why luxury cruises are the best value

Nobody likes watching their wallet, but that's exactly what happens with a typical cruise. The ads headline a super-low fare, but by the time you inspect your bill at the end of the cruise, you've paid as much or more for "incidentals" as you did for the cruise itself. You've shelled out significant amounts of money for cocktails, wine at meals, soft drinks, bottled water, gratuities, etc.

That's why luxury cruises are the best value. Virtually everything is included in the price of the cruise, with some cruise lines even offering complimentary shore excursions. For instance, I just received an email blast from Seabourn advertising "unlimited luxuries for one simple fare."

• intimate ships with just 104 or 225 suites
• all-suite accommodations with ocean views
• fine wines poured at lunch and dinner
• open bars throughout the ship
• all dining venues are complimentary

Seabourn is advertising savings up to 65%*. Here are three great itineraries:

• Caribbean Hideways from $2,199 (7 days)
Visit St. Thomas, St. Martin, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua, St. Barths, St. Kitts, Prickly Pear Island


• Lisbon, Portugal to Istanbul, Turkey from $2,999 (12 days)
Explore Malaga and Alicante, Spain; Corsica; Rome; Malta; and Ephesus, Turkey.


• Thailand and Vietnam from $3,199 (12 days)
Visit Bangkok and Ko Kood (beach resort), Saigon, Danang, Hanoi, and Hong Kong.

Get to Europe in Super First Class. You get more than a sleeper seat. You get your own suite, a regular bed, and gourmet meals along the way, and you arrive with no jet lag!

• Fort Lauderdale to Lisbon, Portugal on March 18 from $2,149 (12 days)
• Fort Lauderdale to Malaga, Spain on March 21, from $2,249 (13 days)

For information on these sailings, or any luxury cruise, send us an email ... and ask about an additional $100 shipboard credit.


luxury cruises (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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*Fares are in U.S. dollars, for new bookings only, per guest, double occupancy and subject to availability. Some suite categories may not be available. Fares are not combinable with any other offer, may vary by sailing date, are capacity controlled, subject to change without notice, and are only available to residents of the Americas. Government fees of $32.58 to $498.66 per person are additional. Seabourn reserves the right to charge a fuel supplement for all guests, without prior notice, if the NYMEX oil price exceeds $70.00USD per barrel, and may collect such a supplement even if the cruise fare has been paid in full.