Blue Water Holidays offers some of the following specific cruise experiences:

Europe River Cruises: Rhine and Moselle
World River Cruises: River Nile, Egypt
Coastal Cruises: Norwegian Coast
Exotic Cruises: Tahiti and French Polynesia
Yangtze River: Scenic section of Yangtze River
Scottish Highlands and Islands
Cruise the Maldives
River Mekong
Cruises from the UK
Dubai and Far East
South America
Mediterranean
Polar Cruises
Panama Canal
Greek Islands
Alaska Cruises
New England and Canada Coast
Sailing Cruises
Luxury Cruises

Sailing Cruises feature tall ships that sail around the world. Destinations include the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mediterranean, Greek Islands, and Amalfi Coast. Blue Water Holidays luxury cruises feature 6-star ships with all-suite accommodations, balconies, and butler service. Blue Water Holidays’ luxury cruise selection includes: Russia, Costa Rica, Tahiti, Monaco, Nile, Hong Kong, Caribbean, Lisbon, and beautiful Paris.

Blue Water Holidays offers dozens of cruise deals – too many to mention here. A good example of BWH cruise offers are the exotic and adventure cruise specials. These include early booking, late cruise deals, and special offers for small ship and adventure cruises to exotic destinations worldwide. BWH cruise offers range from free return flights to discounts up to 15 percent on longer expeditions. Exciting locations for exotic and adventure cruises include the Galapagos Islands, River Amazon, Maldives, Tahiti, Far East, Hawaii, Costa Rica and Panama Canal. Also features Polar cruises to the Arctic, Antarctic, and Alaska.

BWH feature cruise ships include Regent Seven Seas Navigator, Orion, Yasawa Princess, Yachts of Seabourn Spirit and Pride, Costa Cruises Romantica, Regent Seven Seas Mariner, Costa Deliziosa. Cruise holidays vary in length, so guests can expect to choose from 7, 10, 11, 14, and even 22-night cruises.

If you are interested in booking a Blue Water Holidays cruise, contact BWH Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. –5:30 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. –4 p.m. at +44 1756 706500. Blue Water Holidays is located at Bridge House, Brook Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1PP – 01756 706500. Website: www.cruisingholidays.co.uk/.

Blue Water Holidays Pricing

Blue Water Holidays pricing varies greatly depending on the type of cruise, the cruise ship, and the length of stay. The following are just a few examples of BWH rates.

-Dubai from £699 (US $1,077)
-Arctic from £835(US $1,287)
-2-week Maldives from £1635 (US $2,521)
-20-night Costa Rica from £3295 (US $5,081)
-Windstar Cruises from £1489 (US $2,296)

When reviewing prices, please keep in mind that the Blue Waters Holidays official website features many exclusive specials and discount offers. Some may be weekly, while others may be seasonal or one-time promotions. Please spend some time browsing through all pages on the website for details.

Cruise lines will do anything to book their cruises way in advance, so you may enjoy hot cruise deals such as special incentives, credits, and cash back just for booking far in advance. If you’re one to procrastinate, you too may be rewarded! If a cruise isn’t booked several weeks or so before the cruise departure date, prices are slashed. If you book last minute, you may enjoy savings up to 75 percent!

Other ways to enjoy hot cruise deals include: booking off-season, booking with a group, taking advantage of package deals, booking online, and booking with popular cruise lines. Some of the world’s most popular cruise lines include: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, SilverSea Cruises, and Windstar Cruises.

If you want to book off-season, you’ll find the most hot cruise deals in year round destinations. For example, slow or “shoulder” seasons for say Alaska, may differ from the Mexican Riviera. Here is a list of destinations and their slow seasons: Alaska, May and September; Bermuda, April-May and September-October; Canada/New England, July-August; the Caribbean, late April-May, September-early January; Hawaii, late August, late November, and February; Mexican Riviera, early January and May, October-November; Eastern and Western Mediterranean, March-April and September-November. Expect plenty of perks during these times as well.

Besides hot cruise deals for groups and families, just about every cruise line features special rates for seniors. The only catch is, to lock in special senior rates you can’t book online. You must call a cruise travel specialist or book directly with the cruise line. Keep in mind that a senior is typically defined as a person who is 55 or older and proof of age is required.

For more hot cruise deals visit any of the following popular discount booking search engines’ websites to check out some of the best hot cruise deals, to shop and compare, and you can even book your cruise right online!

