The prospect of going off on a cruise can be a very exciting one, but when faced with the often high costs associated with these types of holidays, that excitement can quickly get dampened. There is one way to score a luxury trip on a ship this year however, and that is by taking advantage of some of the 2013 cruise deals that will be available.

Last minute deals

Like perishable items at a supermarket, space on a cruise ship needs to be sold before the deadline. The closer it gets to the date of the sailing, the more opportunities there will be to grab a bargain because cruise liners will more often than not lower prices to tempt more people to fill up the available rooms. Here are some of the best ways to get those 2013 cruise deals.

• Travel Websites – Finding out about prices and tracking a particular cruise liner can be very easy if you utilize websites such as www.travelaureate.com. This is a good way to monitor price updates, check various different cruises and of course book when the time is right.
• Travel Agents – Both online and offline travel agents will have access to many of the latest deals that are put out by the cruise liners. In most cases you can get some sort of notification of the deals that match your requirements.
• Direct Contact – Another way to find some great 2013 cruise deals, although perhaps a little less convenient, is to call the cruise lines directly. If you know what date they will be sailing then you can time the call to a few days before and then find out if they have any rooms left and what kind of deal they can offer.

Bad News is Good News for Cruisers

Ironically, the best time to book a cruise is when everyone is cancelling theirs. For instance, we booked 3 cruises, out of which 1 was on a 5 star and 2 were on 6 star cruises ships in 2012 mainly because the Costa Concordia incident in January 2012.

If you examine it rationally, cruising is still the world’s safest mode of transport! The number of fatalities since the Titanic sinking 101 years ago has been insignificant when compared with air, train and car travel!

So bad news can be good news for serious cruisers and those seeking a bargain. Cruise lines would find bookings severely affected, so they have no choice but to offer crazy discounts and deals to fill their cabins. We enjoyed discounts of over 80% and yet received on board credits of $1,500, $2,000 and $500 respectively. We used the OBC’s picking up valuable items such as branded watches and other stuff in the ship’s duty free shops!

Thus those who booked Mediterranean cruises after the recent announcement by the Obama administration of an impending attack on Syria, which was subsequently averted, would have got fantastic deals!

Current Economic Climate

Given the current economic climate, and many peoples reluctance to spend money on certain luxuries there is likely to be many great 2013 deals to be had if you are prepared to seek them out. THE END

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