How quickly should we act to book excursions?

[snoopy5386]

We are a group of 11 going on an Alaska cruise in mid-July. I am the main vacation planner, the only woman in the group. All the men are rather lackadaisical about planning.

 

We are all planning to get together memorial day weekend to plan and pick excursions. Will that be too late? Should I start badgering them now? Since we are a large group, I am hoping to book private tours at most of our stops - Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau. Most likely looking at doing Deadliest Catch tour in Ketchikan, maybe combined with a private rainforest tour. On the fence about the train in Skagway, but some of us will do the Dogsled musher camp there (wheeled cart) and we will do some sort of tour by car/van/minibus if not the train (we have 5 kids between 5-10 and worried about them getting antsy on the train). Juneau will be whale watching and Mendenhall most likely.

 

This is all my planning, with little to no input from the others yet, but this group is very go with the flow, we have vacationed together every year for the last few years and they know I do my research and tend to go with my plans. We may have 2-3 adults splinter off and do something else at each stop. Any thoughts appreciated.

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• large groups should plan early to stay together.
  
• Marine and flight tours are the first to go.
  
• which ship are you on? For Glacier Bay cruisers, some offer small boat excursion to Tracy Arm. This popular excursion is always a sellout and must be booked early, especially for a large group.
  

[watchdiva]

I sure wouldn't wait until end of May to book your tours....we booked some of our tours 10 months before out May 2016 sailing! The popular tours tend to book up very quickly! I would present the group with ideas NOW via email and get your tours booked asap...

 

 

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[DougH]

With a group that large I'd book as early as you can. A lot of the tours have a fixed capacity and don' have the ability to add more if needed. Booking thru the cruise line they may be able to handle a larger group but for the independents a group of 11 would be very tough to accommodate unless you talk to them early.

 

Popular tours anywhere fill up fast. When I booked a very popular penguin tour down in the Falkland Islands it was filled 18 months before the cruise.

[Alaskanb]

My advice is to e-mail any vendor you are interested in using and ask about availability for your group. As up to 4 ships can be in port at any time (maybe about 9,000 + people!) you may be limited in your options. Our excursions with independent vendors were booked a year in advance. Also check ship tours for your group size...

[TheCalicoCat]

We are a group of 11 going on an Alaska cruise in mid-July. I am the main vacation planner, the only woman in the group. All the men are rather lackadaisical about planning.

 

We are all planning to get together memorial day weekend to plan and pick excursions. Will that be too late?

 

Depends on the excursions.

 

The train has a long line for those who did not get their tickets on the ship - but I doubt that it sells out. We travelled with a 4.5 year old & chose a private car excursion instead of the train. The driver stopped whenever we wanted & we could stop for as long or as short as we wanted.

 

Should I start badgering them now?

 

Yes.

 

Since we are a large group, I am hoping to book private tours at most of our stops - Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau.

 

I answered in the question. I can speak to all of your plans, because we made different decisions.

For our 2017 cruise to AK, I have already started booking excursions for my son & myself.

Edited March 21, 2016 by TheCalicoCat

[Tricia724]

We will be in Ketchikan on September 15, and yesterday we sent an email requesting space on a flight to Misty Fjords. Today we received a reply. There are two spaces left on each of two flights that fit our time frame. So almost six months out, four seats are available. As others have stated, the most popular excursions (and the most popular vendors) fill up quickly.

 

I don't know how early Deadliest Catch fills up, but we did that one the last time we toured Alaska, and they had a full boat, and that was also in September. If you are planning to take some of the kids on that excursion, they would have a good time. The guys are great with kids.

 

You don't say which cruiseline you're sailing, but if it's Princess or a cruise line that doesn't make you pay in advance for excursions (like HAL or Celebrity), you could possibly hold a reservation through the ship for your group for Deadliest Catch. I haven't checked the prices lately, but when we went, it was the same price booking through the ship or booking directly so I just booked with the ship. That may not be the case now....check to make sure.

 

This morning I looked at the cabins available on Coral Princess for our cruise in September and was shocked to see that there are only a handful of oceanview cabins and a couple of suites left. It looks like Alaska is a popular place this year, so I wouldn't wait until Memorial Day to book excursions.