Kayak.com
Expedia.com
Orbitz.com
Travelocity.com
CheapTickets.com
VacationsToGo.com

Cruise lines will do anything to book their cruises way in advance, so you may enjoy cheap cruises such as special incentives, credits, and cash back just for booking far in advance. So, booking during the months of November or December for your March or April cruise is never a bad idea. Additionally, booking during the month of March for a cruise several months down the line has its advantages as well. If you’re one to procrastinate, you too may be rewarded! If a cruise isn’t booked several weeks or so before the March or April sail date, prices are slashed. If you book at the very last minute during the month of March or April, you may enjoy savings up to 75%.

Other ways to score March and April cheap cruises include: booking with a group, taking advantage of package deals, booking online, and booking with popular cruise lines. Some of the world’s most popular cruise lines include: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, SilverSea Cruises, and Windstar Cruises.

In addition to the months of March and April, when the Eastern and Western Mediterranean experiences its “slow season” (March-April and September-November), you will find plenty of cheap cruises in year-around destinations. For example, slow or “shoulder” seasons for Alaska may differ from the Mexican Riviera. Here is a list of destinations and their slow seasons: Alaska, May and September; Bermuda, April-May and September-October; Canada/New England, July-August; the Caribbean, late April-May, September-early January; Hawaii, late August, late November, and February; and the Mexican Riviera, early January and May, October-November.

Besides plenty of March and April cheap cruises for groups and families, just about every cruise line has March cheap cruises for seniors. A senior is typically defined as a person who is 55 or older. To lock in the March or April cheap cruise rate for seniors, you can’t book online. You must call a cruise travel specialist or book directly with the cruise line. Keep in mind that proof of age is required.

For more March and April cheap cruises visit any of the following discount booking search engines:

Kayak.com
Expedia.com
Orbitz.com
Travelocity.com
VacationsToGo.com
CruiseDeals.com
Hotwire.com

When it comes to choosing the world’s best cruise ships, it all depends on what you’re interested in. A cruise line like Carnival Cruise Lines which features colorful ships might appeal to some, while premium cruise lines such as Silversea Cruises or Crystal Cruises might appeal to others.

But if you want to find out which cruise lines and ships are the best rated cruise lines in the industry as determined by industry professionals, passengers, and more, read through Travel+Leisure’s world’s best below. It is important to keep in mind that the majority of vessels belonging to large-ship lines carry more than 400 passengers and the majority of vessels belonging to small-ship categories carry 400 passengers or less.

Travel+Leisure’s best rated small-ship cruise lines are:

1. SeaDream Yacht Club
2. Seabourn Cruiseline
3. Silversea Cruises
4. Abercrombie & Kent
5. Windstar Cruises
6. Grand Circle Small Ship Cruises
7. Avalon Waterways
8. Majestic America Line
9. Clipper Cruise Line
10. Peter Deilmann Cruises

Travel+Leisure’s best rated large-ship cruise lines are:

1. Crystal Cruises
2. Regent Seven Seas Cruises
3. Oceania Cruises
4. Disney Cruise Line
5. Cunard Line
6. Celebrity Cruises
7. Holland America Line
8. Orient Lines
9. Princess Cruises
10. Royal Caribbean International

The cruise lines below are best rated cruise lines according to a variety of polls and reviews by people just like you!

Silversea Cruises

The name says it all — Silversea Cruises offers the best in luxury, service and sophistication. “Silversea creates exceptional ocean journeys with unique opportunities to explore remote ports-of-call from an intimate haven of incomparable luxury, each voyage is a unique masterpiece.” If money is no object, then a Silversea cruise is for you. Silverseas fleet consists of the Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper, each designed to offer a level of luxury that surpasses most other cruise ships.

Silversea Cruises features an endless number of voyages to exotic places and a few familiar places. Just a few Silversea voyages include: Lisbon to NYC, Copenhagen to Hamburg, Dubai to Mumbai, Hong Kong to Singapore, Athens to Venice and Rome to Istanbul, to name a few.

For more information about Silversea Cruises visit Silversea.com or call 800-722-9955 Americas, +377-9770-2424, Monaco.

