stupid cruise question...payments

[Deleted]

H and I are wanting to do an Alaska cruise next year. We want to book early (I am under the impression that this sell-out early? We are thinking about May 2013.)

I am wondering if you have to pay everything when you book or can you do a deposit and the pay closer to the sailing date (we are looking specifically at Princess and NCL)?

We have taken cruises before but we have always paid outright. Also if you can do a deposit is it non-refundable?

[dorothyinAus]

I cruise with Holland America, so I can't answer as to Princess or NCL, but I would think the policies would be similar. Deposits are non-refundable, and any insurance (also non-refundable) has to be purchased concurrent with the deposit. Final payment on HAL is due 90 days from sailing. I make my final payment about 120 days out, which is when shore excursions and other on-board things are open for booking. HAL used to not allow online booking of shore excursions or on-board things before final payment was made, but I think that policy has changed. I keep to the old schedule though.

[Norticprincess]

Deposit (unless it states otherwise under a promo or resticted fare) should be refundable up until final payment
Princess's cancellation dates about half way down here www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/index.jsp
Ncl's.
www2.ncl.com/about/cancellation-fee-schedule

Both look like deposit is after final payment date

Only ones IV cancelled recently have been on Celebrity and RCCL, as long as it was before final payment we got everything back.

[Deleted]

thanks for the help/advice ladies and in this and my last post! We booked a Princess cruise for 2013, so excited!

[gtkim]

Did you book a cruise or cruise and land tour? I highly highly recommend the land portion if you didn't include that. We just got back from our Princess land tour and cruise on the Sapphire Princess and it was amazing.

[Deleted]

Jun 19, 2012 10:43:59 GMT -5 gtkim said:

Did you book a cruise or cruise and land tour? I highly highly recommend the land portion if you didn't include that. We just got back from our Princess land tour and cruise on the Sapphire Princess and it was amazing.

Just the cruise. What does the land tour entail exactly? And does it make it a longer trip? We are doing a 7 day.

[gtkim]

Yes, it extends your trip by a certain number of days. Princess offers many different options and lengths for this.
We started in Fairbanks, and spent 2 days there, then went to Denali National Park, then down to Whittier to board our southbound cruise. The land portion was every bit as good as the cruise itself. Denali was absolutely amazing.

Obviously it requires more vacation days and does cost more, but if you can swing it, I would definitely consider it. One thing to keep in mind is that excursions in Alaska are expensive, even when you book on your own outside the cruise line. It is just the nature of what is offered. But I wouldn't skimp on those either so that you can take full advantage of your trip. I can't say enough how wonderful it was. I promise I'm not trying to complicate things for you, I just want you to consider your options and know in advance! You are going to love every minute!!

[Deleted]

Jun 19, 2012 11:05:16 GMT -5 gtkim said:

Yes, it extends your trip by a certain number of days. Princess offers many different options and lengths for this.
We started in Fairbanks, and spent 2 days there, then went to Denali National Park, then down to Whittier to board our southbound cruise. The land portion was every bit as good as the cruise itself. Denali was absolutely amazing.

Obviously it requires more vacation days and does cost more, but if you can swing it, I would definitely consider it. One thing to keep in mind is that excursions in Alaska are expensive, even when you book on your own outside the cruise line. It is just the nature of what is offered. But I wouldn't skimp on those either so that you can take full advantage of your trip. I can't say enough how wonderful it was. I promise I'm not trying to complicate things for you, I just want you to consider your options and know in advance! You are going to love every minute!!

Thanks! We'll definately consider it, I don't know if we would be able to get much more time off then the 7 days though. Also I keep seeing people mention that it is better to book excurisions on your own and not through the cruise line. How is this done. Is there a website you can go through to find them?

[Norticprincess]

Start with the Alaska board on cruise critic boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

People seem to be using Shore Trips to book, I've never used them The ones I've looked at for our ports (not Alaska ) they are pricey compared to what DH plans himself. I've been looking at ones in Europe and dive excursions in the Caribbean (more comfortable with dive shops our local one recommends)
secure.shoretrips.com/admins/main/home

We didn't do any ship tours on ours, the one we booked was cancelled. FYI the helicopter tours are frequently cancelled due to weather.

I don't know your ports, Skagway we rented a car from avis and drove up the South Klondike Highway using Murray's guide www.murraysguide.com/. Icy Stait point (rccl stop) we did a private whale watching tour, and Juneau we booked a helicopter tour to a different glacier when our dog sled tour was cancelled.

[gtkim]

Yes, cruise critic should become your best friend as you look into planning. It has helped us with our cruises immensely.

In Skagway we rented a car and drove up into the Yukon Territory to Emerald Lake. Then we came back and took a helicopter excursion to a glacier where we went dogsledding.

In Juneau we went whale watching with a company called Harv & Marv. The cost was roughly the same as what we would have spent through Princess, but we were on a boat with 6 people rather than a boat with 100 or so. And afterwards we took a quick visit to Mendenhall Glacier which was great.

In Ketchikan we went ziplining. I would have loved to have taken a tour of Misty Fjords, but there just wasn't enough time.

Have fun planning!

[stumpy]

Hello! You are gonna love Alaska. May is shoulder season . . . so just plan on the weather being colder.
Yes, cruise critic is gonna be your best friend. There are lots of options when it comes to excursions BUT some excursions are only available thru the cruise ships. (Glacier Point Wilderness Safari is one that comes to mind)

A few awesome ideas . . . whale watching in Juneau with Weather Permitting. (Small boat and yummy brownies!) Island Wings floatplane in Ketchikan.