Alaska in 2007-Cruise

We are just in the planning stages of an Alaskan Cruise for 2007.

-What is the best time of year to go and what is the weather like?

-How far in advance should the trip be booked? Is it less expensive the further out we plan?

- We have ages from 40%26#39;s to 80%26#39;s, however all very active people. What cruise line would be the best that offers casual, mid-range pricing, 7 night cruise? Most have not been on a cruise before.

-Is there a significant savings getting only the cruise and not the airfare included? I have frequent flyer miles that can be used.

Thanks!

Alaska in 2007-Cruise

You%26#39;re likely to find great prices in May and September, but the weather can be quite chilly, if that%26#39;s a problem for you. You can expect to see rain on at least a couple of days whenever you travel; southeastern Alaska is a damp climate.

Best prices seem to be for early purchases or for late ones. But if the ship isn%26#39;t filling at the expected rate, companies will run specials at any moment. The price will vary greatly by date; sometimes, moving your trip one week will save significantly.

We took my parents and six other octogenarian, first-timers on a cruise a couple of years ago. We chose Holland America because their relatively large staterooms gave the elders more room to manuever and their relatively small number of passengers made the ship easier to negotiate. It%26#39;s a first-class company with great accomodations, attentative staff, accomodating captains (ours cut the engines for whale watching a couple of times), and excellent food; everyone had a wonderful time.

You will save significantly by booking your own air and your own pre-cruise hotels; however, you will also have to negotiate all of your own transfers. We probably saved about $400 per couple by booking those things ourselves. However, my wife and I were then responsible for helping everyone with ground transportation, luggage handling, etc. So yes, you will save. But I%26#39;m not sure that the savings are worth it when you become responsible for chaperoning eight octogenarians; next time, I might let the cruise line be the chaperone.

Alaska in 2007-Cruise

Just got back from a cruise with Holland America---

Weather wasn%26#39;t the greatest, rainy and foggy- but then the locals said this was the way it was all summer. We had a beautiful summer day in glacier Bay. From what I have heard the temperature doesn%26#39;t vary a ton. That being said--- the advantages of a September cruise.

Not as crowded, I think the ship was full, but there were only 2 ships in Alaska the last week of Sept, and there were sales everywhere, Merchants wanted to get rid of their tourist stuff. 4 dollars for a Alaskan t shirt, cool-- The towns were much more pleasant to be in because we were the only ship verus 4 being there the same time.

You can go right up to the John Hopkins glacier. The national park ranger who was on our boat the whole time in the park said that September is the only month you can go right up to the glacier because of the seels having babies and nursing. That was real nice being that close.

The rates were lower than summer, another plus

BAD-- September is also the time the ocean kicks it up a notch or two, the first day out from Seattle was bad, many people were sick. I have been on 5 cruises and never sick before this one. I guess the ocean gets rougher as the weather gets cooler. The ship that left from Vancouver did not have that problem (we saw them at one port) If you are traveling with kids, there weren%26#39;t many on in Sept.

I would recommend a Princess cruise (the sapphire princess is nice) from Vancouver to Whittier. If you want you can also add a lot of good land options to the package in towns like Juneau and Ketchikan. One I would recommend is in Whittier to take the 26 Glacier Crusie, best small boat cruise in Alaska. Princess is a very good company to use because they have so many land options. I would however recommend doing aifare on your own, you will save money. What airlines do you have frequent flyer miles through?...If it is northwest than you may want to check out their specials for cruises/flights using your frequent flyer miles on www.NWA.com, they have a lot of good deals going on usually.

I have to agree with Alaska Boat Man. We did a Princess cruise, aboard the Island Princess from Vancouver to Whittier. We sailed Sept. 4 and docked in Whittier a week later. We booked our cruise in February and our agent found us a great rate (she and her family take 2 to 3 Alaska cruises a year, so I think she probably has a pretty good idea). Our cruise was a family affair with our ages from 40 to mid-60s. Most of the other passengers were 50s and older.

Really no complaints about anything on board, everything was top notch. I%26#39;ve sailed different cruise lines and Princess was right up there with my favorite line Windstar.

We really only had one ';bad'; day and that was in Juneau. It POURED! Many of the glacier flight seeing/hiking excursions were canceled, but thank the powers that be, ours was one of the handful that made it. What an experience! The rest of the time we had drizzle or just cloudy skies. But nothing to make you want to stay on the ship and avoid the weather.

Our land excursions during the cruise were all wonderful, no complaints about any of them.

However, I would caution against booking a post or pre-cruise land package with the cruise line. That train ride is just not worth it. The tracks follow the road and you can stop when you want in a vehicle. We felt very rushed and didn%26#39;t get to explore places as indepth as we wanted. Denali is beyond words, but we were on a tight schedule and didn%26#39;t get to take full advantage of the park. As a result our return trip to Alaska (and believe me we will be back) will involve renting an RV and taking our sweet time.

The seas were rough twice during our trip. My guess would be getting closer to winter. One night we were in 20 foot seas. And believe me you felt it! But for the most part the seas were very calm.

Alaska is an amazing place and once you%26#39;ve been you%26#39;ll be itching to return.

Tahiti