Norwegian Cruise Lines

Not only is Norwegian Cruise Lines popular for its spectacular seven-day tours of the Hawaiian Islands, but Norwegian’s $400-Million luxury ship Norwegian Star offers the largest collection of restaurants among the popular cruise lines. Not only is the collection of restaurants large, the ship itself is even larger. Norwegian Star stretches well over three football fields in length and it has 25 decks and 372 staterooms including the exclusive Garden Villa Suites, which measure 5,800 square feet. The service on this ship is hefty as well — with 1,100 staff members, the ship has a crew to passenger ratio of 1:2 so you can rest assured that you will enjoy impeccable service throughout your voyage. The Norwegian star visits the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kuaui.

For more information about Norwegian Cruise Lines visit the Norwegian Cruise Lines website at www.ncl.com or call 866-625-1166.

Disney Cruise Lines

As families with three, four and even five children in the home continue to grow, so does the demand for family-friendly vacations. Disney Cruise Lines has answered that demand making it the leader in family cruise experiences and most families would agree — one of the best cruise lines for fun for everyone.

Disney has age-specific children activities, programs, and facilities, ranging from nursery to teenage. Just like Disney World, the staff is amazingly friendly. But before you write it of as just a family cruise line, remember, Disney isn’t just for kids — parents and even grandparents won’t feel left out. Most facilities appeal to both adults and children and some are even for adults only. Disney Cruise Lines is one of the most affordable cruise lines around.

Ports of call include Key West, Cozumel, Nassau and Castaway Cay, to name a few and Mediterranean ports of call include Barcelona, Cadiz, Naples and Gibraltar — to name a few.

For more information about Disney Cruise Lines click here to visit the Disney Cruise Lines website or call 800-951-3532. For a directory of websites for all cruise lines, visit Ships and Cruises. Here you can access all cruise lines websites along with a detailed description of each cruise lines’ fleet.

About Luxury Cruises

A luxury cruise is like no other cruise in the world. Some of the immediate differences you will notice on luxury cruises is the types of passengers on a luxury cruise are different than on a regular cruise; the destinations and ports of call are typically exotic or remote; the excursions lean towards the elaborate and expensive; and even the ships are different. You won’t feel like you’re just a face in the crowd. On a luxury cruise you will feel like the staff is there to cater to you and only you.

While this highly desirable area of cruise travel is distinctly different from other areas of cruise travel, a few of the amenities on luxury cruise lines are similar to others. Most luxury cruise lines will accommodate smaller numbers of passengers, which makes it easier to offer personalized service, privacy, and a more intimate environment. However, there are several lines that cater to bigger crowds of luxury seekers, but they are far and few between. Crystal Cruises, for example, features larger ships for its luxury cruises, but they still manage to offer stellar service to satisfied (repeat) customers. Cunard Cruise Line is another example of the large ship/luxury cruise. They have larger crowds, but the luxury service and feel doesn’t suffer.

Here’s what you can expect on a luxury cruise:

·Exotic Destinations and Unique Ports of Call such as Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Northern Europe, and South America with places like Athens, Copenhagen, Dubai, Lisbon, Tahiti, and Mumbai
·Elaborate Spa Services
·Butler Service
·World Class Cuisine Served in a Formal Setting
·Formal Nights
·Over the Top Excursions
·Designer and Name Brand Products in your Suite
·Sophisticated Entertainment
·Lots of Leisure Time — Meaning No Schedules
·Guest Lectures
·Privacy
·All-Inclusive or Included-Amenities such as Alcohol, Excursions, etc.

What you won’t find on luxury cruise lines are large crowds, large families with kids, planned or scheduled “family reunion” type activities, off-the-wall entertainment, bustling casinos, noisy nightclubs and discos, common ports of call, and tasteless comedy acts.

If you would like to book a cruise on a luxury cruise line today, contact the cruise line directly or contact a cruise travel specialist. If you would love to book a luxury cruise, but you can’t afford one, there are several options available to you. Princess Cruises and Holland America Line both have “luxury cruise” offerings, but prices are far less than a regular luxury cruise. Contact Princess Cruises or Holland America directly for details.

Want to find out more about any given luxury cruise line? Visit any of the top cruise review websites listed below:

·Cruisecritic.com
·Cruisereviewsonline.com
·Cruisereport.com
·Cruisedirectonline.com
·Cruisemates.com

Cruisecritic.com offers more than just reviews, this site has several search functions to help you find everything from bargains and discounts to theme cruises, and exotic itineraries. The site also includes features, news, planning tools, and a variety of cruise message boards where fellow cruisers can exchange stories and information.

