Help! Family of 12 cruise to Alaska

[Samantha94]

We will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this next year and to celebrate the event our children want to go on a cruise with us to Alaska. Since we live in California, embarking out of San Francisco works well to avoid air fare for all and thus, we thought Princess Cruise Lines would work well in that respect. My husband and I would like to pay for the group and are looking for help from others as to the most economical way to book the cruise for three families (i.e. two children with spouses and 6 grandchildren (3 children each family) and with us = a total of twelve people. Any suggestions would be most helpful!

[Colo Cruiser]

Looks like the Sea Princess is out of San Fran to Alaska this year on 10 day cruises.

I don't see what ship may do it next year.

If its one of the Sun Class ships again they are fairly expensive cruises and a little more limited when it comes to multiple passengers in a cabin.

[Toto2Kansas]

One problem you may run into here is that with two families of 5, Princess does not offer staterooms for more than 4 passengers in the same cabin (unless you go into the family suite on a few ships that offer this), which is very very expensive since it is booked at the full suite rate for the first four passengers.

So, I would suggest you find a good discount travel agent that can explain some of the ways you can book so that cabins can be close together and kids might be in a cabin close to the parents. Happy 40th Anniversary planning. :)

[paul929207]

Princess has just announced their schedule for Alaska next summer.

[Nancyquilts]

We took our family of 11 on Sea Princess last year. We had 5 cabins, including inside and balcony. I wouldn't recommend having a balcony cabin for 3-4 people. It's a really strange lay-out.

We were concerned about dining together at night. There was no space in the traditional dining room, but arrangements were made to give us a table in the anytime room - the same table - that was configured to seat all 11 of us.

I hope you have a great time. If you have any particular questions about our cruise, my e-mail is nparmelee2001 at yahoo dot com. Nancy

[mytime53]

Knowing the ages and gender of the grandchildren might help with suggestions. Are some children young enough to need supervision at night, are they all teens or young adults, or is it mixed?

[catsforkids]

We are a family of 16 going this June (ages 10-75). My parents are celebrating their 50th and are treating us for the cruise portion (air/excursions on our own). We decided on the Coral because of great reviews and the itinerary Vancouver to Whittier with Glacier Bay. Then we are doing Denali on our own (renting 2 mini vans for the 11 of us able to extend the trip).

 

We chose the Baja deck because of price and realize these balconies are smaller, but covered. We have 5 balcony cabins (the partitions can be taken down between them) and 2 inside cabins across the hall for the “overflow” family members. Each child and my parents have a balcony cabin.

 

We also have free use of the chapel on their Anniversary night (my parents don’t know yet) for a program. We have the chapel because no weddings were planned that evening…yeah!

 

We have traditional dining at 6:00pm for the kid’s sake. They are seating us at two tables of 8.

 

I would also recommend a reputable TA who is knowledgeable and easy to reach. Saved us $2000 and we got $75 OBC for each cabin.

 

I will write a review when we get back! First time on Princess and first time to Alaska!

[Coral]

Ironically - it is probably going to be cheaper to sail out of Seattle and pay airfare for everyone to fly to Seattle. Also, the ships out of Seattle offer a tad more for families. The SFO sailings are expensive!

 

I personally love the Sea Princess but the cabins for families are really lacking. Even the cabins for 3 (balcony) have a weird configuration.

 

I think that you would gain a bit more (covered pool, more cabin choices, cheaper prices) by flying to Seattle.

 

I would suggest getting a good TA (who discounts) to explore your options.

[Samantha94]

Thank you all for responding to our questions - your suggestions are most appreciated and we will start looking for a good TA. We had a wonderful person that we always used, but she retired a year ago and we have yet to find someone - but will keep looking :) In the meantime, I'm glad we started thinking about this now as we have lots to investigate - Also, I didn't realize the ships had such different layouts "cabin wise", so will definitely take that into consideration - Would love to hear from you after your trips this summer to see how things worked out - We are looking at next summer 2011 for our trip. Again, many thanks for all the help!!

Samantha

[readytoembark]

We’re a family of 16 and are considering an Alaskan cruise as well for my parents 50th anniversary. Like Samantha94, we are thinking about the summer of 2011.

 

I appreciate the “find a good TA who discounts” advice but that isn’t very helpful. We’ve never had what I would consider a good TA. Our experience is that a root canal is more enjoyable than using a TA… but we keep going through them regardless… again and again and again. So for us, “find a good TA who discounts” is easier said than done. How do I find a “good TA” let alone one that "discounts"? What’s the criteria? The last TA we used came highly recommended and had a national award declaring her the best of the best. If she’s the best, scares me to think what the worst is like.

