Great deals on cruises right now

There’s been some awfully strange weather happening around the country this summer. From rain in New York to heat waves tipping thermometers into the triple digits in the Pacific Northwest, I have become increasingly convinced the apocalypse is soon upon us. Since the world is probably ending no later than 2012, I figure I may as well enjoy the last pleasant moments on earth on a tropical Caribbean beach somewhere. Especially with some of the great deals on Caribbean vacation packages out there right now, you don’t even really need to believe the apocalypse is upon us to pack your swimsuit and head for crystal clear waters and whit sand beaches. “SALE SEARCH Find your PERFECT vacation
at an UNBEATABLE price”

Plus, Cheap Caribbean is also offering up a deal right now, where you can get $100 back if it rains (yes, even so much as sprinkles) during your vacation. A travel rain check? Booya. Now is also a great time to get a great deal on a Caribbean cruise. With many of the major cruise lines starting to bring their cruise ships back over from Europe, you can get some pretty great deals on cruises in the Caribbean before the high winter season kicks off. Also, because these ships are headed back across the Atlantic, now could be a great time to skip out on paying for international airfare and hoping on board a trans-Atlantic cruise instead (plus, that way you won’t have to deal with bad jet lag). The New York Times has a run-down on some of the best cross-Atlantic deals out there.

In fact, according to an article, “Deals are Sweet when lines move fleets,” in the Miami Herald, about a dozen or more cruise ships will sail west from Europe this fall, which will makes for prices that are much lower than on regularly scheduled voyages. While cruise and vacation packages aren’t for everyone, these trans-Atlantic cruises do add some interesting ports of call on the journey to make them more appealing to travelers. Ships leaving from Northern Europe may stop in Belfast, the Shetland Islands, Reykjavik or even Greenland. Sailings from Southern Europe may start out with calls at Gibraltar, Casablanca, the Azores or Canary Islands — then end up in the Caribbean with stops at islands like Barbados and Dominica. A few cruises even swing far enough south to include stops in Senegal (on one side of the Atlantic) and Brazil (on the other).

Other Cruise/Caribbean Deals:

Eight Great Travel Deals for end of summer trippin’

Mediterranean Cruises from $449

San Fran Chronicle: Cruise Deals are out there