Alaska Cruise/Excursion comments July 2-9 -- the good, bad and ugly

[LanikaiGirl]

My airfare was close to that per person but I had tickets for 2 (TWO) people not one!!!!!! The travel protection from the cruise only protects airfare that you purchase as a package, not on your own - read the travel protection policy.

 

As for the actual cruise itself, I was just told from AMEX Travel that rates for certain holidays, including the 4th of July tend to be higher because the booking rate is almost 100%

 

Actually, I purchase my travel insurance independant of the cruise line, and it does include independant air arrangements. The total of my insurance for 3 people on $8900 is $364.

I also didn't mention that I have a $200 credit and free ipod Nano ($249 value) for booking. It is all in the timing and I feel for you as you really got nailed, at least in my opinion.

I travel for pleasure alot and to be able to do that, I have to be able to economize. A wonderful resource is priceline. As an example, I was able to book the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver for $85 a night, on Labor Day weekend. I was once able to get the Maui Hyatt for $145 a night and got upgraded to conceirge level. Priceline can be priceless. There is a website called biddingfortravel.com that explains the in's and outs of priceline bidding. I have even gotten the Venetian in Vegas for $79 a night....Sonoma Valley Lodge $95 a night...Rennaisance San Francisco $85 a night over valentines day weekend.

I am so happy to hear you liked the Glacier Wilderness Safari, we are doing that one in Sept. I just hope we have half the great weather you did! :D

[Coral]

RCCL does not allow discounting of cruises. So booking from AMEX travel and RCCL will most likely be the same exact rate.

 

I am going to disagree that AMEX travel is always the most expensive way to book. My agent is an AMEX Travel Services Representative and she gives great discounts on lines that allow discounts. It is very possible to find AMEX agents who do not discount but there are those agents out there who do. It is more the agent themselves than the agency.

[LanikaiGirl]

Oh, Gary, I just wanted to add that if you ever get a chance to get on a Celebrity Millenium class ship, take it. It was my best cruise ever. I still dream about it....LOL...I am curious what I will feel after I have experience a Radiance class ship with RCL.

[Cruisechick82]

Wow! $13,000 for a cruise for 2! I thought ours was expensive at costing around $3500 total for the 2 of us including airfare, hotel in Seattle the night before, Amtrak to Vancouver, Quick Shuttle back to Seatac after the cruise, a helicopter/glaicer landing, rental car in Skagway, Mt.Roberts tram, Saxam tour in ketchikan, tips and souvenirs. We havent' been yet so I'm estimating some of the costs.

 

I can't believe you spent $2700 in the spa! I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. Were there any parts you did like, besides the weather and excursions?

[garyhartaz]

Wow! $13,000 for a cruise for 2! I thought ours was expensive at costing around $3500 total for the 2 of us including airfare, hotel in Seattle the night before, Amtrak to Vancouver, Quick Shuttle back to Seatac after the cruise, a helicopter/glaicer landing, rental car in Skagway, Mt.Roberts tram, Saxam tour in ketchikan, tips and souvenirs. We havent' been yet so I'm estimating some of the costs.

 

I can't believe you spent $2700 in the spa! I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. Were there any parts you did like, besides the weather and excursions?

 

I did enjoy the personal use of the spa, especially sitting on those lovely heated rock beds staring out in to the sea. I enjoyed the laughs we had at the Solerium bar with Jorge (Go George) and getting to see two baby orca's while playing cards there as well. The balacony was awesome when it came to viewing the glacier and watching the calving. It was fun to re-live my childhood with Gilligan's Island, Wonder Woman, etc on the RCTV channel in the morning waking up or getting ready at night. I enjoyed my first ever 6 minute mile run in the gym, although I hurt the next day because we also went out dancing that night. I enjoyed watching the weather change leaving Juneau because it is the first rain I have seen in awhile (live in AZ).

 

The spa added up because we booth got mani's and pedi's, tow total wrap treatments with the float bed, acupuncture, the couples pass with the Razul room + tips for everything.

[SEPyle]

Sure, a cruise a year from now probably has plenty of "cheap rate" rooms available but I booked 6 weeks out and there were only 3 GTY rooms left in the price category with a balcony. I was out of options at that point but I am sure you have another way I could have gone.

