Budgeting for Alaska cruise?

[JessNewt]

Hello all!

How do you plan the expected cost for a 7 night Alaska DCL cruise? Just wondering if some of you had a general rule for this. For example, add 50% of the cruise cost to the total budget to account for flight, hotels, excursions, etc? Or would you budget for more than that?

 

[MUN]

Hello all!

How do you plan the expected cost for a 7 night Alaska DCL cruise? Just wondering if some of you had a general rule for this. For example, add 50% of the cruise cost to the total budget to account for flight, hotels, excursions, etc? Or would you budget for more than that?

I budget each category seperately: cruise, onboard expenses, flights, lodging, excursions, local transortation, parking, non-cruise food/drink, misc. That's what I do.

MUN

 

[steves100]

I would budget more......

But, it really depends on your excursions.

Ex. we did the "dog sledding on the glacier" through Disney. It was $500 per person.....

 

[linetbo]

I guess the key it's book early. We did it and had a the best rate. We did the same with airfare and hotels. We cruised July 2015 and bought everything by September 2014.

 

[missyp]

Alaska was an expensive one! As PP said a lot depends on excursions you do. We found ourselves, buying coffees at the cove cafe because we enjoyed sitting in there with a warm drink and looking at the views ( something we hadn't done on previous cruises). We ate lunch out in delicious recommended restaurants in all the ports ( on Carribean cruises we eat lunches on the ship). It all added up to a lot, but it all depends on choices.

 

[MMR]

You may want to look at the excursions and their current price to get an idea for budgeting. They really have a large range. We haven't been yet, but I've heard there are a fair number of hikes and self-guided tours at each port that are obviously free, if that is your thing.

 

[MUN]

Alaska was an expensive one! As PP said a lot depends on excursions you do. We found ourselves, buying coffees at the cove cafe because we enjoyed sitting in there with a warm drink and looking at the views ( something we hadn't done on previous cruises). We ate lunch out in delicious recommended restaurants in all the ports ( on Carribean cruises we eat lunches on the ship). It all added up to a lot, but it all depends on choices.

We had 2 connecting oceanview rooms for Alaska and we found them to be cheaper than our prior year's WC cruise. I understand verandah's are much more expensive for Alaska than for Caribbean cruises.

MUN

 

[Mrs Green]

I'm with MUN. I look separately. You can look at prices for the excursions you think you want to do now as well as summer hotel rates, flights, etc to get a general sense of the cost. Agree with linetbo to book early. We booked cruise the day rates came out and have seen the cost sky rocket from there. We booked hotel a whole year out. We booked flights on southwest into Seattle on points and periodically check back to see if rates have gone down (haven't yet). Booked rental cars right away and now they say "sold out".

 

[bksaffle]

I guess it really depends on what type of cruise you have taken in the past (as well as stateroom categories) to compare budgets with. You can always go on now and see what the various categories are selling for in 2017 and start with that. We booked all of our excursions through private local companies, which ended up saving us a lot of money for the four of us. You can actually start searching online for "Things to do in Ketchikan/Juneau/Skagway", and you will see all kinds of things. Pretty much you already have a good idea on the tips for the cast members, they pretty much stay the same unless you tip more, you know your spending habits on board from previous cruises (souvenirs, cove café, room service tips).

Depending on where you are traveling from, our flights were pretty much comparable to our past flights. I guess the more research you do now (which I do a lot of) will help you prepare your budget (which I have for every one of our trips).


But all in all the Alaska cruise by far has been our favorite cruise thus far....you will enjoy it...and definitely "worth" it to go.

 

[MUN]

I'm with MUN. I look separately. You can look at prices for the excursions you think you want to do now as well as summer hotel rates, flights, etc to get a general sense of the cost. Agree with linetbo to book early. We booked cruise the day rates came out and have seen the cost sky rocket from there. We booked hotel a whole year out. We booked flights on southwest into Seattle on points and periodically check back to see if rates have gone down (haven't yet). Booked rental cars right away and now they say "sold out".

