MSC extends its kids cruise free to Caribbean offer

MSC Cruises is extending its booking deadline to August 31 for its "Children Cruise Free" offer on some Caribbean cruises during 2007 and 2008.

Kids aged 17 and under sharing a cabin with two full-fare paying adults will sail free on selected MSC Lirica voyages roundtrip out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Adult rates begin at $579 per passenger for the ship's seven-night western Caribbean sailing December 14 and $849 per passenger for a variety of ten-night Caribbean and Panama cruises dating from December 4 to March 19, 2008.

One thing to keep in mind is that this discount may not be as good as others you can find since two adults have to pay full fare in order to take advantage of it. If you can find these same cruises discounted more than 50 percent for all passengers, that would be a better deal than this one. (Those deals would likely come within a few weeks of sailing.)

But if you have a couple of kids in tow and want to lock in your rate this summer -- not a bad idea since cabins big enough for a family of four aren't all that abundant -- you may want to grab this one while you can.