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2015 Alaska?

navybaby1113

By navybaby1113,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Tapi Great Review Rare

Tapi

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Honestly, check out the other cruise lines doing Alaska. With only one ship, a mediocre itinerary, and pricing that is not as competitive as in its other markets, Carnival is not the best choice for an Alaska cruise.

 

Shop around. You're very likely to find much better itineraries at a more affordable price on a more established cruise line in Alaska, like Holland America or Princess.

 

 

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SamboniMan

SamboniMan

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I have been to Alaska on both RCCL and Princess. We have a family of 13 trying to plan a vacation together and we were hoping that the Carnival cruise to Alaska was more affordable than the others we have priced (Celebrity, HAL, and Princess). I'm not anxious to do RCCL again to Alaska as I was far from impressed.

 

You don't think Carnival would be more affordable then Princess or HAL?

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navybaby1113

navybaby1113

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You don't think Carnival would be more affordable then Princess or HAL?

 

The main reason we're looking at Carnival for Alaska (other than being huge CCL fans), is the price. I find it hard to believe that Princess or HAL may be more affordable. I'll definitely shop around though.

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jenng1976

jenng1976

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The main reason we're looking at Carnival for Alaska (other than being huge CCL fans), is the price. I find it hard to believe that Princess or HAL may be more affordable. I'll definitely shop around though.

 

 

I just got an email from HAL where you could get an inside cabin for as low as $350/person, including their all inclusive beverage package! They have a ton of deals for this summer's sailings, for all their various itineraries.

 

We sailed with them on our honeymoon and loved it!

 

Jenn

 

 

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Tapi Great Review Rare

Tapi

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I find it hard to believe that Princess or HAL may be more affordable. I'll definitely shop around though.

 

 

Since HAL and Princess have so many ships in Alaska, they have more inventory to sell and they will come up with all sorts of promotions and discounts to fill up the ships. Carnival, with only one ship, tends to be priced higher (less supply drives higher prices).

 

When we did Alaska last year, HAL was priced almost $1000 cheaper than Carnival, and we ended up with a free upgrade to a balcony and OBC 3 days prior to sailing!

 

Do shop around, and don't forget to price out different TA's. Holland does give preferential pricing to some TA's so you can save hundreds of dollars by booking through a TA rather than directly through them.

 

 

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navybaby1113

navybaby1113

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Since HAL and Princess have so many ships in Alaska, they have more inventory to sell and they will come up with all sorts of promotions and discounts to fill up the ships. Carnival, with only one ship, tends to be priced higher (less supply drives higher prices).

 

When we did Alaska last year, HAL was priced almost $1000 cheaper than Carnival, and we ended up with a free upgrade to a balcony and OBC 3 days prior to sailing!

 

Do shop around, and don't forget to price out different TA's. Holland does give preferential pricing to some TA's so you can save hundreds of dollars by booking through a TA rather than directly through them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Good to know! I was just looking at HAL and they have a great price for Alaska this summer. Wish I could go then!

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yankee46

yankee46

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Carnival is not the best choice for Alaska. Since Glacier Bay is really the highlight of the cruise. Carnival only goes there first and last cruise of the season. Princess, RCCL and Holland America hold 93 percent of the passes for Glacier Bay. I have taken 28 cruises with Carnival. But there is no doubt Princess is number 1. And you have to take a land tour for sure makes it trip of lifetime.

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navybaby1113

navybaby1113

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Carnival is not the best choice for Alaska. Since Glacier Bay is really the highlight of the cruise. Carnival only goes there first and last cruise of the season. Princess, RCCL and Holland America hold 93 percent of the passes for Glacier Bay. I have taken 28 cruises with Carnival. But there is no doubt Princess is number 1. And you have to take a land tour for sure makes it trip of lifetime.

 

I did not realize Carnival didn't go to Glacier Bay. That's disappointing. I also just noticed on their website that they also don't go to Ketchikan. Time to looking at other lines. :-/

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JLee1973

JLee1973

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I did not realize Carnival didn't go to Glacier Bay. That's disappointing. I also just noticed on their website that they also don't go to Ketchikan. Time to looking at other lines. :-/

 

They go to both however they had to take some locations off this season due to speed issues with the Miracle. Those should be resolved after dry dock and by next Alaska season they should be back on the itinerary.

 

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navybaby1113

navybaby1113

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I wish Carnival would hurry up!

 

I've already priced out a trip on Princess that we'll take unless Carnival is drastically cheaper and has the ports I want for 2015. We've never cruised on anything else though, so it kind of feels like we're cheating.

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jwalk03

jwalk03

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Heald said on his Facebook page today that the 2015 Alaska sailings will be released by May 26 for the SHIP, that will be there, so it looks like its just one as usual. Most likely the Legend.

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SamboniMan

SamboniMan

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I wish Carnival would hurry up!

 

I've already priced out a trip on Princess that we'll take unless Carnival is drastically cheaper and has the ports I want for 2015. We've never cruised on anything else though, so it kind of feels like we're cheating.

 

Our Princess Alaskan cruise is probably my favorite cruise to date...you won't be disappointed if you end up with Princess.

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JimAOk1945

JimAOk1945

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We have taken two Alaska cruises so far. Both times we were there in mid August. The first one in 2009 was a round trip from Seattle on the Star Princess. Our ports of call were Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. We had a great time but wanted to go back again, which we did in mid-August of 2012.

 

We sailed on the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas on the southbound route. We loved it! We had four ports of call, Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Icy Strait Point located in the Alaskan town of Hoonah. The whale watching experience at Icy Strait Point was spectacular.

 

Alaska has so much to offer. We plan to go back again and again. Happy cruising!

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navybaby1113

navybaby1113

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Heald said on his Facebook page today that the 2015 Alaska sailings will be released by May 26 for the SHIP, that will be there, so it looks like its just one as usual. Most likely the Legend.

 

Oh, I missed that. I don't want to wait 10 more days (and knowing Carnival, it could still be a month away).

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navybaby1113

navybaby1113

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Our Princess Alaskan cruise is probably my favorite cruise to date...you won't be disappointed if you end up with Princess.

 

Good to know. The ship looks gorgeous, but I'm concerned about the size of the rooms and the balcony. They look so much smaller than what we're used to.

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Hendricks Clan

Hendricks Clan

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Carnival is not the best choice for Alaska. Since Glacier Bay is really the highlight of the cruise. Carnival only goes there first and last cruise of the season. Princess, RCCL and Holland America hold 93 percent of the passes for Glacier Bay. I have taken 28 cruises with Carnival. But there is no doubt Princess is number 1. And you have to take a land tour for sure makes it trip of lifetime.

 

I think you meant NCL instead of RCI. NCL has weekly visits to Glacier Bay with 2 of their 3 ships in the Alaska market. After visiting Glacier Bay last year on my NCL cruise and getting to compare it to my CCL cruise. I would chose another line over CCL for this very reason. Our CCL cruise to Alaska was great, but the added option with Glacier Bay on NCL made it fantastic.

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  • 2 weeks later...
dkay1211

dkay1211

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Oh, I missed that. I don't want to wait 10 more days (and knowing Carnival, it could still be a month away).

 

2015 Alaska dates are up for Carnival Legend. They were announced while we were on Legend this past week. We are looking at the May 18th sailing which will go to Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Bay. :D

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