I usually check the cruise prices on-line first and see if our regular TA can beat the on-line prices. He can always beat the lowest on-line fares I can find, so I always buy from him. If he can't I would buy on-line. The cheapest on-line site is always www.cruisevalue.com unless Travelocity has special cruise promotions. Either sites are reliable.

But there are many discussions about this topic on the cruisecritic.com message boards. I would highly recommend this site if you are interesting in cruising.

The key with cruise pricing is that the cruise companies uses yield management, so they will lower the prices if a particular sailing is not sold out. The best prices are off-season cruises. The summer months are the worst in term of prices.

The best prices for Alaska this year would be Diamond Princess for its first sailing to Alaska roundtrip Seattle. I've heard it was $549 for outside cabin. I believe the same ship in August, you can't find an inside cabin for less than $1000pp.

Some cruiselines have special pricing for children. Ask around do a little research ahead of time, know your prices.

Personally, I would not pay more than $90 per person per day for an inside cabin.