lia_b

I am in the process of booking an Alaska cruise for next year early July or mid August. I would like to use FF miles from Delta for the air portion. We are flying from the east coast. The cruise leaves from Vancouver and ends in Whittier so we would have to fly into Vancouver and fly back from Anchorage. Has anyone done this and if so, was I easy to get tickets or is it in such high demand that you have to be lucky? I am a little leery about booking the cruise and then not being able to get the air tickets and with cruises you are tied to the departure date. Given that we are a family of four, the airfare would be a considerable part of the cost and I would prefer to spend that money on excursions.

Thank you for any input.

GoTravel

Get your tickets first flying on odd days.

Example, if you cruise leaves Vancouver on a Sunday, try to fly into Vancouver on a Thursday. If your cruise gets into Whittier on a Saturday, fly back out on a Monday.

Fri, Sat, & Sun are the peak travel days.

BudgetQueen

It is VERY difficult to get FF seats in/out of Anchorage on the min. miles unless you book them as soon as available, meaning that year in advance. It is more available if you have a boatload of miles for the booking- then using extra miles for a later booking. I had a lot of miles and used 40,000 last year for a late booked flight that was very worthwhile for me since the 25,000 mile options were long gone.

PortiaLucy

I don't know anything about the open-leg travel you're suggesting (and whether it's allowed for ff miles), but I do know that frequent flier seats to Alaska are few and far between--at least the 25,000-mile ones. The airlines just don't set aside many ff seats per plane, and they go fast. I tried in January '04 for summer '04, and seats were long gone. Last fall I tried again (late September) and got the last four seats together (well, almost together--my husband had to book one leg on a different flight) for this June on United between either Newark or Philadelphia and Anchorage. And at that I had to be flexible about dates. I think there are more seats available if you're willing to spend 40,000 miles (but that defeats the point of getting a great bargain, unless you're drowning in miles). Check with Delta on their policies. You might find it doesn't hurt to make a reservation because you might be able to change the dates at a later time (assuming seats are available) for a negligible fee, but I don't know how far in advance you can reserve. Good luck. Our trip (not a cruise) is now less than three weeks away, and we're getting very excited. Everyone who's been tells us Alaska is amazing.

Gardyloo

You want an "open jaw" ticket - home to Seattle or Vancouver, ANC to home. These can easily be arranged through Delta or any airline's FF program.

Award seats open up no earlier than 330 days before your desired date, so count the days and be on the phone at 12:01am on the 330th (or is that 329th - can't ever remember) day. Or is that night? I'm so confused... BTW, 4 award tickets on the same flights is really pushing your luck - I would look at ways you could go for 2 + 2 on separate flights.

Delta is a partner now with Alaska so your chances of getting an award seat with Alaska may be better. Newark or DC to Seattle, then Anchorage to Seattle or ORD or Delta to Salt Lake - lots of permutations.

I would also suggest, if you have enough miles, to go for a first class award (45K miles) if you can - it's a long way and FC legroom makes a huge difference. Also the FC award availability seems to last a bit longer than coach, for obvious (I suppose) reasons.

Also you might call up the Alaska and/or Delta FF program desks and see if your Delta miles can be used for one of Alaska's half-off tickets - 15,000 miles gets you half off the ticket price up to a value of $250. The good news (on AS) is that they are not capacity controlled, i.e., good for any seat. For east coast itineraries it can be pretty cost effective. I don't know, however, if AS will let you use DL miles for that, or if DL has a similar program. Worth checking out.

Samsaf

We've gotten 5 FF tickets together to Anchorage (from Atlanta). You just have to be flexible with your dates and call as early as possibe.

lia_b

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. Last year I got 3 ff tickets to Hawaii and had to buy the 4th one. But the savings was huge. So even if I get 2, I would be happy not to spend $600-700 a ticket.

