How Early Can I Book...?

[txwriter]

First, I want to thank everyone here for their valuable information. I posted a thread a few months ago asking for advise and received lots of help (and a few snarky comments which I am ignoring).

 

I booked our Alaska 2017 for the May 27th sailing out of Whittier on Star Princess. I'll be wrapping it up for my mom's Christmas present!

 

Here's what I want to know from all you uber planners out there that like to get the details settled early. I know flights cannot be booked more than 330 days out, but I don't know about the following:

 

1. Car Rental - What is the earliest you can book? (I know flights are 330 days out). Is there a better time to book (historical sale dates) or is it better to get it booked early? Has anyone had a problem going to pick up a car they they booked really early and it not been there (only asking because this happened to me at the Orlando airport once).

 

2. Hotels/Lodges/B&Bs - Again, earliest you can book? Any advantage to waiting within the 6 month window?

 

3. Tours - How early do cruise lines open booking for excursions (I'm on Princess)? Do independent operators open earlier, same time, or later than cruise lines?

 

If anyone booked REALLY early for the 2015 cruise you took this past summer, how did booking early help/hurt? Would you do anything different?

 

Thanks in advance for your information.

[frugaltravel]

Generally I am an early booker. I find that I get the best deals if I am looking very early, even if I don't book right away.

 

"1. Car Rental - What is the earliest you can book? (I know flights are 330 days out). Is there a better time to book (historical sale dates) or is it better to get it booked early? "

 

It depends on the rental company and the booking site. But you should be able to find out really easily. Try booking 330 days or 340 days or whatever in advance of today's date and you have your answer (also, not all airlines hold to the 330 day rul).

 

>>Has anyone had a problem going to pick up a car they they booked really early and it not been there (only asking because this happened to me at the Orlando airport once).

 

I never have, but I always carry my confirmation number with me. What happened at Orlando when that happened to you? Did they honor the rate? Did you have your confirmation information? Did you book directly with the car rental company or through a third party?

 

"2. Hotels/Lodges/B&Bs - Again, earliest you can book? Any advantage to waiting within the 6 month window?"

 

I am not sure there is any magical "6 month window" so I book when I find something I like. Some places you can book earlier than others. Just depends on the lodging and what their policy is. Some AK lodging take a long break in the winter so it is easier to book 10 months in advance or 4-6 months in advance.

 

"3. Tours - How early do cruise lines open booking for excursions (I'm on Princess)? Do independent operators open earlier, same time, or later than cruise lines? "

 

Not sure about the cruise lines but some independents will book a year in advance, some not. I start looking for deals once I have a firm itinerary. There were a couple of Black Friday deals for things like Kenai Fjords tours. Often similar deals come along from other operators throughout the winter. Be looking early. Don't book anything that has a cancellation/change penalty super early unless you are 100% certain that won't change. It is no bargain when you pay a lot for changes or to cancel.

[paul929207]

Princess usually opens their excursions 4 to 6 months in advance. I would book any you think you will want ASAP. Their excursions do sell out. They do not charge you until you are on the cruise. You can cancel up to about 36 hours (I think) before the excursion.

[txwriter]

Generally I am an early booker. I find that I get the best deals if I am looking very early, even if I don't book right away.

 

What happened at Orlando when that happened to you? Did they honor the rate? Did you have your confirmation information? Did you book directly with the car rental company or through a third party ?

 

The rental car incident was the cherry on top of a pretty bad travel day. I booked several months in advance (checking rates often) and got a good rate for a compact car. When I got to the counter, they had my reservation, but they wanted to give me an SUV. I did not want an SUV. I did not book one and did not want to pay extra for gas, and my sister who was the driver that trip didn't want to drive an SUV.

 

I honestly don't remember if they were offering it for the same rate. I went to a local rental counter a few feet away and rented what I wanted for a comparable rate. It all worked out, but I now worry about walking up to the counter and being told there are no cars like the one I booked.

[txwriter]

Thanks for the help! These are great guidelines. Now that I have my cruise booked, I can really focus on the land portion, narrowing down the what and figuring out the when. I'm excited!

[Budget Queen]

I find, if you book the fall prior, those are usually lower rates with rental cars. I am flexible, so I generally late book, except for some tours that sell out or more limited. Overall, for my independent mainland travel- I'm booking a few months ahead, some cruises have been weeks ahead- again this year. I admit, I do have some advantages with contacts and not concerned about costs. so likely not the norm.

 

Overall, I would suggest for many people, start in the fall prior. BUT, if mainland touring, work on figuring out the entire itinerary first. The best plans arise from multiple changes and fine tuning. Don't jump into reservations, until your entire plan is in place.

[Nhsaltshaker]

Hi TX, We're on the same cruise. I agree with others to have a solid plan in place as well as booking the most desired excursions as soon as possible. Buying Alaska travel books helped me decide in advance what I wanted to do and where the best place was to do it.