 

I wasn't going to give my two cents, but I just can't resist:

 

In my opinion, the above statement sums up the bottom line of Gary's experience. On many cruises, booking late is a way of getting really great rates. However people book Alaska cruises quite early, so getting a bargain when booking late (except for May sailings) doesn't happen often, and especially not many bargains for balcony staterooms. Bargains happen only when the cruise line needs to fill a ship...afterall, they are a for profit comany, right?

 

People just don't get it - A cruise is sold by supply and demand. Period!!!!!!!! With only 3 balcony staterooms left, the balcony's on Gary's cruise went for a Premium price: Gary was ready;willing; and able to purchase. It's not a matter of homework...he wanted to go and did. Once onboard it was another story: I'm sure he compared how much money he spent on the balcony compared to his perceived value of the cruise. Is that a reason to slam him for his opinion???

 

I happen to be a TA and have learned long ago that there's not one best cruise line. We all have preferences. A few years back I went on a Celebrity cruise and I must say it was the best cruise I had ever experienced. I happened to have sold a client a cabin on the same cruise. When we returned home she let me know she enjoyed the cruise however preferred another cruise to Celebrity! Same cruise; two completely different viewpoints. That's why when people ask about what cruise to take, I try to listen and match a cruise to what I think is right for them.

 

So Gary, since it's obvious I love Celebrity (we leave in just over two weeks for our 2nd Alaskan cruise on the Summit) you won't be surprised that I agree with LanikaiGirl, who suggested you give Celebrity a try!;) But then again, someone else will have great reasons for preferring their cruise line...we are an opinionated bunch aren't we???

[garyhartaz]

I wasn't going to give my two cents, but I just can't resist:

 

In my opinion, the above statement sums up the bottom line of Gary's experience. On many cruises, booking late is a way of getting really great rates. However people book Alaska cruises quite early, so getting a bargain when booking late (except for May sailings) doesn't happen often, and especially not many bargains for balcony staterooms. Bargains happen only when the cruise line needs to fill a ship...afterall, they are a for profit comany, right?

 

People just don't get it - A cruise is sold by supply and demand. Period!!!!!!!! With only 3 balcony staterooms left, the balcony's on Gary's cruise went for a Premium price: Gary was ready;willing; and able to purchase. It's not a matter of homework...he wanted to go and did. Once onboard it was another story: I'm sure he compared how much money he spent on the balcony compared to his perceived value of the cruise. Is that a reason to slam him for his opinion???

 

Well put and thank you. I thought this board was for sharing experiences and that is exatcly what I did. We just checked out a few Holland and Celebrity excursions for this fall and we'll probably use points/miles this time around.

[ncamy]

SEPyle made a good point. We spent about the same amount of money on the exact same cruise. We booked about 15 months out, got a Grand Suite with concierge amenities, and paid for three passengers. Because we were able to commit so early, our value was increased.

[agabbymama]

:eek: Wow, and I thought my $6000 for two for an 11 day cruise + 2 nights in NYC was bad. And I booked an 11 day Alaska Cruisetour on Holland America for next year for $5400. Both are for balcony cabins. Of course that is just the cruise, airfare, hotels, land transportation, insurance and excursions. Any ship expenses will be added on to that. And I'm not flying first class. When I started looking for Alaska, I priced Princess at $4406 pp so that would have been $8812 for a 14 day cruisetour, but found HAL and chose that instead to save $3400. You must have really wanted to go on that ship or at that time. WOW is all I can keep thinking. $13,000 for a cruise for two people. I am just overwhelmed. I don't think I'd pay that for any cruise on any cruiseline.

Just my opinion though. My husband and I spent a month in Australia and didn't spend anywhere near that much ($6000) for two (airfare, hotels, food, insurance, excursions, buying anything and everything we wanted).

 

Maybe try planning a little further out next time, if you think the lateness of booking is what drove the price up. I just went back and looked at your breakdown of costs, and it looks like the first class air and Sea Pass expenses were as much as your cruise. While the cruise fare was a little high the other expenses are what drove up your total cost. You can't really blame the cruiseline, if you were willing to fork out that kind of money to do the Spa treatments and excursions. While you are still out the money, you chose to do those things. The base cruisefare is what you paid for the cruise, so that is really the only complaint. If you feel you didn't get a cruise worth $5800.

 

Good luck on finding a cruiseline that you are happier with.:D

[greatam]

I wasn't going to give my two cents, but I just can't resist:

 

In my opinion, the above statement sums up the bottom line of Gary's experience. On many cruises, booking late is a way of getting really great rates. However people book Alaska cruises quite early, so getting a bargain when booking late (except for May sailings) doesn't happen often, and especially not many bargains for balcony staterooms. Bargains happen only when the cruise line needs to fill a ship...afterall, they are a for profit comany, right?

 

 

While the above statement is very true, I still believe the TA did a great disservice to the pax. I just went back through old email. Gary states he booked 6 weeks out-May 15 or so.

 

Here is email from May 12 from a very large agency. Different cruise line, but I don't think OP was particular in cruiseline. His first choice was HAL or X. Slightly different cruise, in that these are Seattle RT rather than Vancouver RT. So we are not totally comparing apples to apples. The point is-late booking, balcony cabins, are available at a lot lower fare. I blame this one on the TA.

 

Dawn Princess - 7nt. Alaska Inside Passage RT Seattle

(Seattle, Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska (Scenic Cruising), Ketchikan, Victoria/BC, Seattle)

Sailing Dates: 7/1, 7/8

Balcony: $ 1699 pp

BONUS: FREE Upgrades to BEST AVAILABLE

 

Sun Princess - 7nt. Alaska Inside Passage RT Seattle

(Seattle, Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska (Scenic Cruising), Ketchikan, Victoria/BC, Seattle)

Sailing Dates: 7/2, 7/9

Balcony: $ 1499 pp

BONUS: FREE Upgrades to BEST AVAILABLE

[ChrisC]

The sickness I mentioned was definitely not seasickness related...all of it seemed to come shortly after the cruise ended, a good 48 hours after the heavy seas. I have to believe it was something we all contracted on the ship...yuck.

[NancyIL]

The sickness I mentioned was definitely not seasickness related...all of it seemed to come shortly after the cruise ended, a good 48 hours after the heavy seas. I have to believe it was something we all contracted on the ship...yuck.

 

Chris - thank you for your review. I'm sorry this thread has been taken over by another review and the critique of it!

[ncamy]

Chris,

Did your kids go to Fuel?

[katiel53]

Chris C

Thanks for the review. We are going to Alaska on Serenade next May. Last year we went there and absolutely loved it. We did however, go from Seattle R/T and the first and last nights we had very rocky cruising. I was hoping that it would be more calm going from Vancouver. Oh well, even if it is rocky, it will still be a wonderful cruise.

 

We are looking forward to our trip next year, just wish it could have been this year.

[ChrisC]

Our kids did not go to Fuel, since they are 9 & 11 (too young).

 

I have to say that I was not all that impressed with RCL's kid friendliness. We had many in our extended family group with very young kids/toddlers, and there was not that much in the way of kid-friendly play areas for toddlers (they can't go in the pools if not potty trained, for example...you also cannot take little kids into the Adventure Zone to just hang out and play during the day...that is reserved for kids that are there by themselves under the supervision of the staff). For kids in the pre-teen range, although there is the Adventure Ocean option, that is geared more towards parents who want to dump their kids while they go off and do things themselves. I thought it would have been nice if they had more activities that kids and parents could do together....e.g., why not have a family dance party on cruising days in the afternoon/early evenings....why limit indoor pool hours for kids on a northern cruise....why put the board game room (Serengeti card room) back off of the Safari bar where no one can find it (and where you have to walk through an atmosphere that is not famiy friendly in the evening)? I was also not that impressed when I saw some of the interactions between kids and the adventure zone staff. Finally, there were a few instances where RCL staff were actually rude to my kids (I got the impression that they are jaded by constantly dealing with many unsupervised, unruly kids....which mine are not).

 

We had a nice time, but the illness thing (and the ongoing history of other cruise-borne illnesses) and other factors may make this our first and last "big ship" cruise.