 

To me booking a cruise is like buying a new car. I don’t know if the person who bought the same car before me or after me got a lower price than I did. I'm always left wondering if I could have done better.

 

I feel like I’m missing a big secret that the rest of you know about.

 

So I’m sorry to repeat the original question asked by Samanatha94 but I still don’t feel there is an answer - What is the most economical way to book a cruise? Spill your secrets. And if the answer is to find a good TA who discounts, then my next question is, How do I find a good TA that discounts and how do I know when I’ve found one?.

[caribill]

We’re a family of 16 and are considering an Alaskan cruise as well for my parents 50th anniversary. Like Samantha94, we are thinking about the summer of 2011.

 

 

With a family of 16, your group should be entitled to a group discoiunt equal to one berth (not including taxes and fees) using the average cost of the other berths your group picked. Be sure that the TA you end up with does this for you.

[Samantha94]

We are going to try one of the cruise "events" in the area where they have several different cruise lines at one location and you can go from one to another gathering information. It is this Saturday and if I find out any good info regarding traveling with large groups, will let you know -

Samantha

We’re a family of 16 and are considering an Alaskan cruise as well for my parents 50th anniversary. Like Samantha94, we are thinking about the summer of 2011.

 

I appreciate the “find a good TA who discounts” advice but that isn’t very helpful. We’ve never had what I would consider a good TA. Our experience is that a root canal is more enjoyable than using a TA… but we keep going through them regardless… again and again and again. So for us, “find a good TA who discounts” is easier said than done. How do I find a “good TA” let alone one that "discounts"? What’s the criteria? The last TA we used came highly recommended and had a national award declaring her the best of the best. If she’s the best, scares me to think what the worst is like.

 

To me booking a cruise is like buying a new car. I don’t know if the person who bought the same car before me or after me got a lower price than I did. I'm always left wondering if I could have done better.

 

I feel like I’m missing a big secret that the rest of you know about.

 

So I’m sorry to repeat the original question asked by Samanatha94 but I still don’t feel there is an answer - What is the most economical way to book a cruise? Spill your secrets. And if the answer is to find a good TA who discounts, then my next question is, How do I find a good TA that discounts and how do I know when I’ve found one?.

[katisdale]

The rules of cruise critic prevent us from recommending a specific agent or agency. Since they accept advertising from travel agents I can understand and support that. Several years ago that was not the case. However, I can say that you can ask for quotes from local and internet agents. Just be sure to compare apples to apples. I once thought I had a great quote but the agent had left out the port fees and taxes. I am happy with my current agent. It took me a long time to learn that I didn't have to pay the price quoted on the cruiseline's website. My worst decision was to pay brochure rate on my first ever cruise. It was a great cruise but I paid double what the going rate was.

[AWorldCruise4Me]

What is the most economical way to book a cruise? Spill your secrets. And if the answer is to find a good TA who discounts, then my next question is, How do I find a good TA that discounts and how do I know when I’ve found one?.

 

You bring up an interesting question. Booking travel through different avenues bring different tradeoffs. For me I've found:

 

For basic no frills booking when I know what I want, am willing to do the insurance myself, pick the room myself etc. but think that my plans may change (like I can't get the room I want right away) I go with the cruise company. It is easy to make changes with the cruise line.

 

Sometimes an on-line agency will do the trick in the above scenario but they can sometimes be hard to work with for changes so if I think things may change I go with above. Often they give free insurance or OBC or something else. The insurance might not be the product for me so that has to be looked at independently. However you can often grab a great room at a great price on-line and if I waited until the next business day to book through someone else it would be gone so I have often chosen this route and been happy with my OBC. They have real time access to the room inventory so one can see when a room becomes available.

 

When I know all the above but am spending big bucks I go with a membership warehouse that provides great on-board credit based on the fare paid but no real service and a fee to make any changes.

 

For my world cruise I went with a full service nation wide big brick and mortar TA with a person who works there full time as a TA. I wanted someone with clout to be helping me if I needed extraction from around the world. I also used them to buy specialized insurance products for various stages of the trip. And had them coordinate the visas for all the countries. I provided them will all my off ship overland details and the travel agencies I booked them through so that someone in the states with travel knowledge could help me out if I needed it.

