Alaska, Europe 2010 Preview
Attention cruisers -- now is the time to start looking ahead to 2010 Alaska and Europe cruises! Even air is available to book now for trips up to 330 days out.
Speaking of air, fares appear to be holding steady, so looking at some of the early "2 for 1 plus air" deals is worthwhile. Oceania in particular is off to a strong start with aggressive pricing designed to fill up their ships fast. Every year, people end up disappointed because they wait too long to act -- right now, you can have confidence that booking an Oceania cruise early is the smart way to go. The preview mailers have gone out, but if you didn't receive one and are interested, please give me a call as I have a few spares on hand. Prices will be raised on September 1st. Another advantage of booking now is that Cruise Planners has a lot of blocked space on Oceania sailings, and are offering group amenities like free gratuities and shipboard credits!
I don't have any print material from Regent yet, but they will be offering similar deals.
Also kicking off with a bang is Celebrity -- their introductory pricing for next season's Alaska cruises is $500 per person lower than Princess! Now you know I love Princess, and at some point pricing will probably be comparable between the two lines, but why not go ahead and get a head start with the lowest prices that we're likely to see for 2010 -- PLUS get first dibs on the best cabins!
For family-friendly, easy-on-the-budget cruise shoppers -- major news flash for Alaska 2010 -- the Carnival Spirit will be sailing round-trip from Seattle!! This move will mean major competition for Norwegian's Star and Pearl. However, with glacier-viewing at Glacier Bay, and a longer visit in Victoria, the Norwegian Pearl still offers one of the best Inside Passage cruise itineraries. I'll be happy to help you compare the ships and itineraries -- sitting down together with the catalogues would be a good way to get started -- give me a call or stop by the office.
Let's see, what else is happening? Too much to cover in one little blog posting -- I'll break it down into segments and report next on the exciting itineraries and changes that Holland America Line and Princess are making in Europe. Thanks and talk soon -- Janet
972-231-0066, SW Corner Arapaho & Plano Road suite 207 (in Richardson), jmclaren@cruiseplanners.com
