<p>I know there was a previous thread on taking an Alaska cruise, which I have read and found very helpful – have cut and pasted some of the advice into my trip planning file. </p>
<p>Have also been checking out the cruise discussion forum recommended by our posters.</p>
<p>H and I and just started talking about summer vacation, and this Alaska idea came up. Our 24-year-old son would join us. I realize that we are late just starting to plan for something like this, but would appreciate advice. Know I would need to move on it soon should we decide to pursue it.</p>
<p>Given that we would be considering going in August 2014, and that many spots are already filled, should we consider using a travel agent?
We have always planned trips ourselves, but wonder if using an agent would give us more options. Is it considerably more expensive to go the agent route?</p>
<p>We would be flying from Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Also, we have never taken a cruise before, but for this destination and the time available think it makes the most sense for us.</p>
<p>You should always use a travel agent for a cruise. They have connections for cabins you don’t see online and frequently will be able to get you upgrades/perks. It won’t cost any more and many times will cost less. No downside. </p>
<p>I second Iron Maiden’s comment. I looked at it online – our travel agent was able to get us a better price with some value-added extras as well.</p>
<p>We had her book our airline tickets as well (which they now charge to do) but also worth the small cost.</p>
<p>Travel agent for a cruise–and I don’t usually use an agent. The smaller boats can do the inside passage and large ones can’t which is something to consider when doing an Alaskan cruise.</p>
<p>For an “inside the U.S.” cruise, you can do it yourself. Maybe a European or other “big” cruise like that, a T.A. might help. If you use a T.A., it won’t cost you anything. </p>
<p>Biggest recommendation I have and which I will always follow, especially if you are flying: fly in to your departure port the day before the cruise leaves. The extra night’s hotel expense is worth it, not to have to worry about a mechanical or weather delay. We took a short cruise this past summer that was only a three-hour drive from our house, but we still drove the day before and spent the night. </p>
<p>The first decision would be if you want to cruise round-trip from Seattle, or do the north-to-south or south-to-north route that usually goes from Whittier to Vancouver, or vice versa.</p>
<p>If you don’t have passports, get them now. You won’t need it just for Alaska, but some of the excursions go into Canada (we did an excursion from Skagway into the Yukon Territory and had to have passports for that).</p>
<p>It is super fun and super beautiful, no matter where you go!</p>
<p>We booked a last minute cruise several years ago (our first). Went through a travel agent - got a pretty good deal. But he couldn’t get us cabins right next to each other. Booked another cruise a few years ago with neighbors. They booked through a travel agent and got some perks. We booked the same cruise through Costco and got the same “perks”. Price was exactly the same - we could even pick the specific cabin we wanted. But Costco doesn’t have all the cruises…just a select subset…</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the responses, and the PMs as well!
The info has been VERY helpful.
Apparently we are getting a late start in planning for a cruise this summer, but I will be in a position to discuss with H this weekend and then focus on planning should we decide to go ahead. Hope to make the main decision within a week.</p>
<p>We took a land-cruise to Alaska a few years ago and booked it through our insurance company USAA -they contract with a certain cruise company. Great trip - would recommend if you do the land portion first so you can relax the last 7 days on the ship.</p>
<p>Our friends used Costco website to book their cabin and we used the travel agent the rest of the group was using. The travel agent was able to get us traditional dining and let us have two large tables with the group together at the first seating. My friends who books with Costco got a better price on their cabin and free shipboard credit from Costco. Otherwise, it was similar. The agent gave us a free bottle of wine that we enjoyed with our friends; it was sent to our cabin after we boarded.</p>
<p>Thanks to previous tip from HImom, I used Costco.com for booking Alaska cruise. They were very helpful with my questions over the phone and we each received $75 shipboard credit. Years ago when D’s were in high school, I used a travel agent who I had a connection and she was helpful. It was sort of a last minute deal so there weren’t many options. Did a Caribbean cruise last winter on Princess and booked direct with Princess as I took advantage of previous cruiser offer and needed to depart on ship out of Ft. Lauderdale after visiting DH’s cousin so I wasn’t considering a zillion options.</p>
<p>We’ve taken two Alaskan cruises (one a North-to-South, purchasing airfare from the cruise-line) and one round-trip from Seattle. We flew from PA too. I don’t know if anyone mentioned these tips on the other thread, but our “lessons learned” were (1) definitely try to get there a day or two before the cruise. We didn’t adjust for the time difference on our first trip, and it really screwed up our first few days. Don’t sign up for the late dinner unless you’re used to eating in the middle of the night. It also helps to ensure your luggage arrives with you. For the airfare we got through the cruise-line, we didn’t have enough time between transfers and our luggage didn’t arrive until half-way through the cruise. I’d never use cruise-line air packages again. (2) Try to choose the cruise itinerary with the most port time. Our second cruise was a lot cheaper, but it also only had half the time in ports. </p>
