Deployment 2026-27 Booking Season Begins

[Kellie in Texas]

For Alaska 2026, is anybody seeing cruisetours with Radiance (or Serenade or whichever smaller ship might be there)? All I'm finding in May and June 2026 with cruisetours is Ovation. 

[Empehi]

It is exciting to see the 2026 Alaska season BUT .......

 

THE PRICES ARE A LITTLE OUT OF CONTROL

 

especially with more ships than ever sailing the region

can't imagine that the cost of these sailing will not come down

it used to be the earlier you book the better the deal

does anyone think these prices will hold for Alaska in 2026

[AkSusan]

1 hour ago, Kellie in Texas said:

For Alaska 2026, is anybody seeing cruisetours with Radiance (or Serenade or whichever smaller ship might be there)? All I'm finding in May and June 2026 with cruisetours is Ovation. 

Serenade is sailing to Alaska in 2026, but, only doing round trips out of Vancouver.  So, you won't see any cruise tours for Alaska on that cruise.  Looks like it's only Ovation doing Seward to Vancouver and vice versa, for 2026!

[thefamilyb]

18 minutes ago, Empehi said:

It is exciting to see the 2026 Alaska season BUT .......

 

THE PRICES ARE A LITTLE OUT OF CONTROL

 

especially with more ships than ever sailing the region

can't imagine that the cost of these sailing will not come down

it used to be the earlier you book the better the deal

does anyone think these prices will hold for Alaska in 2026

Yup - 2025 sailings were cheaper to Alaska!

[smokeybandit]

The price of my 2022 Alaska trip on Serenade has gone up over 200% for 2026.

[Gerginator]

One-way Alaska cruises losing both Ketchikan and the inside passage and still going way up in price is crazy. A standard ovation balcony in 2026 is over double the price we paid for a balcony on Radiance this year.

 

Then add another several hundred dollars for the privilege of being on the port side of the ship, and it's cheaper to book Celebrity and get Ketchikan + inside passage back

[Billy Baltic]

2 minutes ago, Gerginator said:

One-way Alaska cruises losing both Ketchikan and the inside passage and still going way up in price is crazy. A standard ovation balcony in 2026 is over double the price we paid for a balcony on Radiance this year.

 

Then add another several hundred dollars for the privilege of being on the port side of the ship, and it's cheaper to book Celebrity and get Ketchikan + inside passage back

Unfortunately people are paying it. Maybe we should be posting good deals on other cruise lines on CC so less. people sail with RC lol

 

[Kellie in Texas]

@AkSusan thanks for the answer ... although it's not the one I wanted to hear. 😄 We lean towards the smaller ships, for the most part, but I really want to see Denali etc. at some point.

[vjmatty]

34 minutes ago, Gerginator said:

One-way Alaska cruises losing both Ketchikan and the inside passage and still going way up in price is crazy. A standard ovation balcony in 2026 is over double the price we paid for a balcony on Radiance this year.

 

Then add another several hundred dollars for the privilege of being on the port side of the ship, and it's cheaper to book Celebrity and get Ketchikan + inside passage back

The prices on these RC sailings would cover costs for cruise, land tour and possibly even flights on HAL or Princess. And you get Glacier Bay and naturalists. These fares are a pretty cheeky move by RC when considering their Alaska offerings have been historically lackluster as compared to other lines.  I’d check 90 days out for major price drops when they figure this out.  

[tonygcharles]

We're on Serenade 20th Sept 26- 3rd  Oct 26

Any pointers whst the ship is doing  the next week etc ? 

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The price of my 2022 Alaska trip on Serenade has gone up over 200% for 2026.

Not surprised, in 2022 I had 12 Cruises in Balcony Cabins at $50-60 a nite total, Solo, now 200-600% more for same Cruises and Cabins. Though these are/were all non-Alaska

Edited Thursday at 10:45 PM by ONECRUISER

[Hoopster95]

2 hours ago, Empehi said:

THE PRICES ARE A LITTLE OUT OF CONTROL

does anyone think these prices will hold for Alaska in 2026

 

Not me

 

1 hour ago, vjmatty said:

I’d check 90 days out for major price drops when they figure this out.  

 

I've already been doing this since even before Covid and have paid many times after final payment date LESS than any time prior to final payment, even less than the first day deployment.

[RCTransatlanticLover]

2 hours ago, Empehi said:

It is exciting to see the 2026 Alaska season BUT .......

 

THE PRICES ARE A LITTLE OUT OF CONTROL

 

especially with more ships than ever sailing the region

can't imagine that the cost of these sailing will not come down

it used to be the earlier you book the better the deal

does anyone think these prices will hold for Alaska in 2026

I think that if the demand remains high, they will hold those prices. Over the past several investors calls, RCG CEO Jason Liberty has basically been bragging that the demand is extremely high, more people are booking their cruises further in advance and the pricing continues to increase into the future years. 
 

