Hi,

We're planning on joining family for a Seattle-Alaska cruise on Holland America in early summer. Others have picked the itinerary, but I still have some first-timer cruise questions I was hoping someone could help with--

1) when is the best time to buy? I have signed up for emails from HAL but so far our sailing doesn't seem to be included in the sales they are advertising. If we are not flexible in our sailing date is it better to buy sooner?

2) Is it better to buy direct from the line, or should we find a travel agent? (Normally we book travel ourselves, but will a travel agent have access to cheaper upgrades or anything like that?)

3) Is it better to buy our own airfare, or to arrange it through the cruise line? If we arrange it ourselves, how much time do we need to leave to get off the ship? (We will be in Seattle for a few days before the trip, but the ship is scheduled to dock at 7 am on the return and we'll want to fly home that morning).

Any other advice or tips for a first-time cruiser? Maybe on meals? Based on some preliminary research, and the fact that we are planning to have an elementary-aged child with us, we are leaning towards getting the superior verandah suite on the theory it will be worth it to have some space for all of us-- thoughts?

thanks for any advice!

1. If you don't have a lot of flexibility, the sooner the better to buy.

2. Booking through the cruise line guarantees that you will pay the highest possible rate for your cruise. Try http://www.cruisecompete.com. Here you pick a cruise, and agents compete to offer you the best deal. Agents holding discounted group space on the sailing you want can easily find your request and really save you serious $$.

3. Book air directly. Kayak.com is where I always start--best interface, widest range of airline info.

Good luck!

Get a local travel agent who has cruise experience. They will monitor the situation and potentionally save you some cash. I've never felt comfortable with the lowest price possible ignoring all other considerations.Of course you don't want to be taken advantage of, but it is a big expense and you need to enjoy it.
We have booked superior verandah suites twice (for 3 adults) and highly recommend it. Good space, balconey, etc. Careful though. On one trip we were a deck below the Lido Deck and there some episodes of noise. Not enough to be a big problem. We booked on a later cruise on, I believe Deck 6 and it was better.
Airfare is always a problem. Cruise fares are expensive and you can't use frequent flier miles. On the other hand, it is the cruise lines responsibility to get you to the ship.

We did the Seattle return trip inside passage on the Golden Princess this past September. One of the HAL ships had the same itinerary and followed us all the way.

We spent 3 days before the cruise in Seattle and 1 1/2 days after the cruise.

We booked in November, 2010 for our September, 2011 cruise. Book as early as possible. The suites and balcony cabins sell out quick.

Get a good TA that knows about cruises. I'm be happy to provide you with mine if you want. The know the best information, prices and can provide you with a few perks.

Book your own air. We flew Southwest on rewards tickets. Our ship also docked at 7am. We got a departure packet in our room 2 nights before the cruise ended where we could request what time we would like to get off the ship. We could opt to take our own luggage off the ship as soon as it was cleared for disembarktion or specify a specific time based on what time the air departed. It did not matter to us as we were staying the night, so they automatically provided our departure time. We got off at 9:30am.

If you want to leave that day, just book air after 12pm. Unfortunately, for us, we couldn't as SW only had a 9am flight to our home airport, which is why we had to spend the night.

Once you book your cruise, then go to the cruise lines web-site and book any excursions you want to take from the ship ASAP. We found that people who waited until closer to the cruise departure date that either they were sold out or Princess significantly raised the prices. If you want to book independant, same thing. Independants, have less space and sell out even faster.

I agree with booking your flight for after 12 noon. Even though you dock at 7 a it could be several hours until you actually disembark. Have fun, Alaska is beautiful!

Thanks for the tips, all!

Cruisecompete looks like a great option, but KVR if you have a TA you'd recommend for cruises I'd be happy to try that too (I actually miss being able to call TAs, seems hard to find one worth using, at least for non-cruise travel).

Aristotle, thanks for the cabin feedback too.

Doh, send me an e-mail. Click on my sign on name to get to my profile and my e-mail address is listed.

thanks for info on cruise compete. Will check into tht as well....

Thanks--this will be our first cruise too & just registered with the cruisecompete link. The travel agent who is booking the trip didn't offer us anything & costco.com is reducing the things it originally offered, but at least now has balconies available. We're not sure if we do or don't want a balcony.