Jul 19, 2007
On a luxurious cruiseship, how does $39 a day per person strike you?
It's not even arguable. The top travel bargains, without any dispute, are late-autumn sailings of cruiseships in the Caribbean. The concern about hurricanes has so badly affected October-through-mid-December sailings in that tropical world that some cruiselines have begun virtually giving away their cabins at that time. And this has happened despite the almost universal agreement that the hurricane threat has largely disappeared by early November.In a seven-night sailing leaving as late as December 16 from Fort Lauderdale (spending a day at sea, then going to San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominican Republic, another day at sea, Nassau, and return to Fort Lauderdale), the Costa Fortuna of Costa Cruises will have inside cabins selling for $279 per person (that's $39.85 a day) in double occupancy inside cabins. That price is available from White Travel Service, (tel. 800/547-4790; www.cruisewizard.com). For the same itinerary leaving on December 2, the price is a remarkable $339 per person in double-occupancy inside cabins (or $48.42 per person per day).
A day earlier, on December 15 departing from Fort Lauderdale, the Costa Mediterranea will allow the same discounter (White Travel) to sell its inside, double-occupancy cabins for $329 per person -- which comes to $48 a day per person. That cruise will leave Fort Lauderdale to spend a day at sea before stopping for a day apiece in Cozumel (Mexico), Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios (Jamaica), and the Turks & Caicos, then another day at sea, then return to Fort Lauderdale. Outside cabins will be sold for as little as $419 a day ($60 a day per person).
You'll of course need to pay additional port charges and government taxes on the above sums, which remain stupendous bargains despite that.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
