Alaska Cruise

[coconutball4u]

I am debating trying to attempt to take an Alaska cruise late August or early September on the Spirit and I had two questions.

 

First, would anyone be able to comment how they found the weather at this time?

 

Second, looking at Carnival's site it seems the excursions are very highly priced. Did you find this to be the case even when going with independent operators? I am assuming they are higher because it is the US?

 

Thanks

[Mary Ellen1]

Hi there,

 

We did a 2-week cruise-tour last year, during the last 2 weeks of August. The weather was fine, but cool & a little drizzly on some days (but hard rain in Ketchikan -- it's always raining in Ketchikan). High temps during the day were in the upper 50's to low 60's. Check out the Alaska boards for lots more expert advice. One thing I read there is that the weather gets noticeably worse, week by week, from August into September. More rain & cooler temps.

 

Excursions were VERY expensive in Alaska, averaging minimum $150 per person. Everything is more expensive there, so plan & budget accordingly. But it was SOOOOO beautiful, I can't wait to go back!

 

Check out the Alaska tour-saver books. They cost around $100, but offer a number of good savings coupons, some 2-for-1's, etc. I think there are 2 main coupon books, but I can't remember what they're both called. We booked some private excursions, but you have to make sure that your tour operator will accept the coupon you want to use (befoer you buy the book). Sometimes, after the season has started, you can pick up a used coupon book on eBay, which hopefully still contains the coupons you want to use.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

Mary Ellen

[mrpayroll]

Took Alaska cruise the week after labor day and the weather was fine. Of course we needed either sweat shirts or fleece type jackets . They tell you to wear layers of clothes so you can adjust to weather during the day. ( great idea ) We booked all excursions on our own and they were cheaper ( as usual ) than with cruise line. We only had one day of rain and we were there on a cruise-tour for 12 days...It is a fantastic vacation..:rolleyes:

[cruisemama69]

we are on the spirit in June. I've booked our excursions separate from the cruise line. But when I checked on several, there wasnt that much cost savings--example, bering sea crab tour, dog sledding, railroad.

 

we booked whale watching on our own in Juneau and it was $298 for 2 people but the advantage was the boat only takes 6 people! so it is so much more personal and your not in a cattle call. same thing with booking the train in Skagway, you book on your own and you're in separate railroad cars and not crowded into the cars for cruise passengers.

 

hope this helps.:)

[42peepers]

We went last August up the inland passage and it was fabulous. We had great weather with a tiny bit of rain in Skagway. Temp. were very mild so we had taken to much in the way of cold weather clothing.

[42peepers]

I am debating trying to attempt to take an Alaska cruise late August or early September on the Spirit and I had two questions.

 

First, would anyone be able to comment how they found the weather at this time?

 

Second, looking at Carnival's site it seems the excursions are very highly priced. Did you find this to be the case even when going with independent operators? I am assuming they are higher because it is the US?

 

Thanks

We went last August and it was GREAT. The weather was very mild so we had taken to much in the way of cold weather clothing. We had just one day of light drizzle and that was in Skagway.

[dznymom]

Our Alaska cruise was in late August (a couple of years ago) and we had particularly nice weather, but in all of my research I determined that Alaska weather is really luck of the draw except for really early or late in the season. I recommend planning for rain, fog & cold and hopefully you will be as lucky as we were.

 

Excursions are definitely more expensive, but most of them are much more involved than your typical island excursion. I can promise you the memories are priceless. We loved every mninute of our Alaska cruise :)

[KerbyTex]

we are on the spirit in June. I've booked our excursions separate from the cruise line. But when I checked on several, there wasnt that much cost savings--example, bering sea crab tour, dog sledding, railroad.

 

we booked whale watching on our own in Juneau and it was $298 for 2 people but the advantage was the boat only takes 6 people! so it is so much more personal and your not in a cattle call. same thing with booking the train in Skagway, you book on your own and you're in separate railroad cars and not crowded into the cars for cruise passengers.

 

hope this helps.:)

Do you advise booking the Skagway train through Carnival or Chilkoot. There is a big price difference ($55 pp for Lake Bennet Tour), but I heard that booking through the cruise line lets you board at the dock whereas through Chilkoot boards at the station. This in it self is not a bid deal, but the word was that the left side of the train car had the best view (going North) and those seats fill up first.

[KerbyTex]

I am debating trying to attempt to take an Alaska cruise late August or early September on the Spirit and I had two questions.

 

First, would anyone be able to comment how they found the weather at this time?

 

Second, looking at Carnival's site it seems the excursions are very highly priced. Did you find this to be the case even when going with independent operators? I am assuming they are higher because it is the US?

 

Thanks

 

All Alaska shore excursions, regardless of cruiseline, are booked through a broker owned by either Prencess Cruises or Holland American (depending on port). Both of these cruiselines are owned by the parent company of Carnival cruiselines. So the local tour has a price, the broker adds his share, then the cruiseline adds theirs. It adds up. The least expensive route is to go through the Chamber of Commerece website for each port you will visit. Here is the Skagway site: http://www.skagway.com/activities.html. For example, the Skagway to Carcross train trip saves $55 per person by booking direct. The downside is the risk of an unreliable tour company by not going through the cruiseline, you may be treated as a second class tourist, if the tour company is taking on people booking through the cruiseline (and that give them preferred status to keep thier contract with the cruiseline, and the risk of the ship leaving without you if you are late in returning for some reason.