I'm pleased to start today's newsletter with fantastic offers that we've
arranged with
Celebrity, MSC, Regent, Azamara and Paul Gauguin
Cruises.
They include deep discounts in a variety of cruising regions, such as
the Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska, Mediterranean, Northern Europe and
Tahiti. (After these offers, you'll find more deals specifically for
Alaska voyages, along with my advice for booking a cruise or cruise tour
in the Last Frontier.)
Today's offers may include free amenities or shipboard credits, which
are as good as cash on the ship and can be used toward onboard purchases
not covered in the cruise fare, like spa treatments, shore excursions
and items bought in the ship's boutiques. Please note that some rates on
our site may not be eligible for free amenities or shipboard
credits.
Celebrity is offering our customers discounts of up to 80% and
exclusive shipboard credits of up to $200
per cabin. Book an ocean-view cabin or higher at eligible rates
and receive
up to three of the following amenities: 1) a
shipboard credit of up to $300 per cabin, 2) free gratuities, 3) a free
beverage package, which includes a variety of alcoholic and nonalcoholic
beverages or 4) unlimited Internet. Book a suite and get all four perks.
Book by January 31.
See dates and prices.
MSC is offering our customers discounts of up to 75% on a variety
of sailings. Plus, receive exclusive rates, free drinks and free Wi-Fi
for up to two devices on select Caribbean departures.
See dates and prices.
Regent has provided newly reduced, exclusive rates on select
sailings for our customers -- save up to 85%. In addition, receive
shipboard credits of up to $1,900 per cabin on select cruises. The
upfront price of a luxury Regent cruise includes unlimited shore
excursions, gratuities, unlimited beverages including fine wines and
premium spirits and unlimited Wi-Fi.
Book by February 15.
See dates and prices.
Azamara is offering Vacations To Go customers discounts of up to
84%. Get exclusive shipboard credits of up to $500 per cabin plus
unlimited Internet for one device on select sailings. Azamara schedules
longer stays and overnights in port so guests can experience more of the
destination. Rates include gratuities, drinks and, on most cruises, a
nighttime shore excursion called "AzAmazing Evening."
Book by January
31.
See dates and prices.
Paul Gauguin Cruises is offering our customers reduced rates on
its Tahiti sailings -- save up to 50%. Receive exclusive shipboard
credits of up to $700 per cabin on select voyages.
See dates and prices.
Read on for more great deals on Alaska cruises. As always, all offers in
today's newsletter are for new bookings only and subject to
availability. Restrictions may apply, and some free amenities and
shipboard credits may apply only to eligible rates. Past guests of some
cruise lines may see better rates on select sailings.
At Vacations To Go, we like to help our customers stay on top of the
best times to book certain destinations. With record capacity in Alaska
and berths to fill, right now cruise lines are offering some of the
best deals ever on Alaska cruises and cruise tours.
If you want to experience the incomparable natural beauty and majesty of
Alaska on a cruise, I recommend that you call us as soon as possible to
get the itinerary, ship and departure date you desire -- especially if
you require a cabin that accommodates three or more people or a
passenger with special needs, or if you need two adjacent or adjoining
cabins or more than four cabins on a single sailing.
We want to be sure you get the best possible deal on your Alaska cruise,
so we've negotiated the following money-saving offers with leading
cruise lines in the region. Please note that some rates on our site may
not be eligible for free amenities or shipboard credits.
Click the cruise line name to see departures and rates.
Save up to 81% with
Cunard
and get shipboard credits of up to $1,200 per cabin, plus a specialty
restaurant dinner for two.
Book by January 21.
Save up to 79% with
Seabourn
and receive shipboard credits of up to $800 per cabin, plus free Wi-Fi
and a 50% reduced deposit.
Save up to 79% with
Silversea
and get shipboard credits of up to $600 per cabin.
Save up to 76% with
Oceania
and enjoy shipboard credits of up to $600 per cabin.
Save up to 71% with
Azamara
and receive shipboard credits of up to $500 per cabin, plus unlimited
Internet for one device on select departures.
Book by January
31.
Save up to 70% with
Celebrity,
plus receive shipboard credits of up to $200 per cabin. Book an
ocean-view cabin or higher at eligible rates and receive up to three of
these perks: 1) a shipboard credit of up to $300 per cabin, 2) free
gratuities, 3) a free beverage package or 4) unlimited Internet. Book a
suite and get all four perks.
Book by January 31.
Save up to 70% with
Royal Caribbean
and receive shipboard credits of up to $250 per cabin.
Save up to 69% with
Carnival.
Save up to 68% with
Regent
and receive shipboard credits of up to $1,900 per cabin.
Book by
February 15.
Save up to 67% with
Holland America
and receive shipboard credits of up to $300 per cabin.
Save up to 67% with
Windstar
and receive shipboard credits of up to $400 per cabin.
Save up to 57% with
Norwegian
and receive shipboard credits of up to $100 per cabin.
Save up to 51% with
Princess
and get shipboard credits of up to $60 per cabin.
Save up to 51% with
Crystal
and get shipboard credits of up to $650 per cabin.
Book by January
21.
Save up to 47% with
Viking
and enjoy shipboard credits of up to $100 per cabin. Pay reduced airfare
from select gateways, from $499 on select Alaska departures.
Book by
January 31.
Below, I've organized our Alaska cruise and cruise tour departures by
month. For a full list of prices and dates, click any month:
May cruises in Alaska
May cruise tours in Alaska
June cruises in Alaska
June cruise tours in Alaska
July cruises in Alaska
July cruise tours in Alaska
August cruises in Alaska
August cruise tours in Alaska
September cruises in Alaska
September cruise tours in Alaska
Next, I'll cover four key factors to keep in mind when planning a visit
to America's last frontier: itinerary, weather, wildlife and
passports.
Itinerary
There are two types of itineraries for Alaska cruises: Inside Passage
cruises that sail round trip from Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco;
and Gulf of Alaska cruises that sail one way between Vancouver and
Seward or Whittier (gateways to Anchorage and the interior city of
Fairbanks). The Gulf of Alaska cruises include several days in the
Inside Passage.
The round-trip cruises offer two advantages: 1) There are many flights
daily into, and out of, Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco, and 2)
They require less expensive airfare because no long flight to (or from)
Anchorage or Fairbanks is involved.
Air into (and out of) Anchorage and Fairbanks is quite limited and
flights fill early with cruise and cruise tour passengers, which makes
it more risky to wait for a last-minute deal on a one-way Gulf of Alaska
cruise.
The biggest advantage of one-way cruises is that they allow the
opportunity to explore the interior of Alaska on a pre- or post-cruise
land tour. Between one-third and one-half of all Alaska cruisers extend
their cruise with a tour of inland Alaska (out of Anchorage or
Fairbanks) or British Columbia or the Canadian Rockies (out of
Vancouver).
If you are leaning toward one of these cruise tours, keep in mind that
tour buses, railcars and lodges in Alaska are very limited in supply and
can sell out early. I recommend booking soon to ensure availability.
Weather
Alaska weather is delightfully unpredictable, but in general, you'll
find the warmest temperatures in July and August, when average highs are
in the low to mid-60s. Precipitation can rise a bit in late August and
early September, but I personally would not avoid that time for that
reason.
One of my fondest Alaska memories is of sipping coffee on the cabin
balcony as the scenery melted away and the ship slowed to a crawl in
dense fog in the Inside Passage, its foghorn echoing off the mountains
on either side, warning fishermen of our approach. On another day, we
hiked a trail to an alpine lake for a canoe ride to the face of a
glacier, in a driving rain. Invigorating does not begin to describe it.
Weather is part of the experience in Alaska.
Click here
for a list of Alaska ports, and then click a port name to see the
weather details for that location.
Wildlife
Wildlife is one of the big attractions of Alaska, and different species
are active at various times during the cruising season. Humpback and
killer whales are seen throughout the summer in large sounds and straits
along the coast as they migrate between their winter homes in the south
and their summer homes in the north. Brown and black bears can be
spotted in grassy tidal flats starting in May and near salmon streams
and berry patches in July and August. Moose and caribou begin calving in
May, so look for cow moose and their young near thickets along roadsides
and rivers in May and June.
Bald eagles are plentiful and can be viewed at the water's edge through
the summer, particularly near salmon-spawning streams. Tufted puffins
and other seabirds begin nesting colonies on coastal islands in May.
Shorebird-watching is popular in August and September as various species
begin their migrations south for the winter.
Harbor seals are visible throughout the season and can be seen with
their pups on and around the icebergs of Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay
during the month of June. Sea lions start to become visible in
September.
Fishermen will be happy to know that at least one variety of salmon --
the prized king salmon -- runs from May through August. Late May through
June is the best time for saltwater king salmon fishing, and July
through August is best for freshwater king salmon fishing. Sockeye (red)
salmon fill freshwater streams and rivers on their spawning run from
late June through July.
Saltwater fishing for chum and pink salmon is best in July and August,
and freshwater fishing for these species is at its peak in August. Coho
(silver) salmon can be found in saltwater areas from late July through
early September and are abundant in freshwater areas during September
and October. Halibut is most plentiful in saltwater areas from late June
through August.
Passports
Passports are required for all travelers who enter or re-enter the U.S.
by air from any other country, which means that U.S. citizens and
residents who fly back to the U.S. from Vancouver or any other Canadian
city after an Alaska cruise or cruise tour are required to have a valid
passport.
Passports also are required for anyone who enters or re-enters the U.S.
by land or by sea. There are a few exceptions to the passport
requirement pertaining to land and sea border crossings.
First, U.S. citizens on cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port
and travel to destinations in Canada (and select other countries) are
able to re-enter the U.S. with proof of citizenship other than a
passport, such as a birth certificate and government-issued photo ID.
Passports are required for cruises that begin in one U.S. port and end
in another.
So, U.S. citizens on cruises that sail round trip from Seattle or San
Francisco are not required to have a passport. U.S. citizens who drive
to Vancouver for a round-trip Alaska cruise or who cruise one way
between Vancouver and an Alaskan port (such as Whittier or Seward) do
need a passport.
Next, children under the age of 16 who are citizens of the U.S. or
Canada are exempt from the passport requirement for land and sea border
crossings. In lieu of a passport, children are able to use a birth
certificate as proof of citizenship for entry into the U.S. by land or
by sea. Children entering or re-entering the U.S. by air still are
required to have a valid passport.
Finally, a lower-cost alternative to the passport, called a passport
card, is acceptable for entries into the U.S. by land or sea. Compared
to passports, which cost $145 for first-time applicants ($115 for
children), passport cards cost $65 ($50 for children). The passport card
is not acceptable for air travel.
Several cruise lines require a passport for all sailings, regardless of
destination or port of departure. They include these companies that
offer Alaska cruises: Azamara, Crystal, Cunard, Hurtigruten, Oceania,
Regent, Seabourn, Silversea and Windstar.
Even in cases where a passport is not required, Vacations To Go
recommends that passengers have them anyway. This is because, while
highly unlikely, an emergency could arise in which a U.S citizen needed
to disembark early and fly home from Canada, and a passport would be
required for that flight.
Passports are required for citizens of all other countries for any
Alaska cruise or cruise tour.
1)
Caribbean, 7 nights on Carnival, departs San Juan Feb 24, starting at $409, save 68%,
FastDeal # 14799
2)
Bermuda, 7 nights on Royal Caribbean, departs Bayonne Apr 27, starting at $662, save 57%,
FastDeal # 39265
3)
Caribbean, 7 nights on Norwegian, departs New Orleans Feb 17, starting at $579, save 50%,
FastDeal # 19499
4)
Pacific Northwest, 9 nights on Celebrity, departs San Diego Apr 8, starting at $799, save 68%,
FastDeal # 10116
5)
Caribbean, 7 nights on MSC Cruises, departs Miami Apr 27, starting at $449, save 65%,
FastDeal # 22822
6)
Mexico, 7 nights on Norwegian, departs Los Angeles Mar 23, starting at $599, save 59%,
FastDeal # 37103
7)
Caribbean, 7 nights on Royal Caribbean, departs Fort Lauderdale Feb 9, starting at $581, save 55%,
FastDeal # 39206
8)
South America, 12 nights on Oceania Cruises, departs Buenos Aires Apr 6, starting at $2,299, save 77%,
FastDeal # 20097
9)
Mediterranean, 7 nights on Crystal, departs Athens Apr 27, balcony starting at $3,310, save 37%,
FastDeal # 18202
10)
Transatlantic, 14 nights on Regent, departs Miami Mar 22, suite starting at $4,480, save 76%,
FastDeal # 38883
For the best last-minute cruise specials in the next 90 days, please
visit our world-famous
90-Day Ticker.
To search for discounts of up to 82% on cruises departing more than 90
days from now,
click here.
To save up to 40% with escorted tours,
click here.
For river cruises up to 50% off,
click here.
For discounts of up to 50% at hotels and all-inclusive resorts,
click here.
For the lowest rates on Africa safaris from budget to luxury in quality,
click here.
Once you've found a FASTDEAL, call us toll free at 800-338-4962 (US and
Canada) and a cruise counselor will attend to your needs. Customers
from the UK, please call toll free 0-800-098-8546. All other
international customers, please email or call us at +1-713-974-2121.
Please email me your comments, suggestions and questions at
alanfox@vacationstogo.com
and I will respond the same day.
If you enjoy our newsletter, please forward this email to family and
friends.
Sincerely,
Alan Fox
Executive Chairman
Vacations To Go
