Last Minute Crusies

Great Deals on Europe's Seas

Banking on high demand for trips to Europe and the Mediterranean this summer and fall, cruise companies moved extra ships to the region in the hopes of capitalizing on heavy bookings. Then high fuel prices sent airfares soaring, making a European cruise suddenly more expensive for Americans, and forcing cruise lines to slash prices to fill those ships.

Royal Caribbean, which sent half of its fleet of 22 ships to Europe this season, is offering some of the cheapest rates. Hotwire.com recently listed a seven-night Mediterranean cruise departing from Venice on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas in late June for as low as $499 a person for an inside cabin, roughly 30 percent off the normal price in late June.

At the high end, Crystal Cruises has two-for-one rates from $7,050 a person on Northern European summer cruises. Its fall fare sale on 10 southern European voyages lists rates from $4,235 a person, a saving of up to $8,000.

“The rates on 2011 summer cruises to Europe and the Med are the best we’ve ever seen,” said Rich Tucker, head of business development for CruiseDeals.com in Charlotte , N.C. But travelers must act fast to nab a bargain. Already, he added, “we’ve seen the prices hit bottom and start to rebound.”

Indeed, some of the cheapest rates, including a seven-night sailing on Norwegian Cruise Line that was marked down to as low as $349 a person a couple of weeks ago, have already been snapped up. Celebrity Cruises recently ended a “fly and sail” promotion it had been running with reduced rates on airfare (from $999 a person) and 10-night Mediterranean cruises starting at $1,199 a person. Another result of shifting demand is Royal Caribbean’s decision to move its 3,114-passenger ship, Navigator of the Seas, originally scheduled to sail in the Mediterranean this winter, to Fort Lauderdale , Fla., where it will sail the Caribbean starting in November. As part of the switch, the line is canceling a series of 14-night Mediterranean voyages scheduled to take place out of Barcelona between November and April.

But there are still plenty of good deals. A recent search on the cruise shopping site Cayole.com turned up a six-night eastern Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean in July from $549 a person (originally $1,519), and a seven-night Mediterranean cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line in June from $749 a person for a balcony room (originally $1,799).

Last Minute Cruise Vacation Deals for Spring Break | Travel deals

Planning a cruise vacation and worried about not having enough time to grab those deals that cruise lines have been announcing? Thanks to cruise travel agencies, booking last minutes cruises need not burn a hole in your pocket. Cruise lines looking to fill their unsold cabins offer them at discounted rates, and allow you to get onboard even at the eleventh hour! For example, Carnival Cruises has announced a cruise vacation package at just $62/day aboard the Carnival Fantasy. The roundtrip from Charleston sails on the 5th of September and visits Freeport and Nassau in The Bahamas. Disney too, offers last minute cruise vacation deals aboard the 'Disney Wonder' and visits Victoria, British Columbia and Ensenada, Mexico. The 5 day journey that begins from Vancouver and ends at Los Angeles costs only $704 for an Ocean view cabin and $554 for an interior cabin! Booking a cruise vacation involves deciding on the right budget, the right destination, the right cruise line and the right cabin location. For example, if you're booking a cruise package to Alaska, an ocean view cabin would be the ideal choice so you could feast your eyes on whales and orcas that swim by. Remember to choose a travel agency that's well established and is affiliated to a major syndicate.

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