Reviews, ratings, rankings, and popularity contests — at Cruisereviewsonline.com find out which cruise ships are at the top and which ones are not. Get other information on cruise lines, as well as information, ratings and rankings on embarkation ports, and ports-of-call.

Cruisereport.com offers the lowdown on cruise lines from A to Z. Unbiased reviews, cruise searches, quotes, and feature articles are just a few of the sites extras. You can also search for “the perfect cruise,” and browse through news pieces about cruising. After checking out their ratings and reviews, you can also search for discounts and deals. With more than 50,000 visitors per month, Cruisereport.com has information on roughly 8,500 current sailings.

Cruisedirectonline.com relies on reader surveys to help keep reviews & ratings in check. In addition to cruise ship reviews and ratings, visitors to the site will find top ten and top thirty lists, as well as feature articles about the best of the best in the world of cruises. The site has other information about discounts, as well as information on roughly 12,000 sailings. Cruise Direct Online has been featured in Frommer’s Budget Travel Magazine, and on MSNBC, CNBC, MSN Money, and more.

Cruisemates.com offers short reviews and ratings. The two types of ratings include: star ratings and value ratings. Star ratings are based on one question — “how good is this ship?” One star is the worst, five stars is the best. Cruisemates.com takes everything from age and accommodations to food, service, and entertainment into account when rating the worlds cruise ships. Value ratings or “thumbs up” ratings are all about the “Bang for your Buck.” Five thumbs up means the ship is an excellent value while one thumb up means you won’t find much of anything that resembles a value here.

The Caribbean is a popular cruise destination for many reasons. The Caribbean has excellent weather, dozens of exciting activities, spectacular scenery, and some of the most spectacular swimming beaches in the world. A Caribbean vacation travel cruise also offers several different types of cruises, exciting ports of call, unique shore excursions, and a wide variety of itineraries. There are four different types of Caribbean vacation travel cruises available: Eastern Caribbean Cruise, Western Caribbean Cruise, Southern Caribbean Cruise, and Deep Southern Caribbean Cruise.

Eastern Caribbean cruises will typically leave from Florida (longer cruises may leave from New York) with stops in places like the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Tortola, San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Western Caribbean cruises may leave from Florida, Texas, or New Orleans and may stop in the Bahamas, Key West, Cozumel, Calica/Playa del Carmen, Costa Maya, Belize, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama. Southern Caribbean cruises may depart from Barbados, San Juan Puerto Rico or Ft. Lauderdale. Depending on where you depart from, ports of call typically include: St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, Dominica, Martinique, San Juan, and Aruba. St. Thomas is probably the most popular port of call out of all Caribbean cruises.

The most exotic type of cruise among the Caribbean cruises is the Deep Southern Caribbean cruise. Many Deep Southern Caribbean Cruises are port intensive, offering plenty of opportunities to explore or relax on the islands. Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, St. Maarten, Tortola, St. Kitts, Dominica and St. Lucia may be considered Southern and Deep Southern ports of call. Other Deep Southern Ports of call include: Ocho Rios, Cartagena, Colon, San Blas, Puerto Limon, Costa Maya, and Cayo Levantado, to name a few. Deep Southern Caribbean cruises are typically longer as well.

Depending on the type of cruise you choose, Caribbean shore excursions will have some similarities such as swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and sunbathing, but there are many Caribbean shore excursions are distinctly different. Tubing on the Layou River in Dominica, Stingray City at Grand Cayman Island, Hiking the El Junque Rain Forest in Puerto Rico, High Tea at Sunbury Plantation on Barbados, Walking Up Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica, and America’s Cup Yacht Racing on St. Maarten are just a few unique favorites among the many cruise excursion offerings.

Once you have decided which Caribbean vacation travel cruise is for you, the length of time you would like to cruise (anywhere from 3 days up to 15 days or more) and the types of things you would like to do on your cruise, it’s time to select a cruise line. Choose any of the following cruise lines to book your Caribbean Cruise. Please click here for a directory of all cruise line websites. You can also contact your local cruise travel agent. Scroll through for information about discounts and deals.

