Another Newbie question

[coffee39]

DH and I are trying to book a cruisetour. We are looking at HAL #18. In the book it states that it starts at 2199. I realize that this is the cheapest cabin during the slow season however, we have been quoted a price of over 11,000. for two of us for a BB category cabin. (that does not include another 1000. we would need to get from home to Vancouver airport) Does this sound right? I have read several comments where people say that cruising is a cheap holiday....what are we doing wrong????

[mamaofami]

You don't say where you are cruising to, how many days, etc. I get my best deals using an American Express travel agent. They get good prices from HAL. $11,000 sounds expensive to me, but it really depends on where you are going, how long a land tour you are taking and how many days at sea.

[coffee39]

You don't say where you are cruising to, how many days, etc. I get my best deals using an American Express travel agent. They get good prices from HAL. $11,000 sounds expensive to me, but it really depends on where you are going, how long a land tour you are taking and how many days at sea.

We are going to Alaska. 7 night land tour 7 night SB cruise to Vancouver.

[741323]

Alaska seems to be one of the more expensive itineraries.

 

Booking early or very late seems the be the key.

 

HAL isn't one of the cheapest cruiselines - but is good value for money.

[bellebaby]

Based on HAL's website pricing, this does seem expensive.

 

What date and which ship are you considering?

 

B

[coffee39]

We want to go sometime between the last week of June 2008 and mid August 2008.(I am very involved in the Cancer Society Relay for Life which is on June 13th) We do not care which ship as long as it is not a real party crowd or a lot of children. We want this to be a very relaxing cruise. We have never cruised before so have nothing to compare to. HAL was recommended as a more sedate crowd. (We are early to bed... early to rise folks). We thought if we could go for around 8000. we could afford to buy a few keepsakes, DH could have a few drinks if he chooses and perhaps I could buy a piece of jewelry along the way.;)

 

We thought booking a year in advance was plenty but reading these boards I think we should have booked a year ago for next year....I just can't plan my life that far in advance.:(

 

I really appreciate any help anyone can give.

[bellebaby]

$11,000 for the dates and Cruisetour you are looking at does seem expensive, but I don't know who quoted you this price or what all the price includes.

 

Do you know of a travel agency in your city that you could sit down and discuss your ideas with? After getting the information you can then intelligently shop around on the internet if you are still uncomfortable with the pricing provided from the agency.

 

B

[broberts]

When I checked the HAL web site for this cruisetour the lowest cabin price (MM) was just over CAD$3,750 in mid June, per person not including air. Prices rise as the summer progresses. BB is a veranda suite and prices for them are significantly higher at almost 5,100 on the same cruise.

 

You might want to consider a lower cabin class and perhaps a shorter cruisetour. You could also consider a different cruise line, perhaps Celebrity or Princess would suit.

[mamaofami]

Do you have any access to an American Express travel agent? They did a better job for me than the HAL web site.

[bermuda triangle]

I had an AmEx travel agent, but she left to do corporate travel arrangements. :(

Apparently a business man flying from San Francisco to Denver told her it was okay if he had a layover in Atlanta or Dallas.:eek:

She said she never realized how neurotic people are about accruing airline miles. :cool:

 

Laura

[jtl513]

For Tour #18 a BB cabin should cost no more than $1050 pp over the base price (a MM cabin), and that's in "high season" from mid-Jun to mid-Aug when the MM costs a max of $2899. Very early or very late in the season the differential should be about $750 pp.

 

In other words, that $11000 without airfare sounds WAY out of whack to me! I wouldn't do business with that TA! :eek: