Pat, if I got your first question right it was WHEN to book, correct?
My advice: Book as early as possible...
You will be able to insure that you can get that suite you want...or that you can book cabins in close proximity...and you'll be able to know your "worst case" price...
The key is that the ONLY negative to booking early is that you put your deposit up when you book...
...But, face it, all you lose is use of the $$$ and interest for however long you put it up...Depending on what interest you're pulling on wherever you have that money, interest on $500 at 3% is about a buck and a quarter a month...
For that buck and a quarter, you get to reserve the cabin of your choice on the cruise of your choice...You have insurance against price INCREASES (Yeah, cruise prices DON'T necessarily decrease when you get close to the sail date...especially on more popular ships at more popular times of year)...You get a guarantee against the ship selling out...and, if I've booked it on board the last one, I even get a couple hundred bucks of on-board credit...Oh, yeah...and if the price drops WHILE you're booked, call your TA and they'll get you the price drop...
And, here's the kicker: Up until the last couple of months, you can change the cruise, you can change the cabin (depending on availability) and you can even BACK OUT ENTIRELY and get a FULL REFUND!!!
So, let's say you DO find a more desirable cruise a little over two months to go...All you have to do is cancel the one you've pre-booked...
BOOK EARLY...It's a NO LOSE PROPOSITION...
Also, make sure you have a good TA...and one who discounts fares...
As to cruise lines, OBVIOUSLY, I am choosing to do it with Celebrity...
Partly because I don't place that much value in the notion that doing it longer or having more experience with a particular route means you do it any better...
Holland America has the reputation of being a very good line, but also has the reputation of attracting a very "senior" crowd...
Princess has long been known for Alaska Cruisetours...
There's that "Experience" thing, whatever that's worth...
Their other two marketing points are:
1) that they own their own hotels in Alaska...of course, I'm not sure what advantages owning the hotels makes...are they necessarily BETTER hotels? I can't picture other lines are offering bad hotels...and
2) their routes include Glacier Bay and College Fjord while others do not...
Let's compare the typical Princess cruise to my Celebrity Itinerary:
Coral Princess, July 10, 2004:
1 Whittier 10:00 PM
2 College Fjord Scenic Cruising, Alaska, United States 6:30 AM 9:30 AM
3 Glacier Bay Scenic Cruising, Alaska, United States 10:30 AM 8:30 PM
4 Skagway, Alaska 5:30 AM 8:15 PM
5 Juneau, Alaska, United States 6:30 AM 4:00 PM
6 Ketchikan, Alaska, United States 8:30 AM 5:45 PM
7 At Sea
8 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 7:30 AM
Celebrity Summit, July 9, 2004:
Fri seward, alaska -- 9:00 PM
Sat hubbard glacier (cruising) 2:00 PM 6:00 PM
Sun juneau, alaska 8:00 AM 10:00 PM
Mon skagway, alaska 7:00 AM 8:30 PM
Tue icy strait, alaska 8:00 AM 4:00 PM
Wed ketchikan, alaska 8:00 AM 7:00 PM
Thu inside passage (cruising) -- --
Fri vancouver, british columbia 7:00 AM --
You get the same 7 nights either way...Basic difference is Celebrity gives you four ports (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchican and Icy Strait) while Princess gives you three (No Icy Strait).... Princess basically gives you three "at sea" days, Celebrity only two...Both lines do the same inside passage at sea the last day...Princess has you at sea all day the first two days in College Fjord and Glacier Bay while Celebrity just has you floating around by Hubbard Glacier for its one at-sea day...Some folks swear that Princess' glacier float bys are "don't miss"...to me, it's sort of a wash...Celebrity also stays longer in every port ( I don't care that Princess get's to port at 5:30 in the morning--I'm still not up and haven't eaten breakfast yet)...
Also, maybe a personal thing with me, but my one cruise with Princess was very disappointing...I think Celebrity, as a whole, delivers a far superior product--it's classier, more traditional, the ships are incredibly roomy and uncrowded, the service and food exceptional...and, from my experience, much better run...
Of course, that's just my opinion...
