How can I get the cheapest rate on a cruise to Alaska?
Hi, we want to go on the cheapest 7 or 8 day Alaska cruise in May or June 2010. We are both over 55. I found the cheapest cruise so far on Costco Travel so far – $510 for an inside room on Holland, looks like the rate is going higher as time goes by.
Also American Express is offering low fares.
What is the best travel website to get the best deals to Alaska? There are so many I get confused.
Any travel agents out there that know how to get the best deal?
What are the best day trips to take? We like hiking, history, etc.
We will be traveling by train to Seattle. I am hoping for May 28-29 leave day. Can’t go last minute. Don’t mind an inside room.
Thanks for any help
The cheapest rate I can find is $599 in May / June. If I could find one for $510 that worked with my dates, I’d book it today. The odds are it will go up in price, not down.
We went to Alaska on Holland America in 2008, and the best price we could find at the time was $750 per person for a 7 night Seattle rountrip. The price you quoted is really an excellent deal.
As for the other part of your question, I’ll try to give you a few ideas to consider.
I’m no authority on Alaska, but, there are definitely things you can do on your own. The cities are small, and you can walk to lots of things, or arrange your own transportation. If you like to do low key things like museums, sightseeing, historical sites, there is lots you can do on the cheap.
In Juneau, we caught a bus to Mendenhall Glacier. The cost is $14 per person (round trip) and you can come and go pretty much when you want with MGT (see the link below). They have busses running the route constantly. We used them in 2008 and it worked out great. They do recommend reservations. It was an interesting and inexpensive excursion. We didn’t do the Mount Roberts Tramway, but you could certainly do that on your own as well. There’s also the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, which costs only $5 per person. Near the State Museum is a little hole in the wall pizza place called Bullwinkle’s. It’s a real Alaska kind of place, not very touristy, but we like places like that.
I can’t comment on Skagway, as we didn’t go there with Holland America. I have heard very good things about the train there.
In Ketchikan, we walked to the Totem Heritage Center, which is an interesting museum about native Alaskans and totem carvings. It’s a pretty good place and admission is $5. Very nearby is a salmon hatchery that also rehabilitates injured bald eagles. They have eagles there that you can almost touch. The hatchery was either free or very cheap as I remember.
In Sitka, the Sitka National Historic Park is an easy ten minute walk from the ship. We paid $4 per person there….another very cheap thing to do. They have a nice hiking trail through the woods and along the water. We saw salmon and eagles in the wild. Nice day.
We took the cruise line’s 2 hour bus tour of Victoria, BC since we were there for such a short time, but I don’t really recommend it. We spent a couple hours driving around, when we could have seen the city better on our own. You can catch a bus at the dock that takes you to the heart of the city. I believe it was $5 or $10. The parliament buildings in Victoria are beautiful…it would be fun to hang around that area for a while and explore.
For more ideas, I recommend the Moon Handbooks guide to Alaska by Don Pitcher. It’s about 500 pages long, and is a great guide to the places you’ll be going. It has photos, maps, prices, historical facts, lots of info. You can buy it on Half.com for just a couple bucks. It added a lot to our trip, and left us with lots of ideas for next time. Cruisecritic.com is another great place to get more info before you go.
If you’re not familiar with Seattle, it’s a wonderful city, and there are tons of things to see in Washington as well. We spent a week in WA before the Alaska departure…I recommend it if you have extra time.
Feel free to e-mail if you have questions. Good luck!
airline tickets flights
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Alaska Cruise, Totem Pole $14.99 Alaska Cruise, Totem Pole – Premium Poster |
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Last Minute $21.99 Last Minute – T-Shirt |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Seldovia, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Seldovia, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Valdez, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Valdez, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Cordova, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Cordova, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Latouche, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Latouche, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Sitka, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Sitka, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Petersburg, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Petersburg, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Wrangell, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Wrangell, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Juneau, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Juneau, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Skagway, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Skagway, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins Watching a Cruise Ship, Alaska $19.99 Puffins Watching a Cruise Ship, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Seward, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Seward, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Douglas, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Douglas, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Puffins & Cruise Ship, Ketchikan, Alaska $19.99 Puffins & Cruise Ship, Ketchikan, Alaska – Premium Poster |
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Deck of a Cruise Ship, Alaska, USA $129.99 Panoramic Images Deck of a Cruise Ship, Alaska, USA – Wall Decal |
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Riverboat Discovery Cruise in Fairbanks, Alaska $39.99 Michael Melford Riverboat Discovery Cruise in Fairbanks, Alaska – Photographic Print |
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Alaska: The Last Frontier (6pc) - $14.99 Alaska: The Last Frontier (6pc) - |
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Last-Minute Party Girl $10.46 Last-Minute Party Girl |