 

Chris

[ncamy]

My bad. I thought you said you had a 13 year old, but I reread this thread and saw that was someone else. I'm sorry your kids didn't enjoy their programing. My daughter loved the activities for her age group, and we were constantly being accused of being mean, awful parents for making her stay with us. I finally did relent on some of the long excursion days and let her eat with the teens instead of with us. Besides eating dinner with us and going on excursions with us, we did make her do a lot of the available family things with us. We played Bingo, ping pong, and putt putt as a family, plus the moose race. We also took her to the 7:15 comedy show which she really enjoyed. (She kept repeating his jokes throughout the rest of the cruise.) On Hubbard Glacier day, according to the daughter, we were the worst parents on Earth because we made her stay with us! When I told her that I was sure that all her friends were with their families, too, she said, "Yeh, but their parents are just making them show up for about 30 minutes to take some pictures and stuff, not making them stay the whole time!"

[wrp96]

My bad. I thought you said you had a 13 year old, but I reread this thread and saw that was someone else. I'm sorry your kids didn't enjoy their programing. My daughter loved the activities for her age group, and we were constantly being accused of being mean, awful parents for making her stay with us. I finally did relent on some of the long excursion days and let her eat with the teens instead of with us. Besides eating dinner with us and going on excursions with us, we did make her do a lot of the available family things with us. We played Bingo, ping pong, and putt putt as a family, plus the moose race. We also took her to the 7:15 comedy show which she really enjoyed. (She kept repeating his jokes throughout the rest of the cruise.) On Hubbard Glacier day, according to the daughter, we were the worst parents on Earth because we made her stay with us! When I told her that I was sure that all her friends were with their families, too, she said, "Yeh, but their parents are just making them show up for about 30 minutes to take some pictures and stuff, not making them stay the whole time!"

 

You mean, cruel parent. How could you make your teenage daughter stay with you and see something so beautiful? If you're lucky, she'll thank you one day, many years from now.

[romath]

Were the people in your party sick because of the waves or the food? If it's form the rough waters, how can this be prevented? :confused: This is my biggest fear.

 

I'm a person who gets car sick, air sick, and sea sick. Whenever I fly or go on a boat I get a patch from my doctor. Wore them the whole time we were in Hawaii for driving the windy roads of the Island. They last for 3 days each and you put it right behind your ear. It's a small circle shape. The only side affect for me is dry mouth, so I drink lots of water when I wear them. I would recommend checking with your doctor as they are only available by prescription. I find these patches work much better for me than bonine or other motion sickness remedies. The other nice thing is I'm not popping pills all the time.

 

Robin:)

[sherdust]

This reply is intended for Garyhartaz:

 

You sound very snobbish and that nothing was good enough for you. The "first class" tickets, the rooms with "balconies" (that weren't large enough for you, the food wasn't good enough, your "spa" expenses, etc.

 

Maybe you need to charter your own cruise ship, so you have no one to blame but yourself if something isn't to your satisfaction.

[tinkerme1]

GaryHartAZ: I can't believe you paid that price for an E2 Cabin on the Serenade! We had a D1 cabin on Deck 9, and paid $5,800 for our cruise, plus the RCCL cruise land tour (6-day), plus our hotel in Vancouver for one night (Sutton Place 5*). Seems to me homework is definitely in order.

 

Some suggestions: American Express may have pts, but they charge you for those pts too! Book over one year in advance and rake in the savings. Check rates all over the internet. If you need a good TA, email me.

Check cabins with other folks here on CC in the Cabin info section of this website. Know before you go or book. You obviously don't mind spending too much money, since your spa charges were astronomical. Next cruise, I would definitely ask lots of questions here before booking.

 

The breakdown for you:

 

$2400.00 - RT First Class Airfare PHX-YVR (your choice to book First)

$5800.00 - Stateroom, Class E2 Deluxe Oceanview Balcony (way too much)

$2700.00 - SeaPass charges (mostly all SPA)(your choice again)

$1100.00 - Excursions (average charges for this cruise)

$1000.00 - Hotel and meals in Vancouver ??

