dgreen12

Agreed --- saw on the Vacations to Go email a link to some cruises leaving from Anchorage going to Vancouver for $299 base.

The downside of short notice cruises is the cost of the airfare --- one way to Anchorage from GEG is more than the base cost of the cruise. That's why there are FF miles.

MiamiFlyer

Start watching now - there are starting to be some deals already for August and September on RCCL and Celebrity. Incidentally, RCCL is a great cruise line if you are traveling as a single - the supplement is sometimes much less than you think (I use their online booking engine to check a cruise). A 15 night Barcelona to New Orleans trip was going for $499/pp. I got a single (outside no less) for $628 less a $200 onboard credit. Saw a late August 12 day cruise on the Serenade for $849/pp recently which price out at $1118 for a single.

September/October Europe cruises have started coming down

jumpdogjump

Last minute 1 ways from $249 - $229 for Calif. residents for 7 day (7/22-29) from Whittier on the Norwegian Sun. Seems these late season cruises from Alaska always have sales for inside cabins. I wonder if Alaska residents start or end their trips to the states (ahem, lower 49) with these, when room and board is cheaper than airfare.

MiamiFlyer

Unfortunately, Alaska cruises are more expensive when considering total cost. Because of the Jones Act, you can't do back to back cruises. Port charges for Alaskan cruises are among the highest you will see per day. Then there are the transfer charges to/from Whittier or Seward. Last is airfare from ANC - generally not cheap.

Still, the fares are "bargains" compared to normal prices.

sonofzeus

50 minus Alaska and Hawaii equals 48.

DanJ

Why can't you do back to back cruises? The PVSA says you can't disembark in a different US port than you embarked in (unless there is a stop in a distant foreign port, which there are none on Alaska cruises). But Alaska cruises either go round trip from Seattle or Vancouver or one way between Vancouver and Alaska. There is no issue doing either of those itineraries back to back. In fact, lots of people do combine the one way cruises into round trips, because the airfare out of Alaska back to wherever is often times a good percentage of the cost of that second cruise anyway.

wrp96

What you can't combine (due to the PVSA, not the Jones Act) is a one way Seward/Whittier to Vancouver cruise with a one way Vancouver to Seattle/Hawaii/LA/San Francisco cruise - because then it would be a one way between to different US ports without a stop at a distant (as defined under the law) foreign port. Perhaps that's what you were thinking about and thought it applied to all Alaska cruises?

YVR Cockroach

Actually, PVSA or IIRC Passenger Vessels Service Act. Jones Act applies to freight.

MiamiFlyer

I was trying to do Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver (or vice versa) on the same ship - the prices were fantastic. RCCL said no can do, misquoted/misnamed Jones act, but the prohibition was in their procedures manual. Apparently that's why they don't market it as a 14 day roundtrip.

wrp96

Try back again - it's very possible to do exactly that. Friends have done it multiple times - on RCCL.

DanJ

As suggested, try again. For the start and end in Vancouver round trip, the PVSA doesn't apply since the embark and disembark are in Canada. Doing it round trip from Seward is fine since it's a round trip beginning and ending in the same US port and the stop in Vancouver counts as the foreign port requirement.

Dr Jabadski

Depending on your definition of “Last Minute”:

I’m far from an expert and I’ve never done this myself but I have worked part-time for Carnival and I’ve heard this several times from several long time employees. IF you can be incredibly flexible, and you can depart on a cruise with1-2 days notice, it may be possible to book a cruise for an amazingly low price; I’ve heard $50 per night and $250 for a week.

Allegedly Carnival knows that once a ship leaves on a cruise, if there are any empty cabins it is lost revenue forever. The major airlines would rather fly expensive empty seats than lower prices at the last minute; we’ve all seen the results of that business model, the major airlines have all been in bankruptcy. Apparently, contrary to that model, Carnival will do whatever they can to fill EVERY cabin on the ship. (And, in the past 2-3 decades, Carnival has grown from a rinky dink bit player to the dominant company in the industry.)

Makes perfect sense if you think about it. All of their costs are the same regardless of whether there are 2500 people or 2700 people on the ship. Same amount of crew (most of whom work mainly for tips), same amount of fuel, same amount of food; nothing changes based on small differences in the number of passengers. Thus if the ship is booked at 90% capacity, filling that other 10% is gravy, pure profit. They also know the typical passenger will spend significantly for booze and gifts and gambling and shore excursions once ON a cruise.

So, if you call Carnival directly on Thursday or Friday, ask them which ships have availability for that Saturday or Sunday, and you can get to the ship’s homeport you just might get a cruise for a pittance. Obviously works best if you live in Miami and have complete flexibility with your time.

(BTW, one other insider tip: When on a cruise and planning a shore excursion, book it through the ship, even if it’s a bit more expensive. If you’re on a ship sponsored excursion and the bus breaks down and you and 40 other passengers are 3 hours late getting back to the ship, the ship will wait for you. If you book it on your own, and your cheaper and better and more private cab breaks down and you ALONE are 3 hours late getting back to the ship, the ship will NOT wait for you and it will be your responsibility (cost) to reunite with the ship.)

ak333

I still think the question should be are there good values available last minute or are you really looking for a "cheap" cruise?

DanJ

Those type of last minute deals are pretty rare though now. Carnival has it figured out pretty well on how to fill a ship well in advance. I just did a mock booking for a cruise leaving tomorrow and the system offered me a balcony cabin for $889 pp. Not really a last minute deal. But having sailed this itinerary before, I know that in the summer, that cruise sails at better than 120% of double occupancy, so Carnival really doesn't have any pressure to give that last cabin away.

I would also say that although I don't have insider info, they would consider a ship being 90% booked within the last couple months borderline disaster, let alone the last 2 days. I think their breakeven is higher than that, and I have heard that their goal, fleetwide, is something like 105%.

As for the inside tip on the shore excursions, I think the correct term is they will look after you, should something happen on the tour. There is no guarantee the ship will wait in every port. I wouldn't book an independent tour of Tulum if my ship was in Cozumel, for example, because I don't want to take that chance of being that far away from the ship and also having that 15 mile span of water between me and it. But I wouldn't hesitate to do a local city tour privately where you aren't generally more than a couple miles from the ship.

Ryan15037

Is there a website that you can sign up to that advertises these 'last minute' deals?