Alaska is one of the most popular cruise destinations on the planet, and no wonder: The scenery's incomparable (glaciers, fiords, snow-capped peaks), the wildlife is sublime (black bears, eagles, whales, sea lions) and the outdoor adventures are challenging and fun (river-rafting, sea kayaking, flightseeing, glacier treks).

But cruising Alaska is also an expensive proposition, and that's where this week's Insta-Q comes in. Yvonne de Bats Miller of Vienna would love to make this trip, but she's looking for suggestions on how to do it economically. She writes:

At the end of June, my husband and I would like to take an Alaskan cruise for one week. We would like to meet up with my daughter, her husband and their two children, ages 9 and 6. They live in Colorado. We are all truly nature lovers and we could easily skip all the dressing up and captain's dinners related to usual cruises. We'd love it to be educational and a fun experience. Needless to say, the most economical way would be appreciated. Could you suggest anything to us?

Humpback whales surface and spout near a Cruise West cruise in Alaska. (Credit: Cruise West)

Yvonne, here's the best piece of advice I could give you: Don't go in July. That's high season for Alaskan cruising, and the traditional advice for budget travel anywhere also applies here: Go in the shoulder season. For an Alaskan cruise, that means May or late September. Bonus: Fewer crowds then, too.

Another standard piece of advice, but one that bears repeating: Shop around. Spend some time online comparing prices and packages. The Alaskan tourism office has a good deals section
to get you started.

Tip No. 3: When it comes time to book, you can save a bundle by choosing an interior cabin. Yes, having your own private balcony would be nice, but the scenery up on deck is exactly the same. Put the money you'll save toward shore excursions.

And speaking of shore excursions: Consider booking them independently, through companies like Shore Trips, North Star Trekking, Experience Alaska or Alaska Tours. There are some cons to this method -- you'll have to plan meticulously as far as getting back to the ship on time, for starters -- but you can save some serious money booking these yourself.

Got anything to add, readers? In addition to budget tips, got any special itineriares or cruise lines you can recommend?

The Washington Rugby Football Club's trip to Dublin to play in a St. Patrick's Day tournament came close to being ruined by travel plans gone awry.
The 13 players and seven friends headed out on Continental Flight 3346 from Reagan National to Newark on Thursday evening, thinking that 90 minutes would be plenty of time to make the connecting Flight 126 on to Dublin. But their first flight was delayed, landing 107 minutes late. The guys were anxious, but the pilot and Continental reps on the ground were aware of their plight, indicating they'd hold the plane for such a large group.

Sure enough, their connecting flight had still not taken off, so they sprinted across the terminal, thinking they'd made it, only to find the gate closed. The two Continental gate reps refused to reopen the gate, saying they couldn't board because their luggage wouldn't make it. The players argued as they watched their distinctive blue-and-white bags being loaded onto the plane. But no stayed no, and the frustrated group just watched as the plane pulled away.

Continental gave the group meal vouchers and a night in a hotel. But the news wasn't good: Flights to Dublin were going out booked. By Friday afternoon, it was obvious that Continental's tickets would not get them to Ireland in time for the first of their two scheduled games.

I spent some time Friday trying to figure out a way to help the team. While I couldn't come up with a simple solution, I did come away with these thoughts:

* Go nonstop whenever you can. Sometimes it's worth the extra money, especially in winter or when you need to be somewhere for a specific event.

* Go on an airline that has recipricol agreements with airlines that go to the same destination, especially if you have to connect. Continental has an agreement with United, which has an agreement with Aer Lingus, but Continental doesn't have an agreement with Aer Lingus. So, even though Aer Lingus had plenty of room on their flights out of JFK, the Continental tickets did not convey.

* It's a good idea to read the airline's "contract of carriage" -- the legal document that covers air tickets -- before your travel. Continental, like most airlines, defines bad weather as a force majeure event, and says, "In the event of a Force Majeure Event, CO without notice, may cancel, terminate, divert, postpone, or delay any flight, right of carriage or reservations (whether or not confirmed) and determine if any departure or landing should be made, without any liability on the part of CO. CO may reschedule passenger on another available CO flight or refund any unused portions of the ticket in the form of a travel certificate." That language is fairly narrow.

* Research on-time performances, especially when taking connecting flights. According to info at Flightstats, Continental 3346 has a very poor on-time performance record at just 48 percent.

* Avoid airports that have a track record of substantial flight delays. Newark's on-time flights were just 62 percent during the past year (Dulles, by comparison, was 74 percent).

* Leave earlier in the day when connecting. Even if you have to sit in the airport reading, it's best to have more time to get on another flight in the event of a cancellation or a delay.

So what happened to the rugby club? They called Aer Lingus, took out their credit cards and bought tickets that would get them to Dublin in time for their first game. We haven't heard yet, but, after all that, we hope they made it in time, found their luggage and won their games.