 

In your situation to me a great TA would be someone familiar with booking families and would know the types of rooms avail. on the various ships and could direct you to a room set that would work and would know to mark them no upgrade so no one could be moved. Their rates may be higher than the absolute cheapest but you require specialized knowledge of family rooms that will accommodate 5 and you need two of them.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Cheers!

Michelle

[J&KCruisers]

With a family with many children, I would strongly recommend sailing on a Grand Class ship from Seattle. A couple of points:

• Sea Princess is a old school ship which is less kid friendly. The Grand Class is set with youth programs and facilities which cater to families,
  
• The cruise up the California, Oregon and Washington coasts is colder and rougher than the easy sail out of Seattle. Four days of the cruise are along these coasts.
  
• Coordinating kids from the Port in San Francisco is not easy. Traffic, crowds and parking are a mess.
  

We have sailed to Alaska 3 times, one from San Francisco with kids.

 

Happy Cruising:D:D

[Samantha94]

Thanks for the continued suggestions and help - I had not thought about the older versus newer ships and family oriented programs / cabins etc. Excellent to look into - Also, I am didn't realize that prices were or could be "variable" so to speak - Appreciate all the help!

[AKKarl]

For anyone traveling with a group or even another couple, have the first party booking get a TWID (Travel With ID) and give it to the remainder of your group. Have them use it when booking. The TWID is simply an ID number, such as XYZ123, that Princess will use to seat you at the same table and keep you together as much as possible. Be aware that if you have dissimilar flight times this will not include disembark.

[shepp]

Just a quick heads-up (if you're still following this thread): If you're a past Princess cruiser and you're looking at an SF-Alaska cruise in 2010 (your post was unclear), my partner just got a mailing with 2-for-1 (or so) offers on those sailings. Sign in with your Captain's Circle number and you may be pleasantly surprised. We just booked at 20% off the generally available price: 799 for an inside.

[Colo Cruiser]

The ship is not conducive to a large family group. Cabin wise or price wise.

[Samantha94]

I hadn't even thought about checking to see what the Captains Club could offer us - we are members of Princess as well as some others because we have traveled on several cruise lines. So, thank you for that suggestion!

 

Yes, we are thinking of going out of San Francisco to Alaska although we are flexible. I must say, we are getting discouraged due to the cost of the trip. We are working with a TA and a couple of different cruise lines trying to investigate the most economical way to go - but thus far, it is over $20,000 even booking a year out. Am wondering if others have encountered this and/or am I being unrealistic thinking it would not cost as much as this???

[taxatty]

We are working with a TA and a couple of different cruise lines trying to investigate the most economical way to go - but thus far, it is over $20,000 even booking a year out. Am wondering if others have encountered this and/or am I being unrealistic thinking it would not cost as much as this???

Also factor in the cost of shore excursions in Alaska, which often are rather expensive, especially anything involving travel by helicopter or "puddle-jumper" airplane or even local fishing trips. You can save a great deal of money on some higher-end trips by booking privately outside of Princess--the Alaska Ports of Call CC board has a lot of excellent related suggestions.

 

Les

[Samantha94]

Thank you; I will check this out! Samantha

Also factor in the cost of shore excursions in Alaska, which often are rather expensive, especially anything involving travel by helicopter or "puddle-jumper" airplane or even local fishing trips. You can save a great deal of money on some higher-end trips by booking privately outside of Princess--the Alaska Ports of Call CC board has a lot of excellent related suggestions.

 

Les

[Grammyluvs]

We are a family of 16 going this June (ages 10-75). My parents are celebrating their 50th and are treating us for the cruise portion (air/excursions on our own). We decided on the Coral because of great reviews and the itinerary Vancouver to Whittier with Glacier Bay. Then we are doing Denali on our own (renting 2 mini vans for the 11 of us able to extend the trip).

 

We chose the Baja deck because of price and realize these balconies are smaller, but covered. We have 5 balcony cabins (the partitions can be taken down between them) and 2 inside cabins across the hall for the “overflow” family members. Each child and my parents have a balcony cabin.

 

We also have free use of the chapel on their Anniversary night (my parents don’t know yet) for a program. We have the chapel because no weddings were planned that evening…yeah!

 

We have traditional dining at 6:00pm for the kid’s sake. They are seating us at two tables of 8.

 

I would also recommend a reputable TA who is knowledgeable and easy to reach. Saved us $2000 and we got $75 OBC for each cabin.

 

I will write a review when we get back! First time on Princess and first time to Alaska!

 

Will be so interested in how this works for you. We are a family of 16 and would love to do this when we celebrate our 50th in 2013. Quite a few years away-just dreaming now.:)Have fun!