What's up with the high prices for Alaska 2011??

[dvrdude]

DW and I have been snooping around for a potential Alaska cruise for Sept, 2011. Holy smokes are the prices high!! Our benchmark for a good deal on a balcony is $100/day each. Seems like everything out there is twice that. What gives? Might force us to look at a land based vacation.

[Texas Tillie]

DW and I have been snooping around for a potential Alaska cruise for Sept, 2011. Holy smokes are the prices high!! Our benchmark for a good deal on a balcony is $100/day each. Seems like everything out there is twice that. What gives? Might force us to look at a land based vacation.

 

Alaska has never had prices that cheap for balconies! Alaska is very expensive - but plenty of people are willing to pay the prices. There is a BIG difference berween an Alaska cruise and one in the Caribbean. Be aware that everything in Alaska is expensive....hotel rooms and food will be 50 to 100% more than you'd pay for comparable in the lower 48. It's a long way up there! I'm going on my 5th Alaska cruise in 5 years this June!:D

[tak81288]

Alaska cruises tend to cost more then some other regions such as the Carribbean.

 

Not only the cruise itself, but excursions, hotels,..etc...

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done quite a few Alaskan cruises and have never found the prices for balconies and/or verandahs to be cheap.

 

And the shore excursions are getting more expensive -- fuel is getting more expensive -- so those prices are being passed onto the tourists.

[LindaKE]

As the others said, Alaska is more expensive, and not just on the ship. Everything in Alaska has to be brought in by air or sea, so everything costs more. Also, in 2010, several ships pulled out of Alaska making the law of supply anad demand come into play.

[dvrdude]

We took a Westerdam 7 day inside passage a couple years ago for $699 for a balcony. Must've been a fluke.:confused:

[Texas Tillie]

We took a Westerdam 7 day inside passage a couple years ago for $699 for a balcony. Must've been a fluke.:confused:

 

If that was 2009, yes, it was a fluke. That was when the economy had tanked, the cruise lines still had too many ships in Alaska, etc. You'll never see those prices again!:D

[mksgfly]

My in-laws want to take the family on vacation. 14 of us total. They asked us to vote on Western Carribbean out of New Orleans (we'd drive down from Ohio) or Alaska out of Seattle (they'd pay airfare). The unanimous vote was Alaska. This is a family that would rather put binoculars to use than new bathing suit! Now it's evolved into us getting there early so we don't have to worry about missing the ship, arranging transfers from airports and hotels for large groups, and staying a day after so we aren't rushing to the airport. When I started looking at the cost differences my eyes started popping out of my head. They are also giving everyone an excursion allowance. It's a once in a lifetime trip for some of us. They've been talking about it for years and have taken cruises before. I know they have the money, but still feeling really guilty for the extra costs compared to the Carribbean.

[dvrdude]

Obviously the fuel consumption is much less than a southern Caribbean is. Maybe the port charges to the ships is much greater?? :confused:

[Gonzo70]

Obviously the fuel consumption is much less than a southern Caribbean is. Maybe the port charges to the ships is much greater?? :confused:

 

That may be part of it, but a larger factor is supply and demand. If the cruise line can sell the cruise at a high price they will do so, even if their costs are lower.

[mr green]

DW and I have been snooping around for a potential Alaska cruise for Sept, 2011. Holy smokes are the prices high!! Our benchmark for a good deal on a balcony is $100/day each. Seems like everything out there is twice that. What gives? Might force us to look at a land based vacation.

 

IMO you would have to be dreaming to look fora balcony at $100.00 per person per day in Alaska.

 

john

[Hertford]

We did a cruisetour August 2010. Yes, everything in Alaska is expensive. We decided it was a once in a lifetime trip and that made our trip doable. Yes a balcony, is expensive but felt it was the best choice for us. Royal Caribbean did a fantastic job. Excellent hotels, transportation and tour guides in addition to our constant coach driver. A choice of an Alaskan trip is worth compromising somewhere else. There is a brief tourist season in Alaska, so that the economy is dependent on that income as well.

[mr green]

I never thought of Alaska as 'expensive since i don't have to fly to it.:cool:

 

john

[PennyAgain]

Alaska has always been expensive since pioneer days. The cruise lines have tightened up on capacity and are working with the idea that as they economy improves in the US they don't have to give anything away.

 

When you are studying up to book be sure to be aware of the nickel and dime' policies of many cruise lines that have many add on fees and costs. Read all the details and study Cruise Critic to get the best value for your money.

