Ways to Find Great Alaska Vacation Bargains
Until recently, it was quite easy to find cheap Alaska cruise pricing. Now, such bargains are getting harder and harder to find, with demand for Alaska cruises going through the roof.
Just how can one save a bunch of cash on an Alaska cruise? Is it still remotely possible to vacation in Alaska while adhering to a reasonable budget? The answer is YES! You really can still find great Alaska cruise deals — if you know how to look.
Many folks believe that the very best strategy to get cheap cruise fares to Alaska is to book at the very last minute. But while this method used to work reasonably well (and still works very well for Caribbean cruises, due to the larger number of ships in that region), it is no longer a very effective strategy for Alaskan cruises.
Alaskan ships often sell out far in advance for the months of July and August. Despite their higher cost, balcony rooms tend to be the first to sell out, especially on Holland America cruises. If you really must take your cruise in August or July, then you’ll be wise to book far in advance of your sale date to make sure you get the best fares. (Alaska cruises can be booked up to 18 months ahead of their sale date.)
As logic would dictate, if you are a fair deal more flexible with your sail date and/or your cabin class, you increase your likelihood of snagging some true Alaskan cruising deals.
The best months for deals are May and September, the beginning and end of the Alaska cruise season. Of all the weeks in the Alaska cruise season, the lowest cost fares tend to be found in the very first week of May, when prices can be half of the peak mid-season fares.
Now you can also save money by instead reserving a cheaper cabin category. Inside rooms can be half to a third the price of some of the higher priced cabins on an Alaskan cruise. Inside rooms have no windows and can be a little smaller than ocean view rooms, but they can be a wonderful bargain, especially since many people spend so little times in their rooms anyway.
Of course, if you have a problem with tight spaces then you might not want to book an inside room. Nonetheless, you can still find a great Alaskan cruise deal on an outside room. Rooms located on the outside of a cruise ship can sometimes have partially or even fully obstructed views, usually due to poles or lifeboats which are in the way of the view.
These obstructed view cabins are often quite a bit cheaper than regular ocean view rooms. In fact, obstructed view cabins can be almost as cheap as inside rooms, yet they have windows, which can often help lessen people’s claustrophobia.
In conclusion, yes, you definitely still can find great bargains on Alaskan cruises. Cruises are a great deal compared to other ways of visiting Alaska, and they are really the only way to see much of the remote but spectacular Alaskan coast.
Related posts
May 07 2009 03:19 am | Cruises