bashawik

We want to do the inside passage in August, but have never been on a cruise. I've been checking different cruise line's websites and the choices are confusing! Has anyone used a travel agent or online booking like Expedia? Or is it best to keep slogging thru the cruise line's sites?

cawhite

Hi there. I just booked our first cruise too. I found cruisecritic.com to be a great source for reading about the various destinations and reviews of the various cruise lines and particular ships, etc. Then once you know which particular cruise you want you can start searching the discount places (vacationstogo.com, etc.). After you have an idea of prices you can go to cruisecompete.com and various cruise companies will get back to you with quotes. The prices on that site are good. I booked ours through Costco Travel (look at Costco.com for their phone number) and thought they had pretty much the lowest prices overall (one or two quotes from cruisecompete.com came in a few dollars lower, as I got prices on quite a few cruises), but I still went with Costco.

BudgetQueen

If you want Inside Passage then you need Vancouver. You will then need to decide if you want one way or round trip. A big consideration for this is TIME, I never recommend a one way cruise without investing another week for interior touring. Take advantage of being all the way there. You will then need to look at several factors, route, time in ports, ports, glacier , price. Then select the ship. You will make choices better for you if you do your homework, TA's may not know the small differences in Alaska cruising listed above.

PumpkinEater

I would second cruiscritic. Once you've narrowed it down to one or two cruises, go to cruisecompete.com and a dozen or so agencies will get back to you with prices.

Peter

travelinwifey

I second the cruise compete suggestion, also call cruises-n-more.com and get a quote by speaking to an agent, the travel agency buys blocks of rooms and sometimes offers cabin credit in addition to their lowest online rate. Expedia is competitive, you will find better prices elsewhere. If you book through the cruise line you will be paying rack rate. If you choose a RCCL ship online travel agencies are now rebating Mastercard gift cards.

jam35

You can do an inside passage with rountrip from Seattle. There are a couple of lines to choose from including Norwegian and Princess. My favorite cruise site is [email protected]! They will be more than helpful with any questions you may have plus searching the archives is also useful.

bashawik

Wow, lots of good advice! We'll do a one-way cruise, I'm not sure of the starting city but we'll end in Vancouver or Seattle. I'll check into your suggestions, thanks! It's confusing for a first-timer.

gopack

As a general booking question, do online companies like Expedia and Travelocity have access to only certain blocks or numbers of cabins?

A friend of mine wants to go on an RCCL Med cruise in June and when she looked at the cruise using these 2 sites, it said all the cabins were booked except a couple of inside cabins.

I checked on the RCCL site today and it says there are ocean view cabins available on the same cruise. I advised her to call a cruise specialist who may have access to more cabins than Expedia would have.

How does it work? Do travel agents have access to all the cabins? Just wondering.

Ginny

Crowsie

I would definitely use a travel agent.
Cruising has alot of detail that first-timers aren't aware of..and only a good travel agent would be able to help you navigate through it all.
There's tons and tons of choices for Alaska cruising..and you're right..it's very difficult to get your arms around all of it.
Airfares can be very expensive for one way cruises, too. The flight schedules can be exhausting and lots of folks like to fly in early before a cruise.
Lots of things to consider and there will be plenty of questions that you won't even know to ask!
If you plan on doing the land tour..there's another whole set of options to choose from.
Also..a travel agent can help you with travel insurance...which IMHO is a very good idea as Alaska cruising can also be some of the most expensive.

gopack

Nevermind my previous post in this thread about Expedia and Travelocity!!!!

I found out that Expedia DOES show available balcony and ocean view cabins for my friend's cruise. She told me they were not showing as available but they were. DAH!!

Apparently Expedia does have access to these cabins as well as other sites have.

But I still kind of wonder if certain agencies have access to more cabins than other ones. It would seem to make sense to give your better booking agencies more access.


Ginny

BudgetQueen

Clearly the more you know the better. But I disagree, Seattle sailing do have less inside passage sailing. But since you are looking at a one way, you will have to use Vancouver then either Whittier or Seward. I give a BIG edge to Seward- but don't be like most people and just pass through. There is so much to see and do, take advantage of being all the way there. I disagree on looking for an agent's advice on any land packages- you will be only given the various cruisetour options. There is also independent to consider and few if any agents will have any experience or offer this. This is clearly an option you are better off booking on your own. Educate yourself on the Interior Alaska options, of the mistakes people make- this is where the bulk happens. Understand fully, distances involved, realistically estimate costs, allow enough TIME- a frequent mistake and know the various options for touring Denali Park. Head to your library for Alaska travel books , especially Fodor's Alaska and Frommer's Alaska, good concise reading. As a ball park- allow at least 7 additional days if going on a cruise tour and at least 5 independent.

kfusto

I have done several different sailings in Alaska. My favorite was a one way from Seward to Vancouver. I felt I saw much more on this cruise than on the others.

I would use a GOOD travel agent. I think the service you get is well worth the small price differential and there are a lot of horror stories out there.

I think it is very important to match the right ship to the passenger. I know that for me, the ship itself is as important as the itinerary. And, IME, there is a large difference between the lines offering Alaska sailings. An experienced, reputable TA is very good to have.

bashawik

These are great responses, and are very helpful! We won't be going to Denali this time, we've spent lots of time there in the past. For those who used Costco, do they offer all the services of a TA?

Thanks again, Fodorites!

cawhite

I would NOT put a Costco TA, in the same category as the experienced agents that many here say are important to have. I talked to several Costco agents and some of them were experienced, but some not. They were just good on price.

After doing a lot of research on my own (cruisecritic.com boards, this forum, etc.) I knew pretty much where I wanted to go and was comfortable booking with Costco. If I were really looking to get the nitty gritty ins and outs on every aspect of our cruise from my TA, I would not have chosen Costco. They are good for "I know what I want... now let's book it".

bashawik

Thanks for all your help. I checked out 3 cruises, then went to cruisecritic.com to compare them. Then I checked prices with the cruise lines, expedia, a local travel agent, and Costco travel. I got the best price, best cabin, and most help from Coscto. The guy I talked to seemed very knowledgeable and gave me some good advice. Now I'm trying to decide on shore excursions vs booking them myself. The ship offers a couple of wildlife excursions at each port (Seward to Vancouver) but they're really spendy! Any recommendations on local tour operators for wildlife viewing?

Thanks again for all your help, Fodorites!!

BudgetQueen

You do need to budget fully for tours. Any wildlife viewing will require tours, bear viewing- blacks are good out of Ketchikan, whales - Juneau. By all means, strongly consider a Kenai Fjords boat trip out of Seward, superior all the way around for varied wildlife and glacier viewing, don't miss it. Need a trip of at least 6 hours on the water.