greasy

Hi all,

I'm tasked by wife to book a cruise trip for the whole in-law family around MAY this year from somewhere westcoast to Alaska.

7-8 days, 5 adults and 1 kid.
Westcoast (Best if LA) to Alaska
May 2013'

I'm a frequent flyer myself, fly 150K/ year, but know absolutely nothing about cruises. So I have a few questions.

1. Where can I find deals ?
2. Looks like there're half a dozen cruise lines operate to Alaska, how do you pick them ?
3. half of the party will be travelling from Canada, and half from LA. Should I be looking at flight+curise package or book them seperately ?
4. hmm....that's all for now I guess, don't even know what to ask

Thanks

clacko

vacations to go & cruise critic are great resources.....

patchan8984

As I have only went on two cruises and both were charter, I had to do this research myself over the last two weeks. Being ignorant of this form of travel didn't sit well with me . I was looking at west coast to Alaska cruises as well, and also considering Europe cruises. Here are my insights (and anyone with more experience can please correct me).

Norwegian - I like the fact that they have "freestyle" cruising. No formal nights or sit down times. That said, I think from CruiseCritic (CC) that they are one of the mainstream cruise lines. If you have a large group, which I like to have, Norwegian has large suites (2 bedroom/3 bedroom) on the Jewel Class ships (Jewel, Gem, Pearl, Jade) and 2 bedrooms on the Epic/Breakaway in what is called the "Haven" with a private courtyard/gym/pool/spa/massage area/restaurant, butler and a lot of other amenities...separated away from the rest of the ship. I would only consider this cruise line if staying in the Haven suites. I believe the Jade is doing some cruises out of the usual ports, SEA, YVR and in Alaska itself.

Celebrity - A lot more pricey but has a lot of fans on CC...supposedly a bit more upmarket than Norwegian and the other mainstream cruise lines. I would only consider Celebrity if I had 2 people, as their suites are priced pretty high. I would book their Aqua class staterooms which have access to their highly rated Blu restaurant. They have some enticing offers going on, but I still think they are still pretty pricey.

Oceania - Small ship near luxury cruising. Vacationstogo.com lists a sailing I was very interested in, $1699 for inside cabin (excl air) from San Francisco and stopping in Vancouver for 9 days. I believe on the website they were offering $2299 (incl air) and 2 for 1 unlimited shore excursions. Oceania is a totally different experience from the above 2 cruise lines. Saw their dining room menus...wow! Too bad the people I go with wouldn't appreciate it. It is a good option if you have family members flying in and you go through the Oceania website process to see if they get free airfare for the lead in cabin of $2299...I think oceanview and balcony were 3k+...

Take this with a grain of salt, I've never actually cruises these lines but this is what I am able to glean from cruise critic.

clacko

how old is the kid?

max$/day/pp?

YVR Cockroach

May sailings are a good time for deals - look at late as April or even May if you're not fussy about line, ship or cabin. Most cruises are 7 days. If you get a one-way Vancouver-Alaska or v-v, they're often (much) cheaper than the R/Ts out of YVR or SEA because cruisers don't like the O/W aspect (air fares to/from ANC must be more expensive before summer). Last year, I saw back-to-back 2x1 wk cruises YVR-Alaska-YVR for $599 before taxes either on Princess or Holland America (yeah, lower/common tier lines but they're decent and get the job done - sailed for the 1st time on both last year). That was the same as a 1wk R/T cruise.

Buy the air ticket separately. The cruise lines like to put you on poor flights with poor connections or even cutting a very thin boarding time margin.

Jalinth

From California area your best bet are repositioning cruises - just be warned that early summer is pretty iffy weather wise. Look out of all ports - SFO and LA. As far as which line, what are your requirements, cheapest, kid friendly, etc...? Makes a difference for recommendation.

Vacations to go is pretty good and gives you a good option and price ballpark.

I'd suggest looking for flights yourself. Very likely cheaper given that if you do a one-way, some will return to Canada, and some to the US.

