Alaska Cruisin'!

Hi Community!

First time cruiser here! My wife and I want to set sail to Alaska. Any suggestions on good Travel Agencies to use? Are there larger agents known for customizing Alaskan cruises, or should we look locally to find someone in-person? Any and all suggestions for in-person travel agencies are useful! Trying to stay away from the larger online retailers...

Best,

AJ & Selma

but.... There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in tone) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.

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Thoughts...

• doing some online research before visiting a travel agency makes you a more informed consumer. It just makes things more efficient for the agency.
  
• I use online sites like Expedia to do some price shopping on what each cruise line offers, but also when. You can also decide if you want budget inside cabins, a little more for oceanviews, verandah or suite experience.
  
• you will see seasonal price changes due to weather and school holidays. May is cheap and cool. June offers lots of daylight. July is warm and the last of the dry season. August gets statistically wet. September is cheap for storm chasers.
  
• do you want a 7 day return? 7 day one way to central Alaska? 14 day return? Extended stay in Central Alaska?
  
• Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan are the most popular cruise ports.... or do you want to see others?
  
• Glacier Bay is the preferred choice for glacier seekers. Or is there other glaciers you want to explore?
  
• do you want a 4 hour pitstop in Canada? Or an extended stay in an urban center like Vancouver?
  

Hi Community!

 

First time cruiser here! My wife and I want to set sail to Alaska. Any suggestions on good Travel Agencies to use? Are there larger agents known for customizing Alaskan cruises, or should we look locally to find someone in-person? Any and all suggestions for in-person travel agencies are useful! Trying to stay away from the larger online retailers...

 

Best,

AJ & Selma

...and welcome aboard Cruise Critic.

In short, what they are trying to say is that recommending a Travel Agent is not allowed on this forum.

There are a lot (most) cruise travel agents who work specifically internet, so it is very competitive. Add that mix to a forum and discussions get contentious very quickly.

As you can already see from the few post, this can be an emotional subject.

Internet is a little difficult because there are so many resources, I would start by asking a few friends who they recommend and work your way in that direction.

Alaska is a wonderful cruise. Have a great trip.

Burt

At the top of the page, go to "find a cruise" and go from there.

Princess Cruises is a good choice for Alaska

Try asking friends, coworkers, and family members if they've been on cruises, and if so, if they have a TA they can recommend. You'll be surprised at how many people have taken cruises.

as a newbie, it's probably best to seek out a brick and mortar "cruise specialist" (a TA who is knowledgeable about cruises -- some TAs aren't and may have only been on land trips) in your area, especially if you get some recommended ones. The reason I recommend this for you is that the Internet agencies may be hard to get in touch with if you have questions or need some help. The person who takes down your info may have never been on a cruise or much less seen the ocean.

Go in with an idea of your budget (if you look around this site, you will know you have to allow for auto-grats, any port expenses such as excursions or transportation, your pre-cruise hotel, flights, etc.), when you want to go (since you want an Alaskan cruise, that will narrow it down), whether you want to go on a round trip (Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco) or an one-way (usually between Vancouver and Anchorage), if the last type, do you want to add a cruise tour farther into Alaska. Let the TA know about your personality (partier, quiet, active, etc.).

Make sure when you schedule your flights (you can do it yourself or having a TA do it for you), to get into your embarkation port at least a day ahead and on the other end, if you get a same-day flight back home, that you allow for time to get to the airport. You may also want to spend more time in Seattle, Vancouver, etc.

Noting the emphasis on OP's questions about a TA... don't forget the alternative, at least for comparison, of directly dealing with the cruise lines and their own internal agents or Personal Cruise Consultants (PCC). There are a lot of people who work exclusively with them and a fair number who book via that route and later move their booking to a TA or big box retailer for on-board credit (OBC).

For Alaska first nail down what your interests are and which itineraries fit them then explore who goes there and whether (if a one-way) airfare costs enter into the picture. For travel agents some are specialists in Alaska cruises and if desired pre/post cruise land add-ons. But services often come at extra fee or reduced incentives like OBC. Also some agents have tighter relationships with one or a few cruise lines - which can be both good and bad. For example concentrating on Carnival family of lines (like HAL and Princess) and not having info for Royal family lines (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for example). Nice to keep all the options open so investigating all the player's web sites in the Alaska market could be a good first start then find an agent or deal direct with a line's agents.

Noting the emphasis on OP's questions about a TA... don't forget the alternative, at least for comparison, of directly dealing with the cruise lines and their own internal agents or Personal Cruise Consultants (PCC). There are a lot of people who work exclusively with them and a fair number who book via that route and later move their booking to a TA or big box retailer for on-board credit (OBC).

 

For Alaska first nail down what your interests are and which itineraries fit them then explore who goes there and whether (if a one-way) airfare costs enter into the picture. For travel agents some are specialists in Alaska cruises and if desired pre/post cruise land add-ons. But services often come at extra fee or reduced incentives like OBC. Also some agents have tighter relationships with one or a few cruise lines - which can be both good and bad. For example concentrating on Carnival family of lines (like HAL and Princess) and not having info for Royal family lines (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for example). Nice to keep all the options open so investigating all the player's web sites in the Alaska market could be a good first start then find an agent or deal direct with a line's agents.

But wouldn't a cruise line's PCC be biased toward their own employer's cruise lines? somehow I feel your second paragraph contradicts the first one.

I have booked our last four cruises directly through the cruise line, but we had already discussed (between hubby and me) which ship, itinerary, and date. So no additional info needed. For someone who is new, they might want to talk to an actual person who is knowledgeable about many cruiselines, etc. Maybe even sit across from them, look at the posters on the wall behind them and ask which cruises have been the TA's favorite and why. and if a TA seems to want you steered to a particular cruise line and doesn't want to discuss without prejudice other ones...ask to speak to another TA or go down the street.

Do ask about any fees (cancellation, change ones) and if that's the case, check out other agencies as many won't charge you to book a cruise through them (at least that used to be the case, but I think it's still the same).

IMO...Alaska and Hawaii need to be done via a land tour...not a cruise. I know lots of folks do cruises, but you only get a taste of these amazing places. Get a guidebook..figure out what YOU want to see and do..then decide if a cruise is the way to do it!

Unless you get glowing recommendations from friends about a local TA who is a cruise specialist - you are better off without one IMNSHO. I saw so many posts on here about lovely extras that TAs had gotten for members that I went with a TA I found on the Internet. I got NOTHING except lousy service. I dealt directly with the cruise line for our upcoming Alaska cruise which meant I could easily make changes and add stuff like excursions.

Hi Community!

 

 

 

First time cruiser here! My wife and I want to set sail to Alaska. Any suggestions on good Travel Agencies to use? Are there larger agents known for customizing Alaskan cruises, or should we look locally to find someone in-person? Any and all suggestions for in-person travel agencies are useful! Trying to stay away from the larger online retailers...

 

 

 

Best,

 

AJ & Selma

Check out my earlier post on TA selection: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=51494447