Boatloads of cruise deals are inbound, if you avoid holidays

THOSE seeking deals on cruises can find them in abundance right now, but they go to the swift, the vigilant and the flexible.

Cruise lines have been steadily adding ships and berths for years, but the next 14 months will be boffo, even by recent standards. More than 37,000 new berths are scheduled to come on line by the end of next year, an increase of more than 16% from 2005. Some of the ships are huge, such as Royal Caribbean’s 3,600-berth Freedom of the Seas, which launched this year and by itself added 1.6% more capacity.

“That’s a small city,” said Judy Lucas, a cruise expert with Tucson-based Concierge Cruises and Tours.

The older ships are among the best places bargain-conscious cruisers can begin their search for deals, said Lucas, as the cruise lines work to fill all those beds with paying passengers. Freedom of the Seas, which has an onboard surf machine, is not offering a lot of deals at this point, said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, a cruise vacation planning guide online.

Experts emphasize that the more flexible your travel plans, the better your chances of scoring a great deal.

“If in real estate location, location, location is everything, well, in cruising, seasonal nuances are everything,” Brown said.

“The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, the first few weeks of December and the latter three weeks of January -- all great times to get low-season rates in what should be high season,” she said.

The worst times for any kind of deal? Thanksgiving week, Christmas and New Year’s, Presidents Day, spring break, Easter holiday, Memorial Day, summer vacations.

For some of those bargains, you can thank the cruise lines’ decision, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, to add ports of call within driving distance of many cities.

“What we’re seeing is an over-saturation of the U.S. home port-Caribbean concept,” Brown said. “After 9/11, when folks were genuinely reluctant to fly ... bringing turnaround ports closer to places where people live was a brilliant stroke on the part of the cruise lines.”

The Western Caribbean is the most oversaturated, she said, again because of the abundance of the home ports from which those ships sail.

Travelers can drive to ports such as Galveston, Texas; Tampa, Fla.; and Mobile, Ala., for a Caribbean-bound cruise. The more capacity in the Caribbean, the better opportunity for bargain shoppers.

“Prices definitely are cheaper now than they were five years ago,” said Elissa Richard, air and cruise editor for travel-bargain website ShermansTravel.com, which offers a cruise section.

Cruise lines have adopted a page out of the airlines’ method for dealing with unsold seats: heavy discounting at the last minute. Any revenue is better than none, and the ability to get the word out quickly and easily by e-mail and other methods means more travelers can learn about those last-minute bargains.

One source for those deals, VacationsToGo.com, has what it calls a 90-day ticker, which counts down the deals available at the 11th hour with savings that it claims are up to 75% off on some cruises. If you see a good deal, you’d best have your passport handy and someone ready to feed the cat. The average cruise among its offerings sails in less than seven days of its listing, and many cruises sell out within hours of being posted, so it’s not for the faint of heart.

I found hundreds of cruises, some departing as little as four days from sailing.

For those who do not have flexibility and must travel during peak periods, the further ahead you plan, the better.

“Some cruise lines have their best prices as soon as inventory is loaded into the computer, about 18 months before sailing,” said Linda Allen, a certified master cruise counselor with Brownell Travel in Harrison, Ark. “I’m already booking a lot of spring 2008.”

Forty percent of cruise business is booked in the “wave season,” a six-week period that starts in mid-January, she said. To get good deals she recommends booking for those aforementioned peak periods before the end of the year. That’s the time to get early booking bonuses such as a free balcony or onboard ship credit.

Airfare can also add significantly to the cost of a cruise, especially if you’re looking at a last-minute cruise. That’s when it makes more sense to look for a cruise where you can drive to a port. And cruises with “free” airfare included in the price are not always the bargain they might seem.

“If you want to know how free it is, have [the agent] quote it to you without air from your home city,” Lucas said. “If you don’t use [the air], they’ll reduce the price of the cruise.”

It is generally less expensive if you arrange your own air transportation, she said.

Though prices fluctuate on a weekly or even daily basis, here are a few examples of the bargains.

(These prices are for comparison; they may no longer be available.)

* A seven-night western Caribbean cruise departing Dec. 9 from Galveston with stops in Progreso, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen in Mexico, and in Belize City, on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Dream for $299. “Admittedly it’s not a spanking-new ship with loads of balconies and alternative restaurants, but still ... “ Brown said of the ship, which launched in 1992. Info: www.cruisecritic.com/bargains.

* A five-night Mexico cruise departing Nov. 27 from New Orleans, stopping in Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, on Carnival Fantasy for $199, three weeks from the day I searched in early November. Info: www.vacationstogo.com.

* A five-night western Caribbean voyage departing Dec. 11 from Miami with stops in Key West and Grand Cayman on Celebrity Cruises Century for $299. Info: www.shermanstravel.com/deals/cruises.

But remember, these deals go to the swift, the vigilant and the flexible. If you see a deal you like, you’d better be prepared to book it because in a couple of days, or even a couple of hours, it could be gone.

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james.gilden@latimes.com