Late September Excursion Question

[ceb65]

Ok,  lets pretend all will be normal by September. I am booked on an end of September Cruise on NCL Bliss. When I look at excursions available through outside vendors, they all seem to end mid-September. Of course the same excursions are available to book on the ship and much higher prices. Does anyone know if vendors will add more dates since the ships are sailing into October? Or should I plan on booking through the ship? I did find a whale watching excursion forJuneau, but nothing yet for Skagway or Ketchikan. Thanks.

[darwinsrule]

Guess you should define what you consider to be 'normal'.  We have Koningsdam booked for August 29th, final payment isn't due to May 31st so we are in a wait and see holding pattern. Anticipate things will be running by that point, but normal?  Not even close to normal.  Problem I see is that there are a lot of people who go up to work the tourist season, do they go for a part season?  Is it financially worth it to them?  I doubt we will have answers for our PIF date, at that point we need to make a decision, but we will make a decision based upon what facts we have.  By the middle of June you should have an idea as to what the season is going to look like.  Think we are all going to have our fingers crossed. 

[ceb65]

Actually, I am looking for someone who has cruised alaska in late September over the past couple years, that has booked late season excursions, or lives in Alaska. As I know that things should be up and running by then. I am wondering if as the season seems to be stretching into October, if most of the tour operators are staying open later in the season or if I should just plan on booking through NCL.

[aurora_borealis]

I think a lot of tour operators won't be operating at all. No staff.

 

Late season has always had issues due to college students who work up during main season to start with. But the number of people who only come up for season who won't be coming up at all will cripple excursions for whatever part of the season even happens.

[mapleleaves]

Which excursions ?

Some vendors will close down because their help has gone back to college.  And some excursions, like heli dog sledding, will end because the snow at their base camp has melted away by mid Aug or Sept.   And some vendors just want to clean up, close up, and head to their winter home in Mexico or Hawaii.

There are reasons why shoulder-season cruises are cheaper .....

 

 

[donaldsc]

On 3/13/2020 at 5:26 PM, ceb65 said:

Actually, I am looking for someone who has cruised alaska in late September over the past couple years, that has booked late season excursions, or lives in Alaska. As I know that things should be up and running by then. I am wondering if as the season seems to be stretching into October, if most of the tour operators are staying open later in the season or if I should just plan on booking through NCL.

 

NCL uses the same tour operators as you will use if you book your tours independently.  If there are no in independent tours, there are also likely to be no ship tours.

 

DON

[ceb65]

6 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

NCL uses the same tour operators as you will use if you book your tours independently.  If there are no in independent tours, there are also likely to be no ship tours.

 

DON

Yes, I do realize they use the same tour operators, but I have know way of knowing which ones they use. I don't think that NCL would offer 2 late season cruises and offer over 100 excursions, if there were no tour operators to provide them. Most operators including the White Pass Railroad only off booking options until mid-September, so I was wondering if as it gets closer to the cruise date, if they will add more dates. I was hoping other people that have taken late season cruises, maybe would have answer.

[ceb65]

On 3/13/2020 at 7:42 PM, darwinsrule said:

Guess you should define what you consider to be 'normal'.  We have Koningsdam booked for August 29th, final payment isn't due to May 31st so we are in a wait and see holding pattern. Anticipate things will be running by that point, but normal?  Not even close to normal.  Problem I see is that there are a lot of people who go up to work the tourist season, do they go for a part season?  Is it financially worth it to them?  I doubt we will have answers for our PIF date, at that point we need to make a decision, but we will make a decision based upon what facts we have.  By the middle of June you should have an idea as to what the season is going to look like.  Think we are all going to have our fingers crossed. 

 

Thank you, but not what I was asking. I booked this cruise last year, and the excursion dates online end in mid-september, but there are still two more cruises after that, and there are many excursions offered by the cruiseline for this cruise. I do realize that it is anyones guess, if there will even be a cruise season, but unless it gets cancelled, I will still continue to plan for it.  My question was geared towards people who have taken the last cruise of the season in the past.

[GrayStarling]

On 3/15/2020 at 8:34 AM, donaldsc said:

 

NCL uses the same tour operators as you will use if you book your tours independently.  If there are no in independent tours, there are also likely to be no ship tours.

 

DON

This isn't necessarily true. A lot of shore excursion companies in Alaska, including the one I work for, have a contract with the ships that means we are not allowed to sell excursions independently unless there is space available; the ship gets first dibs on our seats, and we can book independently on the day of the excursion only.