Pam
I just returned from an Alaska cruise on Princess Cruise Lines. I paid for the cruise outright and used points and miles to offset some of our other trip costs. Sure, it is possible to pay for a cruise. Some credit card issuers, like Chase, American Express, and Citi, allow you to book cruises through their travel portals. But I find that I can get more value by paying cash and then reducing my costs on flights and hotels with points and miles. It can also work as a way to meet a minimum spend and earn points, rather than redeeming them.
I never use points or miles for domestic flights and didn’t in this instance either. We were flying to Vancouver to catch the cruise and flying out of Anchorage to return home, and United had direct flights to and from Denver in each direction. I used some remaining United Travel Bank credits that I had purchased (and gotten credited for) with my husband’s card_name to offset the flight home.
I also used our $300 travel credits from our Ritz-Carlton cards (no longer available for application) to upgrade our seats home to first class, which was a great idea, as the flights were 5 hours long and we were tired after all our travel.
We stayed two nights at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. It is a Category 5 hotel, and we used 20K Hyatt points per night to stay there. I gave my sister a Guest of Honor award, which earned me an elite night credit, and I also earned two elite night credits for my stay. I also applied a Suite Upgrade Award (SUA) to my stay, so we had a large suite. While the hotel was older and slightly outdated, it was in a perfect location relative to the cruise terminal, and I would stay there again.
We loved the location because we were able to walk to the cruise terminal. There were numerous restaurants nearby, and we really enjoyed eating at Joey Burrard the first night. We also took a Viator tour to Butchart Gardens and Victoria (both on Vancouver Island) on the second day.
After the cruise, which we really enjoyed, we stayed at the Hyatt House Anchorage. It is a Category 3 hotel and cost us 9K Hyatt points, off-peak, per night. As Globalists, we were upgraded to a complimentary one-bedroom king suite. This hotel is quite new and was clean and sleek, and we had a great stay there.
We used a $10 Lyft credit from my card_name card to get from downtown Anchorage to the hotel. A dining credit from a Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card reduced our lunch costs at Glacier Brewhouse in Downtown Anchorage. We could access the Alaska Airlines Lounge in Terminal S in Anchorage using our Priority Pass membership.
Credit card points and miles helped reduce our expenses on our cruise trip.
While it is possible to use points and miles to book a cruise, I prefer to use them to reduce some costs instead. I also used credit card benefits to reduce some other expenses.
Podcast 22. Travel Disney Cruises: Jess’s Insider Tips for Maximum Points and Savings
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