 

I found some of my excursions involving flights were adjusted for weather and caused me to cancel other excursions booked for the same day. So, have a plan B.

 

Come on over to the roll call for this sailing, we'll talk more!

[txwriter]

Come on over to the roll call for this sailing, we'll talk more!

 

Tried to find Roll Call, but there is nothing for May 2017 on Star Princess listed. Weird thing is that I swear I saw it the other day. :confused:

 

Found it!

Edited December 22, 2015 by txwriter

[Budget Queen]

The rental car incident was the cherry on top of a pretty bad travel day. I booked several months in advance (checking rates often) and got a good rate for a compact car. When I got to the counter, they had my reservation, but they wanted to give me an SUV. I did not want an SUV. I did not book one and did not want to pay extra for gas, and my sister who was the driver that trip didn't want to drive an SUV.

 

I honestly don't remember if they were offering it for the same rate. I went to a local rental counter a few feet away and rented what I wanted for a comparable rate. It all worked out, but I now worry about walking up to the counter and being told there are no cars like the one I booked.

 

Unfortunate in the car rental business, what you are going to find in contracts, is your booking is a "request", and no guarantee that particular car is going to be available. This gives the rental agency leeway for cars no returned, taken out of service unexpectedly etc. There aren't any rental agencies that do not do this. Free upgrades are the solution, the other solution would involve much higher costs and the necessity to have spare cars in inventory not generating revenue.

[Nhsaltshaker]

Unfortunate in the car rental business, what you are going to find in contracts, is your booking is a "request", and no guarantee that particular car is going to be available. This gives the rental agency leeway for cars no returned, taken out of service unexpectedly etc. There aren't any rental agencies that do not do this. Free upgrades are the solution, the other solution would involve much higher costs and the necessity to have spare cars in inventory not generating revenue.

 

Do you have any recommendations? I'm flying into Fairbanks a full day before my cruise tour starts. Although 2017 is still a way out, I'm reading I can get a free shuttle to Princess Fairbanks lodge from the airport. There has also been mention of a car rental agency on site at the lodge.

 

In your opinion, should I get a car rental for a day/night at the airport, then return it and get the free shuttle back to the lodge the day the tour starts (which really doesn't START until the next day)? Or...grab the free airport shuttle to the lodge after landing, and rent a car while at the lodge?

 

Now that I see/say this out loud, it would appear I would save more personal time by renting a car at the lodge. No?

Edited December 22, 2015 by Nhsaltshaker

[Budget Queen]

Do you have any recommendations? I'm flying into Fairbanks a full day before my cruise tour starts. Although 2017 is still a way out, I'm reading I can get a free shuttle to Princess Fairbanks lodge from the airport. There has also been mention of a car rental agency on site at the lodge.

 

In your opinion, should I get a car rental for a day/night at the airport, then return it and get the free shuttle back to the lodge the day the tour starts (which really doesn't START until the next day)? Or...grab the free airport shuttle to the lodge after landing, and rent a car while at the lodge?

 

Now that I see/say this out loud, it would appear I would save more personal time by renting a car at the lodge. No?

 

It is likely there aren't any cars at the "lodge"?? and you will be shuttled back to the airport. Likely will only be one vendor at the lodge as well.

 

What you aren't taking into account- is Princess places people in multiple locations. You have a greater chance of being elsewhere and not at Fairbanks Princess Lodge.

 

If you are willing to rent a car, you also may be interested in a car rental for other areas of Alaska? You see and are able to do much more making your own plans. I would caution you, to really look into the usual included McKinley Princess Lodge, which is a holding tank for a lot of visitors, and a poor choice at the expense of Denali Princess. Be fully informed, and know every detail. A lot of wrong assumptions are frequently made.

 

I always rent at the airport, extremely convenient, with the lot right out front, easy pick up and drop off.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Budget Queen

[frugaltravel]

Unfortunate in the car rental business, what you are going to find in contracts, is your booking is a "request", and no guarantee that particular car is going to be available. This gives the rental agency leeway for cars no returned, taken out of service unexpectedly etc. There aren't any rental agencies that do not do this. Free upgrades are the solution, the other solution would involve much higher costs and the necessity to have spare cars in inventory not generating revenue.

 

I can't emphasize this enough as well. The bad experience mentioned by the poster above happens with all companies and there are no guarantees as to the make/model or even the category of car you will get. Read the fine print and it says "or similar" or perhaps "or higher" (category). In Anchorage one time I was "upgraded" to a pickup truck. I didn't really want it, but for the price I paid I was not going elsewhere to look, since I knew I would pay a LOT more anywhere else.

