you are responsible for getting back to the ship on time if you do that. That being said, we booked ALL of our excursions independently in Alaska and we can share some info on that. 

 

Harv and Marv for whale watching in Juneau. Small boats of 6 to 16, local guides who are really good, they have flexibility to move around much more than the ship based excursions. 

 https://www.harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com/

 

Temsco Helicopters in Skagway for helicopter tours, real dogsled excursions, walking tours on a glacier, etc... Don't be fooled by the local 'dogsled tours' near the port. You will probably be on a sled on wheels because there won't be snow in the area. In order to do a dogsled run on snow, you need to take a helicopter into the mountains. Note that the flights to the dogsled camp are often canceled due to low hanging clouds that prevent the helicopters from flying through the mountains. If that happens (it happened to us) you can either take a refund or an alternative flight to a glacier. We opted to take the flight to the glacier. Some photos attached below. 

https://temscoair.com/

 

We had enough time in Skagway to do both the helicopter tour and the White Pass railroad ride to Canada and back. That's a great photography opportunity, but it's just basically a train ride to the Canadian border and back. 

 

In Ketchikan expect rain as they get rain around 300 days per year. We had a floatplane booked to take us to an island tour for lunch, but it was raining too much and the cloud deck was really low so the pilot cancelled for safety. We were very glad too because we heard from others who did get to fly with other companies and they said they couldn't see anything, the clouds were so low it obscured the view. So we did a really fun day walking around the local town. 

 

I hope that's helpful, happy to answer any other questions you may have. :)

[boopuff]

Glad this thread is here. We're also planning on an Alaska cruise as well.  However, we'll have a large family group (numbers increase daily as more family finds out our plans... oh well)  Love hearing about the great ideas.  We plan to fly into Seattle a day early, but being on the west edge of the country helps so the flight isn't very long.

[KC Gorilla]

Do you have passports?

[bonsai3s]

Quantum of the Seas is a wonderful ship...we love the IFly, Northstar, and Flowrider (may be too cold but worth a try if it's warm in Seattle).

 

You have the indoor Seaplex with basketball court doubling as the floor for bumper cars.And the Solarium is fabulous...with great views of the Alaskan wilderness. 

 

A few other notes:

* Clothing - layering is best. We've been to Alaska when it was unseasonably warm, when if was snowing, and this past September...it rained everyday.

Happy sailing!