Carnival Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruises
Costa Cruises
Crystal Cruises
Cunard Line
Discovery Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line
Holland America Cruise Line
MSC Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line
Oceania Cruises
Princess Cruise Line
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Royal Caribbean
The Yachts of Seabourn
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises
Windstar Cruises

To score deep discounts and deals on your Caribbean vacation travel cruise, visit any of the following popular discount cruise websites or discount booking search engines to check out the lowest prices on cruises, to shop and compare, and you can even book your Caribbean cruise right online!

Kayak.com
Expedia.com
Orbitz.com
Travelocity.com
CheapTickets.com
VacationsToGo.com
Cruise411.com
Cruise.com

To find out more about discount cruises, you can visit any number of cruise review websites to read reviews from real passengers, with real experiences. While there are many cruise review websites to choose from, some of the most popular (and reliable) cruise review websites include:

Cruisecritic.com
Cruisereviewsonline.com
Cruisereport.com
Cruisedirectonline.com
Cruisemates.com

If you don’t want to do the miniscule amount of work required to find the cheapest cruise deals, feel free to contact a cruise travel specialist. A cruise travel specialist will have access to thousands of dirt cheap deals on just about every cruise line available whether you are looking for a family cruise vacation or a luxury cruise. If you prefer to go it alone, you will also have success finding some of the cheapest cruise prices available. There are several ways to land the cheapest cruise deals on the market today.

Cruise lines love to book their cruises way in advance, so you may enjoy special incentives, credits, and cash back just for booking far in advance. If you don’t mind waiting until the last minute, you will enjoy the biggest savings cruise lines have to offer. Here’s how last minute cruises work: If a cruise isn’t booked several weeks or so before the cruise is set to sail, prices are slashed. If you book last minute, you may enjoy savings up to 75%. Cruise lines will do anything to fill up those last few cabins!

Other ways to enjoy savings include: booking off-season, booking with a group, taking advantage of package deals, booking online, and booking with popular cruise lines. Some of the world’s most popular cruise lines include: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, SilverSea Cruises, and Windstar Cruises.

If you don’t mind booking off-season, you will find the most bargain opportunities in year round destinations. For example, slow or shoulder seasons for say Alaska, may differ from the Mexican Riviera. Here is a list of destinations and their slow seasons: Alaska, May and September; Bermuda, April-May and September-October; Canada/New England, July-August; the Caribbean, late April-May, September-early January; Hawaii, late August, late November, and February; Mexican Riviera, early January and May, October-November; Eastern and Western Mediterranean, March-April and September-November. Expect for the quirks and perks to be plentiful during these times as well.

Besides special rates for groups and families, just about every cruise line has special rates for seniors. A senior is typically defined as a person who is 55 or older. To lock in special rates you can’t book online. You must call a cruise travel specialist or book directly with the cruise line. Keep in mind that proof of age is required.

For a long list of the cheapest cruise deals available, visit any of the following popular online booking search engines or discount cruise websites:

·Kayak.com
·Expedia.com
·Orbitz.com
·Travelocity.com
·VacationsToGo.com
·Bargain Travel Cruises
·Cruise.com
·Cruise Travel Outlet
·American Discount Cruises

Good Luck!

While this highly desirable area of cruise travel is distinctly different from other areas of cruise travel, a few of the amenities on luxury lines are very similar to others. Most luxury cruises will accommodate smaller numbers of passengers, which makes it easier to offer personalized service, privacy, and a more intimate environment. However, there are several lines that cater to bigger crowds of luxury seekers, but they are far and few between. Crystal Cruises, for example, features larger ships for its luxury cruises, but they still manage to offer stellar service to satisfied (repeat) customers. Cunard Cruise Line is another example of the large ship/luxury cruise. They have larger crowds, but the luxury service and feel doesn’t suffer.

Some of the top luxury cruise lines in the cruise industry today include: Seabourn Cruises, Sea Dream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruises, Cunard Line, Crystal Cruises, and Radisson Seven Seas. The vast majority of luxury ships will accommodate anywhere from 200-300 passengers — 110 for Sea Dream Yacht Club.

Here’s what you can expect on a luxury cruise:

·Exotic Destinations and Unique Ports of Call such as Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Northern Europe, and South America with places like Athens, Copenhagen, Dubai, Lisbon, Tahiti, and Mumbai
·Elaborate Spa Services
·Butler Service
·World Class Cuisine Served in a Formal Setting
·Formal Nights
·Over the Top Excursions
·Designer and Name Brand Products in your Suite
·Sophisticated Entertainment
·Lots of Leisure Time — Meaning No Schedules
·Guest Lectures
·Privacy
·All-Inclusive or Included-Amenities such as Alcohol, Excursions, etc.

