What do most people spend

[PK4SC]

on an Alaska cruise/tour. I am planning a seven day independent land tour followed by a cruise on the Island Princess and figure I am spending in excess of 7K. Is that overboard for the first trip or about average? I can think of nothing else now that I have this great trip to AK planned. 117 days to go! Just wondering if I am going overboard or does that sound about right for two people. Thanks for your feedback.

[judyf]

I have no idea as this is my first trip to Alaska, have been to Caribbean many many times and also Mexico and Hawaii and this is the most expensive cruise I have ever been on. Now we are getting a balcony this time and most of the time I go cheap with an inside to have more money to cruise more.

 

Just the cruise 7 days, air from NY to Seattle, hotel for pre cruise and only 2 tours in Alaska port is already up to $5,000 for two. And that's getting bargins, I used a discount online company to book cruise, hotwire for air and hotel and booked private tours not through the cruise line.

 

 

Hope this helps you some.

[rubytue]

We are at $2500: cruise for two, airfare from east coast to seattle, fishing in ketchikan, kayaking in juneau, and wilfelife boat in Sitka. Victoria we will do on our own, and pre- & post-cruise lodging/transportation is with local family. But we have a cheapy OV cabin, are flying AirTran, and won't have a land tour on top of that. :)

[c-cruise]

Our Alaska trip this August is running about $3500 for the 3 of us. Airfare from SEA-ANC, two nights in Anchorage, rental car, mini-suite on Island Princess, train back to Seattle. Saving money and not doing excursions this time though as we have done Alaska several times before.

[chachi]

I am also taking my first trip to Alaska this summer. I am only doing the cruise, and I am going alone. Just for airfare, the cruise, and the excursions I have already spent about $2800. So if you have a whole other week, that doesn't seem so bad. It is expensive though. Since I booked the cruise I also have been buying fleece, binoculars, books. I just keep spending. I figure that this is probably my only trip to Alaska since I prefer to travel to different destinations, I might as well do it all the way.

[cbowler]

I think you'll find people all over the map on this one.

 

Our cruise + independent land tour is actually a fair bit more than that. But, we are doing expensive excursions both on the cruise and on the land tour and got a mini-suite for the cruise. Definitely not our typical vacation but it's long over due, is without the 2 kids, but we have used coupons and/or discounts. We knew what we wanted to do, that it would be expensive, and have planned accordingly for the last year.

 

You can do it cheaply if you want. My last time there, we camped, made our own low budget (and I mean LOW) meals and did free or little cost activities. Not counting gas for the car, I think I did 1.5 weeks for around $400-$500.

 

It's all about your budget and priorities. You only have what you have $$$ wise so you have to figure out what is important. Is it a nice cabin on the cruise? expensive excursions? a non-stop flight? Peak travel times? a low-budget trip?

 

Some things were important to us and others were not. I say, know your budget, do your research, and in the end you'll probably have a delightful trip.

[NancyIL]

My husband and I did a one-way cruise in 2007, followed by an independent land trip for 9 days. We used frequent-flyer miles for our plane tickets, and had some free hotel nights in Vancouver (1 night), Seward (2 nights), and Anchorage (1 night). We had the least expensive cabin available on the Coral Princess, and our cost for 2 people was $6748.93.

[Paumavista]

A family of 4......flying from the East Coast to Anchorage/return from Seattle ($2000) - tickets bought months ago.

A lower level balcony cabin (2) and an interior (2) - $2500

A few days on land before the cruise w/car & condo to cook our own meals ($200/nite & $300 rental car & train to whittier = $1500

We are renting a car for private touring at all 3 ports & in Vancouver we'll drive to Seattle to catch the plane - car rental = $500

At $6500 we haven't even arrived.....we haven't eaten one meal, put gas in the cars or bought anything; and we haven't taken even a single "tour" or excursion.

Geez......I hate thinking about it.....but you all say it's worth it!! LOL....Hope the weathers nice!

[PK4SC]

It will be a load of fun and another thought is that it is adding to the economic stimulus too. At least in AK. We can hardly wait for out trip. No regrets at all.:D

[Loves to dance]

We are at $1650- using frequent flier miles to get up to Anchorage, free hotel in Anchorage, train to Seward, cheap OV cabin (including gratuities, taxes, and port charges), getting a free ride in Vancouver to the airport.

 

By preference, we have decided to get off on our own and do hikes, not tours. So our port costs should be limited to a few cab rides to trail heads, maybe a couple of lunches, maybe a car rental for the day in Haines. This has the advantage of being inexpensive, but we really, really love hiking and solitude, so this should make us very happy.

 

We are hoping to keep it down to $2000 all total for the week. We have $150 of on board credit and we don't drink much, which should help. :)

 

But I agree that there is going to be a huge variation in what is "right" for each family and the key is knowing what budget you are comfortable with, and what excursions/ cabin will make you really happy and feel satisfied with your trip. We hope to also have another family trip to go camping in Sequoia NP later in the summer. By keeping our costs down on this trip, it will allow us to have two during a summer when I feel fortunate to have the money to do even one trip. This was more important to me than having a balcony or flightseeing on the trip to Alaska.

[Flogblogger]

Alaska travel typically runs $100-200 pp, plus air.

 

Is it 'worth' it? Depends how well you can 'afford' it.

 

It always amuses me to read the question 'is it worth it' without knowing an individual's circumstances. Others can provide the cost of a thing, but not its value.

[boingy300]

Air $2700

Hotel Vancouver -free

Cruise Jr. Suite - $4600 (Have $850 onboard credit)

Excursions on board $1600

Car $800 PLUS gas

Princess Kenai (Cooper Landing) 2 nights $358

Marriott $240/ night x 2 nights

Princess Denali $450 2 nights

Land excursions $450 Whitewater, Denali Tour $150, Bikes $80

Not accounted for land based meals, souvenirs and gas.

It comes in over $10,000.

These are our plans. Your plans/opinions may differ. And it's almost all paid for already, which feels GREAT!

Karen

[Budget Queen]

My last cruise/interior trip a few years ago, 19 days was $5500. I get inside cabins, stay in cheap B&B's, tiny rental cars. BUT this included 3 flights and all my "tours" which I never skimp on. Significant savings were had with coupon books. :)

[markntara]

We are at $1650- using frequent flier miles to get up to Anchorage, free hotel in Anchorage, train to Seward, cheap OV cabin (including gratuities, taxes, and port charges), getting a free ride in Vancouver to the airport.

 

We are hoping to keep it down to $2000 all total for the week.

But I agree that there is going to be a huge variation in what is "right" for each family.

 

I love it! Under 2K! We too are always seeking the best bang for our buck. We used frequent fyler miles from east coast, 1st day / night in Anchorage, train to Whittier, Aft balcony cabin upgraded for free, + military discount, then a 1 day sale netted us $240 in OBC. We just paid the cc bill for everything ... $1676.82.:)

[NancyIL]

There's more to the cost of an Alaskan cruise than cruise price, airfare, and excursions. Some things that people don't think to include in their estimates are travel insurance, airport parking, transportation between the airport and the hotel/ship, tips on the ship and to the excursion guides, souvenir shopping, and food eaten while in port. That doesn't include the miscellaneous spending many do on the ship for drinks, photos, gambling, and shopping.

 

My May 2009 cruise is a roundtrip from Seatle that was booked because it was so inexpensive. I am going with a friend, and this time I paid for airfare rather then use FF miles. We're spending 3 nights in Seattle pre-cruise and 1 night post-cruise, so I'll have Seattle sightseeing costs and meals. (I used hotel points for the pre-cruise hotel, and got the post-cruise SeaTac hotel on Priceline.) Adding up what I think I'll spend comes to about $1500 for 1 person for a 12-day/11-night trip.

[Shar Pei]

We are going on a cruisetour with RCCL. Arriving in Vancouver June 4 and leaving from Anchorage on June 18.

