# Cruise of Alaska who to book with



## coleen (14 Dec 2010)

Hi
I have been planning a cruise of Alaka for sometime. I have narrowed it down to a return trip from Vancouver 7 days inside passage cruise. I am looking at Holland America cruise line and also Princess line. Has any one any experience of these. I normally book most of my trips online myself  but think I should use a travel agent for this as it has a couple of legs. I want to spend 2 nights in Vancouver then the cruise and then off to Chicago for a week and want to return to either shannon or cork. I have got a price from trailfinders so who else would be good for these kind of trips. Should I check with a uk travel agent? We intend to go in early June when would we need to book ? Is January a time when flights are on sale. Any other advice on this trip. We are a fairly fit 40s couple so would be looking for a fairly active trip. We have never been on a cruise so any tips welcome


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## Petermack (15 Dec 2010)

Hi Coleen. A very good choice. I did Alaska about 4 years ago and loved it. We spent 5 days in Vancouver first and then boarded the ship in Vancouver. I have travelled with Royal Caribbean & Holland America in the past and I prefer Royal Caribbean. But thats only my preference. I found that there was an older age group travelled with Holland America.

In terms of websites you can try the following for some price comparisons

http://www.cruiseholidays.ie

http://www.cruise.co.uk

http://www.cruise1st.co.uk

When in Vancouver make sure to visit Grouse Mountain, you can get there by cable car. Its fantastic views and the view from the cable car is fantastic.

The trips in Alaska are basic enough but I can highly recommend the train journey through the Canadian Rockies. The views are stunning


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## Armada (15 Dec 2010)

Hi,

Haven't done the Alaska trip tet but I have cruised Asia and the Caribbean with Royal Caribbean and would definitely recommend them.


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## bartbridge (15 Dec 2010)

I'm currently looking into a similar trip and was shocked by the difference in price for an outside view room and a balcony room on the cruise, €640 per person! Would you really be spending enough time in your room to justify and extra €1280 for a couple? Any advice on this? I know other threads have said that a balcony room is a must but these comments may have been made when we had more money to spend...


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## Mpsox (15 Dec 2010)

bartbridge said:


> I'm currently looking into a similar trip and was shocked by the difference in price for an outside view room and a balcony room on the cruise, €640 per person! Would you really be spending enough time in your room to justify and extra €1280 for a couple? Any advice on this? I know other threads have said that a balcony room is a must but these comments may have been made when we had more money to spend...


 
Personally, I found the balcony invaluable, I could sit in peace and quiet watching the scenary pass by and having seen a couple of cabins without a balcony, they seemed far more claustrophobic. This was espeically the case in the run to the Glaciers where the upper decks became very crowded. Also, if the weather is poor, you're actually in shelter and you have less wind-chill

I wouldn't worry about the organised trips from the cruise, tend to be very dear, although I did enjoy the train trip from Skagway up the route the gold miners took. 

Vancouver is excellent and I'd 2nd Grouse Mountain, although you could be a bit sceneried out at that stage


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## jhegarty (15 Dec 2010)

A balcony is a must , but I have never paid more than €300 pp more than an outside.

Op , have you considered NCL , it's going to be cheaper than HAL or Princess.


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## knealecat (19 Dec 2010)

we went this year with Celebrity Cruises on the Mercury, we did the trip ourselves booked BA to Vancouver and stopped 4 nights before boarding the ship. take the rockie mountineer to whistler, expensive but worth it.............and spend the extra on a balcony, you wont regret it.


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## minion (19 Dec 2010)

bartbridge said:


> I'm currently looking into a similar trip and was shocked by the difference in price for an outside view room and a balcony room on the cruise, €640 per person! Would you really be spending enough time in your room to justify and extra €1280 for a couple? Any advice on this? I know other threads have said that a balcony room is a must but these comments may have been made when we had more money to spend...



You'll get cruises for half the price if you organize the cruise and flights yourself.
I wouldnt bother with a balcony or even a window.  Fine if you want to spend time inside your cabin, but we never stay in the cabin.  Its just for sleeping.  Spend the money you would have spent on the balcony elsewhere and enjoy it.

Oh, and Royal Caribbean, Cunard or Celebrity are good.  
NCL make you feel like you are being robbed the whole time.  Dont go with NCL.


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## jhegarty (19 Dec 2010)

minion said:


> NCL make you feel like you are being robbed the whole time.  Dont go with NCL.




In what way ?

I have had 5 cruises with them , and never felt robbed.


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## Mpsox (20 Dec 2010)

jhegarty said:


> In what way ?
> 
> I have had 5 cruises with them , and never felt robbed.