What you won’t find on a luxury cruise is crowds, large families with kids, planned or scheduled family reunion type activities, tacky entertainment, bustling casinos, noisy nightclubs and discos, common ports of call, and tasteless comedy acts.

If you would like to book a luxury cruise today, contact the cruise line directly or contact a cruise travel specialist. If you would love to book a luxury cruise, but you can’t afford one, there are several options available to you. Princess Cruises and Holland America Line both have luxury cruise offerings, but prices are far less than a regular luxury cruise. Contact Princess Cruises or Holland America directly for details.

Some of the world’s top premium cruise lines feature frequent sailings to Alaska. These include: Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Celebrity Cruises, Cruise West, Princess Cruise Lines, and Holland America Line. For cruisers on a budget, try Carnival Cruise Lines popular Gulf of Alaska Cruise. No matter which cruise line you choose for cruises to Alaska or when you decide to go, you will have a front seat to more than 100,000 gleaming glaciers, 16 of the country’s 20 tallest mountains, and wildlife beyond your wildest dreams.

While a few of the smaller ships begin their Alaska cruise season around April, the official Alaska cruise season runs from May-September. Because the sun doesn’t set in the summertime and temperatures are mild, June, July, and August are the most popular (and most expensive) months to take an Alaska cruise. Thanks to thinner crowds and super low fares, May and September are quickly becoming popular months to book. The weather can be tricky during the month of May as it is Alaska’s “transitional period” weather wise. Temperatures dip fairly rapidly during the month of September, so keep an eye on the weather forecast before you go so you’ll know exactly what to pack.

Cruises to Alaska typically cover Far North Alaska (Barrow, Nome and Prudhoe Bay), Interior Alaska (Denali National Park), Southcentral Alaska (Anchorage, Kenai and Seward) and Southeast Alaska (Juneau, Skagway). Juneau, Nome, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, and Nome are popular ports of call and the Gulf of Alaska Cruise is the most popular cruise itinerary among the most popular Alaska cruise lines.

The Gulf of Alaska Cruise, offered by Carnival Cruises as well as Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Holland America Line, is typically a week long cruise sailing between Anchorage and Vancouver, B.C. Visitors will tour the glaciers of College Fjord, the mountains of Juneau and the coastal islands of Glacier Bay. Land excursions will cover the endless amounts of shops and restaurants available at every stop and the many architectural sights of Vancouver.

The vast majority of Alaska cruises offer excursions that feature activities such as bear watching, fishing, hiking, kayaking, rafting, and visits to Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. There are also a variety of wildlife tours featuring opportunities to watch everything from sheep, moose and grizzlies to polar bears, bald eagles and caribou interacting in their natural habitat.

Base prices for most cruises to Alaska will include: accommodations, onboard entertainment, activities, meals and standard facilities. Expect to pay for alcohol, gambling, tips and extras such as spa treatments as well as port fees and taxes. Unless you book an “air and sea” package, you will also pay for airfare from your town/city to the port of embarkation, which is typically Anchorage or Vancouver. If you want to save money, best bet is to book online. Most cruise lines offer amazing Internet deals and discounts as well as specials for purchasing excursions in advance.

To book cruises to Alaska, contact your favorite Alaska cruise line directly or visit the cruise lines official website. Please click here for a directory of all cruise line websites. You can also contact your local cruise travel agent for discounts and deals or visit any of the discount cruise websites or discount booking search engines listed below.

Kayak.com
Expedia.com
Orbitz.com
Travelocity.com
CheapTickets.com
VacationsToGo.com
Cruise411.com
Cruise.com

Best Alaska Cruise Lines

Some of the best Alaska cruise lines in service today include Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Celebrity Cruises, Cruise West, Princess Cruise Lines, and Holland America Line.

Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, and Celebrity Cruises offer the utmost in pampering, spas, accommodations, cuisine, and views. In addition most cabins have private balconies. These luxury lines offer the best Alaska cruises for the sophisticated traveler with money to burn. Silversea Cruises offers all-suite luxury on four magnificent vessels including the Silver Cloud and the Silver Wind, as well as the Millennium Class Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper, and a wide variety of Alaska enrichment voyages and explorations. Guests can even personalize their Alaska voyage.

