Timing for Rebooking after Having to Cancel our Cruise

[straychicken]

Hi,

 

We had a Northbound cruise booked on the Star Princess leaving June 18 from Vancouver and arriving in Whittier on June 25 followed by 9 nights in Alaska leaving on July 4th. We are a family of 4 with 2 kids (ages 3 and 6).

 

My husband was laid off last week from his company of 11 years (about 2 weeks before final payment). We are still planning to go on the trip most likely (airfare and the hotel we had booked in Vancouver are non-refundable), but we decided to cancel the cruise for now (the final payment date would have been April 4th). We have looked into possibly spending time on Vancouver Island and then flying to Anchorage as plan B (lots of neat things to do and the price is much cheaper). But we decided not to book anything for now in the case that he finds a new job and cannot get the time off.

 

Currently, we could book airfare from Seattle to Anchorage for less then $100 per person. We might need to wait until around 30 days out to figure out what we are going to do. What are our chances of finding reasonable airfare from Seattle? Or as another possibility, what are our chances of finding a last minute discount on a cruise? We would need a 4 berth cabin or two cabins. We would not be picky on cabin type or location. The Zandam on June 19 would from Vancouver to Seward would work well. Or we could take any roundtrip cruise out of Seattle or Vancouver if airfare stays reasonable.

[Coral]

Just a few comments. If you have travel insurance, it often covers if someone loses a job. If you don't have insurance, you can check with the credit card company you booked the trip with. You may have travel insurance and didn't know that.

 

Also, if your flight times have changed a little, you can often cancel your flights due to change in times.

 

Your Plan B is good - lots to do around Vancouver - Vancouver Island and Whistler are 2 great places.

 

In the past, there have been lots of last minute cruise specials. Especially one ways.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[martincath]

I agree with all of Coral's points.

 

See if you have options to cancel that minimise loss, as while it may seem cheap to stay around instead of cruising by the time you price up meals and hotels you may end up more out of pocket than if you'd kept the cruise!

 

Last-minute deals are available on many cruises, especially if you don't mind inside cabins. You might well find the exact cruise you gave up available for much less than you first paid...

 

I often see cheap deals on air from SEA, PDX to Alaska - the dates that work well for connecting with cruises are the first to sell out. Since you can be more flexible if you're not cruising you might find a deal within 30 days, but I'd be inclined to suspect based on my own attempts to price airfare on bargain one-way cruises that once you're inside a month the airfare gets a LOT pricier...

 

Given funds are important with DHs layoff, I'd be inclined to drop Alaska from the Plan B and instead stay in Canada - we're cheaper with our dollar in the hole, and also don't jack up prices in summer as much as Alaska since we do have legit 4-season tourism so we can fleece tourists all-year-round instead of having to earn a year's income in five months. There's more stuff to do and more people in Vancouver alone than all the Alaskan cruise ports combined, you might even still be able to ski here in June with a little luck, and whale-watching here is both significantly cheaper and almost guaranteed to see Orcas (fast, exciting, playful) rather than humpback blows & flukes. You could easily spend a week in Vancouver without running out of stuff to do...

[txwriter]

There's more stuff to do and more people in Vancouver alone than all the Alaskan cruise ports combined, you might even still be able to ski here in June with a little luck, and whale-watching here is both significantly cheaper and almost guaranteed to see Orcas (fast, exciting, playful) rather than humpback blows & flukes. You could easily spend a week in Vancouver without running out of stuff to do...

 

I hadn't thought about this before, but perhaps we could whale watch out of Vancouver post cruise. I am trying to decide if I should add more days to the post cruise portion of our trip and possibly less on the front end. Your post is enticing. :)

[straychicken]

I didn't have travel insurance. I was planning to book it before final payment. My son had a flair up of his asthma over the winter and waiting would have had him stable for the 60 days prior so it wouldn't have been considered a pre-existing condition. I will check into coverage on my credit card.

 

When I started looking into what we could do if we cancelled the cruise, I found so many options around Vancouver that it was hard to come up with a possible plan. It seems that there is lots and lots of parks and attractions. So I feel we can find something, if everything works out.

[martincath]

I hadn't thought about this before, but perhaps we could whale watch out of Vancouver post cruise. I am trying to decide if I should add more days to the post cruise portion of our trip and possibly less on the front end. Your post is enticing. :)

Frankly the only people who should ever NOT add time in Vancouver are the ones who already live here, or folks unfortunate enough in their vacation allowance they would be fired for not showing up back at work...

 

When I started looking into what we could do if we cancelled the cruise, I found so many options around Vancouver that it was hard to come up with a possible plan. It seems that there is lots and lots of parks and attractions. So I feel we can find something, if everything works out.

Sixteen days in Vancouver it is then! If for some reason you run out of stuff to do, drive up to Whistler for an overnight or take a couple of days in Victoria. Store your big bags between hotel stays (all hotels should be happy to keep your stuff if you're coming back to them again) so you can travel light and take transit to the ferry - dirt cheap, and it can actually be quicker than driving in the summer when ferries go full, as there's always room for walkon pax but not always for cars so you need to be early to get your car on.

Edited April 3, 2016 by martincath

[mapleleaves]

I frequently spend a week camping on Vancouver Island. It has so much to offer, so much to do. I absolutely love it !!!!

 

Victoria is worth a couple of days on it's own. But beyond that, the east side of the Island has some wonderful warm sunny beaches, ie Parksville, Qualicum.

A little further north is Telegraph Cove which is a quaint little village built on pilings ... you can rent a cabin on the pier. this is where I go for my orca viewing trips. The west side of the island, in Tofino and Uclulet have wonderful rocky wild coast, and more whale watching. Lots of fishing on the Island if that's of interest.

 

You might find it cheaper to fly into Seattle, then rent a car for your trip to BC. And there are many options for a driving route.

 

Or maybe rent an RV for your time on the island....

[straychicken]

I have been searching and watching cruises prices dropping but not far as I had hoped...still debating what we would do with the first week of my trip...then I got a call today from a vacation planner at HAL. The offer she gave to me was great....around $2000 for 4 in an inside cabin including taxes. We were planning to wait until next week to book but I thought this was too good to pass up. We are booked on Zaandam!

 

We are going to extend our stay at Pan Pacific for one night.

 

I think a week in the Vancouver area would be nice as well. But I am happy with the cruise deal.