2012 WhaleCoast Alaska Fees and General Info
All-Alaska Tour Fee: The 2012 fee for the North Central Alaska tour is $2,339. The fee for the All-Alaska Tour is $3,339. This fee covers transportation throughout the tour. Guests are responsible for paying for their own transportation from their home to Fairbanks, and their return flight from Juneau to their home. Fee also covers double occupancy lodging (12 nights) during the tour, all entrance tickets except the options that have an added price, and a total of 23 meals - an average of 2 meals per full travel day. (On some days, all three meals are paid. Other days there is only one.)
Deadlines: Deposit of $300 is due upon registration. Balance is due March 5. Discount of $50 (off the balance due) if the deposit was paid by January 31. Sorry, we cannot reserve space on the tour without the deposit.
Cancellation/Refunds: Cancellations must be made in writing. (Email is OK.) The $300 deposit is nonrefundable. Other tour fees will be refunded according to the following schedule:
- Cancel by March 31 - 80% of tour fees will be refunded.
- Cancel by April 31 - 60% of tour fees will be refunded.
- Cancel by May 31 - 30% of tour fees will be refunded.
- Cancel after May 31 - No refunds. Sorry, no exceptions.
Travel Insurance: We highly recommend that you purchase travel insurance for your entire trip. WhaleCoast Alaska offers a group insurance plan through Travel Guard, a leading travel insurance company. The group plan is superior to individual plans that you might purchase on your own because it includes coverage of pre-existing conditions at the best price we’ve found. In order to make sure you are completely covered, you must insure everything that is pre-paid and non-refundable. Travel Guard has provided fair and timely claims settlements in the past. You can only purchase the Travel Guard group insurance plan through WhaleCoast Alaska. Guests who choose not to purchase the travel insurance must sign and return the travel insurance waiver form. Some sample plan rates are as follows:
Please contact us via email (dfrey@whalecoastak.org) for a personalized travel insurance quote. For more information about Travel Guard Insurance, please review the following two documents; Travel Guard Features and Detailed Group Plan Description.
Lodging: All lodging is pre-paid for double occupancy. Much of the lodging is in private homes of Unitarian Universalists. Our UU hosts provide some local transportation and personal attention to their guests. We use guest and host questionnaires to avoid housing placements where guest's allergies or mobility issues would be problematic. The UU homestay lodging ranges from modest to spacious. Some homes have steep entry walks and interior stairs. We try to house people with mobility issues with hosts who have few or no steps. Many Alaskans have pets. If this would be a problem for you, please let us know in advance. Some hotels and commercial B&B's are used where there is not a UU congregation, or where not enough UU homes are available. We typically use moderately-priced hotels and commercial Bed and Breakfast operations. All hotels that we use have private bathrooms, but the B & B's may have a shared bath. We try to schedule everyone with a similar balance of homestays and commercial lodging. If you have a strong preference for one or the other, we will try to accommodate it. However, with so many people and variables to consider, please be flexible. If you encounter any problems regarding your lodging, please let us know as soon as possible.
Meals: An average of two meals each day is pre-paid and designated in the itineraries. A third daily meal is left to the choice and payment of the guests. Most breakfasts are in the homes of UU hosts. WhaleCoast Alaska guests often order from the menu in restaurants when we provide a group meal. If the restaurant has expensive items, we cap orders to the medium-range entrees by announcing our limit before people order. The price of lunches and dinners, including beverage and tip for which WhaleCoast Alaska pays, ranges from $12 to $30. If a more expensive item is desired than the announced limit, a guest may order it, pay the tour director the difference, and leave an additional tip. We pay 15-20% tips on group meals. Guests pay the waitpersons separately for all alcoholic beverages and desserts that they order, including tips on the drinks.
Gratuities: We pay gratuities for WhaleCoast group meals in restaurants, local group transportation, and group activities. Tips for individual service by porters and for housekeeping in hotels are not included. On occasions when service has been outstanding a tour leader will pay a generous gratuity from WhaleCoast Alaska funds and may suggest to participants that they can add tips if they so desire.
