How far in advance do we need to book accomodations and tours?

[cruiseguy1016]

We will be cruising out of Seward June 9th, 2017 and will be doing a land tour on our own the week before. At this point we don't have any definitive plans for the land portion. We know we are going to fly into Fairbanks and work our way toward Seward. We are looking at various places to stay and things to do. My question is, how soon do we need to be making reservations? The cruising season is only 4 months so I imagine the most popular hotels/lodges/inns and tours fill up quickly. Should be trying to book now for 2017? Can we wait until September? Will March of 2017 be too late?

[eljabe]

I am cruising southbound on the Star Princess, June 4, 2017. We are a group of 7 and wanted adjoining mini suites port side. While making reservations last week, I discovered that the mini suites we wanted were already taken! So, if I were you, I would not wait too long! Of course if you aren't concerned where your cabin is located, then waiting might work for you.

[cruiseguy1016]

I am cruising southbound on the Star Princess, June 4, 2017. We are a group of 7 and wanted adjoining mini suites port side. While making reservations last week, I discovered that the mini suites we wanted were already taken! So, if I were you, I would not wait too long! Of course if you aren't concerned where your cabin is located, then waiting might work for you.

 

We have the cruise booked already. I'm concerned about reservations for the land portion.

[skrapngal]

We are doing a DIY tour late May 2017.

 

We are a little picky in our accommodations as we are 5 adults, looking for places that will accommodate us in one room. When we called one place, they were already taking bookings for NEXT summer, so we booked.

 

We're still waiting for response from the other place where we want to stay.

 

So, the moral of this story is, if you want a specific accommodation, you at least want to be in touch now to find out when they will take bookings.

 

We haven't been looking at tours and excursions yet... I think it is safe to wait til at least late summer to book those.

[Keith1010]

The sooner the better.

 

If you can lock in tours now, I would do it.

 

Keith

[mapleleaves]

For car rentals you will get good rates for 2017 by booking in summer 2016.

The Enterprise office on Int'l Airport Rd has consistently posted weekly rentals for about $200 !!!

Ooops, just noticed that you're doing a one-way rental car out of Fairbanks.

(when you see the price difference you may reconsider and fly into Anc for a RT rental).

 

If you are able to book a room this summer for 2017, you will usually get the 2016 rate.

 

Some vendors and tours are very limited so they book up quickly, so if you have a priority, best to book soon. OTOH if you won't be heartbroken, wait.

[cruiseguy1016]

We are doing a DIY tour late May 2017.

 

We are a little picky in our accommodations as we are 5 adults, looking for places that will accommodate us in one room. When we called one place, they were already taking bookings for NEXT summer, so we booked.

 

We're still waiting for response from the other place where we want to stay.

 

So, the moral of this story is, if you want a specific accommodation, you at least want to be in touch now to find out when they will take bookings.

 

We haven't been looking at tours and excursions yet... I think it is safe to wait til at least late summer to book those.

 

We've got 4 couples so we will need 4 rooms at each place we decide to stay. I guess we better get looking.

[cruiseguy1016]

For car rentals you will get good rates for 2017 by booking in summer 2016.

The Enterprise office on Int'l Airport Rd has consistently posted weekly rentals for about $200 !!!

Ooops, just noticed that you're doing a one-way rental car out of Fairbanks.

(when you see the price difference you may reconsider and fly into Anc for a RT rental). QUOTE]

 

We've booked two Dodge Caravans from Hertz at FAI. One way rental is more expensive than round trip and dropping it off in Seward as opposed to ANC made it even more expensive but we feel we got a decent price. We considered doing round trip from ANC but with only one road traveling between Anchorage and Fairbanks, it's not really a round trip, it's a back and forth. By only driving the road once, we can spend more time at each location. We have the cars reserved but no financial commitment yet so we'll continue to monitor prices to see if we can find a better deal one way.

