Pricing GREAT right now for Alaska in May 2021

[Roger88]

I like it how cruiser companies are playing with prices with increasing demand for cruises for 2021-2022. In any case I wish everyone booking right now a safe trip. These ships are awesome guys, I always dreamed of going on one of those cruisers

[wolfie11]

On 5/7/2020 at 11:42 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

It's actually a very nice itinerary.

 

1	Seattle, Washington Departs at 4:00 PM
2	Cruising Day at sea
3	Juneau, Alaska From 12:00 PM - 8:30 PM
4	Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier, Alaska Sightseeing from 6:00 AM - 10:30 AM
4	Icy Strait Point, Alaska From 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
5	Sitka, Alaska From 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
6	Cruising Day at sea
7	Victoria, British Columbia From 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
8	Seattle, Washington Arrives at 7:00 AM

This is not a great itinerary for a 5000 pax ship.  You will be in the open ocean the first day and then again after you leave Icy Strait Point if you use Cross Sound, which is the shortest route to Sitka.  You arrive at Icy Strait Point at 5pm.  Assuming that the new dock is finished, you will disembark about a 1/2 mile from the cannery.  If not , you will have to tender.  Unless you are doing an excursion, there is very little to do at the cannery And less to do in the town of Hoonah (pop. 800), which is a mile or so away.  With an all aboard time of around 9pm, you will have four hours there.  Sitka is similar.  If you can fit on the dock, you will be 5 miles from town and have to use a shuttle bus to get there along with the 5000 other passengers who want to get to town.  If you can't get on the dock, you'll have to tender.  Both of these towns are great, but they are really not prepared for 5000 or more pax (depending on what other ships are in on that day).

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

16 hours ago, Jimbo said:

 

It's a 10 night cruise and is ideal for us, can't see flying across the whole country just to 7 nights but to each it's own, it may work for others, it may not just trying to show you there are other better options for a cruise only cruise to Alaska.

 

This is a one time sailing on Sapphire Princess, September 15, 2021.

 

Princess is King for Alaska !

 

Puppies in the Plaza!

[Ourusualbeach]

22 hours ago, Biker19 said:

What's really gonna suck is a year from now folks who Lift&Shifted (or book in the next 3 months) to your sailing will get price drops inside final, while you won't.

Why are you saying they won’t get price drops inside if final payment?

 

That applies to all cruises currently booked and those booked before Aug 1. 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Why are you saying they won’t get price drops inside if final payment?

 

That applies to all cruises currently booked and those booked before Aug 1. 

I thought the announcement said the price drop provision only applies to those L&S'ed and those booked after 5/6?

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I thought the announcement said the price drop provision only applies to those L&S'ed and those booked after 5/6?

There is no reference to “cruises booked after”. Everything is booked before Aug 1.

 

This more detailed explanation says “Stick with us” Implying they don’t want you to cancel existing reservations 

 

• NEW! Stick with us and your client is eligible to take advantage of our Best Price Guarantee up to 48- hours prior to their cruise vacation start date, ensuring the best rate and/or promotion. Price variances will result in a rate adjustment if requested outside of final payment or an Onboard Credit when inside final payment period.

 

1. As of May 6, 2020, Royal Caribbean’s “Cruise with Confidence” policy has been enhanced. What changes can be expected?
Adding a few new options to Royal Caribbean’s existing Cruise with Confidence policy, your clients can now choose the one that is most suitable to their scenario. To be eligible, the reservation must be an active booking (not previously cancelled) with no other cancellation offers previously accepted.

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Biker19]

35 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

There is no reference to “cruises booked after”. Everything is booked before Aug 1.

This should be easy enough to confirm- try to get a price drop now for a sailing inside final payment. 

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

This should be easy enough to confirm- try to get a price drop now for a sailing inside final payment. 

That would be a foolish thing to do right now if there’s a chance of the cruise being cancelled.  You would then get OBC for the difference and if the cruise was cancelled you may or may  not get that back and your refund or FCC would be based on a lower amount. 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Biker19]

35 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

That would be a foolish thing to do right now if there’s a chance of the cruise being cancelled.  

I meant just call to see what RCI says, not actually take the drop. 

[Jimbo]

6 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Puppies in the Plaza!

Is that a Lower Merion saying?

[MRRG]

There are also great prices on this itinerary on September 13, 2021.

[tortoisegirl]

18 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

This is not a great itinerary for a 5000 pax ship.  You will be in the open ocean the first day and then again after you leave Icy Strait Point if you use Cross Sound, which is the shortest route to Sitka.  You arrive at Icy Strait Point at 5pm.  Assuming that the new dock is finished, you will disembark about a 1/2 mile from the cannery.  If not , you will have to tender.  Unless you are doing an excursion, there is very little to do at the cannery And less to do in the town of Hoonah (pop. 800), which is a mile or so away.  With an all aboard time of around 9pm, you will have four hours there.  Sitka is similar.  If you can fit on the dock, you will be 5 miles from town and have to use a shuttle bus to get there along with the 5000 other passengers who want to get to town.  If you can't get on the dock, you'll have to tender.  Both of these towns are great, but they are really not prepared for 5000 or more pax (depending on what other ships are in on that day).

 

We were on the first Alaska cruise on Ovation in May 2019, an 11 night including Icy Strait Point and Sitka.  Agreed it was a lot of open ocean time, as any round trip Seattle cruise has, and not the best itinerary (it might actually be the worse I've seen), but it also has some pros as mentioned.  I thought I'd add that we docked in both ports.

The dock at Icy Strait Point was an easy walk to the cannery and then to Hoonah for able bodied folks (or else they had golf carts to & from the cannery and shuttle buses to & from Hoonah).  Agreed, there are few options there as its more of a village than a town or city.  We did a bear search (private) that left from the cannery, then got dropped off in town, but couldn't find any place to eat (only a few options and they were all out of food by then), so we walked back and went to a cannery area fish & chips place for a late lunch.  Agreed that with that short of a port time there will probably be very few excursion options.  However, just enjoying the scenery and taking a walk along the nice path to & from Hoonah is a viable option, especially earlier in the season (by September it gets dark early).  I've heard whales are often seen from shore, although we didn't spot any.

The dock at Sitka was far away as you said, so the only option was the (free) shuttle buses.  Oddly enough we had zero wait on the way to town and about a 20 min wait on the way back.  I thought Sitka was well prepared for us, better than I expected for the first Ovation docking there.  Although I didn't find any excursions to pre-book that did exactly what we wanted, I planned out a route on a city shuttle bus (meant for locals) to the bear and raptor places, but even better, found a direct cheap bus option to book at the drop off point that I hadn't seen mentioned online.

[deliver42]

It makes no difference what cruise line, or how big the ship, any round trip from Seattle is going to be in the open ocean for part of the cruise. For a total inside passage, you have to go from Vancouver.