[CFD130]

My in-laws want to take the family on vacation. 14 of us total. They asked us to vote on Western Carribbean out of New Orleans (we'd drive down from Ohio) or Alaska out of Seattle (they'd pay airfare). The unanimous vote was Alaska. This is a family that would rather put binoculars to use than new bathing suit! Now it's evolved into us getting there early so we don't have to worry about missing the ship, arranging transfers from airports and hotels for large groups, and staying a day after so we aren't rushing to the airport. When I started looking at the cost differences my eyes started popping out of my head. They are also giving everyone an excursion allowance. It's a once in a lifetime trip for some of us. They've been talking about it for years and have taken cruises before. I know they have the money, but still feeling really guilty for the extra costs compared to the Carribbean.

You wont be after you get there-bring alot of extra film or memory cards-Its is unbelievable-It has been seveal years know-everything was so pretty-whales-bears-wildlife-glaciers- un real- If you get to pick one special excursion I would do the helicopter ride and glacier walk in Anchorage-The most amazing scenery during the ride and how many people do you know that have walked on a glacier? The train in Skagway also is a not to be missed excursion JMHO

[Davidson Duo]

My in-laws want to take the family on vacation. 14 of us total. They asked us to vote on Western Carribbean out of New Orleans (we'd drive down from Ohio) or Alaska out of Seattle (they'd pay airfare). The unanimous vote was Alaska. This is a family that would rather put binoculars to use than new bathing suit! Now it's evolved into us getting there early so we don't have to worry about missing the ship, arranging transfers from airports and hotels for large groups, and staying a day after so we aren't rushing to the airport. When I started looking at the cost differences my eyes started popping out of my head. They are also giving everyone an excursion allowance. It's a once in a lifetime trip for some of us. They've been talking about it for years and have taken cruises before. I know they have the money, but still feeling really guilty for the extra costs compared to the Carribbean.

 

My parents have twice taken all us kids and our spouses (16 of us in total) on a cruise to Alaska. It certainly was not cheap dollar wise, but was well worth the cost to them in memories.

 

What we did for them in return was when on board we arranged for a portrait sitting on one of our formal dinner evenings. The photographer set up in the atrium for us and we got some wonderful group photos. We then bought a photo for Dad and Mum and put it in one of the fancy picture frames available with the name of the ship on it as our gift to them. It sits in pride of place on the table in the middle of their living room and they absolutely love it.

 

We also gave them the gift of making sure that we all showed up for dinner together in the MDR every single night, whether we felt like it or not. No excuses to miss. We had two tables and we rotated who sat where each sitting so we all circulated our table mates. It didn't matter what you did the rest of the day, dinner was together for Dad and Mum. The rest of the time was do what you want. Sometimes we would pair up, sometimes go by ourselves, often we would all end up together at the puzzle station.

 

After the first cruise, instead of feeling guilty about the cost of the trip to my folks, we realized we were actually giving them so much more than the money value. It truly is a magical way to reconnect with family who have all spread their wings, and you can't buy the kind of happiness and memories we made on those cruises.

 

We hope you enjoy your family vacation as much as we did. We reverted to being kids again, it brought back so many wonderful memories of being siblings and growing up, and brought our family closer together than we thought possible. It is a great gift - that you will all be giving each other. Enjoy.

[BruceMuzz]

IMO you would have to be dreaming to look fora balcony at $100.00 per person per day in Alaska.

 

john

 

You would also have to be dreaming if you think you can do a "cheaper" land vacation for $100 per day in Alaska (including hotel, meals, transportation, and tours/entertainment) - unless you plan on staying in a tent and cooking on a campfire.

[BruceMuzz]

Obviously the fuel consumption is much less than a southern Caribbean is. Maybe the port charges to the ships is much greater?? :confused:

 

The fuel consumption in Alaska is not much less than on a Southern Caribbean cruise.

But the price of fuel is triple.

Alaska requires that ships sailing there use very expensive low sulphur fuel.

 

And yes, port charges and head taxes in Alaska are much higher than in the Caribbean.

[Glaciers]

As cruise lines reposition away from destinations like Mexico due to declining revenues, west coast itineraries are becoming more difficult to find making Alaska a bit more appealing. I wouldn’t expect any price drops for the 2011 season. The demand is increasing for Alaska.

[matj2000]

It's all the high Taxes, fees, and Eco Crap the government puts on the cruise lines & Passengers...

[zacc]

We did an Alaskan cruise with Princess in Sept. '02 with an OV. Doing another Alaskan cruise with Princess Sept. '11 in a balcony. We are paying less this time than we did in 2002. If you include airfare we are paying a good deal less. I should add that both cruises represent the same dates. Truth of the matter is you can not compare the prices of a Caribbean cruise to the price of an Alaskan cruise. You can't really compare the price of any two cruises going to entirely different locations. Far too many variables.