Cruise the Caribbean for a week for less than $500

Teaming with Expedia.com, Royal Caribbean is offering seven-night cruises in the Caribbean for $499 per passenger, double occupancy, in April and September. Port charges are included in the price.

Hurry -- the first April sailing is in just two weeks, on the 7th. Departing from Miami, the Navigator of the Seas makes stops in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and the Bahamas. The second April sailing is on the 22nd of the month, via the Explorer of the Seas. Also departing from Miami, it visits Belize, Mexico, and the Grand Caymans.

The September cruises depart on the 2nd, 16th, and 30th of the month aboard the Mariner of the Seas. These are out of Port Canaveral, Florida, and stop in the Bahamas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and St. Maarten. You can upgrade to an oceanview cabin for $549 or a balcony room for $699 on these sailings.

To grab one of these offers, go to Expedia.com or call 888-828-3427.

NCL's special deals for 3rd and 4th guests

Here's another late-breaking deal to cap off wave season: Norwegian Cruise Line is offering special pricing for the third and fourth guests in a cabin on many of its fall sailings in 2007, but you have to book by this week (the offers expire Sunday March 25).

For instance, on its five-day sailings in the Caribbean aboard the Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Pearl, NCL is charging just $100 a person for the third and fourth berths. On its seven- and eight-day sailings in the Caribbean and Mexican Riviera aboard the Norwegian Dawn, Sun, and Star, the cost is just $140 per person for those extra berths. And rates range from $180 to $250 per person for third and fourth berths on nine- to 18-day sailings in the Caribbean, South America, and Europe.

As always, various rules and restrictions apply so call a travel agent and ask for promo code PG F307.

Learn more about all kinds of cruise discounts! Go to Tracking Down Discounts.

One-week sale on Alaska cruises from Regent

You can combine Alaskan adventure with luxury on Regent Seven Seas this summer if you travel aboard the line's spacious Seven Seas Mariner for one of three late spring cruises to the 50th state. The line is offering two-for-one savings if you book by this Sunday, March 25, at rates starting at $2,848 for a balcony suite (the 700-passenger Seven Seas Mariner is the world's first all-suite, all-balcony ship).

Departures for week-long voyages are May 23, May 30, and June 6 and travel either from Vancouver, BC, to Seward, Alaska, or vice versa. Fares include all onboard tipping, complimentary selected wines and spirits, and other drinks.

The downsides are that you can't combine this offer with free air or kids sail free deals, so, depending on how you plan to get there and who you plan to travel with, you'll need to assess whether this is the best deal you can get.

Still, for a luxury line in a relatively expensive destination, this is a nice offer. And as a bonus, the weather in Alaska is often quite good in late May and early June.

One-day Carnival cruise sale

If you're thinking of taking a Carnival cruise this year, the industry giant is featuring a one-day sale this Thursday, March 22, in which it's offering best available stateroom upgrades on most sailings in 2oo7. Double occupancy rates being offered start as low as $249 for two four-day sailings from Florida in September, and there are lots of other Caribbean and Mexican cruises under $500 per passenger.

Carnival also has group sale rates that expire on March 22. And they have special rates for past passengers starting as low as $209 for three-day cruises out of Miami this fall; perks include stateroom upgrades as well (you have to book these by the end of April).

All these deals are being sold exclusively through travel agents, so if you work with one (or even if you don't), give her or him a call and mention these specials.

Cruise discounts from RiverBarge Excursions

RiverBarge Excursions, which runs mostly weeklong river barge excursions along the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and other rivers (and lakes) in America's heartland, has standing offers of discounts for both kids and teachers -- and they don't have to travel in school groups to take advantage of them.

Children 12 and under are free on RiverBarge voyages when occupying the same stateroom as their parents or grandparents, while kids 17 and under are half price when staying in their own cabin. Teachers, meanwhile, get to go for half price when sharing a stateroom with another full-paying adult.

Each voyage centers around a cultural or historical theme such as "The Route of Jean Lafitte" or "Cajuns and Creoles," so they're well-suited for both teachers and kids with an interest in American history or just enjoying life on some of the nation's great rivers. If you don't want your kids to be the only youngsters aboard, it would make sense to book your trip for summer or another school holiday period.

Weeklong full-fare rates start at $1,745 per passenger (for a trip in March 2008) but average more in the range of about $2,500 per passenger. Certainly not cheap, but you might be able to save on airfare if you live near a southern or Midwestern embarkation point. Shorter, less expensive trips are also available periodically, if you just want to get a taste of what they're like. And if you're someone who has to battle seasickness on an ocean voyage, you should find these river trips calm and to your liking.

For more information, go to www.riverbarge.com, call 888-462-2743 ext. 1, or e-mail reservations@riverbarge.com. You can find details on these discounts by clicking on "Special Excursions & Savings" on the website's home page.

Learn more about all kinds of cruise discounts! Go to Tracking Down Discounts.

EasyCruise extends its Greek Islands cruises

EasyCruise, which has made a big splash in the cruise industry with its no-frills, low-fare voyages through exotic locales, has just extended its schedule of Greek Islands cruises for this summer. The EasyCruise Greek itineraries will now start May 18th and run until November 11, 2007.

EasyCruise is forging new ground (well, water) among cruise lines by offering its passengers a choice of staying on board for as few as two days and as many as 14; how's that for flexibility? And for one of its Greek Island mini-breaks of a couple of days, you could spend as little as $39 per person if sharing a cabin for two. Or you could cruise for an entire week on its new Classical Greece itinerary for as little as $135 per person based on double occupancy.

To keep fares low, EasyCruise does not include food or much in the way of activities in its rates. But it sails mostly in the mornings and stays in port much later than almost any other cruise line, so that you can eat lunch and dinner on shore and enjoy the nightlife in each port as well (it caters to a mostly young crowd). And on-board amenities do include a sauna, hot tub, a bar and restaurant, sundecks, gym, disco, and even a new spa, some of which cost extra, while others are included in the price.

EasyCruise also has itineraries in the Caribbean, northern Europe, and other parts of the Mediterranean. Get all the details at www.easycruise.com.

Free air and shore excursions from Deilmann Cruises

Paying for your cruise fare can be a major expense -- but paying for airfare to get to your cruise and for shore excursions once you're onboard can cost even more.

Peter Deilmann Cruises is offering some pretty attractive deals this summer to U.S. travelers on its five-star, 286-cabin ms Deutschland cruises to Norway, Spitzbergen (way above the Arctic Circle), Iceland, the islands of Denmark and Scotland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Ireland. During three sailings in June and July, you can get free airfare from 17 eastern U.S. cities and low air supplements from 34 more cities in the rest of the country. The deals also come with free shore excursions up to $600 per passenger.

Deilmann also has free air and shore excursion deals for nearly two dozen other ocean and sea cruises, ranging from Southeast Asia to the Mediterranean, and extending into the early part of 2008.

For more details, call the cruise line at 800-348-8287 or e-mail them at pdcmail@deilmann-cruises.com. You can also go to the Deilmann website at www.deilmann-cruises.com; click on "Our Fleet" and "Ocean Fleet" for details on these deals (though the website isn't particularly easy to navigate).

For information about my money-saving cruise e-Book "Booking the Best Deal," go to www.smartercruising.com.