European cruises are unexpectedly more affordable
The cruise lines themselves, and nearly a dozen cruise brokers, are currently offering discounts of as much as 30 percent and more on nearly 200 Mediterranean/Adriatic cruises for this summer, and the same reductions on more than 150 sailings in the waters of Northern Europe (North Sea and Baltic). And therein lies a tale. In preparing for this year's high season of European cruising (June through August), the conventional wisdom among cruise professionals was that Americans were desperate to avoid the high costs of European land travel and would therefore book the Europe-based cruise ships in unprecedented numbers. They proceeded to place a remarkable number of ships (their largest and most modern vessels) in European waters and to charge full tariffs for them. Well, either because they listed too many such sailings or priced them beyond the public's willingness to pay, the result has been a sudden reduction in price almost across the board. Even the fanciest ships charging from $5,000 to $10,000 and more per person for a 12-day (and longer) sailing are suddenly on sale for thousands of dollars less, representing discounts of 40 percent to 50 percent. Go to the Web site of the Texas discounter called Vacations to Go (www.vacationstogo.com), and you'll be surprised to find listings filling page after page of luxury for less.
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