<p>One cruise was in May, and we saw a lot of wildlife (a Moose outside the airport, and a grizzly when our flightseeing plan set down on a lake for a little while). Bald eagles were as common as pigeons in New York City. The days were very long. That cruise was very special to us because we planned a vow renewal service in the Orthodox church in Sitka. Our other cruise was over Labor Day. Days were much shorter and we had sleet two days. Layering definitely helped, and we used sweatshirts and light jackets. I’ll never forget a whale watching trip in Ketchikan on our August cruise, where we got to see whales coming up for bubble-feeding right next to our boat. It was a true National Geographic moment. We missed the salmon running both times although we did see some salmon debris along a creek on one visit, so I am looking forward to scheduling another cruise. We tried to fit in as many experiences as possible. After taking the train in Skagway the first time, we rented a car and drove to the Yukon ourselves the second cruise. It was equally interesting and gorgeous. I don’t think there are any bad excursion choices! Hope you have a great time…I can’t wait to see Alaska again someday.</p>
<p>We used to be frequent cruisers as a family. We used travel agencies for our first cruises, but switched to booking with the cruise-lines directly. Some of them will match lowest price up until final payment. I usually check their sites and at least two of the discount on-line booking sites like cruiseone and cruisevalue before booking.</p>
<p>Thanks, again, for the very helpful comments. </p>
<p>Yes, we definitely will arrive a day before embarking.</p>
<p>Interesting to learn of the difference in daylight so early in September. Dates we are looking at now are early to mid August.</p>
<p>Son is looking into smaller “expedition” ships rather than big cruise ships, so we will see what he comes up with. (Son does not like being part of a big crowd and formal dinner evenings. He likes casual and low key. The decision will be made by H and me, but we will factor in his input.)</p>
<p>Stopped in at a travel agent’s yesterday and she has been very responsive and sent me some options for Princess, Celebrity and Holland America, and her prices look competitive against those I got from doing a search via the tripadvisor site.</p>
<p>I did Celebrity to Alaska and really enjoyed it. If the travel agent has already been responsive and helpful, I would give her the business rather than booking direct.</p>
<p>^ Oh yes, I am inclined to work with the travel agent from this point, whatever we decide to do. Only stopped in to visit the office after I had gotten some feedback here re taking that route.
Will also have her do our air fare, in part in appreciation of her help.</p>
<p>To add to previous post, our Alaska cruise was on Princess northbound from Vancouver. We were scheduled to be in Vancouver for business trip for DH so the cruise was an add-on. I only wish we could have had more time in Alaska after the cruise but I couldn’t take more than 2 weeks off. Our cruise was in late June. We had rainy weather for the first few days but only in the first port Ketchikan was the rain so heavy that it really prevented us from doing anything. Was very happy with Princess itinerary and if you decide to travel out of Vancouver and have never been there I recommend adding extra time. We really loved Vancouver and did a day trip to Victoria as well. Since the experience of booking the cruise on Costco.com was so easy, we have since booked rental cars both for business and vacation trips on Cost.com also. I would never have the cruise company book our air travel.</p>
<p>We have enjoyed the Seattle/Alaska cruise twice so far. Beautiful and respectful of the environment in a way Caribean cruises just aren’t.
The change of daylight is amazing. We went the first time in early July. You could read a newspaper on deck at 11:30. Relatives who have lived in Ketchican since the '40s took us on a great tour and visit. Their take: don’t visit after mid-august. September is misty and borderline frosty while those of us in the lower 48 find it perfect.
The other hint, seek out those few independent shops and restaurants still owned by locals. (They aren’t the ones the cruise guides steer you toward). If you see jewelry, art, or cheap touristy gift stuff, those stores will close mid-Sept and do nothing for the local economy.</p>
<p>In Skagway, be sure to have lunch and a brew at Skagway Brewing Co.
Help the locals - plus a day’s worth of vitamin c in every glass of the spruce tip ale( or so they say). Really good beer.</p>
<p>We went on the last cruise of the season on the Golden Princess from Seattle. It was September and we had mostly excellent weather, no crowds and lots of end of season sales. Loved it. We were with others who said they liked the September cruise best. </p>
<p>Next time, we will likely book on Costco.com, as we book our rental cars. Would use an agent if we gave a large group or special needs.</p>
<p>Don’t know if you are doing a land package and a cruise but I if so I would suggest you travel all in the same direction either south to north or visa versa. We flew to Anchorage took the train up thru Talketna to Fairbanks but then had to fly back to Anchorage take a bus south to pick up the cruise ship to go south. Dumb idea, it felt to back track, but who knew.</p>
<p>Otherwise everyone else’s suggestions are good. </p>
<p>Pick one activity in each location to do something memorial to help separate your experiences in each location. For us, one of the best experiences was to take a helicopter up onto a glacier in Juneau.</p>
