It's the vacation option that can be three days short or 90 days long, budget or luxury but always involving the deep blue sea. It can only be a cruise, of course.
There are as many types of cruises as there are types of traveller: singles cruises, wedding cruises, family cruises, Caribbean cruises, Mediterranean cruises. There is also a German Christmas markets cruise and a cruise through the Commonwealth. The choice is almost limitless. There are also cruises without ports of call, literally a romantic-sounding cruise to nowhere.
Depending on where the cruise starts, you may need to rely on cheap flights first. Major ports are Vancouver (the most popular embarkation port for Alaskan cruises), Toronto, Halifax (has the second-largest natural harbor in the world) and Montreal.
Search and compare: cheap flights to Vancouver | cheap flights to Toronto | cheap flights to Halifax | cheap flights to Montreal
When is the best time to take a cruise?
It depends where you want to go. For European destinations, the summer months are peak. Lots of ships that sail the Mediterranean during the summer move to the Caribbean for the winter months (November through April). For the hugely popular cruises to Alaska, the summer months are the busiest.
To pick up a cruise bargain, consider travelling during the shoulder seasons. In the Caribbean the shoulder season months are November/December, in the Med, April and October and in Alaska, May. Cheaper still, travel during off-season. November in the Caribbean is off-season and therefore a time of cheap deals, but you might have to weigh up the chance of a hurricane or two at that time. And if you are taking a cruise to Hawaii to escape the bleak weather in Vancouver, remember that winter is also the rainy season.
If you are flexible with your dates ...
Ask your travel agent about last-minute sell-offs in the off season, spring and fall. You can also get a discount for booking two or more cruises back to back.
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© Cheapflights Ltd
Updated March 2009