[Nhsaltshaker]

It is likely there aren't any cars at the "lodge"?? and you will be shuttled back to the airport. Likely will only be one vendor at the lodge as well.

 

What you aren't taking into account- is Princess places people in multiple locations. You have a greater chance of being elsewhere and not at Fairbanks Princess Lodge.

 

If you are willing to rent a car, you also may be interested in a car rental for other areas of Alaska? You see and are able to do much more making your own plans. I would caution you, to really look into the usual included McKinley Princess Lodge, which is a holding tank for a lot of visitors, and a poor choice at the expense of Denali Princess. Be fully informed, and know every detail. A lot of wrong assumptions are frequently made.

 

I always rent at the airport, extremely convenient, with the lot right out front, easy pick up and drop off.

 

I apologize to the OP for stomping on this thread. Thanks for the car rental advice, makes sense.

 

The tour I'm on is the Connoisseur tour (15 days), which I've done before. We're staying at the Fairbanks Princess an extra day before (on my booking confirmation), to recover from jet lag and possibly do a couple of things on our own before the tour actually starts. With all the packing/unpacking coming up, I felt it would be better to go ahead and book the same place the tour starts, which is in mid-May.

 

McKinley Princess is isolated but 'if' the mountain decides to show it's head, I could sit on that deck all day and stare. I was very lucky to get a viewing last time...all three days.

 

Denali and Kenai are also on our guided tour.

 

There are advantages to renting your own car for a whole tour, but I have been driving professionally for the last 30 years and prefer to have someone else do it for me while on vacation.

[Budget Queen]

I apologize to the OP for stomping on this thread. Thanks for the car rental advice, makes sense.

 

The tour I'm on is the Connoisseur tour (15 days), which I've done before. We're staying at the Fairbanks Princess an extra day before (on my booking confirmation), to recover from jet lag and possibly do a couple of things on our own before the tour actually starts. With all the packing/unpacking coming up, I felt it would be better to go ahead and book the same place the tour starts, which is in mid-May.

 

McKinley Princess is isolated but 'if' the mountain decides to show it's head, I could sit on that deck all day and stare. I was very lucky to get a viewing last time...all three days.

 

Denali and Kenai are also on our guided tour.

 

There are advantages to renting your own car for a whole tour, but I have been driving professionally for the last 30 years and prefer to have someone else do it for me while on vacation.

 

You do know your time is less than ideal? Every year- there are issues with the service and glitches due to just opening properties and new staff. In the past- there have been the same- "Fairbanks Princess" notation on the itinerary, only to be assigned other properties 30 days out. With your less than ideal time, and likely not in full operation- you may very well be in the Fairbanks Princess- the also do NOT have any car rentals there.

[kraft111]

This is how I book things for all of my travel, no matter how far into the future or how expensive:

 

1. Can I book now? I try it online and see if it lets me. If not, I keep trying dates close to my current date until I figure out the timeframe. Then I set a calendar reminder to book (or at least look at prices) once options become available.

 

2. Is there a fee if I cancel or change my plans? If not, I book, keep watching prices, and rebook as frequently as necessary to keep getting lower prices.

 

3. If there IS a fee, I watch prices, even before I'm able to book my actual choices. So if I'm flying in June 2017, I check prices for June 2016 to get an idea of what my expected price might be. That way I have some idea when flights become available of whether I'm in the right ballpark.

 

4. Once dates are available, I keep an eye on prices and wait to see if they rise or fall. If they rise, I keep waiting. If they fall after that, I usually book. And then I STOP looking at fares. It does me no good if I have a reasonable price and then find out there's a great price that's nullified by change fees. You can drive yourself crazy doing that.

 

5. If I NEED a specific flight (not just day, actual flight), or excursion, or hotel, I'll book without watching prices quite as closely. I don't want to lose an excursion that's going to sell out immediately because I haven't decided the rest of my itinerary yet.

 

6. After I've booked the stuff I NEED, I don't book anything else with a change fee until I've roughed out the schedule for the whole trip. That gives me flexibility to move pieces around as necessary.

 

Maybe you've figured this out already, but I really like to plan. :)

[Nhsaltshaker]

You do know your time is less than ideal? Every year- there are issues with the service and glitches due to just opening properties and new staff. In the past- there have been the same- "Fairbanks Princess" notation on the itinerary, only to be assigned other properties 30 days out. With your less than ideal time, and likely not in full operation- you may very well be in the Fairbanks Princess- the also do NOT have any car rentals there.

 

My expectations are not very high concerning service as I have been there before.

 

Should I assume that if I am not allowed to stay at Fairbanks Princess, it is up to them to transport me there for the start of my cruise tour?

[illiniwahoo]

I would not wait until 6 months out to book lodging. Last January I was looking into a may/june alaskan cruise and land tour and was shocked how many places were already booked. We could have found somewhere in every city, but the well-reviewed, reasonably priced places were frequently full.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Budget Queen]

My expectations are not very high concerning service as I have been there before.

