Why are Alaska cruises so expensive?

[AAAAmerican]

On 3/20/2019 at 12:58 PM, geocruiser said:

Have you looked at HAL.  They have some good rates.  There is one that I am looking at for this year.

It is 21 days and starts at $1,299.  It sails in May and June.  Maybe they have it next year too.

 

Dear geocruiser,

 

TNX. On HAL what you posted which cruise is it at USD $1299 ?

[Colo Cruiser]

8 hours ago, flamomo said:

 

And even crossings aren't "cheap" any more! When I did my first TA, the fare, even as a solo, was a real deal. I was able to get an inside cabin for a little over $100/day.  Nowadays, with the  rise of increased popularity of TAs, they are far from cheap, and I would not even consider doing one as a solo cruiser in an inside cabin because those fares have at least doubled.

If you can wait until a few weeks prior they are still a really good deal.

The closer the better.

[geocruiser]

1 hour ago, AAAAmerican said:

Dear geocruiser,

 

TNX. On HAL what you posted which cruise is it at USD $1299 ?

21-Day Ultimate Alaska & Pacific Northwest Adventurer

SHIP MAASDAM

 

FROM$1,329PER PERSON

INSIDE

Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses are additional up to $631. View Pricing terms

DEPARTS

San Francisco, California, US
May 28, 2019

ARRIVES

San Francisco, California, US
Jun 18, 2019

[cflutist]

34 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

21-Day Ultimate Alaska & Pacific Northwest Adventurer

 

SHIP MAASDAM

 

FROM$1,329PER PERSON

INSIDE

Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses are additional up to $631. View Pricing terms

DEPARTS

San Francisco, California, US
May 28, 2019

ARRIVES

San Francisco, California, US
Jun 18, 2019

I had my eye on that itinerary but are doing this cruise instead that we booked after sailing with them to Antarctica (Alaska on steroids).

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by cflutist

[geocruiser]

Cheryl,

 

That is really a nice cruise that you are taking.  Enjoy and let us know how you liked it.

[matadams4u]

I have seen some good deals popping up lately including for Alaska.  Prices have been dropping for May/June cruise on both Princess and Celebrity.  I suspect bookings are dropping - the economist in me is seeing signs of a worldwide slow down - vegas bookings are down, FedEx is seeing a drop, and cruise prices are starting to drop (also more casino offers and I don’t gamble much).  My sense is there will be some decent deals to be had over the next year if you have flexibility and track your options.  I’m hoping for a deal in July or August to Alaska and those are rare.  As a back up a Trans Pacific on Celebrity.

[drpack]

I just booked an Alaska cruise on the Royal in May (65 days from cruise). There were at least several hundred available cabins. I saw as many as a dozen Mini Suites in a row that were still available. I live in Florida where I've never had to fly or even pay for transfers to take a cruise. Those two items were a sticker shock for me. The cost of the flights, hotel and transfers were about the same as the cost for the cruise.

[frugaltravel]

On 3/20/2019 at 11:56 PM, Thrak said:

 

Apparently you have only seen Alaska from a cruise ship.

And not getting off at a port like Juneau and walking up Franklin Street.  I for one am glad that their soup kitchen is right there on Franklin Street in plain sight of the tourists.  Then not to mention the poverty and homelessness one sees all the time in Anchorage.

 

[Coral]

1 hour ago, drpack said:

I live in Florida where I've never had to fly or even pay for transfers to take a cruise. Those two items were a sticker shock for me. The cost of the flights, hotel and transfers were about the same as the cost for the cruise.

Welcome to many of our worlds. My air, hotels and transfers usually are more expensive than the cruise. Air can be a killer.

[58Piano]

I am sure the cost of food on a ship in alaska is much higher also

[Coral]

14 minutes ago, 58Piano said:

I am sure the cost of food on a ship in alaska is much higher also

Most food is loaded in Seattle and Vancouver (and technically SFO as they have cruises leave from there). There is seafood loaded in Ketchikan. 

 

I have never seen food loaded in Whittier, AK.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, Coral said:

Most food is loaded in Seattle and Vancouver (and technically SFO as they have cruises leave from there). There is seafood loaded in Ketchikan. 

 

I have never seen food loaded in Whittier, AK.

 

They sometimes do load fresh salmon in some Alaska ports.

[Coral]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

They sometimes do load fresh salmon in some Alaska ports.

I did mention seafood is loaded in Ketchikan and that is probably where they would load salmon.

 

You just don't see the large amounts of food loaded in these ports like you do in Vancouver or Seattle.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Coral

[MoyCoy]

On 3/24/2019 at 6:25 AM, drpack said:

I just booked an Alaska cruise on the Royal in May (65 days from cruise). There were at least several hundred available cabins. I saw as many as a dozen Mini Suites in a row that were still available. I live in Florida where I've never had to fly or even pay for transfers to take a cruise. Those two items were a sticker shock for me. The cost of the flights, hotel and transfers were about the same as the cost for the cruise.

We fly to Florida from Seattle for the awesome big ships that will never sail the PNW. I totally feel your pain!!!