 

I have found the Radiance class ships some of the best! Maybe if you weren't so fleeced by American Express you would have felt differently.

__________________

[mike35]

This reply is intended for Garyhartaz:

 

You sound very snobbish and that nothing was good enough for you. The "first class" tickets, the rooms with "balconies" (that weren't large enough for you, the food wasn't good enough, your "spa" expenses, etc.

 

Maybe you need to charter your own cruise ship, so you have no one to blame but yourself if something isn't to your satisfaction.

 

I wasn't going to enter into this fray, but I don't think a snotty remark such as this accomplishes anything other than rancor.

 

Gary is obviously used to the finer things in life. With that being said, I fail to see why in the world he would book a mass market line such as Carnival, NCL, or RCI and expect five- or six-star amenities and service. My suggestion to him is to explore Oceania, Crystal, Regent, Silversea, or Seabourne. He won't be inundated with "schlock", i.e., Bingo, gold-by-the-inch, constant P.A. announcements, slow embarkation/disembarkation, mediocre cuisine, kids running around everywhere with little/no parental supervision, nickel and diming, cutoffs and tank tops in the dining room, etc. Yes - it will cost a tad (or maybe several "tads" more), but I can't help but think that the end result will be a happy cruiser.

 

Mike

[garyhartaz]

Thanks Mike and those that just understand what is what. I just find it interesting that not once in or on any materials from Royal Caribbean that mention I would be bombarded with sales crap on the ship on every floor. Instead of focusing on the destination cities and the excursions, they choose to point out all of the places to shop, those mostly owned by Royal such as Diamond International. Given that they make 30-45% on the excursions, they should be pumping those the day or two before instead of killing you with a ton of paper in your stateroom everyday.

 

I am done answering what I paid. Point is this, both the Royal Caribbean website and AMEX both had the same rates when we purchased on MAY 22, 2006! There were ONLY (ONLY) 3 rooms with balconies left - PERIOD!

 

As for the hotel in Vancouver, that was three nights (1 at the Westin Bayshore including Sunday brunch and 2 at the Pan Pacific and meals)!!!!

 

As soon as I can get a Netjets card, you bet I am! I travel over 100,000 miles per year commercially for business and first class is the only way to fly and I am used to it.

 

Nothing changes my comments and as I read other peoples posts, I can aggregate a majority of my observations - TS.

[agabbymama]

Garyhartaz,

 

As I stated in an earlier post. The first class air, spa treatments and hotel tab can't be considered when you are complaining about the cost of your cruise. Coach airfare would have saved you considerable, but you evidently weren't interested in saving money, or you wouldn't have booked when you did.

 

Bottom line, you paid outrageous prices for a trip you weren't pleased with. At those prices, your expectations were just too high! Even though the trip cost you FIRST CLASS PRICE, you weren't on a 5 ***** cruiseline.

 

If you decide to cruise again, I hope you do a little more homework and if you want ***** then go with Seabourne, Regency, or Oceana. From other posters on these boards, they truly are 5 *****.:rolleyes:

[Coral]

I happen to agree with Gary on a few things.

 

RCCL is not allowing agents to discounting their cruise - so the price he paid for the cruise would have been the same if he went to CheapTravelCompany, RCCL, AMEX or everyone's favorite agent. He may have saved money if he booked in advance but that is not the case.

 

I have also sailed RCCL/Radiance of the Seas to Alaska and was hugely disappointed in the lack of Alaska information/education on the cruise. The only information on the cruise about the ports was "port shopping seminars stressing Diamonds International". There was no naturalists, no special guests speakers coming in from the ports for talks/demonstrations. It was like the cruise ship just went through the motions of stopping in ports but just wanted to sell their jewelry. While I think other lines do this to some extend, it was not nearly done on Princess to the extent it was done on RCCL.

 

RCCL was a huge disappointment for me in Alaska. I had hoped they had improved since when I did my cruise with them, it doens't sound like it.

[ncamy]

I was on the same cruise and we did have local experts board the ship at Hubbard Glacier. They gave us a lot of information. Also the concierge would point things out to us as we sailed by. There was way too much jewelry hawking, but since we cruise so seldom, I didn't know any better.