So... is this a decent deal? Alaska

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I have a pretty good idea of what is
a good deal for the Caribbean sailings on DCL. Time for our first Alaska cruise though.
I knew in order to get best Alaska rate we should book opening day.
It’s our first time booking as Gold, we got a placeholder on our southern Caribbean sailing in January.
We got a few quotes, Aug 12, 19 and 26.
All category 9b, oceanview mid-ship.
2 adults, 1 kid.
Aug 12 $6355
Aug 19 $6039
Aug 26 $5640

Aug 26th sailing is least ideal for a couple of reasons. Too close to school start time and also I prefer a full day in Juneau.
Right now our placeholder is applied to August 19th.
Now - I was expecting the price to be around $5500 to $6000.
For those that have done Alaska - is this a decent rate for Disney?
Seems ok... but I don’t know.
When I price our Aug 18 2018 9b is around $7700 so clearly Alaska sailings keep climbing.
Just wondering if what we have is as good as it’s gonna get?
Which would you choose?
We can probably save a good chunk by going with an inside? Not willing to pay verandah rates for these.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Looks like a deal compared to my family of 6 at $14,700. Ha!

Teasing.
But basically for me I’d double your rate...so about $12k. So your August sailing would be $2k less than my May sailing for my family. So I’d say as far as dcl in Alaska you did fine.

Of course mine is 7As. I’m probably going to drop down to cat 9s.

 

[justafigment27]

It sounds great to me! I wish we could still travel in August.

 

[su_A_ve]

Prices never go down. But not necessarily go up right away. It all depends on demand. New itineraries or those that include ports, will probably increase quicker as they will book earlier.

My impression is that Alaska prices went up as expected, but Caribbean and Bahamas summer sailings went up much higher. Maybe it has to do with competition. Many lines cruise Alaska and there’s no Castaway Cay or WDW to make a difference.

I compared prices with NCLs Bliss which is a new ship. For what I pay an inside, I can get a mini suite. But, that ship is HUGE and that “suite” is a regular verandah room but the size of the Wonder’s inside...

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I have a pretty good idea of what is
a good deal for the Caribbean sailings on DCL. Time for our first Alaska cruise though.
I knew in order to get best Alaska rate we should book opening day.
It’s our first time booking as Gold, we got a placeholder on our southern Caribbean sailing in January.
We got a few quotes, Aug 12, 19 and 26.
All category 9b, oceanview mid-ship.
2 adults, 1 kid.
Aug 12 $6355
Aug 19 $6039
Aug 26 $5640

Aug 26th sailing is least ideal for a couple of reasons. Too close to school start time and also I prefer a full day in Juneau.
Right now our placeholder is applied to August 19th.
Now - I was expecting the price to be around $5500 to $6000.
For those that have done Alaska - is this a decent rate for Disney?
Seems ok... but I don’t know.
When I price our Aug 18 2018 9b is around $7700 so clearly Alaska sailings keep climbing.
Just wondering if what we have is as good as it’s gonna get?
Which would you choose?
We can probably save a good chunk by going with an inside? Not willing to pay verandah rates for these.

If you’re Gold, you know the prices aren’t going to get any lower than those so just pick the date you want and start planning. If you’re still vascillating and unsure, whatever you do, don’t look at any other cruise lines prices for the same time period, you won’t like what you see.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

If you’re still vascillating and unsure, whatever you do, don’t look at any other cruise lines prices for the same time period, you won’t like what you see.

yep, thats the truth

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

If you’re Gold, you know the prices aren’t going to get any lower than those so just pick the date you want and start planning. If you’re still vascillating and unsure, whatever you do, don’t look at any other cruise lines prices for the same time period, you won’t like what you see.

Ha! Of course I’m gonna look now...
I don’t think what I will be paying for mid August is too bad - considering that school is still out in a lot of Canada and US. I was wondering if that is a good deal for DCL, looks pretty good to me but I don’t know Alaska rates too well.
I did price out the Bliss and it wasn’t much cheaper to be honest, except we’d get a balcony and beverage package... so technically it is I guess.
Sailing out of Vancover v. Seattle is a must to us though... or I’d be taking a much better look at it. Or Princess.
I think best price by far was on Royals Ovation, which I know I’d like because we have been on the Anthem and it’s same class. That itinerary doesn’t look great though, I believe because of the size of it?
I haven’t checked out the prices for all lines/ now totally tempted to do it...
It’s like telling a kid they can’t touch the candy

 

[Shanti]

Ha! Of course I’m gonna look now...
I don’t think what I will be paying for mid August is too bad - considering that school is still out in a lot of Canada and US. I was wondering if that is a good deal for DCL, looks pretty good to me but I don’t know Alaska rates too well.
I did price out the Bliss and it wasn’t much cheaper to be honest, except we’d get a balcony and beverage package... so technically it is I guess.
Sailing out of Vancover v. Seattle is a must to us though... or I’d be taking a much better look at it. Or Princess.
I think best price by far was on Royals Ovation, which I know I’d like because we have been on the Anthem and it’s same class. That itinerary doesn’t look great though, I believe because of the size of it?
I haven’t checked out the prices for all lines/ now totally tempted to do it...
It’s like telling a kid they can’t touch the candy

The rates are okay but not awesome even for DCL. The best you could probably expect, though. Book now, as Alaska rates climb like crazy (I've been watching them for 2 years & am finally cruising to Alaska in June). I've never seen rates for other itineraries climb the way Alaska rates climb.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Definitely as good as it's going to get unless you can sail in September or May.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

The rates are okay but not awesome even for DCL. The best you could probably expect, though. Book now, as Alaska rates climb like crazy (I've been watching them for 2 years & am finally cruising to Alaska in June). I've never seen rates for other itineraries climb the way Alaska rates climb.

