Budgeting for Alaska Trip

[Tee & Chilli]

This will be my first cruise to Alaska May 2015. Any thoughts on if I'm missing something in my budget? I'm also considering a B2B. The only thing I'll be missing is a Denali flight tour because my trip is too early in the season to make it in the park. For the one way option I planned to take the train from Seward to ANK for the flight tour before flying home from ANK.

 

The first leg is Northbound Vancouver to Seward

 

B2B Budget

Cruises - $1700 (single supplement inside cabin)

Tours - 4 ports x $200 each port = $1600

RT flights FL to Seattle or Vancouver - $1200

Hotels pre and post cruise - $400

Touring in Seattle - $200 (Space needle, glass museum)

Touring in Vancouver - $200 (suspension bridge, etc)

 

Thanks

[frugaltravel]

I am not sure what you mean when you say, "The only thing I'll be missing is a Denali flight tour because my trip is too early in the season to make it in the park." The flightseeing operates nearly year-round. You could do a flightseeing of Denali NP from Anchorage or Talkeetna. The flights are not dependent on whether the buses into the park on the road are operating.

 

In your costs are you considering transfers from airport to hotel and back? Public transit or other forms of transit in Seattle and Vancouver? Food costs both on non-cruise days and on days in ports when you won't make it back to the ship for a meal? Your flight cost estimate seems high to me, but better to budget more and not need it than estimate low and be sorry.

[sherryf]

B2B Budget

Cruises - $1700 (single supplement inside cabin)

 

Are you including your gratuities in this cost? Or any other onboard expenses, such as drinks? Also, what about trip insurance?

[Tee & Chilli]

Thanks. .I'll add insurance and specialty restaurants. I plan to take public transportation while in Seattle and Vancouver. I'll factor that in also. Just trying to ensure I have plenty $ saved by next year. I plan to have a really good time and don't want to be worried about expenses. I'm doing am inside cabin to use money for other items.

 

Thanks again everyone

[rjeffler]

I'm 18 days from the start of my Alaska trip that I've been planning for 16 months!! Check out the link in my signature. I went through all of my pre-planning for this trip to get as much as I could for as little money as I could!! We are doing 6 days prior, the cruise and then 2 days in Vancover after. I also joined Groupon for Alaska and Vancouver!

[kGCAL]

For B2B, probably need minimum of $6K

[utahtea]

This will be my first cruise to Alaska May 2015. Any thoughts on if I'm missing something in my budget? I'm also considering a B2B. The only thing I'll be missing is a Denali flight tour because my trip is too early in the season to make it in the park. For the one way option I planned to take the train from Seward to ANK for the flight tour before flying home from ANK.

 

The first leg is Northbound Vancouver to Seward

 

B2B Budget

Cruises - $1700 (single supplement inside cabin)

Tours - 4 ports x $200 each port = $1600

RT flights FL to Seattle or Vancouver - $1200

Hotels pre and post cruise - $400

Touring in Seattle - $200 (Space needle, glass museum)

Touring in Vancouver - $200 (suspension bridge, etc)

 

Thanks

 

Instead of a B2B where you hit some of the same ports look into Holland America's 14 Alaska Cruise. No ports are duplicated.

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=A5L14S&fromSearchVacation=true&destList=cruises,A&dateCode=5_2015&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&voyageCode=S525

 

 

 

Utahtea

[Tee & Chilli]

I'm 18 days from the start of my Alaska trip that I've been planning for 16 months!! Check out the link in my signature. I went through all of my pre-planning for this trip to get as much as I could for as little money as I could!! We are doing 6 days prior, the cruise and then 2 days in Vancover after. I also joined Groupon for Alaska and Vancouver!

 

Good planning!