If St. Patrick's Day inspires you to do more than drink green beer and march in a parade, take a look at an offer from Rosetta Stone.

The language-learning company is making its Gaelic language software available free through March 19. The Irish Levels I, 2 & 3 software, which you download via the Web site, normally sells for $549.
The program uses games, images and native speakers. And if your computer is equipped with voice recognition software, it will even critique your brogue.
You'll need to register at the Web site, and you'll then be emailed a user name and password that will give you access to the language program download.

During Monday's online discussion, a chatster asked about budget bike tours. Not long after the chat ended, I received a press release from Great Explorations about discounts on its bike tours. Spooky! The Vancouver-based adventure company offers a slew of trips around the world, and while its tours aren't technically budget, this deal does help chip away at the total expense.

Here's the 411:
Great Explorations is offering special discounts on their premier cycling trips for bookings made before March 31st. The outfitter is offering $500 off per couple on select trips: May 11-25, Camino de Santiago, Spain; May 17-23, Umbria, Italy; June 5-11, French Provence South; Aug. 1-7, Gulf Islands, British Columbia; Sep. 22-28, Croatia; Sep. 29-Oct. 9, Turkey cycle and sail. Info: 800-242-1825, www.great-explorations.com.

As author of the "What's the Deal?" column, I spend countless hours online researching airfares. But I encountered a new-for-me pricing quirk this weekend. Perhaps sharing the experience will help someone save a buck or two.
I needed four round-trip tickets from New York to St. Louis so the relatives could get to my daughter's commencement in mid May. I'd been tracking the fares for weeks, and decided to buy after it became clear prices were creeping up.

American Airlines out of LaGuardia afforded the best nonstop option, so I went to its Web site and plugged in a request for four tickets. The price came up at $309.70 each -- not a great fare, but good enough. About 45 minutes later, after getting in touch with various family members, I decided to pull the trigger. But now the price had gone up to $359.70 a ticket. I've warned readers for years that this sort of price change can happen within moments, but I was still peeved. I then got the idea of plugging each ticket into the system individually. And what do you know? I got the first three tickets for $309.70 each, and only the fourth was $359.70.

Apparently, putting in the four as a group kicked all to the higher price. Perhaps the computer program isn't designed to break out different price points when you request a group of tickets, so it automatically defaults to the higher fare. Whatever the cause, valuable lesson learned. Next time you need more than one ticket at a time, price them individually to make sure you're getting the best fare.

Any Costa Rica fans out there? Embarrassingly, I've never been to that oh-so-popular destination, although it's been on my wish list for ages. Now comes reader Rita Cooperman, who wants to visit with her extended family, but isn't quite sure how to plan the trip. I've got lots of ideas in my ever-expanding CR file, but if you've been there and done that, please feel free to jump in on this week's Insta-Q:

We are contemplating celebrating our 50th anniversary and my husband's 75th birthday in Costa Rica. We want to go with our grandchildren (a 13-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy) as well as their parents in their mid-40s and our single son in his mid-40s. We are not sure the best way to share this country with our family members. They like the outdoors, nature, and long walks/hiking. We have one member that is not into snorkeling or swimming. We'd love your suggestions and are open to daily tours or a tour group.

Rita, CR is a great choice for your gang, since it's relatively easy to get to and you can make the trip as easy or as rugged as you like. My original fantasy itinerary was to fly to San Jose and rent a car to visit the country's three big-deal attractions: Arenal National Park (see the volcano, go canyoning or rafting or horseback riding), the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (butterflies, hummingbirds, zip line canopy tours), and Manuel Antonio National Park (hiking, beaches).

But ... I'm thinking the logistics of that kind of trip might be a little much for your crew, which is why you might want to look into settling in at an ecolodge and just doing day trips. That way some of your group can go hiking, fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, etc., while the rest relaxes. Monteverde Lodge and La Paloma Lodge look awfully nice, and there are lots more to choose from. An alternative would be to spend half your time in the jungle and half at a nice beach resort.

Anyone out there have a resort or lodge they can recommend? Or first-hand advice for Rita and her family?

JetBlue is holding a one-day sale, featuring deeply discounted fares from Washington Dulles to six destinations. Travelers need to be flexible, as the sale applies only to Tuesday or Wednesday flights March 10-April 1.

One-way fares are $29 to New York; $49 to Orlando, Fort Myers, Fla., and West Palm Beach, Fla.; and $69 to Long Beach, Calif., and Oakland, Calif. Round-trip fares, including taxes, are $79 to New York; $119 to the Florida destinations; and $170 to Oakland and $159 to Long Beach.

Buy by 11:59 p.m. today (Wednesday, March 4) MST, which is 1:59 a.m. March 5 in Washington, at www.jetblue.com. Or pay $15 more by calling 800-538-2583. Some flights are sold out.