True - Same date in 2018, same category is already $1800 more. (before OBB but still)

Definitely as good as it's going to get unless you can sail in September or May.

Wish we could...well we could but we will probably end up taking a winter 2019 vacation where I will already be taking kid out of school. Only willing to do that for one vacation... so second best is to sail in August...
We definitely want to stay in Vancouver for a couple of days beforehand too.

 

[MelSpees]

Ha! Of course I’m gonna look now...
Sailing out of Vancover v. Seattle is a must to us though... or I’d be taking a much better look at it. Or Princess.

So slightly off topic...why not sail out of Seattle? It's a great city and the Puget Sound area is awesome.

 

[doublesided]

I'd go with the 26th. That's what we would do if our kid didn't go back to school that week. Still not the last cruise, plenty of wildlife from what I've read, less $. Seems like a no brainer if your schedule allows it!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

So slightly off topic...why not sail out of Seattle? It's a great city and the Puget Sound area is awesome.

We really want to visit Vancouver for a couple of days before the cruise... it’s been on my radar for a long time.
I’m not saying Seattle isn’t a great city, we just really want to go to Vancouver first.
What’s Puget Sound?

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I'd go with the 26th. That's what we would do if our kid didn't go back to school that week. Still not the last cruise, plenty of wildlife from what I've read, less $. Seems like a no brainer if your schedule allows it!

Well 26th allows it but we’d be flying home the day before school starts...
It’s a 5 hr flight plus add another 2 to get to the airport..
If the fare difference was bigger, we would do it. But it’s under $400 total, which is not as low as the last week of August has traditionally been...
Also - 26th has Tracy Arm and Juneau on the same day, which is less than ideal for me.
However as I said... if the $ was a lot we’d still do it

 

[mrsp1030]

I was not sure if it was a good deal or not either. It is hard as a family of 5 to determine what is the best possible option at the end of the day. Our kids love Disney and I am hesitant to jump ship. Disney made our Mediterranean cruise so magical and our kids love the clubs. I have friends who did Alaska on Holland America and they felt the kids clubs were so restrictive on hours.

 

[NancyIL]

Ha! Of course I’m gonna look now...
I don’t think what I will be paying for mid August is too bad - considering that school is still out in a lot of Canada and US. I was wondering if that is a good deal for DCL, looks pretty good to me but I don’t know Alaska rates too well.
I did price out the Bliss and it wasn’t much cheaper to be honest, except we’d get a balcony and beverage package... so technically it is I guess.
Sailing out of Vancover v. Seattle is a must to us though... or I’d be taking a much better look at it. Or Princess.
I think best price by far was on Royals Ovation, which I know I’d like because we have been on the Anthem and it’s same class. That itinerary doesn’t look great though, I believe because of the size of it?
I haven’t checked out the prices for all lines/ now totally tempted to do it...
It’s like telling a kid they can’t touch the candy

The ships RCI uses for its round trip Seattle cruises have always had a mediocre itinerary that’s lacking in Alaskan ports (no Ketchikan). However, Ovation’s 11-night cruise departing May 13 has a better itinerary, though still lacking Ketchikan: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/c...013?sail-date=2019-05-13&currency=USD&wuc=USA

Having sailed with 3 other cruise lines before my first Disney Cruise in 2008 - I still have a hard time justifying paying Disney’s much higher prices for most of their itineraries - especially in Alaska. I have sailed to Alaska twice each on Princess, HAL, and RCI, and all were great cruises. However, I don’t cruise with children.

 

[cruiser21]

The ships RCI uses for its round trip Seattle cruises have always had a mediocre itinerary that’s lacking in Alaskan ports (no Ketchikan). However, Ovation’s 11-night cruise departing May 13 has a better itinerary, though still lacking Ketchikan: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/c...013?sail-date=2019-05-13&currency=USD&wuc=USA

Having sailed with 3 other cruise lines before my first Disney Cruise in 2008 - I still have a hard time justifying paying Disney’s much higher prices for most of their itineraries - especially in Alaska. I have sailed to Alaska twice each on Princess, HAL, and RCI, and all were great cruises. However, I don’t cruise with children.

I didn't realize Ovation was going to be in Alaska. I guess cruiselines are starting to put larger, newer ships there. I would expect DCL to do the same when the new ships are built.

 

[cruiser21]

The rates are okay but not awesome even for DCL. The best you could probably expect, though. Book now, as Alaska rates climb like crazy (I've been watching them for 2 years & am finally cruising to Alaska in June). I've never seen rates for other itineraries climb the way Alaska rates climb.

True. I did see an IGT rate on the 6/11 cruise. I haven't seen an GT rate on a Alaskan cruise in a few years.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

True. I did see an IGT rate on the 6/11 cruise. I haven't seen an GT rate on a Alaskan cruise in a few years.

Last year there was an IGT for last week of August for Alaska, we almost booked it. It was $4800 inside guarantee for 2 adults, 1 child. (7)
It was only for an inside and only that last week of August...

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I didn't realize Ovation was going to be in Alaska. I guess cruiselines are starting to put larger, newer ships there. I would expect DCL to do the same when the new ships are built.

We have sailed on the Anthem which is pretty much the same ship as Ovation.. so many cool things about that ship for Alaska... first of all lots of indoor pool areas, covered adults only solarium (pools again), Two70 - which is an awesome venue aft with great views all around...
Not to mention bumper cars and other inside things to do in case of colder weather.
I just don't like the itinerary they have for Alaska..