Just
Because It's the High Season for Cruising Doesn't Mean You Can't
Find Low-Cost Cruises
by Randolph Slater
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As a torrent of new cruise
ships has gushed forth from shipyards in Finland and Italy, there are
now just too many ships for the available demand. And while the cruise
lines initially denied it, they no longer do; top maritime execs have
made public statements about how the surplus of berths and cabins has
depressed their yields. Prices offered by discount-granting cruise
brokers have never been this low, even in the high-season months for
tropical cruising. And while everyone claims that prices will
eventually firm, they haven't yet. Here are typical cruise bargains
for January, February, and March of 2002, not including air fare to
the embarkation port:
Two-Night Sailings
The winter's shortest and
cheapest cruise--ideal for nervous, first-time cruisers anxious to
limit the test--is a two-night sailing of the SS Ocean Breeze
(decent dining, fitness facilities, casino, and live entertainment)
from Port Everglades, Florida, to Nassau/Paradise Island, The Bahamas.
Departures: every other day from January through March. Price: $149
per person, including port charges. Call Imperial Majesty Cruises
at 800/511-5737 or 954/956-9505.
Three-Night Sailings
From Cruise Value Center
(800/231-7447), three-night cruises out of Miami to Nassau and
a private Bahamian island, on the big Norwegian Sea, sell for
as low as an astonishing $199 (January 19), $219 (January 26 and
February 2), or $288 (February 16 and 19), per person, double
occupancy, inside cabins. Look for similar eye-openers from the same
broker on the same ship for March. From Cruises Only (800/728-6560),
three-night cruises on Carnival Cruise Line's Holiday (Fridays
from Miami) and Carnival's Fantasy (Thursdays from Port
Canaveral, Florida) start as low as $299 throughout January, February,
and March.
Four-Night Sailings
And that enterprising
Cruises Only (800/728-6560) will sell you a four-night
cruise on Carnival's Imagination, sailing from Miami to Key
West and then to Playa del Carmen/Cozumel in Mexico every other
Thursday from January through March, for as little as $399 per person.
Five-Night Sailings
From GalaxSea Cruises and
Tours (800/662-5450), a five-night sailing of the
Norwegian Sea on January 10 from Miami to and from Key West,
Pleasure Island, and Nassau, will cost an almost unbelievable $294
(less than $60 a day!). An even more stunning value (considering the
ship) is offered by World Wide Cruises, Inc. (800/882-9000)
for five nights on Holland America's elegant MS Westerdam,
sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Key West, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau,
on January 14, February 25, March 18, and April 8, with prices
starting at $449 including port charges.
Seven-Night Sailings
The weeklong cruise is, of
course, the most numerous of all, and the cruise discounters we've
named have plenty to offer. The top value? In a repeat of a remarkable
bargain offered in the winter of 1999-2000, Leisure Link
International (888/801-8808) asks as little as $399 to $499
per person on most Saturday departures from January through March,
2001, of the SS Norway (formerly the SS France), sailing
from Miami to St. Maarten, St. John, St. Thomas, and a private island.
Though the Norway eventually sells out at these rock-bottom
rates, an immediate call by you might snare the bonanza.
Ten-Night and
Eleven-Night Sailings
And you'll snare a bigger
bargain on lengthier sails of the top-rated Zenith of Celebrity
Cruises, sailing the Caribbean for ten nights on January 19, February
9, and March 2 and 23, for as little as $1,199 from World Wide
Cruises, Inc., at 800/882-9000; or for 11 nights on January 8 and 29,
February 19, and March 12, for $1,299. What other travel product
brings you such glamour, entertainment, cuisine, and transportation
for just over $100 a day? Vive le glut!
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