Costa Cruises is featuring a number of seven-night eastern Mediterranean sailings this fall (and a few this month) for prices starting at $699.
Itineraries start in Italy and include various Greek islands and ports in Turkey and Croatia, depending on which cruise you choose.
Call Costa at 800-462-6782 or click here and ask for Discount Code ES. The offer expires in one week, on August 15.
Holland America is the latest line to offer its passengers the option of choosing a flexible dining schedule, phasing in its new "As You Wish Dining" program this fall and the first half of 2008.
Passengers will be able to choose either the traditional pre-set seating and dining times (early and late seatings), or take advantage of open dining service on one level of the main dining room from 5:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Guests will need to choose which type of service they want before the cruise begins. Those who opt for flexible dining will be able to make reservations daily or take their chances by walking up any time during dining hours.
The line has been experimenting with the program aboard the ms Noordam and found it to be a success. With the popularity of NCL's Freestyle Dining program and others, flexible dining is definitely the wave of the future for the cruise industry. (And about time.)
Besides the currently operating program on the Noordam, As You Wish Dining will be rolled out on a ship-by-ship basis beginning October 11 with the ms Ryndam and continuing until July 5, 2008, with the ms Eurodam.
Cruise ship buffet photo by Dennis Cox/WorldViews
MSC Cruises is putting some of its balcony suites on sale for a number of Caribbean departures on the MSC Lirica in December 2007 through March 2008, with savings up to 60 percent off brochure prices.
For instance, you can land a balcony suite for as little as $999 per passenger on a seven-night West Caribbean itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale on December 14, with port stops in Key West; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico.
Or, you can opt for a 10-night roundtrip cruise with four departures from January to March 2008 from Fort Lauderdale and calling at Cozumel; Costa Limon, Costa Rica; Cristobal, Panama; Cartagena, Colombia; and Cayo Levantado, Dominican Republic, starting at $1,449 per passenger for a balcony suite.
Other itineraries ranging from $1,199 to $1,399 per passenger include island stops such as Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Antigua, Tortola, St. Thomas, and Nassau, depending on which voyage you choose.
If you plan to bring children along, this may not be the best deal for you, since you aren't allowed to combine it with MSC's "children cruise free" or any other promotion or discount. (Click here for my earlier blog post on the kids cruise free to the Caribbean deal.)
But if it suits your circumstances, you can book it by calling MSC at 800-666-9333 or a travel agent, and ask for the Suite Deal promotion. The offer expires September 30, 2007.
You can take a week-long Heart of the Amazon River Cruise with free airfare from Miami and another week's stay in first-class hotels in Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, Brazil, at prices starting at $3,799 per person from Vantage Travel. That's a savings of $400 per couple when you book by August 10.
The cruise includes an outside balcony cabin on a deluxe river ship. Departure date is October 7.
Call 800-322-6677 and ask for promo code EM1321. (This offer is not available on the Vantage Travel website; tell them Smarter Cruising sent you.)
Majestic America Line is offering free roundtrip airfare on selected 2008 Mississippi River cruise itineraries and for all of its 2008 Alaska Inside Passage journeys.
The Mississippi River offer is for all 2008 cruises seven nights or longer on all three of its ships sailing the Mississippi, including the historic Delta Queen (which, alas, will cease operations in November 2008 as things now stand).
To take advantage of this offer, guests must book their travels by October 31, 2007. If you don't need the free airfare, Majestic America will issue a $300 credit toward your cruise fare.
For the 2008 Alaska sailings, Majestic America is offering free airfare from Seattle to Alaska or a $400 per person roundtrip airfare credit. You must book by December 31 of this year.
Meanwhile, Majestic America is offering two-for-one deals on a variety of Mississippi River holiday cruises aboard the American Queen during November and December 2007. Children under 17 can cruise for free when sharing a stateroom with their parents. Adult fares start at $895 per person.
For more information, click here or call 206-292-9606 or a travel agent.
In celebration of its 60th anniversary, General Tours is offering special weekly discounts ("Gems of a Deal") on its 2008 small-ship cruises if you book from now until September 1, 2007.
Offerings for 2008 include voyages aboard luxury river ships in Europe, Russia, Egypt, and China.
The current deal, expiring August 4, allows you to save on a small-ship cruise on Russia's Volga River aboard the luxury vessel Volga Dream.
The deal for the week of August 6, expiring August 11, offers savings on any of six 2008 Yangtze River cruise with Victoria Cruises.
The weekly deals allow you to save up to $200 per person and also combine the discounts with General Tours' other discounts if you wish.
For instance, AARP members can save $210 to $420 per couple on all of General Tours' 2008 worldwide cruise vacations, regardless of when they book. You can also save another three percent if you pay by check, money order, or electronic cash withdrawal rather than by credit card. (Prices are guaranteed upon deposit rather than at final payment, another perk.)
And there's good news for single passengers as well -- no single supplements are charged on the voyages along Europe's Rhine, Moselle, or Elbe rivers.
Click here or call 800-221-2216 for bookings or more information.
Carnival Cruise Lines is offering savings of up to $300 per stateroom on a variety of upcoming holiday sailings if you book today (August 1, 2007) and make a full deposit.
Discounts apply to a number of Carnival's December (and one November) 2007 cruises to Mexico, The Bahamas, and the Caribbean, ranging in length from three to eight days. The maximum savings ($300 per stateroom) applies to the seven- and eight-day cruises. Government taxes and fees are additional, and only certain categories of staterooms are available.
Double occupancy prices start as low as $219 per passenger (for a four-day Western Caribbean itinerary leaving December 17 or a three-day Baja Mexico cruise departing December 21). You can snag a week-long Western Caribbean cruise embarking December 16 for as little as $429 per person.
To take advantage of this deal, call a travel agent or Carnival at 888-CARNIVAL and request fare code CPDW.
