Black Friday deals are rolling in for travel and stays in Alaska, and to Outside destinations

I barely had time to grab a piece of pumpkin pie and cue up my favorite holiday playlist before the Black Friday travel deals started coming in.

Most of the deals I found were for travel gadgets: luggage, iPhone cases, sleep masks and fashion items. Many of these items will fit in a stocking on Christmas Eve — perfect for the traveler who has almost everything.

Then there was a collection of bargains available just for one day. Alaska Airlines offered a 30% discount — but did not include Alaska. Princess Cruises offered 50% off a selection of cruises. Those deals came and went on Friday.

But there are some fine deals right here in Alaska. Some apply right now. For others, it’s buy now and sail later.

Down in Girdwood, Alyeska Resort is offering 40% off room rates between now and early June 2025. I just checked midweek rates between Dec. 3-4. The regular rate is $259, discounted to $155.40. Taxes and fees add $43.65, for a total of $199.05. Rates vary night by night. In January, the base rate goes up to $209.40 after the discount. In mid-April, the nightly discounted rate is $173.40. An overnight stay on June 6 is $447, with the discount!

Combine an overnight stay with a visit to the Alyeska Nordic Spa. The spa has its own Black Friday deal: an extra 20% added to a gift card (minimum $100 card).

One of my favorite travel specials is for glacier cruises in Seward. Both Kenai Fjords Tours and Major Marine Tours are offering 30% off their cruises for the entire season. Check their respective websites for booking details, as they must be booked online.

The folks at the Aviator Hotel, at the corner of Fourth Avenue and C Street, are offering up to 30% off their rates for visits between now and Oct. 31, 2025. Many of the rooms and the public areas have gone through an extensive remodel. The hotel operators, including former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, have big plans for a restaurant, a brewpub and a couple of rooftop decks with nice views.

Rooms in December are available for $153 per night, with the discount. Rates creep up to $167 per night through March 31. On July 4, the discounted rate is $496 per night.

The Aviator is changing its name to “Wild Birch” later to reflect its affiliation with Hyatt Hotels. But for now, it’s still the Aviator.

If you want to take a cruise, there always are deals available. One cruise line, Hurtigruten Expeditions, is running a Black Friday sale of up to 50% off its regular rates.

These cruises are expensive. The ships sail in Alaska, including itineraries through the Northwest Passage. But the most interesting itineraries featuring big discounts include cruises to the Galapagos Islands, around South America, to Svalbard and to Greenland.

Some cruises, including select itineraries to the Galapagos Islands, are seven days. But most are longer. Seven-day cruises of the Galapagos Islands are available for about $5,360 per person (discounted from $8,599).

A 15-day itinerary up the Pacific Coast of South America (from Santiago, Chile, to Panama City), is available from $4,906 per person (discounted from $9,812).

More traditional resort cruises are on sale all the time. After skipping through several websites, I found it was easier to shop and compare using a site like icruise.com, which offers all major brands. There may be special offers available only on the cruise line’s website — or only when you book with a particular travel agent. But this site offers a good place to start. Here are a couple of standout offers:

1. Sail on the Norwegian Breakaway on a 12-night transatlantic repositioning cruise. The ship sails on Feb. 7, 2025, from Miami to Southampton, England. There’s one stop along the way in the Azores (Port Delgada). The cost is $500 per person for an inside cabin. All taxes and fees are included. But if you want a balcony, the cost is $589 per person. I think it would be worth the extra $89.

Getting to Miami is one of the best deals right now: $169 one-way with Alaska Airlines. Getting back from Southampton (London) is another story. What an adventure!

2. Sail on the Carnival Firenze down the coast from Long Beach to Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas. It’s a five-night itinerary, from Jan. 18-23, 2025. The cost is $322 per person, double occupancy. It’s an inside cabin. For an ocean-view cabin, add $100 per person.

3. If you can figure out how to fly to Martinique (American Airlines flies nonstop from Miami), you can sail on the MSC Virtuosa, April 5-16, 2025. The ship offers an 11-day crossing to Lisbon. It also stops in the Azores on the way. The cost is $500 per person for an inside cabin.

Although I couldn’t find any sweeping airfare sales, that doesn’t mean there aren’t good deals out there.

Fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo nonstop on ZipAir. The carrier is owned by Japan Air Lines and operates Boeing 787s. The cheapest tickets are available between Dec. 2-19 and also between Jan. 12 and March 12: $208 one-way on the outbound flight to Tokyo’s Narita Airport and $219 one-way on the return.

Right now, flights from Anchorage to Los Angeles on Alaska Airlines are available for $295 round-trip (Saver). Add it all up and the rock-bottom cost to get from Anchorage to Tokyo is as little as $722 all-in. Los Angeles is a long way to fly to catch a flight to Tokyo. But it’s a lot cheaper than any options via Seattle.

It’s hard to ignore the cheap prices offered by JetStar from Honolulu to Australia. It’s also somewhat ironic that it costs more to get from Anchorage to Honolulu than it does to fly much farther from Honolulu to Sydney or Melbourne.

Fly from Honolulu to Sydney for $98 one-way, but just on April 5. Return to Honolulu from Sydney for a little more: $208 one-way, between April 24 and June 18.

If you want to fly nonstop from Honolulu to Melbourne, the cost is just a little more: $125 one-way, only on April 6. The return flight costs $208 one-way, between April 23-30.

Don’t feel bad if you missed the “best deal ever” on Black Friday for flights, cruises or hotel stays. Deals come and go. In fact, I expect another batch of travel bargains to bloom on Cyber Monday, Dec. 2.

My friends in the Cook Islands have neither confirmed nor denied that there might be some sort of airfare deal to Rarotonga coming up. In past years, the air link from the U.S. was via Los Angeles with Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand typically had a big one-day sale on Cyber Monday.

These days, Hawaiian Airlines flies the route once a week. Will the airline pick up that tradition of dropping prices for one day? I don’t know. Remember — you can transfer miles you earn on Hawaiian to your Alaska Airlines mileage account!