 We are seeing prices for Alaska fall too. We may try a last minute Alaska with the kids next year. We are already sailing the Royal to Mexico in 28 days. Or I would snag a Alaska deal this year.  I wonder if all the new ships are bringing more competition and therefore better last minute deals. I looked at booking Alaska 1 year in advance.  The prices are still quite high, especially on the newer ships!

[Thrak]

If you want Alaska sticker shock try booking the connoisseur cruise tours. The cost of those will definitely grab your attention - especially the longer ones.

[tourismtessy]

15 minutes ago, Thrak said:

If you want Alaska sticker shock try booking the connoisseur cruise tours. The cost of those will definitely grab your attention - especially the longer ones.

I saw those in the Alaska online brochure.  Definitely out of our league.

[Thrak]

21 minutes ago, tourismtessy said:

I saw those in the Alaska online brochure.  Definitely out of our league.

 

Love them. 😎 They definitely aren't cheap but we did a 13 day a few years ago - 2 days at Denali Lodge and 2 days at McKinley Lodge - and are booked for a 15 day in May. 2 days at Denali Lodge, 2 days at Kenai Lodge, and 2 days at Copper River Lodge. There are two somewhat grueling days of travel as those last two lodges  are pretty far but we want to visit them both. I booked an inside cabin for the 7 days from Alaska to Vancouver in an attempt to shave at least a little off of the price. The connoisseur cruise tours are nice as everything is handled for you and also some excursions and most meals are included.

 

Our first cruise was the 10 day round trip out of San Francisco. Later we did the 13 day connoisseur cruise tour and then did a 7 week camping trip that took us all the way up to Fairbanks. Now we're going back for the 15 day connoisseur cruise tour. We like Alaska. 😍

[DrivesLikeMario]

I feel your pain, OP.  Our Canada/NE cruise was more than double the cost of our Caribbean cruise on the same ship in a lesser category cabin.

[jangor]

On 3/21/2019 at 8:50 AM, elliair said:

We didn't see it in the outback on fishing expeditions.  Ever been on one Thrak?  You don't see poverty in Alaska like we see it in the Caribbean.  Heck even Hawaii is getting a bad reputation now with all the homeless wandering around.  We look at prices, but that isn't the only factor we look at when booking a cruise.  We won't do the Fiji Islands again.  Sydney was fine for 4 days of sightseeing, but they have their share of problems as well.  No where is Shang-ra-la.  Get on the ship or stay at home, it's called the free market industry.  BTW, we saw plenty of poverty on our Panama Canal cruise, that's not a cheap cruise either.

You won't see poverty on a fishing expedition either.  My brother-in-law is a priest in Sitka, Alaska.  If you do not believe there is poverty in Alaska , look him up.  He will open your eyes to the overwhelming poverty, especially above the Arctic Circle, as well as in Fairbanks, Juneau and other parts of Alaska.  The poverty in some areas is overwhelming, especially in the outback.  The Caribbean is more populated, thus more poverty, but not per capita.

[bemis12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_poverty_rate

 

Poverty is SUBSTANTIALLY worse by every measure in the Caribbean as compared to Alaska, your brother's observations notwithstanding.

[donaldsc]

The answer should be obvious - because they can get it.  When they find that they are not filling the ships, they will either lower the fares or move ships to other locations where they can make money. If they do option 2, capacity will be reduced and the fares will stay up.  That is Econ101.

 

DON

[donaldsc]

On 3/23/2019 at 2:40 PM, cflutist said:

I had my eye on that itinerary but are doing this cruise instead that we booked after sailing with them to Antarctica (Alaska on steroids).

 

 

 

 

I am SO jealous.

 

DON

[cflutist]

14 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

I am SO jealous.

 

DON

 

We have sailed to Alaska visiting the usual ports 8 times now, 1 RCCL, 7 Princess,  and thought we would do something different. Sailing to Antarctica on Silversea really spoiled us.

[toads45froggy]

2 hours ago, bemis12 said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_poverty_rate

 

Poverty is SUBSTANTIALLY worse by every measure in the Caribbean as compared to Alaska, your brother's observations notwithstanding.

 

Does that include the first nations?

[richmke]

Today, Alaska is cheaper. The cheapest 7-day Caribbean cruise on Princess is Dec 1, 2019 $569 inside, $699 balcony. The cheapest 7-day Alaska cruise is Aug 31, 2019 $427 inside, $607 ocean view. 
 

It is a matter of supply and demand. If you need a specific date, then book in advance, and hope for a sale. If you are flexible, then wait for last minute sales. I think $427 for Alaska is about as cheap as the Caribbean gets.

 

FYI: Right now, May 2020 for Alaska is $659 interior, and Caribbean is $699 interior. So, you could say that the Caribbean is more expensive than Alaska. However, a balcony on those same dates is 50% more expensive in Alaska. The main reason for that is that people are willing to pay for the view on Alaska Cruises, and not Caribbean Cruises.

Edited July 23, 2019 by richmke