ChgoTrvlr71

I had to juggle my dates and switched my cruise from a northbound one to a southbound one but was recently able to book to first class tickets from Springfield, IL to ANC and then back via Vancouver -- have to connect thru Chicago on the way there and then SFO and ORD on the way back but i didn't have to use my premium miles to do it, booked last week for a trip in late Aug!

crazy4Hawaii

Do you call 321 or 330 days ahead? I know I used FF Delta miles to go to Hawaii but had to use double miles. Called every night at midnight for two weeks with flexible dates. I guess some destinations are difficult because we all want to go!

AAFrequentFlyer

The following information won't help the OP that much, but I just want to post it as it seems that many here think that once FF seats are gone on certain flights, they are gone. It's simply not true. Revenue mngt of any airline keeps track of all the flights and they will release more seats closer to the flight date if the flight(s) don't seem to be selling well. Unfortunately there is no formula on when and if they will release more seats. Seats could be released at any time, but it's always a good idea to start checking for flights within 2 months before the flight(s).

Also, the 330 day booking is becoming less and less possible. Some airlines including AA do not release any seats at that time on certain flights. The decision is based on previous loads on these flights. They only start releasing seats closer to the flight date, so calling at midnight 330 days out does not guarantee anything in some cases.

It's a game and in most cases it works for both sides, but trying to get a family to popular destination at the peak of the season is difficult. Needing only 1 or 2 tickets does give you an advantage, while trying to get 4 or more lessens your chances.

One suggestion for the OP. I assume it's 2 adults and 2 children. One way to improve your chances of getting tickets is splitting into 2 groups. Your husband with one child and you with another. It may help the airline to find 2 seats on certain routes, so you fly seperately but at least you get there. Just a suggestion.

Good luck!

Len3

I booked the Sun Princess and FF air on Northwest in February. The air was free from Washington, D.C. to Vancouver, with return from Fairbanks. It's for my husband and myself - what a great savings!!!!!
Best of Luck!!! It can be done.

Connie

When is your trip?

lia_b

Connie,
My trip is for July 2006. I don't mind going a few days before and leaving a day after.

Swannee

We just came back from Alaska and did a similar cruise but we flew to Anchorage and took the cruise from Whittier to Vancouver. We went on American Airlines FF through Seattle and took Alaskan Airlines from Seattle to Anchorage as Alaskan is also a partner with AA. We were VERY lucky because we only decided to take the cruise in April and worked quickly. We did want a few days on land and left and arrived on a Thurs. for a cruise departure on the following Monday. On the return we spent time with friends in Vancouver and took Amtrak to Seattle where we stayed a few days (American allows a stopover) before heading home. I did not book the cruise until I was guaranteed FF tickets.

When we first called American there was nothing-- I called every day --sometimes twice and something came through -maybe someone cancelled. We were to arrive in Anchorage at 1:00 a.m. but because it was the Memorial Day weekend we were told that we were VERY lucky just to get space. Well I continued to call to see if we could get on an earlier flight and a better routing and after a week that also worked out -- and we got the 25,000 point seats and also were able to choose our seats --and got good ones -- so I guess it is a matter of luck and persistance. We rarely book trips way in advance and in most cases have been fortunate. I would think that you should be OK. If you have never been to Vancouver, it is well worth a visit and even try to get to Victoria or Whistler before your cruise. If you are going on Princess, there are shuttles from Whittier to the airport in Anchorage or from Whittier to Anchorage if you decide to stay in Alaska after your cruise. Whittier is a dump -- not worth a visit. We just saw it on arrival with the shuttle and it looked like a town to which would exile political prisoners! Anyway hope your FF points work out like they did for us.

Cheers

Connie

Swannee,

Thanks for the report. That gives me a lot of hope. We aren't going until June or July 06 so I should be able to work it out.

I'm impressed you got to do it with 25,000 miles AND got good seats.

Way to go!

astein12

We were able to get Delta 25,000 mile FF tickets into and out of Anchorage in September from Newark.

One thing: these seats did not show up online (the outbound legs was available, but the return was only at the higher award level). I called Delta and they were able to book it online for me at the lower Saver rate.

KaylaInAK

Last year I got round trip ff tickets from anchorage to philadelphia and back only a month in advance