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Pop open the Champagne and break out the streamers: If you have ever contemplated taking a cruise, 2009 is your lucky year. Prices are stunning, experts say.

"Discounting for cruises hasn't been seen on this scale since right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks," said Dennis Schaal, Travel Weekly editor and Ask.com online travel expert.

He calls it "a buyer's market" that doesn't end with deals: Cruise lines are sweetening the pot by reducing deposits, suspending fuel supplements, including free stateroom upgrades and offering kids-sail-free deals, onboard credits, free excursions and special rates for single travelers.

How low do the prices go? Check out these recent deals (prices exclude taxes and fees):

* For $32 a day, explore the Chilean fiords, sail the Strait of Magellan and round Cape Horn on a 14-night Norwegian Sun South American cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile (from $449 per person).

* For $44.75 a day, sail from San Diego to Baja on a four-night, round-trip cruise on Carnival Elation (from $179 per person).

* For $63 a day, take a 14-night, round-trip cruise on the Golden Princess from Los Angeles to Hawaii (from $882 per person).

One of the bonuses of taking a cruise is how far your dollar stretches. That $32- or $45-per-day cost buys a vacation that includes lodging, transportation, entertainment and food. It's one of the best buys available in travel, experts say.

Travelocity recently compared a seven-night Caribbean land vacation with a seven-night cruise, matching costs for each. The result: The land-based trip cost $1,000 to $1,500 more per person, said Genevieve Shaw Brown, senior editor for the Internet travel giant.

"So take advantage of the silver lining in this economic mess if you're planning a getaway," Brown said.

Nearly one-third of all cruise bookings for the year are usually made during the January-through-March period, traditionally called the wave season. Cruise lines hope a buoyant season will make up for the decline in bookings last fall, and they're peppering the market with special deals and incentives to successfully launch 2009 sales.

"Most industries have been impacted by the economy; the travel industry is no exception," Brown said. "But what's bad for the industry is good for the consumer.

"Pricing is so attractive right now that it's a good time for people who have never been on a cruise to take a shot and see if they like it. You're not going to lose much."

Some of the better buys are on Norwegian Cruise Lines, which has offered space on three- and four-night trips to the Bahamas for as little as $99 a person, less than $25 a day. It also has listed cabins on a 12-night Mediterranean cruise for as low as $39.91 per day, a total of $479 per person.

Will such prices continue? No one is sure.

"This year is anything but predictable," said Valencia-based travel agent Barbara Oliver, who specializes in cruises. "My sense is that the industry doesn't have any idea where it's going yet."

She said most of the current sales campaigns were designed before the dramatic autumn economic downturn, so the cruise companies are testing the waters with winter and spring deals.

"They're determining how far they need to go to stimulate bookings, while at the same time not giving away the store," said Oliver, owner of All Together Now Travel.

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