 
+1 on that, did the Alaska cruise with them and found them fine. 

I'd agree with previous posters who mentioned going off and making arrangements yourself rather then booking direct with the operators. Saturdays Daily Telegraph travel section is usually full of ads for cruises and might give you some idea where to look


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## Bob_tg (20 Dec 2010)

Check out the forums on http://www.cruisecritic.com/ for some good tips and discussions.


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## coleen (21 Dec 2010)

great thanks for all the advice. I will check out a bit more before booking I might do it myself. The balconey is alot of extra money so will have to see if it worth it


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## Bob_tg (23 Dec 2010)

If you go to the booking stage, compare prices to 

We used them a few years ago for a cruise and I would highly recommend them for both price and customer service.


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## bartbridge (5 Jan 2011)

I've checked out some of the websites above and it's still coming out at approx €600 extra per person for a balcony room. I have to say I'm a bit nervous about booking through a website in case of them going bust between now and August, might be slightly negative of me perhaps?


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## coleen (6 Jan 2011)

I have got a few quotes and yes a balcony comes in between 400 and 600 euro extra per person. I am also thinking of booking with the cruise company in case of others go burst and I know that the cruise company could go also but hopefully it will be ok


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## Petermack (6 Jan 2011)

coleen said:


> I have got a few quotes and yes a balcony comes in between 400 and 600 euro extra per person. I am also thinking of booking with the cruise company in case of others go burst and I know that the cruise company could go also but hopefully it will be ok


 
Just be careful if booking through the cruise company to never book the airport transfers with them. I have often seen the airport transfers costing double what a taxi or people carrier would cost for the same trip.


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## jhegarty (6 Jan 2011)

coleen said:


> I have got a few quotes and yes a balcony comes in between 400 and 600 euro extra per person. I am also thinking of booking with the cruise company in case of others go burst and I know that the cruise company could go also but hopefully it will be ok



Check with the travel agent if they will charge you or if it's done by the cruise line.

Most travel agents just pass your payment details to the cruise line, who then charge you directly.


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## knealecat (6 Jan 2011)

book with either the cruise company direct or one of the big travel web companies (ebookers or expedia).


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## PetPal (6 Jan 2011)

I am in exactly the same position as a couple of posters - wanting to do Alaska cruise and wondering how best to organise it.  I agree it's expensive for a balcony, but I have a balcony on the only other cruise that I took (with Princess) and it was well worth it.  As regards making all your own arrangements (booking cruise and flights separately yourself) I worry slightly about that because, if a flight is delayed or something, wouldn't that have an impact on whether you actually arrive on time for the cruise.  Similarly if the cruise is late getting in, then that impacts on your flight times.  Whereas, if the cruise company handles all the bookings, then presumably they are responsible for reimbursing you if timings go wrong.  What does everyone think?

I am going to eTravel (Walkinstown) at the weekend to check out the cruises that they can offer.  I find it baffling just looking at the cruises online and want to sit and talk to someone.  Has anyone used eTravel?


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## Petermack (6 Jan 2011)

Hi PetPal,

There are many options open to you. Usually the cruise companies will also do the complete package and bookflights. I have done this with Royal Caribbean once or twice when they have had special offers. They have a freephone number for Irish residents. I used to deal direct with a company called cruiseholidays http://www.cruiseholidays.ie but found that booking through the UK or US can sometimes be a lot cheaper. Through the UK I use Cruise.co.uk http://www.cruise.co.uk which I have used for my last few cruises and organise my own flights. I have also used Cruise compete in the past when the Dollar was particularly weak against the Euro. [broken link removed] and when I wanted to get a good deal on a caribbean cruise.

My sister has used E-Travel in the past and they were fairly competitive. Make sure to push for extras such as gratutities paid for and also for transport from the airport to the port and then back again.


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## Bob_tg (7 Jan 2011)

knealecat said:


> book with either the cruise company direct or one of the big travel web companies (ebookers or expedia).


 
Be careful of following this advice, as you will pay for it.  

Who you go to will depend on your level of trust and risk profile.  If you don't do your homework and check out the travel agency (web or high street), then you won't trust them.  If you are risk averse and revert only to the well-known names, then you will pay a premium.  

On the subject of online versus high street, the high street agency is probably more likely to out of business than an established web agency (note the word "established" - with a proven track record), as the high street has rents and generally higher overheads.

Also, you can generally find insurance to cover risks (the agency themselves should be bonded, so you can always ask for evidence of their bond scheme).

In summary, you can increase your trust and reduce your risk by just doing a little checking and seeking the extra assurances.


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