Lack of excursion choices in Alaska

[Linsuesue]

   I am booked on the Carnival Spirit to go to Alaska in July 2024. On July 14th of 2023 there were 59 excursions available. Shortly after that there were 64 excursions. I know there will be more added-like the Tracy Arm Fjord excursion…, but today when I checked there were only 24 excursions available. I have checked the port schedules for our cruise and there will be many big ships in each port each day. I dont know if this is a website glitch, or an indication of the extreme competition there will be for tour operators. Is anybody else going to Alaska next year noticing the same decrease in excursion availability?

[Zingy2]

1 hour ago, Linsuesue said:

   I am booked on the Carnival Spirit to go to Alaska in July 2024. On July 14th of 2023 there were 59 excursions available. Shortly after that there were 64 excursions. I know there will be more added-like the Tracy Arm Fjord excursion…, but today when I checked there were only 24 excursions available. I have checked the port schedules for our cruise and there will be many big ships in each port each day. I dont know if this is a website glitch, or an indication of the extreme competition there will be for tour operators. Is anybody else going to Alaska next year noticing the same decrease in excursion availability?

Other sections of the CCL web pages were affected, ever since the "glitch" occurred on the CCL website, involving the drink package. We have five booked cruises between now and Feb 2024.  The available excursions for all of these were affected by varying degrees.  Same with Spa treatment options.  We did check our "booking and order details"  to  ensure nothing was "lost" regarding previously purchased items/excursions, etc.  Everything appears to be intact in that regard.  It is unclear when the other "glitches" will be addressed and corrected.  Hope this clarifies things a bit for you.

[Linsuesue]

With 5 cruises booked, you are a good judge of glitches! I had a payment problem on the website a couple of weeks ago. I was putting $300 on the cruise, the webpage showed I was paying $300 on the $2800 balance. When I clicked on apply the payment, it had paid the whole thing off! I got it straightened out, but was wondering what else wasnt working on the website. Thanks for the quick reply and am hoping  many more excursions will be added soon. 

[Elaine5715]

I found Alaskan excursions don't stabilize until about 6 months out.   

[Haljo1935]

Just now, Elaine5715 said:

I found Alaskan excursions don't stabilize until about 6 months out.   

Agree - with AK having a narrow season, excursions seem to not lock in until closer to sail date. And fickle weather can change the best of plans, so flexibility and adaptability are key.

[DeanDeeDee]

11 hours ago, Linsuesue said:

   I am booked on the Carnival Spirit to go to Alaska in July 2024. On July 14th of 2023 there were 59 excursions available. Shortly after that there were 64 excursions. I know there will be more added-like the Tracy Arm Fjord excursion…, but today when I checked there were only 24 excursions available. I have checked the port schedules for our cruise and there will be many big ships in each port each day. I dont know if this is a website glitch, or an indication of the extreme competition there will be for tour operators. Is anybody else going to Alaska next year noticing the same decrease in excursion availability?

The same happened on some excursions on our Hawaii cruise in September 2024.  I had several excursions in my cart that disappeared -  a real mess.  Carnival said it was a glitch and I need to wait for 72 hours.

[RD64]

Skagway - in particular - can be subject to excessive winds. Two weeks ago was one of the windiest days I have ever experienced, and numerous excursions got cancelled the day of.

[Linsuesue]

6 hours ago, RD64 said:

Skagway - in particular - can be subject to excessive winds. Two weeks ago was one of the windiest days I have ever experienced, and numerous excursions got cancelled the day of.

Did the train excursion still run?

 

[jsglow]

The point I will add is that Alaska excursions are staffed almost exclusively by seasonal workers. Recruiting for next summer hasn't even begun yet. Until the tour operators have a handle, offerings to the cruise lines will be limited. It will come together in early '24 for the season. Patience is golden. 

[FastShip24]

On 8/27/2023 at 10:24 PM, Linsuesue said:

   I am booked on the Carnival Spirit to go to Alaska in July 2024. On July 14th of 2023 there were 59 excursions available. Shortly after that there were 64 excursions. I know there will be more added-like the Tracy Arm Fjord excursion…, but today when I checked there were only 24 excursions available. I have checked the port schedules for our cruise and there will be many big ships in each port each day. I dont know if this is a website glitch, or an indication of the extreme competition there will be for tour operators. Is anybody else going to Alaska next year noticing the same decrease in excursion availability?

9 months out🤔🤔🤔

[Linsuesue]

6 hours ago, jsglow said:

The point I will add is that Alaska excursions are staffed almost exclusively by seasonal workers. Recruiting for next summer hasn't even begun yet. Until the tour operators have a handle, offerings to the cruise lines will be limited. It will come together in early '24 for the season. Patience is golden. 

Seasonal help can definitely be lined by now. I had a friend that used to work summers in Juneau. Since there were 60+ excursions available a few weeks ago that could be booked, operators had help lined up. I am concerned with the number of ships in port each day that are all accessing excursion operators. Skagway will have the Ruby Princess, NCL Jewel, NCL Sun, and Carnival Spirit at the same time. Juneau will have the Silver Muse, Safari Endeavor, SS Wilderness Legacy, NCL Sun, Carnival Spirit, Grand Princess, and Carnival Luminosa that day.  Ketchikan will have the Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Edge, Carnival Spirit, Oceania Regatta, Ruby Princess, and the Crystal Celebrity that day. There is an extent to how many atv’s can be rented, or seats in jeep tours available, seats on a train, duck tours, canoe adventures, whale watching, bike tours… I am wondering( worried) if the sudden drop in number of tours available is that many tours have sold out already, because of having so many large ships at once in the port. I hope that is not the case, and that it will be a boom year for all excursion operators with many offerings for all. This will be our 7th cruise to Alaska and we have booked all sorts of excursions in advance, last minute, and private tours too. Think of Skagway with 3,782 from the Ruby Princess, 2,376 passengers on the Jewel, NCL Sun can have 1,976+, and Carnival Spirit with 2,124 passengers. I am wondering if people going now or booked for next year are seeing a big drop in availability. Maybe the 60% drop in offerings was a computer glitch and we will have more availability soon. I am thinking that anyone seeing an excursion they like better book as soon as possible. 

[RD64]

16 hours ago, Linsuesue said:

Did the train excursion still run?

 

Yes it did - and definitely worth it. I see that you are from Arizona - but if you do not find it too cool - spend as much time on the observation platform as you can for a truly incredible experience. I found the temps I the train cars to be stifling -but that is just my opinion.

[Linsuesue]

33 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Yes it did - and definitely worth it. I see that you are from Arizona - but if you do not find it too cool - spend as much time on the observation platform as you can for a truly incredible experience. I found the temps I the train cars to be stifling -but that is just my opinion.

I have read that is the best place for photo ops too! Thanks for the tips. I am originally from Colorado so can handle small amounts of cooler weather! 😀

[californiatripman]

4 hours ago, Linsuesue said:

Seasonal help can definitely be lined by now. I had a friend that used to work summers in Juneau. Since there were 60+ excursions available a few weeks ago that could be booked, operators had help lined up. I am concerned with the number of ships in port each day that are all accessing excursion operators. Skagway will have the Ruby Princess, NCL Jewel, NCL Sun, and Carnival Spirit at the same time. Juneau will have the Silver Muse, Safari Endeavor, SS Wilderness Legacy, NCL Sun, Carnival Spirit, Grand Princess, and Carnival Luminosa that day.  Ketchikan will have the Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Edge, Carnival Spirit, Oceania Regatta, Ruby Princess, and the Crystal Celebrity that day. There is an extent to how many atv’s can be rented, or seats in jeep tours available, seats on a train, duck tours, canoe adventures, whale watching, bike tours… I am wondering( worried) if the sudden drop in number of tours available is that many tours have sold out already, because of having so many large ships at once in the port. I hope that is not the case, and that it will be a boom year for all excursion operators with many offerings for all. This will be our 7th cruise to Alaska and we have booked all sorts of excursions in advance, last minute, and private tours too. Think of Skagway with 3,782 from the Ruby Princess, 2,376 passengers on the Jewel, NCL Sun can have 1,976+, and Carnival Spirit with 2,124 passengers. I am wondering if people going now or booked for next year are seeing a big drop in availability. Maybe the 60% drop in offerings was a computer glitch and we will have more availability soon. I am thinking that anyone seeing an excursion they like better book as soon as possible. 

Excursions are back up. Was a glitch

[DeanDeeDee]

4 hours ago, californiatripman said:

Excursions are back up. Was a glitch

So are mine for my Hawaiian cruise!☺️

[Linsuesue]

7 hours ago, californiatripman said:

Excursions are back up. Was a glitch

Thanks for posting this! I checked twice this morning and there were still only 24 excursions for the week-now there are 79! I am so glad it was just a glitch!😀

[Linsuesue]

3 hours ago, DeanDeeDee said:

So are mine for my Hawaiian cruise!☺️

So happy for you! Hawaii is definitely one of those places were certain excursions are a must do! 🌋