 

Should I assume that if I am not allowed to stay at Fairbanks Princess, it is up to them to transport me there for the start of my cruise tour?

 

They will transport you to your assigned lodging, from the airport the day of your tour stop, yes.

 

BUT with you claiming you are arriving early, then you'd just need to return to the airport if you wanted to use that transportation, IF you aren't staying at the same location.

[Nhsaltshaker]

They will transport you to your assigned lodging, from the airport the day of your tour stop, yes.

 

BUT with you claiming you are arriving early, then you'd just need to return to the airport if you wanted to use that transportation, IF you aren't staying at the same location.

 

Still trying to get this to sink in.

 

I booked Connoisseur cruise tour starting at Princess Fairbanks lodge a year and a half in advance.

 

While doing the initial booking, I asked for and received an extra night at Princess Fairbanks lodge for the day before the tour.

 

The part that makes no sense to me is there is a possibility they won't place me at my originally booked hotel, but to another, transfer me twice more...to the airport and then to the original hotel I paid for, and then stay two more nights at Princess Fairbanks lodge.

 

If that is the case, why the heck would anybody want to do book an extra night before their tour starts? And, if they did, why didn't they raise bloody hell? I would/will definitely be SCREAMING for a refund as well as lighting up these boards.

 

Last minute add on's I understand, but the above scenario just seems so wrong.

Edited December 26, 2015 by Nhsaltshaker

[frugaltravel]

Still trying to get this to sink in.

 

I booked Connoisseur cruise tour starting at Princess Fairbanks lodge a year and a half in advance.

 

While doing the initial booking, I asked for and received an extra night at Princess Fairbanks lodge for the day before the tour.

 

The part that makes no sense to me is there is a possibility they won't place me at my originally booked hotel, but to another, transfer me twice more...to the airport and then to the original hotel I paid for, and then stay two more nights at Princess Fairbanks lodge.

 

If that is the case, why the heck would anybody want to do book an extra night before their tour starts? And, if they did, why didn't they raise bloody hell? I would/will definitely be SCREAMING for a refund as well as lighting up these boards.

 

Last minute add on's I understand, but the above scenario just seems so wrong.

 

Chances are they will keep you in the same hotel for the entire length of the stay in Fairbanks. But it might not be the Fairbanks Princess. If they somehow book you into one hotel for the independent nights and another hotel for the tour nights, gently but firmly tell them you are not moving. If you are there before other guests on the cruisetour, they can just as easily move them before they check in. I have worked in a hotel. I know it is possible (might not be the most convenient FOR THEM to make a last-minute change, but it is possible).

Edited December 26, 2015 by frugaltravel

[Budget Queen]

Still trying to get this to sink in.

 

I booked Connoisseur cruise tour starting at Princess Fairbanks lodge a year and a half in advance.

 

While doing the initial booking, I asked for and received an extra night at Princess Fairbanks lodge for the day before the tour.

 

The part that makes no sense to me is there is a possibility they won't place me at my originally booked hotel, but to another, transfer me twice more...to the airport and then to the original hotel I paid for, and then stay two more nights at Princess Fairbanks lodge.

 

If that is the case, why the heck would anybody want to do book an extra night before their tour starts? And, if they did, why didn't they raise bloody hell? I would/will definitely be SCREAMING for a refund as well as lighting up these boards.

 

Last minute add on's I understand, but the above scenario just seems so wrong.

 

I'm just telling you what Princess does. they generically list the Fairbanks Princess Lodge, AND use several properties- in Fairbanks. You've done this before.

 

You get your assignment about 30 days prior. So you have PLENTY of time, IF you are not at the same lodging- to change it, since you booked with the cruisetour. ( you did not mention this prior) Yeah- it would do a lot of good to be "screaming".

Edited December 27, 2015 by Budget Queen

[Nhsaltshaker]

I'm just telling you what Princess does. they generically list the Fairbanks Princess Lodge, AND use several properties- in Fairbanks. You've done this before.

 

You get your assignment about 30 days prior. So you have PLENTY of time, IF you are not at the same lodging- to change it, since you booked with the cruisetour. ( you did not mention this prior) Yeah- it would do a lot of good to be "screaming".

 

Yes, I did mention this prior.

[EZ Cruisin]

Please forgive me - I'm not sure this the right place to post this question, but I am STILL trying to figure out how to maneuver this forum board!

 

Does anyone know when RCI will post their itineraries for the 2017 Alaskan cruises? Also, would be interested in the comparison between the RCI and Celebrity trips to Alaska.

 

We prefer to leave Vancouver and end up in Seward, as we will then spend two or three weeks touring Alaska.

 

Thanks so much!