 

 

 

Cruisetour-$4400.00-aft balcony

Hotel in Vancouver-free (points)

Airfare from east-free (miles and a few bucks)

Excursions during cruise portion-$1300.00

-Harv and Marv

-True Alaskan Charter fishing

-Chilkoot Tours

-F.I.S.H.E.S

 

I have no idea on what we will spend on food and perhaps another excursion during our land tour. However, all transportation, hotels, TWT at Denali, a cruise and lunch at Fox island are also included. I think it is a pretty good deal! I am happy with it.

 

Hope everyone enjoys their trip!

 

Shar Pei

[JerseyJaguar]

on an Alaska cruise/tour. I am planning a seven day independent land tour followed by a cruise on the Island Princess and figure I am spending in excess of 7K. Is that overboard for the first trip or about average? I can think of nothing else now that I have this great trip to AK planned. 117 days to go! Just wondering if I am going overboard or does that sound about right for two people. Thanks for your feedback.

I started planning an extended trip to AK (11 days + SB cruise) after I returned from my RT cruise out of Seattle last year. I started out by seeing what the cruisetour prices were and where they went, then I decided the things I wanted to do the most when I got to AK. At that point my base price was about $10,000 (Air, cruisetour, excursions). Then I started checking how to do it independently and got tips about when to get airfare and ended up knocking about $4,000 off the base.

 

I have made a ton of spreadsheets, with lists of what I think I'll spend on food and where I'll get free meals (or meals included for a price), and every form of transportation I'll need including airport shuttles and taxis.

 

One of the things I did was make lots of hotel reservations I could cancel, so that when I found out the hotel I booked in Fairbanks was next to a strip club, I was able to change it to something a little nicer (and during that time the hotel I ended up with dropped in price from what it had originally been).

 

Anyway, all this is a long way to say, just be prepared. Know what you will need to spend money on so you won't be surprised, and don't worry, enjoy.

 

Oh, and make sure to bring twice as much memory or film than you think you'll need.

[PK4SC]

Alaska travel typically runs $100-200 pp, plus air.

 

Is it 'worth' it? Depends how well you can 'afford' it.

 

It always amuses me to read the question 'is it worth it' without knowing an individual's circumstances. Others can provide the cost of a thing, but not its value.

 

asking "is it worth it." That is entirely a personal thing and it is well worth even more to me. I was just curious what people tend to spend on a trip like this. Alaska seems to be expensive but I hear it is absolutely great. No regrets here.

[qiangf2]

first trip RT out of Seattle, inside cabin (they call stateroom :D), DIY for all excursions (i.e. rental cars). and did it within $2000. Of course, that does not count the new camcorder and binoculars we bought before the trip.

[JerseyJaguar]

Of course, that does not count the new camcorder and binoculars we bought before the trip.

Oh, let's not count the goodies like jackets and waterproof shoes and better cameras and netbooks etc. and so. That would up the price considerably.

[6fan]

2 years ago air and cat 8a on coral was 4700. This year cat 8f spirit and air was 2600 and well worth it. Excursions in Alaska are not cheap but they are well worth it

[Loves to dance]

Oh, let's not count the goodies like jackets and waterproof shoes and better cameras and netbooks etc. and so. That would up the price considerably.

 

Ah, this trip is a convenient excuse to finally buy some stuff that I have been wanting to get, but didn't absolutely need before now! :D That said, I am borrowing a bunch of stuff from my mom who lives outside of Seattle. Yep, even after they grow up and move out of the house, kids still borrow things!

[Manzy154]

My wife and I are taking a 10 day independent land tour including train to Denali flight to Brooks Falls at Katmai, Northwest Kenai Fjord, two nights at Copper River Princess, two nights at Grand Denali, Valdez, Talkeetna night, Skagway to Carcross rail tour and 7 day south bound Princess from Whittier to Vancouver, night in Vancouver and in Seattle with rental cars barely over 10,000.00 in July

[dhmom99]

we didn't spend any additional money on food or drink while on the ship. It can add up quickly.

[agabbymama]

We did an 11 day HAL cruisetour in Aug '07 and spent approx $6500 for two, (cruise, airfare, hotels, transportation, excursions, food and souvenirs) so your figure seems to be in that same ballpark figure, and you got 3 more days?

 

I'd say you have done good. Have a great trip!:p