DJ_Iceman

It looks like Disney has a 7-day LAX-VYR cruise departing on May 20, followed by an Alaska cruise. You're certainly not going to get LA all the way to Alaska on a single 7-day sailing.

melodys

I recommend leaving out of Vancouver instead of Seattle. Vancouver goes through the inside passage and the water is very smooth. It can be pretty rough out of Seattle. To save on flight costs you can fly into Seattle then take Amtrak to Vancouver. It's a beautiful train ride and not much extra hassle.

Jay71

We've been on five cruises split between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. One cruise to Alaska. My two bits...

Deals: We generally book through our travel agent who is part of the cruise branch of Expedia. Interestingly, for our most recent booking, the pricing on their website is cheaper than on Celebrity's. I'd probably start researching with a TA because they can provide an ideas what kind of promo's are out there and can offer up some perks.
For our Alaska trip, there was a local consolidator that had a deal that said it was for Canadians only (??).
I've read Celebrity and RCI typically don't allow discounting by TA's so the TA's have to offer other perks such as on board credits, prepaid gratuities, etc. We checked out CruiseCompete where (in a nutshell) you submit your parameters and various TA's respond with their offers. Based on our read of reviews, it seems pretty legit.
We've also found some pretty decent deals on TravelZoo which we haven't been able to take advantage of.

Cruise Line selection: This is kind of tough IMO because of so many variables (price point, interests, etc). Some lines seem more known for and catering to different demographics. (eg. Easiest example is Disney for kids).
The other thing to take into consideration is the ship. For us, we like the newer or upgraded ships because they have more interesting amenities. YMMV.

Flight: We usually book our flight separate. Some of the folks on our cruise roll call have gotten some very good prices booking from ChoiceAir (Celebrity's air program) so I wouldn't necessarily rule them out.

Miscellaneous:
We sailed to Alaska the 2nd last week of May. We lucked out because the weather was so nice and warm. However, I've been told it could have been a lot colder.
I also suggest trying to find an itinerary that sails the inside passage. Agree a lot calmer and beautiful scenery. Generally, this would mean sailing out of Vancouver or sailing out of Seattle & returning to Vancouver.
If/When I sail to Alaska again, I'd like to do one way to spend more time in Alaska at the beginning or end of the cruise.

tmpcase

I recommend you to check out this site for relocation cruises http://www.repositioncruises.com/ . Repositioning cruise deals search offers best chances to find one way (meaning very cheap) cruises to and from Alaska departing from Vancouver or Seattle, or California ports (like San Francisco, San Diago or Los Angeles). The above link will give you only information as to departure dates and suggestive cruise tickets prices - for deals you'll have to look some other place. I recommend Expedia or Orbitz, but also check the lines' own rates - all repositioning cruise deals tend to be pretty affordable to really cheap (from the reposition cruises site see for departures in April and May). Good luck!^
by the way, the Grand Princess ship (see here http://www.shipcruise.org/grand-princess-itinerary/) offers San Francisco to Alaska cruise deals regularly during summer 2014. There you can see also see the Grand Princess current position tracker, along with all departure dates in her cruise schedule, some may be convenient for you, but I doubt the prices will tempting compared to those for the relocation cruise deals

fredjr

I've cruised to Alaska several times and have over 30 cruises under my belt. I also teach cruising to adult education programs.
You cannot do an Alaska cruise from LA in 7-8 days.
The inside passage sailing from either Vancouver or Seward/Whittier/Anchorage will provide the best itinerary. It will include a glacial sailing and usually three or four classic Alaskan villages.
These one way sailings are usually one week.
Do visit a CRUISE travel agent. You are fairly late in starting your search and a TA can be of great assistance.
Use the Ports of Call/Alaska boards on Cruise Critic to plan your excursions. Trip Advisor, a sister site, also has recommendations. Under the top bar is a column called "MORE," use it for the forums. You can also get terrific assistance from Cruise Critic.
Before you commit your family to the cruise, be aware that Alaskan excursions are expensive and for some cruisers may be more than their cruise fare.
You do need passports.
Alaska is glorious. Enjoy every minute.

GRALISTAIR

Bookmarked - I am looking at a one way AK cruise next year myself - for me and my wife. I will follow this thread with interest.