Cruising to Europe can save you money

If you're planning to travel in Europe this year, consider taking a cruise: it could save you money.

Here's how: with the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro and British pound heaving weighted against the dollar at the moment -- it will cost you about 1.3 dollars to buy one Euro, and nearly two dollars to buy one pound -- European land travel (hotels, restaurants, car and train travel, etc) will be even more exorbitant than usual.

But if you buy a European cruise in U.S. dollars, with most of your basic travel expenses already paid for, you don't have to worry about exchange rates (or the cost of currency conversion) -- and once you've paid for your cruise, the price won't change if the dollar continues to fall.

You might also want to consider booking a cruise tour -- a land-based extension of your cruise, which, again, would be paid in advance, in dollars. It could help take the sting out of the weakened dollar.