[barbeyg]

We are going this summer, and I began researching and contacting in March of last year. Even those who weren't booking till the end of the 2015 season for 2016 were more than happy to take our info and called us when they began firming up 2016.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[olemissreb]

If I remember right, I think I booked all of my hotels, air (we used frequent flier miles), car rental, excursions, a year out and I got everything I wanted. I ordered my coupon books as soon as I could, so I'd get them before I started booking things. If you have a frequent guess number with a car rental agency, be sure to use it and also book from an off-site (meaning not at the airport) rental place if possible - they are much cheaper (at least they were in Anchorage).

[LABCHICK]

If I remember right, I think I booked all of my hotels, air (we used frequent flier miles), car rental, excursions, a year out and I got everything I wanted. I ordered my coupon books as soon as I could, so I'd get them before I started booking things. If you have a frequent guess number with a car rental agency, be sure to use it and also book from an off-site (meaning not at the airport) rental place if possible - they are much cheaper (at least they were in Anchorage).

 

We are flying into Fairbanks in June. We have a car rented at the airport through Hertz. We get into Fairbanks around 4:30 p.m. and driving to Denali that night. We booked the Denali Lodge for 2 nites. When we leave Denali we will be driving to Anchorage and turning the car in there. We are booked at the Hotel Captain Cook for 1 night. The Hertz rental place is right across the street. The following morning we are getting the train to Seward and boarding the ship. I started making our reservations last Aug.

[Mitch2016]

I have been researching and planning since we put deposit down on our cruise for June 2017 in February. I have our Vancouver lodging, Seward lodging and Denali lodging reserved and just need to decide where we're staying in Anchorage.....somewhere close to the train depot. Planning on car reservation for Skagway, then Anchorage to Denali and back to Anchorage to fly home, but too soon for car reservation and not able to book airfare until September. So much planning involved for things we want to see/do and making sure we have the budget all ready to go for our excursions. As we plan an excursion, I just move that money into our Alaska vacation account at the bank so we're ready to go and know the money is there.....no worries about not being able to do something because the funds aren't there.

 

There's a lot to research and figure out, but it sure has been fun! Can't wait to see how it all ends....getting excited!

[cruiseguy1016]

If I remember right, I think I booked all of my hotels, air (we used frequent flier miles), car rental, excursions, a year out and I got everything I wanted. I ordered my coupon books as soon as I could, so I'd get them before I started booking things. If you have a frequent guess number with a car rental agency, be sure to use it and also book from an off-site (meaning not at the airport) rental place if possible - they are much cheaper (at least they were in Anchorage).

 

I have heard other people mention the coupon books. What are these and how do I get one?

[mapleleaves]

 

Just an fyi, there is an alternate route between Anchorage and Fairbanks. You don't have to backtrack. For people who enjoy scenic driving, there's a wonderful loop to take: Anchorage to Fairbanks on the Parks Hwy, then south on the Richardson Hwy to Glennallen, then west on the Glenn Hwy to Anchorage.

http://www.alaska.org/assets/content/maps/Transportation_Map.pdf

 

As for coupon books, there's the Alaska Toursaver and Northern Lights. They both have web sites that provide a list of all the offerings provided.

[donaldsc]

I have heard other people mention the coupon books. What are these and how do I get one?

 

Type "alaska coupon books" into Google.

 

DON

[txwriter]

We are doing a DIY tour late May 2017.

 

We are a little picky in our accommodations as we are 5 adults, looking for places that will accommodate us in one room. When we called one place, they were already taking bookings for NEXT summer, so we booked.

 

We're still waiting for response from the other place where we want to stay.

 

So, the moral of this story is, if you want a specific accommodation, you at least want to be in touch now to find out when they will take bookings.

 

We haven't been looking at tours and excursions yet... I think it is safe to wait til at least late summer to book those.

 

Just curious...where will you be staying? We are looking for May 2017, and the places I've looked into so far have not begun booking for May 2017 yet.