Help with 2014 Alaskan Booking

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I have a dummy booking that I am going to switch to the 2014 Alaskan cruise. I had planned to do July 7th based on what I've read regarding weather, wildlife, etc. I am very tempted by the 9 night offering though. That is for a May 24th sailing.

Can anyone with experience in May and/or July give me guidance. Will getting the extra 2 days and the Sitka stop be worth it for a May trip vs. July?

If it isn't obvious I've never cruised Alaska before! TIA!

 

[gydell]

I have a dummy booking that I am going to switch to the 2014 Alaskan cruise. I had planned to do July 7th based on what I've read regarding weather, wildlife, etc. I am very tempted by the 9 night offering though. That is for a May 24th sailing.

Can anyone with experience in May and/or July give me guidance. Will getting the extra 2 days and the Sitka stop be worth it for a May trip vs. July?

If it isn't obvious I've never cruised Alaska before! TIA!

Yes it is worth it. We did the 1st cruise last year and loved it! I am booking the 9 night one in the morning.

 

[bigtony777]

It may be worth it for the added 2 days, but I really didn't enjoy Sitka. We went for a hike at the totem pole trail and then went to a pub for a short time before heading back to the ship. It didn't compare to our other stops at Juneau (glacier hike on Mendenhall Glacier) and Ketchikan (Misty Fjords Flight Tour).

 

[jessrose18]

also looking at alaska for august 2014, hoping for 11c cheapest date i can get ....but im silver good luck everyone!

 

[tink1963]

Yes it is worth it. We did the 1st cruise last year and loved it! I am booking the 9 night one in the morning.

Hi Gydell, we are moving our Alaska that we have booked this Aug for the 9 night

 

[gydell]

Hi Gydell, we are moving our Alaska that we have booked this Aug for the 9 night

I have a spring break cruise booked already for 2014 so not 100% that we will make this one. We may go back to Hawaii but if not we will do this one. After this summer I am through with European cruises for awhile. Too much $$$ with the airfare and excursions.

 

[clten]

Getting back to the OP's question, I think it depends on what you think is worth it. There is a reason that this "special" cruise is offered in May -- DCL needs help filling the sailing on an otherwise off time. We've sailed Alaska twice in May and have been very lucky with good weather. (Although the last time it was colder and wetter than the first time -- but not bad.) As far as wildlife, what are you hoping to see? We've seen whales both times we've been up there but we've always been too early for bears. The last of the snow is still melting in May so it's still early for things to be in full bloom too.

So again, it depends on what you want to see in Alaska. Will it be beautiful? Yes in May or July. And is it worth it might depend on how they are pricing the extra time/port call.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Getting back to the OP's question, I think it depends on what you think is worth it. There is a reason that this "special" cruise is offered in May -- DCL needs help filling the sailing on an otherwise off time. We've sailed Alaska twice in May and have been very lucky with good weather. (Although the last time it was colder and wetter than the first time -- but not bad.) As far as wildlife, what are you hoping to see? We've seen whales both times we've been up there but we've always been too early for bears. The last of the snow is still melting in May so it's still early for things to be in full bloom too.

So again, it depends on what you want to see in Alaska. Will it be beautiful? Yes in May or July. And is it worth it might depend on how they are pricing the extra time/port call.

Thank you! Would definitely like to see whales. Seeing bears would be cool too but I understand I can't have it all. Going when it is less crowded and maybe cheaper is a plus.

Talked it over with the kids and DH tonight and we decided to do the 9 night. I emailed the TA to move the dummy to that ASAP on Thursday morning. If for some reason it's all booked up then to book the 7/7/14 sailing. Starting to seem real now!

 

[Cambsuk]

We went the last week in August and everyone from tour guides to crew commented on how amazing the weather was on our cruise, it was just beautiful. Which was good for us being from California.

But that said, Alaska was a wonderful experience and May, July, or August would be a great time to go, and Im assuming the 9 days in May should cost about the same as 7 days in July.

 

[MousseauMob]

I have a dummy booking that I am going to switch to the 2014 Alaskan cruise. I had planned to do July 7th based on what I've read regarding weather, wildlife, etc. I am very tempted by the 9 night offering though. That is for a May 24th sailing.

Can anyone with experience in May and/or July give me guidance. Will getting the extra 2 days and the Sitka stop be worth it for a May trip vs. July?

If it isn't obvious I've never cruised Alaska before! TIA!

Oh May is horrible, Sitka terrible - gotta save a cabin for me, since I can't book until tomorrow! Just kidding. We've been on 3 Alaska cruises that have tried to reach Sitka, and only 1 was able to and it was in May. Beautiful weather, and we loved it. The 2 we missed were in September. I can't speak to summer, since we have always gone off-season. We LOVED Sitka, we did the Sea Otter and Alaska raptor adventure and saw LOTS of sea otters, LOTS of bald eagles, a whale (we saw more whales in Juneau), and even a bear that had come down and was feeding on the shore. But it is Alaska and weather can be unpredictable, we were fortunate it was such a warm and lovely May.