Alaska
Apr 30th, 2011, 08:46 AM
#4
Join Date: Jun 2006
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We, too, booked with Holland America about a month prior to our cruise and got a really great rate including our airfare. We did the land tour first, then boarded our ship in Seward and docked back in Vancouver.
It is still early if you aren't going until August but sometimes it's the luck of the draw and especially w/ air these days. If you are a repeat cruiser w/ the cruise ships, then sometimes you will get a better deal booking directly w/ them. Not always the case though, I have found.
One other piece of advice if you are booking a land tour. We booked our land tour for only 3 days and wished we had booked longer. It is very rushed if you only have 3 days as a good portion of the day is being transported from one destination to another. I would suggest that you have at least two days per stop. E.G. We flew to Fairbanks and arrived there 8 pm so only went to bed and left the next morning on the train to Denali. We should have allowed 2 days in Fairbanks just to unwind and get over the jet lag. Same w/ Denali, we only had one overnight so did not get to relax. We did an 8 hr. tour into Denali and left at noontime the next day for Anchorage. The distances between points is further than you think. We shortchanged ourselves and would really suggest you book the extra days.
Seeing Denali is simply amazing and people who do not visit there are really missing seeing the best part of Alaska.
It is still early if you aren't going until August but sometimes it's the luck of the draw and especially w/ air these days. If you are a repeat cruiser w/ the cruise ships, then sometimes you will get a better deal booking directly w/ them. Not always the case though, I have found.
One other piece of advice if you are booking a land tour. We booked our land tour for only 3 days and wished we had booked longer. It is very rushed if you only have 3 days as a good portion of the day is being transported from one destination to another. I would suggest that you have at least two days per stop. E.G. We flew to Fairbanks and arrived there 8 pm so only went to bed and left the next morning on the train to Denali. We should have allowed 2 days in Fairbanks just to unwind and get over the jet lag. Same w/ Denali, we only had one overnight so did not get to relax. We did an 8 hr. tour into Denali and left at noontime the next day for Anchorage. The distances between points is further than you think. We shortchanged ourselves and would really suggest you book the extra days.
Seeing Denali is simply amazing and people who do not visit there are really missing seeing the best part of Alaska.
