An Alaska cruise is a bucket list trip for many people and it’s not hard to see why. The scenery is gorgeous and the activities you can do in each port are some of the most fun and unique of any cruise destination out there. I have been fortunate enough to have taken 4 cruises to Alaska, two of which were group cruises I planned for family and friends. For each of the trips, I tried to be as frugal as possible and ended up learning a few things that saved our family a significant amount of money. If you’ve been wanting to take a cruise to Alaska but thought that it costs too much please think again. The following 7 tips just might help you:
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#1 Shop around to find the best deal
Many cruise lines offer special promotions (3rd and 4th passengers sail free, free beverage packages, onboard spending credit, etc). Knowing which cruise line offers the best promotions will help you make the best decision about which cruise to take. Working with a travel agent who specializes in cruises will help you narrow down your search but you can also go directly to the cruise line’s websites if you’d like to do your own research.
#2 Choose a cruise that sails round-trip from Seattle, WA
Seattle is a convenient departure port and the airfare is generally cheaper than having to buy tickets to fly in or out of Anchorage, AK. If your schedule allows I recommend flying in the day before to do some sightseeing in this beautiful city. Hotels near the cruise ship port are definitely convenient but they are also considerably more expensive. We usually stay at a hotel near the airport and take the Link Light Rail to do our sightseeing. It does take longer but it allows us to have more spending money for our trip.
#3 Arrange separate ground transportation to and from the port
Most people assume they need to book ground transportation from the airport directly through the cruise line, however that is not the case. With a little bit of research, you can arrange your own ground transportation and save about 50% from what you would have paid the cruise line.
#4 Don’t book a balcony cabin
I’m sure you’ve heard the only way to take an Alaskan cruise is with a balcony and if you have the money in your budget then you should. If you are looking to save as much money as possible, however, please forgo the balcony. I can assure you that you’ll still get to enjoy the beautiful sights. There are plenty of places on the ship to sit and watch the scenery go by and on port days you are away from your cabin for most of the day anyway. We have never had a balcony on any of our cruises and we were still able to enjoy all the beauty Alaska has to offer. In fact, on our last 2 cruises, we booked inside cabins to save even more money. Depending on the size of your family and the age of your children you will save the most money by booking an inside cabin. Personally, I would rather take the money I save from not booking a balcony cabin and use it towards a once-in-a-lifetime excursion.
#5 Don’t book your excursions through the cruise line
You are going to hear over and over that if you don’t book your excursions through the cruise line you may not make it back to the ship in time and it will sail without you. The cruise lines make a good markup on excursions they book so they obviously prefer you arrange everything through them. The truth is, it is extremely rare that you will make it back to the ship late. As one tour operator told me, excursion companies would go out of business if they didn’t get passengers back to the ship on time. There are several excursion companies you can arrange tours through directly without having to go through the cruise line. I recommend you look at all the tours the cruise offers, find the ones that interest you then go online and research local excursion companies to see what they have to offer. You may even find different excursions that aren’t available through the ship. It is also possible for you to arrange tours after your ship docks. Most ports have excursion kiosks with many different options that you can select at the last minute and you might even be able to negotiate a lower price.
#6 Consider whether or not the full beverage package is of value to you
With full beverage packages costing an average of $75/person/day, a person would have to order 6-10 drinks every day in order to make it worth it. If you are only going to enjoy a couple of celebration cocktails and a few glasses of wine during your trip then it may be worth it to pay for your drinks separately rather than purchasing the beverage package. Some cruise lines are now allowing passengers to bring a certain number of bottles of wine on board so that would be another way to save money. Check with your cruise line to see if that is an option. If you are interested in a beverage package, be sure to find out at the time of booking if your ship is offering a free beverage package promotion.
#7 Shopping for souvenirs
You are going to find that the same or similar souvenir shops are in every single port. Many offer coupon books for free and cheap souvenirs. Look for these books at the information centers on the docks. You will be able to find plenty of inexpensive souvenirs such as t-shirts, ball caps, stuffed animals and boxes of smoked salmon.
I hope these tips will save you money if you are planning an Alaska cruise. I’d love to hear from you if they did! And if you’ve taken a cruise to Alaska and have more tips please let me know in the comments below.
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Wow! Great timing, my family and I are actually considering a cruise in Alaska! It seems like such a beautiful, underrated place. They even have the last Blockbuster video outlet!
Let me know if you have any questions when you start planning your cruise. It’s our favorite cruise so far! I appreciate you stopping by.
I’m taking my dad and 11yo boy an Alaskan cruise in Aug for my dad’s retirement. I’m already set on an interior room to save $. I wonder how comfortable it would be and how 3 ppl can sleep comfortably.. someone’s sleepin on a hard sofa lol.
Also, any recommendations on excursions to do? I’m pretty limited because my dad doesnt wanna do any hiking (bears) , kayaking (big fish might swallow him on a small boat) , and he doesn’t wanna do any other activities that include physical exercise lol. I wanna make the most of our time in each port but don’t wanna spend the whole day shopping.
Lastly, I’m taking a real big chance but not booking this til couple months before Aug, it’s waaaay cheaper, and I’m funding the whole trip.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer! The last 2 interior cabins we booked had 2 twin beds that could be pushed together to make a full size. We actually just kept them separated against each wall because it gave us more room in the cabin. Above the twin beds were bunk beds that the cabin steward lowered each night for our girls. Hopefully your ship will have the same type of arrangement so no one gets stuck on a hard sofa! As far as excursions, there are so many options in all different price ranges. If you’re not locked into a specific, once-in-a-lifetime activity like a helicopter tour to a glacier or a fishing adventure then you can just wait and book something when you get into port. In Juneau you could go see the Mendenhall Glacier (either book a tour from one of the excursion kiosks on port or ask for information about taking the city bus). We also did a whale watch excursions which my daughters loved but the big fish, small boat thing might not work for your dad. lol! Other fun things in Juneau include checking out the Red Dog Saloon and riding the Mt Roberts Tramway. In Ketchikan you could do a duck boat tour or take the city bus to the Totem Heritage Center or to Totem Bight State Park. We also love walking around historic Creek Street. The lumberjack show is fun but is a little pricey. In Skagway, you could to the free 45 minute guided walk around the historic downtown with a National Park Service ranger or ride the White Pass & Yukon Railroad or take a half day Yukon bus tour. On our last cruise we also took the city bus out to Dredge Town to see a sled dog demonstration, do the 40 below experience and also some gold panning. You can get tickets to each attraction separately without going through an excursion company. alaska3sixty.com has more information about the different things to do there. That’s just a quick overview of some of the things we’ve done on our last couple of cruises with our kids. Let me know if you have any other questions or need some more ideas! Hope you have a great time!!
Hi my mother-in-law keeps showing me all these $125-$160 excursions that she wants to do but we have a family of six I’m trying to explain to her we can’t afford to do that and we could probably do some of the things on her own if we get our own ride on the city bus or hire our own Uber driver what are your thoughts on this?
Yes, you can definitely do things on your own when you get there. We booked our whale watch excursion in Juneau at one of the excursion kiosks when we got off the ship. It was quite a bit cheaper than booking it ahead of time because my husband negotiated a cheaper rate since there was a group of us (he’s better at that stuff then I am. I usually walk away until he’s done. lol!) You could also take public transportation to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau or to a totem park in Ketchikan without doing an actual excursion. Just make sure to keep track of when you have to be back to the ship! In my opinion, you will still be able to enjoy Alaska even if you don’t do a bunch of excursions in each port. Just being there and taking in the scenery is amazing and you can get a good experience checking out each port on your own! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you have a great time on your cruise!