Alaska, time to buy?

[philbob84]

When is the best time to buy a tickets to go on an Alaskan cruise? Ideally my family would like to travel next labor day(2016.)

[xlxo]

While August/September offer savings.... you are likely to see more wetter days. Something to consider if weather is a sensitivity.

 

May to July is the Alaska dry season.

[philbob84]

Good to know! What is wet? We live in Seattle so it's relative 😄

[xlxo]

Ketchikan offers a liquid sunshine gauge.... does Seattle?

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/alaska-ketchikan-liquid-sunshine-rain-gauge-29310086.jpg

 

In general, travellers choose to exploring ports desire dry weather. Rainfall doubles in September compared to the dryer months...

http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/juneau/alaska/united-states/usak0116

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have cruised Alaska in May and September and had a lot of rain.

You didn't say how large your family is, but some cabin categories do sell out quickly.

I would book as soon as possible.

[Roz]

Since you wouldn't be flying, you have a little more flexibility with waiting to book. That said, as others have pointed out, if you need multiple rooms or requirements such as connecting rooms, I'd book as soon as you're able.

 

Since you live in the NW, you're well aware weather is a crapshoot. I did an 8-day Alaskan cruise last September that was rainless, believe it or not. My first Alaskan cruise in July of 2001 was rain-o-rama, but I still had a great time and have been cruising ever since.

 

Roz

[StartrainDD]

As others have said, this really depends on your needs. I assume you have a specific reason for the labor day timing so if that is what works for you - go for it!

 

If you are just looking for two or three cabins at the lowest cost (and it matters not where or what category) then I would suggest July 2016 would be best and do a 'Guarantee' booking. You may even catch an "Independence day sale" at one of the T/A's for added OBC. Link the reservations together and chances are the assigned cabins will be in the same area (but no promises on this!)

 

However, if you want or need adjoining or cross-hall mid-ship cabins, then book as soon as you can. If today's prices seem high, ask for pricing without the 'Explore 4" promo and they may be more to your liking.

[RuthC]

I suggest you book your cabins as soon as you have made the decisions re: date, ship, cabin availability, etc. Get everything locked in. Then, keep track of the pricing until final payment. Should the price go down, you can always ask your TA to re-fare your booking to the new, lower, amount.

I see no advantage in waiting to book.

[kalliekae]

We booked our Sept 2016 cruise last month. Seems like a long time from now, but I like to pick my cabin. We also need a late Sept cruise due to work schedules so that's another reason I booked so early. We have previously sailed to Alaska in late Aug and early Sept and only had one rain day on that cruise. It can rain anytime, anywhere so we don't worry about rain. Just bring a raincoat.

[philbob84]

All: thank you soon much for your input!

[cvpends]

I feel it is always better to book early, then watch prices and re fare if they decrease. That said, make sure you compare Vancouver itineraries to Seattle ones. We sailed from Vancouver last week and the sailing included Glacier Bay, which was amazing! I don't think Seattle itineraries ever include Glacier Bay because they have to spend a day in Victoria. It would definitely be worth the jaunt up to Vancouver for you to have the opportunity to experience Glacier Bay.

 

 

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[dchip]

Ships are capacity controlled. Book now if you need cabins for three or four people. We just booked for our family in June 2016 and there was slim pickings!

 

Cheers, Denise.

[Bostonjetset]

Sorry to resurrect a thread from almost a year ago but I have an almost identical question and thus I was wondering if the OP would share what they ended up doing and if they booked, what the price range was.

 

My situation is:

DH and I plan to go to Alaska on the Westerdam this Sept 10. We already have our flights booked so that we arrive in SEA on the 9th and leave on the 18th. We have never been to Seattle and thus wanted to spend a day there on each end of the trip. We purposely booked our flights back in March so that we would not have to worry about last minute air tickets [esp since we used FF miles] with the intention of snagging a last-min cruise deal. We always see how much prices drop at the last min [our last Europe cruise dropped almost $500pp 3 weeks before sailing!] and thought Sept 10th would be a good date to "risk it" since there are 3 ships sailing from Seattle that day [Westerdam, Crown Princess, and an NCL ship]. We figured we would be able to snag a deal on at least one but NCL is not preferable as HAL and Princess are better lines IMO and have Glacier Bay rather than Tracy Arm. Well, Princess is already sold out for the Sept 10th sailing!! I always knew it was possible but in all my cruises, I've never seen one sell out months before sailing. That leaves Westerdam and NCL and of course we want Westerdam.

 

Currently the insides under the Mariner rate are $799 and include the free grats and a $100 beverage card. I find this a fair price but of course I would love one of the $399/$499 deals I see people getting all the time last minute. I guess my question for all of your experienced Alaska cruisers is: what is the chance this sailing will get that low if we wait? I realize nothing is guaranteed but if people can share past years' experiences it would help me form a likelihood. DH says he wants to wait until maybe a week to 3 weeks before since he saw what happened with our Europe trip. But I know that Alaska and Europe are too different kettles of fish; the Westerdam is a 7 night r/t from Seattle which seems to be the most popular itinerary whilst our Europe cruise was 10 nights out of Venice which is something not many people would likely book last min and thus the slashing of fare was more expected.

 

Any thoughts? We would likely book an inside and are not picky at all about the stateroom. The one thing I DID notice is that last min may get us an oceanview for a price as low as an inside but other than that, does anyone see a truly good reason to wait?