Great bargains on cruises this fall & winter: Mexican Riviera, South Caribbean, Asia

I run hot and cold on cruises, but when the bargains start to roll in, I’m squarely in their corner. The notion of being on the water, of having someone else make my bed and fix my meals, is so completely decadent that I cannot help but be completely won over.

The current economic turmoil may rekindle my love affair.  “The most recent turndown in the market … has left vendors with a lot of space for the remainder of 2008 and into 2009,” said Tom Baker, president and owner of CruiseCenter, a full-service travel agency that specializes in cruises.  ”We’re seeing prices on cruises like we saw post-9/11.

“Right now it’s a buyer’s market because the industry is also feeling some pain with what’s going on with the worldwide market.”

How much pain?  Here are samples of deals I found just browsing the Web:

— Seven-day Mexican Riviera round trip on NCL’s Norwegian Star from $249 per person. Holiday cruises from $449 (Thanksgiving), $649 (Christmas) and $1,049 (New Year’s). Departs L.A. and includes Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, Mexico. [Norwegian Cruise Line]

— A 14-night South Caribbean cruise that leaves from Philadelphia on Saturday and goes to the Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao and Charleston, S.C., among other ports on NCL’s Norwegian Majesty, starting at $499. [Norwegian Cruise Line]

— A four-night trip, starting Dec. 15,  from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Phuket, Thailand, on Royal Caribbean International’s Legend of the Seas, begins at $499. [Royal Caribbean]

— An 18-night “Azmara’s Quest,” including Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam from $3,499 on Dec. 16. [CruiseCenter]

(Note that these may be gone by the time you go to book them).

Tip: You also should check with a travel agent, which I still believe is the best way to book a cruise.

— Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Illustration: Mark Shaver / For The Times]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 3:05 pm by Catharine Hamm and is filed under Baja California, Cabo San Lucas, California, East Coast, Los Cabos, News, Tips & Advice, Puerto Vallarta, San Jose del Cabo, Sky watching, Tours & Cruises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.