American Safaris Cruises is well known for its luxury Alaska cruises.  Its long time former CEO, Dan Blanchard, will be back in charge as his new holding company, InnerSea Discoveries, purchases the small ship operator.  The new management will be in effect beginning with the 2009 Alaska cruise season.

Blanchard has committed to maintaining American Safari Cruises’ strong focus on natural history and environmental education for all of its Alaska cruise tours.  Their ships are some of the smallest operating Alaska cruise routes, only carrying between ten and forty passengers.  Because of their small size, their guests enjoy a far more intimate, flexibly itinerary featuring active shore excursions and the finest cuisine.

Their prices are competitive for the luxury Alaska cruise market, starting at about $4,495 per person.  If you can afford it, an Alaskan cruise with American Safari Cruises is sure to be a memorable one!

Source: USA Today

As reported by the Calgary Herald, Royal Caribbean claims it’s not the crushing recession or low bookings that have forced it to take Serenades of the Sea off the Alaska cruise market.  No, it’s high taxes!

I guess it sounds better than simply saying your prices are too high to fill all of your ships.

It’s true that Alaskan cruising is made a lot more expensive by the head taxes charged for each passenger, not to mention local taxes and fees, corporate taxes, gaming taxes and the cost of marine pilots.

But all of these factors have existed for years, a period when more and more ships were brought online.  2008 was a record year for Alaskan cruising–and profits!

Just high taxes?  I’m not buying it.  Over capacity, plain and simple.  Royal Caribbean might have more luck offering more aggressive Alaska cruise deals.

Source: Calgary Herald

Just in from The West Australian, Silversea Cruises has announced aggressive savings for a number of its upcoming Alaska cruises.

The cruise line is offering an onboard spending credit of $774 per person–a full $1549 per couple–for its May and September sailings on its Silver Shadow ship.

The promotion can be applied to shore excursions, spa treatments, and a host of other amenities.

Why the credit and not an outright discount on the price of the cruise?

The logic is that the super luxury cruise lines such as Silversea Cruises want to make sure they are not tarnishing their brand.  With their premium cruises and prices, the last thing they want is to be viewed as a discount cruise line!

One thing is for certain, anyone shopping for discount Alaska cruises should consider these two departures on Silversea Cruises to make their trip far more affordable.

Source: The West Australian

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Alaska’s statehood, and Cruise West has some phenomenal Alaska cruise deals and itineraries on offer to celebrate.

Cruise West began offering cruises in Alaska in 1973, and has risen to become one of the premier small ship Alaska cruise lines.  Their ships carry no more than 140 guests, ensuring an intimate experience and allowing them to get up close and personal to the glaciers that are the highlight of any Alaska cruise itinerary.

Cruise West has arranged to bring on board a great lineup of special guests on select itineraries, including Vic Fisher and Jack Coghill, both of whom signed the original Alaska statehood document in 1959.  Also featured are former Governor of Alaska Tony Knowles and Dick Mackey, the very first Iditarod dog sled racing champion.

Food lovers won’t be disappointed either, as Cruise West has gone all out to ensure they provide the best of local Alaskan cuisine.  Breakfasts will include local berries and birch tree syrup, sure to give maple syrup lovers a new taste experience.  Of course, no Alaskan cruise would be complete without seafood, and the state’s world famous salmon, black cod, halibut and crab will be in abundant supply.

To make things even more attractive, Cruise West is offering an additional $50 onboard credit for anyone celebrating a 50th birthday or wedding anniversary.  If you can book early you can take advantage of some great discounts that bring starting prices down to just $999 per person.

Source: PR Newswire

Robin Farley, an analyst for UBS Investment Research, recently talked about the recent poor stock market performance of the major cruise lines.  According to his research, their shares are tumbling because it has been more difficult for them to attract customers in the current economic climate, and investors are worried about their profitability.

Of interest to readers of this blog, Farley reports that their profits are being particularly hard hit in the Alaska cruise market.  Soft demand in the early part of the year forced the cruise lines to lower their prices.  The strategy worked to get guests to book tours, but at lower prices and thus lower profits for the companies.

In an interesting deviation, Royal Caribbean is resisting the temptation to offer discounts as aggressive as its major competitors, reasoning that even with slightly lower bookings it can make more money with higher fares.  It’s not a bad strategy, providing the other cruise lines don’t lure away too many of their potential customers with more attractive tours.  No matter how you look at it, though, the bottom line is that this season offers the most attractive Alaska cruise deals in recent history.

Source: Associated Press