Tourist1292

I booked the Residence Inn by Marriott Seattle Downtown/Convention Center. The reviews are very good and my price is very good too. Your price depends on the date and room type. We got a studio with 2 queen bed and a sofa bed as an excellent price. No shuttle, but it is just a couple miles from the pier. Not expensive with Uber or taxi. One of the review said $5 Uber ride to attractions.

Amtrak on sale right now for travelling between March and July. The one way ticket on Amtrak Cascade from Seattle to Vancouver is only $31. The sales ends tomorrow and it will be back to $34. Not a big difference. The train that I booked has upper level panoramic seats. As it has always been recommended, one should arrive at least the day before the cruise. Train may be delayed, and so as flight too. Indeed, flights are more prone to weather situation.

I am hoping for discounts on packages.

We are going the opposite way as you flying into Seattle for the cruise departing Vancouver and return to Seattle. We actually planned our trip around Amtrak Cascades before the cruise. The train either leave Seattle early in the morning or arrive Vancouver around 11pm. So we ended up booking the ticket arriving Seattle the night before to board the morning triain. There are many scheduled bus between the 2 trains on Amtrak's website too, but we do want to enjoy the 4 hr train ride.

Do you have a credit card that has no exchange fee like Chase Sapphire visa? 

11 hours ago, Nic6318 said:

 

Hi

Yes. That is the only way you would know the price has dropped. Remember, it is the total price after port fees (port fees can go up and down as well) are counted. Don't forget, if you originally had a promotion that included an OBC, you would lose that if it wasn't still offered. When you book with a 3rd. party, they need to submit the request for you (Carnival will not deal with you directly).

What we see is the change in total price, but the actual change can be different. I have called 3 times since the deposit paid on 12/22 for price adjustments. The first time was just $40 drop per cabin. The second time I found $60 to $80 drop, but it turned out to be $100 drop per cabin as the new price included a $10 increase in fee/tax. They lowered my cabin cost by $100 per cabin without changing the tax/fee. Then I got another $100 per cabin saving in the evening before the final payment due. I did not fill any form at all. I chat with them the first time and they told me to call and they would take care of that.  By the way, each adjustment would be updated with the current offer. My Costco cash card offer went down $60 but I ended up paying around $500 less.

5 hours ago, masterdrago said:

Another cost thing that we considered when looking at flight cost comparison (Seattle or Vancouver) to Houston was the passport cost. We already have passport cards - cruised Caribbean several times. So we had to add in the cost of the passport book to the price comparison. That might not even be a consideration for folks that already have the book. And as martincath mentioned, there are less costly ways to make the Seattle-Vancouver trek. We have been cruising Cruise Critic and planning our Alaska adventure since June '18 and have researched so much that I'm going blind and Joy has capped my computer time!

And as bemis12 said, we are definitely using the Alaska Mileage credit card for the companion fare. Although it may be too late to get much benefit from that card if you do not already have it depending on when you book cruise.

Passport card would also work in Canada.

If you don't care which cabin to stay in, you may wait for the price to drop. However, there are a lot of things to plan for a cruise to Alaska like excursions and airtickets. You may not want to wait too long. We booked ours a month ago for the cruise in May with two of the cabins with the largest balconies in that class. Then the price dropped a couple times for a total of 5%. I just called to get the price adjusted as the final payment is still not due yet. Even it may get cheaper later, I may not be able to get the same cabins that we want.

We are going to take a 7 night cruise in May from Vancouver to Alaska and back to Seattle. We are flying to Seattle and take the Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver. It is only $34 for one way but there are only two scheduled train each day. One departs early and arrives around noon. The other one leaves Seattle in early evening and arrives around 11pm.

6 hours ago, Herfnerd said:

We used http://www.juneauwhalewatch.com in Juneau for our whale watching excursion and Mendenhall Glacier Tour.  We thought it was excellent and much cheaper than some of the other whale watching excursions although we can't do an honest comparison having done only this tour.

I have booked my excursions in May from the same company. Glad to hear more positive feedbacks. It is also the cheapest that I found particularly after the 15% off discount.

A 2 year old can easily fit in the sofa even it is not a convertible one.

42 minutes ago, Hapytocruise said:

the symbol in the cabin is a triangle

One upper berth.

Look for the symbol on the deck plan for that room. It would indicate what kind of additional bedding is available in that room.

I think the internet package perks should be for 2 devices. That is a ~$360 value for a 7 night cruise to Alaska for your reference.

We will also arrive Vancouver 2 nights before our cruise. We just booked an AirBNB near the Chinatown. It is much cheaper than hotel for us with a group of 6, at least in mid May. Everything is in walking distance from there. A lot of things we will even shop there before the cruise to avoid checking in luggage on the plane. Costco is there too.

For the device per day cost, the fine print said it applies to the full length of the cruise.

We are also going for our first cruise to Alaska in early May. We have booked the excursion in Juneau for whale watch with the guarantee. We are from mid-west, so the May weather there would not bother us at all. It is great to find cheaper round trip ticket to Seattle before the school break. The hotels are also slightly cheaper before the summer season.

For a 7 night upcoming cruise in May, it is $224 after 10% pre-cruise discount right now for 1 device.

17 hours ago, Sarah_13 said:

I’ve never heard of t-mobile. Do they have prepaid sims available (I’m in aus)?I’ll be cruising in Alaska, is the service functional there? 

They do have prepaid, but the free data and text is for certain plans. Prepaid is not eligible. On the other hand, roaming in Canada and Mexico are included for free, but the roaming on the cruise is a different story.

3 hours ago, Mapomp said:

If the price for two devices is $475 (as stated above), how much is it for just one device? 

 

Thanks

Usually two third of it as the second device is around half off.

1 minute ago, ghstudio said:

Yes, that allows two (or more) at the same time while in the cabin (or in range of the router)...but doesn't help if one or both of you are walking around the ship.

Exactly. That was what I said in the earlier response.

1 hour ago, ghstudio said:

 

???

Using a travel router.

When we budget our cruise to Alaska, we have decided not to spend extra money on anything that we can do elsewhere and at lower cost, like eating and drinking. I would save those money for excursion and pre/post cruise tour in Seattle and Vancouver.

After I hooked my cruise on Celebrity to Alaska, I have learned that only two cruises are allowed per day to enter the Glazier Bay, while Holland America is one of the company that have most of the slots.

The range can be very wide and you are probably a bit above average. It is up to you how luxury you want. Just set a budget and do some planning.