Regent Seven Seas also features all-suite cabins with private balconies aboard the luxurious Seven Seas Mariner, and world-class cuisine as well as enrichment programs with an Alaska theme, and adventure excursions. Celebrity Cruises is excellent for pampering as Infinity and Summit feature AquaSpas with thalassotherapy pools and a wide assortment of beauty treatments. Art aficionados on their way to Alaska will also appreciate the Celebrity’s impressive art collections as well. Guests aboard any of Celebrity’s 11 ships can expect an endless number of unforgettable cruises filled with excursions highlighting culture, wildlife, history, and geology. Alaska excursions will include all highlights along with everything from flightseeing and flights to the Arctic Circle to dog sledding.

Cruise West is perfect for Alaska adventure seekers interested in small ships cruising. Small ships allow the visitor to get up close and personal with marine life, nature, and the elements. Small ships cruises also offer the most ambitious itineraries. The smaller the ship, the more remote the destination will be. This basically means that guests will visit places big ships just can’t reach. The focus of Cruise West Alaska cruises is adventure, enrichment (lectures, learning activities), and tours led by naturalists and historians. Cruise West offers the very best opportunities for whale watching, canoeing and kayaking, wildlife viewing (bears, eagles, seals), and glacier exploration.

Princess Cruise Lines and Holland America Cruise Line are considered some of the best Alaska cruise lines for their excellent cruisetours. These cruise lines currently lead the industry in interior voyages (Alaska and Yukon Territory) and Holland has exclusive passage into the Yukon’s Kluane National Park, as well as Tombstone Territorial Park. Princess Cruise Line’s 7-day Gulf of Alaska cruise should be noted as well.

The majority of the best Alaska cruises mentioned above are kid-free, so there are several cruise lines that top the list for families interested in an Alaska cruise. Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines feature special shore excursions for kids and teens, as well as onboard activities that will keep kids busy during long days at sea.

The way late cruise deals work is quite simple. If any given cruise isn’t completely booked several months before the departure date, cruise lines will automatically reduce the prices on all empty cabins. In most cases, discounts can range anywhere from 50%-75% off regular cruise prices. This means you may have the opportunity to take a cruise vacation to places like Mexico, the Caribbean, Alaska, and more for as little as $199.

Besides booking your cruise vacation last minute, there are other ways to score discounts on cruises. You can book off-season (try booking off-season last minute), take advantage of package deals, book online, and book with popular cruise line. Popular cruise lines tend to offer more discount cruises than lesser known lines. Some of the world’s most popular cruise lines include: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea Cruises, and Windstar Cruises.

If you want to book off-season, you will find the most cruise deals and discounts in year round destinations. For example, slow or shoulder seasons for Alaska, may differ from the Mexican Riviera. The following is a list of destinations and their slow seasons: Alaska, May and September; Bermuda, April-May and September-October; Canada/New England, July-August; the Caribbean, late April-May, September-early January; Hawaii, late August, late November, and February; Mexican Riviera, early January and May, October-November; Eastern and Western Mediterranean, March-April and September-November.

Cruise lines also offer special rates for seniors. A senior is typically defined as a person who is 55 or older. In order to take advantage of special senior rates, you can book through a cruise travel specialist or call your favorite cruise line to speak with a representative. Proof of age is required.

For access to discount cruises of all kinds, including late cruise deals, visit any of the following popular discount cruise websites or discount booking search engines to check out the lowest prices on cruises, to shop and compare, and you can even book your cruise right online!

Kayak.com
Expedia.com
Orbitz.com
Travelocity.com
CheapTickets.com
VacationsToGo.com
Cruise411.com
Cruise.com

Tip: Other sources for late cruise deals include Lastminutecruises.com and Moments Notice Discount Travel. Lastminutecruises.com features some of the Internets lowest rates on Alaska cruises, Caribbean cruises, European cruises, and Mexico cruises for the following cruise lines: Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, and Celebrity Cruises. In addition to many of the cruise lines listed above, Moments Notice specializes in discount cruises for luxury cruise lines such as the Yachts of Seabourn, Oceania Cruises, and Cunard Line as well as Azamara Cruises and MSC Italian Cruises.