Bring your friends, land a discount on ACCL

The small-ship cruise line American Canadian Caribbean Line is featuring a Bring Friends offer for fall 2007.

Here's the deal: if you book two cabins on the same itinerary -- and at least one cabin's guests are new to ACCL -- then each cabin receives up to a $500 discount, depending on the length of the cruise.

The offer is valid only on non-discounted cruises and isn't combinable with other offers; still, up to $1,000 off for two cabins can make a big difference in your bottom line. Non-discounted rates range from $1315 to $4295 per passenger in double occupancy.

Loyalty is prized and rewarded here (nearly two of every three passengers signs up for subsequent voyages). Currently, passengers taking 10 cruises (based on 12-night trips) receive their 11th voyage free of charge. Like any special offer, though, this one is always subject to change.

And here's another benefit: passengers can bring their own wine or other alcohol on board -- potentially reducing what can otherwise be huge bar bills aboard more typical cruise ships.

For more details or reservations, click here or call ACCL at 800/556-7450. Since there's no definite end date for the offer, ask if you can apply it to sailings beyond this fall as well.

Itineraries for ACCL's two expedition-style small ships (with just 50 cabins) are destination-oriented and focus on coastal New England, the Great Lakes, the canals and rivers of the northeastern U.S. and Canada, and the Intracoastal Waterway and bays of the U.S. East Coast. Cruises range from five to 15 nights. ACCL also offers some off-the-beaten path Caribbean itineraries that include Belize and The Bahamas.

Because of their compact size and special features (including a retractable pilot house that allows transit under low-lying bridges on the Erie Canal), its ships can navigate areas usually only accessible to small private yachts. The atmosphere aboard these family-owned ships is casual, non-commercial, and uncrowded.

Photo courtesy of ACCL.