2015 Cruise Options

[ahain]

We're booked on the 7 night Eastern Caribbean (Fantasy) sailing April 5, 2014. We already know we want to go on a DCL Alaska Cruise in June 2015. My question to all you cruise junkies is this: Would it be more cost-effective to jump in on opening day to book the Alaska Cruise (I've heard the rates are lower immediately after release); or should I wait until April and do OBB and save the 10%?

 

[KristiMc]

Book it when the dates are first released. When you are on your 2014 cruise
"reshop" your Alaska cruise. If the rates have not gone up too much you might still save money to book a new cruise with the on board discount and then cancel the original cruise.

 

[ahain]

Book it when the dates are first released. When you are on your 2014 cruise
"reshop" your Alaska cruise. If the rates have not gone up too much you might still save money to book a new cruise with the on board discount and then cancel the original cruise.

See! I KNEW you guys would know just how to do this!

Thanks so much.

 

[KristiMc]

Glad I could help. We are wanting to do Alaska in 2015 also. We are sailing on the Fantasy this New Years Eve, so I am hoping that the 2015 dates will not have been released yet so I can book a dummy date and be all ready to book Alaska when/if it is released. If 2015 is released before our cruise, I will book and then "reshop".

 

[MousseauMob]

I did this for my upcoming 2014 Alaska cruise, and they were even able to keep my same stateroom from the original reservation.

 

[ahain]

O.K. - another Alaska question.....but first some background...We have only been on the Dream so far, but loved, loved, loved our cabin 9174 - deck 9 w/ HUGE whitewall veranda, looking straight out the back of the ship. To this day, my DD's fondest memory of our first cruise was sleeping out on the veranda under the stars! This coming April, we will be on the Fantasy 7 Night Eastern Caribbean - cabin 6690 which is also extreme aft with a large veranda, but on the deck 6. When we go to Alaska in 2015, we will be traveling with my mom and her husband (who will be 75 and 82 respectively), so we would like to have a cabin near them, even if it's not adjoining.

So here's the question....
When the time comes for me to pounce on a June 2015 Alaska sailing, what do you think the "best" room category/location would be for us on the classic ships. I don't mean the most expensive - I mean the one that will offer the best viewing options when we are not up on the main deck. Thanks!

 

[MousseauMob]

If motion of the ship might be an issue, the lower mid-ship locations are best. With your mom and her husband's ages, I would probably look into mid-ship also since it puts you central to anywhere you need to go. For example if you were aft they would have to traverse the full length of the ship to go to the Walt Disney Theater from their cabin.

Aft is wonderful for line of sight - you can see more, but the veranda wasn't as private/covered from elements. Once we had someone throwing trash on our veranda from above - yuck! Plus with a more covered veranda we've been able to sit out even during rain. As for view, Alaska is beautiful all around, with amazing scenery, so I personally don't think either side of the ship is important. All of this is just my opinion!

 

[ahain]

Thanks MousseauMob!

 

[dllocals]

I wouldn't worry about motion while cruising the inside passage of Alaska. The waters are very calm.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I wouldn't worry about motion while cruising the inside passage of Alaska. The waters are very calm.

Agree! We had aft (5132) and felt no vibrations or much swaying at all. The waters were very calm and it's the least amount of motion we've felt on a ship and had no issues.

We had such a great time cruising Alaska in June we are definitely aiming for 2015. We'd go next year if we could swing it but we have a few more planned in the meantime -

Heather

 

[RedSox68]

Verandah Verandah Verandah. Did Alaska last year and it was the best decision we made!

 

[ahain]

Verandah Verandah Verandah. Did Alaska last year and it was the best decision we made!

What deck/side of the ship were you on?

 

[cleophus12]

On an Alaska cruise the side of the ship isn't as important as on some other cruises. As you cruise the passage there is a view on either side. We had a starboard cabin though and loved our view everyday.

 

[RedSox68]

What deck/side of the ship were you on?

Sorry, we were on Holland America -- but we were on starboard and we used the verandah A LOT. We went in May and it was cold, but we loved it and had great views.

 

[pillow]

Verandah Verandah Verandah. Did Alaska last year and it was the best decision we made!

Did you spend a lot of time out there? Was it chilly? We are planning on Alaska in the summer of 2015 as well, but I was planning on just a porthole room. The price difference is enormous on the classic ships - will probably cost $2K more for a family of 4. Now you have me re-thinking.

Jodie

 

[labdogs42]

I'm wondering about that, too. I was thinking Nav Verandah might be the way to go. More sheltered from the elements.

 

[cleophus12]

We loved our Alaska veranda. We used it a lot. We went in August and had coffee out there every morning. And on glacier day we had a great view from there. And since glacier day was rainy and cold we could easily go in and out of the weather. However if it is 2k more than a porthole-- well 2k goes a long way toward other stuff.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I'm wondering about that, too. I was thinking Nav Verandah might be the way to go. More sheltered from the elements.

Yep - that is exactly why we booked and wanted a true Navigators verandah! I was on the fence about the cost for a verandah for Alaska (we typically book verandahs) but we were so glad we did. We loved the verandah which is another reason why we are likely waiting until 2015 so we can save up the $$ for the verandah again!

Heather

 

[RedSox68]

Did you spend a lot of time out there? Was it chilly? We are planning on Alaska in the summer of 2015 as well, but I was planning on just a porthole room. The price difference is enormous on the classic ships - will probably cost $2K more for a family of 4. Now you have me re-thinking.

Jodie

We did get a very good deal on the verandah room and felt it was worth every penny. They provided wool blankets and hot chocolate and, while some days were very cold, because we were the first cruise out in May we had brought coats and hats and scarves and gloves. We were out there morning, noon and night and you could hear the narrator on the stateroom TV. We had food and coffee and hot chocolate delivered and only went upstairs during the Glacier Bay tour so we could see the view from the front of the ship. (well, we went up on deck a lot, but you get the idea). We saw grizzly on the shore and whales from our verandah. Actually, our day in Ketchikan was colder than any days on the verandah in the bays