Same itinerary - last week in July or last week in August?

[Tin can]

Hi all

 

We are looking at a one way Royal Caribbean cruise from Vancouver that has the same itinerary sailing both the last week of July and the last week of August.

 

The August cruise is significantly cheaper and I was wondering why this might be, from a bit of research Canadian school holidays run until early September and the weather historically looks about the same. We are coming from the UK and mock flight bookings seem to indicate that flights are also significantly cheaper in August.

 

Am I missing something that makes an Alaskan cruise at the end of July as opposed to the end of August more appealing and therefore more expensive.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated as its a big holiday for us so if its worth paying a bit more for July I will.

 

Thanks 🙂

 

 

[AKStafford]

Are you doing anything in Southcentral Alaska after your cruise? If so, I'd chose the late August cruise for some early fall colors in Southcentral Alaska.

[Tin can]

1 hour ago, AKStafford said:

Are you doing anything in Southcentral Alaska after your cruise? If so, I'd chose the late August cruise for some early fall colors in Southcentral Alaska.

Yes we are, early fall colours sounds nice. Thank you for that.

[no1racefan1]

Well, I think most schools in the US start by the end of August, so the July cruises probably have higher demand from families. Also, people want to go in the height of summer when they think it will be the warmest--although there's no guarantee of that.

 

Out of your two choices, I would definitely choose end of August. 

[oaktreerb]

There are more daylight hours in July.  Traditionally the weather might be better in July, but it rains a lot in Alaska.   You can go online to TravelAlaska and other tourist sites that will tell you what wildlife is most likely to be active and fishing opportunities during the tourist season.  Since you are starting in Vancouver is it one way or round trip?   If you end your cruise in the Anchorage area, you should plan a land itinerary for the Seward area or to Denali.

 

[cw2go]

I've sailed both end of July and Aug, both were fantastic! 

 

Look at the best timing/access for your preferred tours, if they align with end of Aug the money saved can be spent there. 

 

Patty