should we book excursions before we get to ports in Alaska or wait until we are there

[otoscope]

My husband and I are going on an Alaskan cruise in late August. I want to secure some excursions beforehand, but he wants to wait until we get there and find a better deal. Is it a good idea to wait or will the tours all be booked up when we arrive?

thanks for any advise you can offer!

[Texas Tillie]

Alaska excursions are expensive compared to the Caribbean, etc. I always think booking in advance offers you much more choice. You need to ask this question on the Alaska board. Many experts over there.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[wheezedr]

Reality is that if you know what you want to do, you should research the available options, private vs. ship and book in advance. There are things you can arrange as you get off the ship, but many popular excursions will sell out before then.

[puppycanducruise]

If there's something you really want to do, book it now. Some excursions sell out, do you want to risk it?

[cb at sea]

I agree...anything you think is a "must do"...book it in advance. If you just want to "wing it", you can, but you may find you're very limited as to what's available. No guarantee of savings!

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have sailed Alaska quite a few times. And have seen many people disappointed to get on the ship and find some of the excursions sold out and nothing was left once we got to the ports.

Popular tours are whale watching, helicopter flights, float planes.

[donaldsc]

If you wait until you get there, you are likely to get only leftovers.

 

DON

[zqvol]

My husband and I are going on an Alaskan cruise in late August. I want to secure some excursions beforehand, but he wants to wait until we get there and find a better deal. Is it a good idea to wait or will the tours all be booked up when we arrive?

thanks for any advise you can offer!

 

For Alaska if you want excursions you book before you go. In fact, it is almost too late now to book for this August. The odds are that you do not find what you want when you get there, and if you can find it it will likely be more expensive. Alaska is unlike any other destination for excursions.

[Nic6318]

My husband and I are going on an Alaskan cruise in late August. I want to secure some excursions beforehand, but he wants to wait until we get there and find a better deal. Is it a good idea to wait or will the tours all be booked up when we arrive?

thanks for any advise you can offer!

 

 

Hi

 

Welcome to cruise critic.

 

I agree that if you wait you are likely to find the things you want to do won't be available.

 

I don't understand what "better deal" you are hoping to find. Excursions in Alaska are expensive. There won't be anybody hanging around the pier trying to offer you a discounted helicopter flight to walk on a glacier.

 

This isn't to say that you can't find interesting and fun things to do within any budget, but it does require research. As others have said, read up on the internet for each of your port of calls for things that might interest you. Then come back to this site and ask specific questions on the "port of call" threads for "Alaska" and "Canada (Alaska Pacific costal)". You can find these id you go to the "boards home" and scroll down the page. Just so you know, there is a "search" function at the top of each of these pages.

 

Start now, I personally would not wait to make arrangements, but you can decide for yourself. If there is something that you really would like to do but aren't able to do this time, you can always do it the next time. :)

 

hope this helps

have a great cruise

[otoscope]

Reality is that if you know what you want to do, you should research the available options, private vs. ship and book in advance. There are things you can arrange as you get off the ship, but many popular excursions will sell out before then.

 

Thanks!

[otoscope]

We have sailed Alaska quite a few times. And have seen many people disappointed to get on the ship and find some of the excursions sold out and nothing was left once we got to the ports.

Popular tours are whale watching, helicopter flights, float planes.

Thank you!!

[Heidi13]

Have cruised to Alaska way too many times since the late 70's, I know that Alaska is a rather unique destination. It is very remote and has a short season - generally May to September. Resources are most definitely limited, as they can't easily bring in extra buses, helicopters, etc.

 

You should also consider the number of ships in Alaska increases almost every year and ships are getting much bigger. Having 5 or 6 mega ships in port on any given day is not uncommon. Therefore, you are not just competing for the limited tour spots with the other pax on your ship, you are competing with up to 20,000 pax on other ships. BTW - don't forget the crews.

 

In my experience, Alaska is not like the Caribbean, where you walk off the ship and are accosted by multiple vendors selling tours. You rarely see this in Alaska, as they are generally already fully booked.

 

You need to research ship & private tours and book them ASAP. Alaska has some amazing tours and it would be a shame to miss out.

[tortoisegirl]

Popular excursions often book up 3-6 months out. Agreed, if anything is a must-do, and especially if you are looking at small group or specialty stuff like helicopter, then book it now, or risk being stuck with basic bus tours and such. It is only those sorts of basic tours that you may be able to get a slightly better price on the day-of. The best deals you are going to get on the good excursions (the ones which you should be looking at doing if you are going to travel all the way to Alaska) will be with private vendors, not through the cruiseline.

[Herfnerd]

Book now!!

 

Alaska is different than other locations in that it is much more remote so resources are at a premium. That and the short tourist season makes it much more difficult than, say, the Caribbean.

 

Even though you are almost 3 months out, you are going to find excursions are sold out......

[MCC retired]

If you want a Helicopter Tour better book it now (if one is even still available)

[good42n]

Depends on what type of excursion you want. We've always had god luck walking off the pier and buying onsite. We've gone kayaking, and had a very discounted flight over the glaciers (fixed wing, not copter). You can probably get the White Pass rail trips online for a better price than the excursion. However, if you want a special excursion, like snowshoeing or dogsledding, you probably want to book earlier rather than later.

[Yukonjake]

Another point: I have noticed that some of the excursions that I booked through the cruise line have increased in price since I booked them. So your husband's desire to "find a better deal" may be self-defeating. You can occasionally find a better deal through a local operator, and it is in those cases where I've seen the Princess price increase, when I've gone into my personalizer to cancel an excursion in favor of something locally operated. (BTW, sometimes I've seen the the local operator is the same cost or more than the ship.)

 

My advice would be to book now, through the cruise line (which, in Princess's case allows me to cancel for a FULL refund up to 72 hours before) or through a local operator who also offers full refunds. That way, you've locked in what you want to do and you're only disappointed if weather interferes. Then, you can search to your heart's content (for me it's part of the anticipatory fun) for a better deal.