Pre-planning for 2013

[dc2psguy]

Hi all...

 

I'm taking my mom on a cruise to Alaska (the cruise she and my father always dreamed of before he passed away a few years ago) next summer. I would love to get something booked, but I see so many closer-in deals all the time. Is it possible to book now *and* get a very good rate? Is that like having my cake and eating it too? Any feedback is appreciated.

 

Cheers...

[CruiserBruce]

If you read around the board, you will see some variant of this question asked every day.

 

The answer is, for most cruise lines, if you book, and the price goes down prior to final payment, you can get that new price, with no hassles. Occaisionally you have to cancel your previous booking and re-book, but not commonly.

 

If the price goes down after final payment, then what you can do varies considerable by cruise line. Some refuse to give you anything, some give you a small rebate, some give an on board credit (OBC), some will give you an upgrade that reflects at least some of the price difference.

 

So you can book now with confidence you wouldn't get hurt by a price drop, in most cases.

[bonvoyagie]

I prefer to book early - usually the prices are at their lowest - some lines actually have a special fare for early booking - others offer additional onboard credit some have a combination of both. If the price does go down you usually have the option of re-booking at the lower rate -you will loose any perks from the previous booking however - also beware some travel agents charge a fee for re-booking. Another option is to book a catagory GTY - here you choose a catagory Inside, Oceanview, Balcony without picking an exact room - the cruise line will assign you one as the sailing gets closer. Sometimes you end up in a better room this way - sometimes you don't. In a nutshell - the cruise lines have figured out how to keep you from having your cake and eating it too :D

 

When it comes to Alaska it is all about the cruise and not so much the ship. Decisions should be made on how and what you want to experience in Alaska - there are so many options - one way, roundtrip, Seattle or Vancouver, land tour(s) it can make your head spin.

 

There are lots of good books on crusing AK - check them out in your local library or bookstore. On the web there is the Alaska Tour site http://www.travelalaska.com/ and this one I found on what to do in the cruise ports- http://cruiseportinsider.com/index.html and of course right here at CC.

 

Happy planing

[sue402001]

We booked out Alaska cruise in July for August of 2013. The price has already gone up $500 pp. for our sailing.

[pmjnh]

We booked in August 2011 for our July 2012 Alaska cruise.We experienced 3 rate drops and saved about 800 total with those drops.My TA did all the rebookings. You do have to be vigilant and watch for the price drops .Check the cruiseline website regularly for new pricing, and notify your TA, as the TA's wont automatically do this.

 

Good luck and aren't you wonderful to take your mom on her dream cruise!

[GrandCanyon2005]

If you have a Suite booked, and they offer to cancel the suite and then rebook at a lower price ... do you run the chance of losing the suite during the change?

[CruiserBruce]

If you have a Suite booked, and they offer to cancel the suite and then rebook at a lower price ... do you run the chance of losing the suite during the change?

 

No, you would be re-booking, at minimum, the same level and type of cabin at the lower price. As mentioned, totally rebooking is rare, usually you just get the price adjusted.

 

We have a suite booked for next summer in the Baltic. The price dropped 25%. A few minutes spend on the phone, and we got the new price.

[dc2psguy]

If you read around the board, you will see some variant of this question asked every day.

 

The answer is, for most cruise lines, if you book, and the price goes down prior to final payment, you can get that new price, with no hassles. Occaisionally you have to cancel your previous booking and re-book, but not commonly.

 

If the price goes down after final payment, then what you can do varies considerable by cruise line. Some refuse to give you anything, some give you a small rebate, some give an on board credit (OBC), some will give you an upgrade that reflects at least some of the price difference.

 

So you can book now with confidence you wouldn't get hurt by a price drop, in most cases.

Thank you! Very helpful, Bruce.

[dc2psguy]

I prefer to book early - usually the prices are at their lowest - some lines actually have a special fare for early booking - others offer additional onboard credit some have a combination of both. If the price does go down you usually have the option of re-booking at the lower rate -you will loose any perks from the previous booking however - also beware some travel agents charge a fee for re-booking. Another option is to book a catagory GTY - here you choose a catagory Inside, Oceanview, Balcony without picking an exact room - the cruise line will assign you one as the sailing gets closer. Sometimes you end up in a better room this way - sometimes you don't. In a nutshell - the cruise lines have figured out how to keep you from having your cake and eating it too :D

 

When it comes to Alaska it is all about the cruise and not so much the ship. Decisions should be made on how and what you want to experience in Alaska - there are so many options - one way, roundtrip, Seattle or Vancouver, land tour(s) it can make your head spin.

 

There are lots of good books on crusing AK - check them out in your local library or bookstore. On the web there is the Alaska Tour site http://www.travelalaska.com/ and this one I found on what to do in the cruise ports- http://cruiseportinsider.com/index.html and of course right here at CC.

 

Happy planing

Thanks so much!

[dc2psguy]

We booked in August 2011 for our July 2012 Alaska cruise.We experienced 3 rate drops and saved about 800 total with those drops.My TA did all the rebookings. You do have to be vigilant and watch for the price drops .Check the cruiseline website regularly for new pricing, and notify your TA, as the TA's wont automatically do this.

 

Good luck and aren't you wonderful to take your mom on her dream cruise!

 

Thanks! :)