Are you sure you're not me? That's exactly what I do for every major vacation.

MUN

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts on savings....

• do you really need that balcony.... I love my Deck 2 oceanview. the mid-ship portholes are the largest (you can have a child sleeping in them). It's like a climate controlled balcony
• look for excursion combo to maximize your port time. Can't decide.... look at the "Best of.... " for each port. Then look a variations. Marine and Flight excursions are priced at a premium.
• pre/post-cruise in Vancouver.... look at hotels a few blocks AWAY from the cruise terminal for significant savings (eg Blue Horizon is very popular on the forums). Some recommend bidding sites.
• some find flights to Seattle offer savings.... there's a $50 quick shuttle that gets you into Vancouver. Some go for the train... but it's slower, may need a hotel, and transfers cost extra.
• don't be afraid of those Canadian prices.... giveself a discount with the stronger US dollar
• some may like a cruise transfer to/from the airport.... compare that to a $28 USD ($35 CDN) taxi carload for door to door service
• late July offers a complimentary evening fireworks show in Vancouver (Saturday's and Wednesday).
• May and September offer off-season savings.
  • September is wet and stormy
  • May is dry, but cold and ice congestions often denies cruise ships to get deep into the 31 mile Tracy Arm to see Sawyer
  • June offers longer days and July is considered the last month of dryness before the August/September rains come
• If you are willing to give up the pixie dust (there's only so much one is able to snort)... other cruise lines can offer significant savings for the same cruise week.

 

[jetskigrl]

I keep a spreadsheet for every cruise and list each item separately. Like the others, I start researching flights, hotels, excursions right away to get an idea of pricing and then I book everything as soon as possible. For our August cruise next year, I contacted a hotel I was interested in to see when booking would open and they actually added the pricing now so that I could go ahead and book it (with regular cancellation policy applied). So I already know what to save for the cruise and hotel and I have a pretty good idea about what flights will be. With that, I know how much to save each month towards the vacation next year.

 

[JessNewt]

Thank you all so much for the helpful replies!! I am a newbie cruiser, booked our very first one for December of 2017 to the Bahamas out of Galveston (7 nights). I've been reading so many trip reports on the DCL Alaska cruise and my family has expressed a strong desire to experience that cruise.

The Bahamas cruise will definitely give us a taste for cruising, but I don't see a lot of costly excursions my kidos would be interested in (they will be 4 and 6). And we will be driving to Galveston since we don't live too far away, which means transportation costs will be low. So I have a general idea of how much money will come out of my pocket for that trip (I think...). But ALASKA, whoa, that seems to be a whole different ball game.

We have category 05A rooms for our Bahamas cruise, and my party has claimed they "need" verandahs on any cruise. I think that's a little absurd, but if we have the budget I'll let it slide. Personally, I would prefer to have a large porthole room.

I'm worried that our Bahamas cruise will give me (and the rest of the adults in my party) an unrealistic financial expectation of an Alaskan cruise.

 

[Geomom]

For us, the amount we're spending for airfare/hotel/excursions is the same amount as we spent on the cruise. And...that doesn't include our meals/shopping in Vancouver and ports. But, we did go with a deck 2 oceanview, so our cruise is on the 'lower' end for DCL Alaska. When you have a family of 4, it all adds up quickly--especially airfare and excursions which are per person.

 

[hamm1207]

As a former Alaskan resident (we had to move to the lower 48 due to work but we plan on retiring in AK), I'll give you the heads up that everything is about $1+ more in Alaska than in the lower 48. For example, our cheapest fast food meal item was usually $8-10, and there was no $1 menu. When booking excursions, whether through DCL or on your own (they'll be roughly the same price), you have to keep in mind that you're in the US (so pay for the employees is higher) plus you're paying for the experience and it's worth the money! Don't be afraid to spend the money on what will most likely be once in a lifetime experiences.