Travel deal: Alaska cruise from Seattle

Call it the easy Alaska cruise — round-trip from Seattle. It stops in Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria, British Colombia. Plus, you see glaciers. The trade-off? It misses Anchorage and the Denali National Park Preserve.

But, visiting Alaska round-trip out of Seattle saves money on airfare because you don’t have to fly to Vancouver and home from Anchorage or vice versa like you do on the big Alaska cruises.

All kinds of Alaska cruises from Seattle are on sale now — look for mid-June departures for the best deals, about $899 per person (based on double occupancy) for a seven-night cruise. You also can get bonuses like shipboard credits.

Among the ships sailing this route in 2014 will be the Grand Princess, the Golden Princess, the NCL Pearl, the NCL Jewel, the Holland America Westerdam and Amsterdam, and the Carnival Miracle.

New to cruising? Get a travel agent to book your cruise for you so you can get the best cabins and deals. Experienced cruisers can check out deals at www.expedia.com/Cruises.