I really have no interest in going on an Alaska cruise. My brother and sister-in-law already live Alaska and I’ve visited them twice in the past. 
 

I still think the transatlantic cruises are the best value for the money: I have three of them booked and I think I’m going to stick with them. 

[AkSusan]

2 hours ago, Kellie in Texas said:

@AkSusan thanks for the answer ... although it's not the one I wanted to hear. 😄 We lean towards the smaller ships, for the most part, but I really want to see Denali etc. at some point.

Actually, having lived here over 47 years now, Alaska isn't that hard to do on your own!  I mean it's highway (or train) all the way from Anchorage to Denali.  You can easily drive to Seward, or, take the train, also!

[RCTransatlanticLover]

1 minute ago, AkSusan said:

Actually, having lived here over 47 years now, Alaska isn't that hard to do on your own!  I mean it's highway (or train) all the way from Anchorage to Denali.  You can easily drive to Seward, or, take the train, also!

Several years ago, my brother, sister-in-law and I drove up from Anchorage to Fairbanks and then up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse/the Arctic Ocean. It was awesome and an experience of a lifetime. I just wouldn’t recommend taking newer or fancier vehicles. 
 

But overall, I prefer cruising because I feel that it’s a better and more convenient way to travel. 

[ReRe71]

3 hours ago, Empehi said:

It is exciting to see the 2026 Alaska season BUT .......

 

THE PRICES ARE A LITTLE OUT OF CONTROL

 

especially with more ships than ever sailing the region

can't imagine that the cost of these sailing will not come down

it used to be the earlier you book the better the deal

does anyone think these prices will hold for Alaska in 2026

 I've been anxiously awaiting for these itineraries, but wow! I want to take my husband for his 50th birthday in 2026 and had planned on getting a grand suite but don't want to pay those prices. Looks like junior suite it is. 

[Ken at the beach]

2 hours ago, tonygcharles said:

We're on Serenade 20th Sept 26- 3rd  Oct 26

Any pointers whst the ship is doing  the next week etc ? 

That will depend on if she heads to Florida or does the South American sailings from Cartagena.

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, Ken at the beach said:

does the South American sailings from Cartagena.

I'd love to know occupancy rates on that route.

[Ken at the beach]

11 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd love to know occupancy rates on that route.

Guessing that it is well below the corporate average. 

[firefly333]

11 hours ago, thefamilyb said:

Yup - 2025 sailings were cheaper to Alaska!

I just booked 2025 and feeling shocked. I watched about 9 days and every day the price was up about $10. I could book star first what the want for a balcony on radiance at the end of the season, and then looked at excursions and still feeling shock.

 

If 2025 are a deal, I must be missing something. Ov price on end of season radiance is up $150 on a ov in the last 2 weeks. No way I'm booking a balcony at that price. Asking over $3500 for a balcony. I guess 2025 is just a reflection of what's hit in 2026 before the higher prices hit 2026.. I think 2025 is high right now. 

Edited 21 hours ago by firefly333

[LonestarV]

17 hours ago, Kellie in Texas said:

For Alaska 2026, is anybody seeing cruisetours with Radiance (or Serenade or whichever smaller ship might be there)? All I'm finding in May and June 2026 with cruisetours is Ovation. 

Speaking of the cruisetours, I can't find any descriptions or details about them on the RC website.  I'd really like to know what we are buying if we go that direction. 🙂

[thefamilyb]

Interestingly, 2024 was a crazy sales year for Alaska. I couldnt find cabins last minute this year (or they were VERY limited.) 2023 was EASY - tons of availability. 

[ShazM]

14 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I just booked 2025 and feeling shocked. I watched about 9 days and every day the price was up about $10. I could book star first what the want for a balcony on radiance at the end of the season, and then looked at excursions and still feeling shock.

 

If 2025 are a deal, I must be missing something. Ov price on end of season radiance is up $150 on a ov in the last 2 weeks. No way I'm booking a balcony at that price. Asking over $3500 for a balcony. I guess 2025 is just a reflection of what's hit in 2026 before the higher prices hit 2026.. I think 2025 is high right now. 

Hubby and myself are doing the 11 night from Tokyo to Singapore in October 2025 and also staying on for the following 2 short cruises to Penang and Phuket. For the 11 night I booked a balcony (this is on Ovation) and because I booked a bit later the price had gone up a bit and we are paying $6700 AUD, I booked about 7-8 weeks ago. I looked again yesterday and the balconies for this cruise are now just short of $14,000 AUD which is insane. No idea how they justify doubling it in 2 months.