Extended Stay in Alaska: WhaleCoast Alaska allows you to extend your stay in Fairbanks before the tour and in Juneau after the tour ends. We encourage you to do this if your time and finances allow. There are many additional activities in both cities that would be very worthwhile that we are not able to fit into the tour. It also allows those congregations to raise additional funds - 100% of your extended stay
fee goes to the congregations. We are happy to advise you about ways to make the most of your additional time in Alaska, and your host will provide transportation to/from town in coordination with his/her work schedule. You can use a taxi, rental car, or municipal bus to meet the rest of your transportation needs.
Single Travelers: Traveling with WhaleCoast Alaska is a great way for single travelers to meet interesting, like-minded people - even lifelong friends. WhaleCoast Alaska welcomes single travelers. We do not charge a "single supplement" as some other tours do. Single guests pay the same price as guests traveling with a partner. We assign single travelers rooms with other single travelers. Usually there will be two guests per room. Generally, we rotate single travelers with different roommates unless requested otherwise. We will honor your requests to the best of our ability.
Walking: Every day on the tour involves at least some walking. However, our walking tours usually involve low to moderate exertion. Our longest walk on this year’s tour is about a mile. Guests can sometimes utilize taxis, at their own expense, to reduce the amount of walking that is needed. There will be opportunities for longer walks or hikes for guests who are interested. These will be optional, and alternate activities will be available. If you are not sure whether or not you could handle the physical activity, please contact us to discuss your concerns.
Health: All clients must have their own medical insurance or have a comprehensive travel insurance plan. If you are at serious risk for a health problem you must have a doctor's written approval. You are responsible for 100% of any medical and evacuation costs required during and after the tour. Our groups go into wilderness and use public carriers away from medical care. It is very important that we know about health conditions that may require additional care or consideration during the tour.
Luggage: We do not handle luggage for participants. You or your companion must be able to carry your bags into the homes and hotels where you will be staying and onto any trains, boats or buses and stow it in luggage compartments. Porter service will not usually be available. We ask guests to limit luggage to one bag and one daypack each. Please do not bring very large bags. Guests are responsible for airline baggage fees during the tour. These fees can usually be avoided by limiting your baggage to one bag that is small enough to be carried onto the plane.
Laundry: You will often be able to do laundry in some of your UU hosts' homes or at hotels so that clothing requirements may be reduced. You may want to include at least a few articles of clothing that can easily be hand washed and hung to dry overnight if needed. Casual, practical clothing is all that is needed. You will not ever have to "dress up" for anything in Alaska!
Registration: All of our registration information is very important. It helps us match roommates and plan home stays. We want to avoid putting guests in homes where they might have allergic reactions, difficulty with stairs, etc. We do need to know your name EXACTLY as it appears on your official ID so that we can make appropriate travel arrangements.
Travel Arrangements: We encourage you to make travel arrangements as early as possible. You will need to purchase a ticket from your home to Fairbanks to begin the tour, and a return ticket from Juneau to your home after the tour. One way to reduce your travel costs is to apply for an Alaska Airlines VISA card, which includes an annual $100 companion fare coupon. If you travel with a partner, this will save you hundreds of dollars, but you need to apply ASAP. If you contact WhaleCoast Alaska before January 1, we can arrange for VISA to send you an email invitation for this card. Generally, the earlier you book your flight, the lower the cost will be. In any case, it is very important that you provide accurate information about your travel arrangements to WhaleCoast Alaska and to update us if your travel information changes.
Replacement of Program Segments: All programs are subject to revision. If a program segment is cancelled we will first try to replace it with an appropriate substitute experience. If this is not possible, refunds will be made after the tour is over and WhaleCoast Alaska obtains the refund from the vendor. In the case of a guest choosing not to participate or being unable to participate in a tour activity, no refunds will be given.