Leslie

I have the impression that a one-way cruise to Alaska is best as you can see more, but I'm finding outrageously high airfares one-way between the starting and ending point of the cruise (July 29 - Aug 5. We are a family of four.<BR><BR>Does anyone have a strategy for this? Is there a train perhaps? Car rental? How long is the drive? HELP!

andrzej

Hi Leslie,<BR>There might be other options available, but the most obvious one is to call the cruise line and inquire about their rates. They usually have a deal with the airlines, and in this case it might be your best bet. After all I don't see Anchorage as a hub for many airlines.<BR>Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

andrzej

One more thing....<BR>The drive is a little over 2000 miles, so I don't thing it's a good option, unless you want to add few more days to your vacation.

John

No train, and car rental companies won't let you take their cars down the Alaska Highway. BTW, it's about a 5 day drive.<BR><BR>The solution is an "open jaw" air reservation, bookable through any travel agent or online using Travelocity's or Expedia's "multiple stop" options (or similar methods on other web sites.) "Open jaw" means flying to one destination (Vancouver or Seattle, say) and returning home from another. Try to use the same airline for both legs. Airlines typically charge around one-half the round trip fare between your starting point and the destination for each leg, which in the case of Anchorage will be a higher "half" than the Vancouver or Seattle "half," but still way cheaper than a one-way fare.<BR><BR>I believe all the cruises which start or end in Seward use Vancouver as their other terminus, due to legal restrictions on ports of call (the Jones Act.) From the US, Vancouver is often more expensive to fly to than Seattle, so you may save money by flying to Seattle, renting a car one-way to Vancouver, then catching the cruise, or vice versa if you start in Alaska. Check out the impact on one of the online booking services by reserving "imaginary" trips via Seattle or Vancouver, then mentally add around $150 for the rental car.

Paul Therault

<BR>Oh for heaven's sake, buy the cruise line air. You are going on vacation not shopping for a TV.<BR><BR>Paul

John

Paul, I just did a little imaginary exploring and found, for example, if one is traveling from, say, Chicago, that Celebrity (don't know Leslie's actual plans) charges $759 per person for the air on a one-way cruise (Cat. 12), Chicago to Vancouver and back from Anchorage, or vice versa. Obviously the fare will be different from other origins.<BR><BR>A quick check on Expedia shows an open-jaw fare, both legs nonstop on United, mid-August, at $423. That's a difference of $336 per person. Leslie said they're a family of four. That makes the total difference $1,344.00.<BR><BR>No, they're not shopping for a TV. Maybe they're shopping for a home theater.

Leslie

Thank you to those who provided helpful replies. I was exploring the one-way transportation costs because I had already researched open jaw tickets LA to Anchorage and home from Vancouver(cheapest is $654 each X family of 4)... The air add-on through the cruise companies is $519 each which still makes this trip unaffordable for us. <BR><BR>John, thank you, in particular, for your thoughtful reply. Paul, I really don't understand your snide response. In the past I had observed your responses to be helpful and your critics to be unkind. I guess for you money is no object and therefore shopping for price isn't a concern. But for us it is. I'm just glad you're not my travel agent.

Theresa

Leslie,<BR><BR>I choose RT from Vancouver because I knew air would be expensive if I did the other route.<BR><BR>I know the one way cruise to Alaska is better but I couldn't afford the air.

Paul Therault

<BR><BR>Sorry I was so blunt Leslie. What I was attempting to say is that why all the hassle when you are on vacation? Andrez and John explained in the two posts before me. Just purchase the cruise line air and you have peace-of-mind.<BR><BR>One has to do quite a bit of research to get to the ship from the airport or vice-versa. No matter how you do it, it is quite a bit of money. Again, why go through all this nonsense when just about all cruise lines include round trip transfers in the price of the air.<BR><BR>Now with cruise line air going from say the East coast at $500 + tax round trip with transfers included - one has a bargain.<BR><BR>I just can not see spending hours and hours on the net searching for the best price and then spending additional hours attempting to find a cheap way to the ship. To save what?<BR><BR>Again, you're on vacation. The few dollars you might save searching the net you will probably spend purchasing trinkets for friends and relatives who would problably say "oh, how nice" and put it in the closet.<BR><BR>Although an Alaskan vacation may be a tad more expensive (depending on the cruise line) if it is a trip of a lifetime, make sure you do it the right way. <BR><BR>The real right way is to talk to a travel agent who is an Alaskan cruise expert. One that has been to Alaska a few times.<BR><BR>Enjoy,<BR><BR>Paul<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Leslie

Paul - thank you for clarifying. For me, time spent on the net is well worth savings I typically find.<BR><BR>I do know the convenience (and security) factor of using the cruiselines air option. But, whenever I researched this in the past for Caribbean cruises I always found the cruiseline's airfare to be higher (by alot, multiplied by 4 for our family)than what I could get independently. My travel budget is finite.

Paul Therault

<BR>Hi Leslie,<BR><BR>Yes, it certainly costs quite a bit of money to get to the Caribbean from the West coast and the cruise line air prices are extremely expensive but you do have to realize they do give you a complimentary overnight hotel (deluxe) so you are sure to make the ship. But even if you factor in the hotel and transfers on your own it would still probably be less to do it on your own.<BR><BR>Did you try your local travel agents? Call a few. There are plenty of regional air promotions this year. I do not see the West regionals here on the East coast.<BR>Don't give up yet. Many ships in Alaska this year and they have to fill them.<BR><BR>Paul

Patty

Leslie,<BR><BR>Unless you're planning to tour Alaska before or after your cruise, why not consider a roundtrip Vancouver or Seattle cruise? You should be able to get airfare from LA for much less than the Vancouver/Anchorage option. The scenery is still beautiful and the ports are the same. I would rather do the roundtrip cruise than no cruise at all.

ach

Have you checked Alaska Air flights between Anchorage and Seattle? Their one way flights usually start around $250. It easy to get between Seattle and Vancouver.