Cruises are riding a wave of popularity

I enjoy cruising; my wife detests it. She dislikes confined quarters, being seated with strangers in the dining room, lip-synched entertainment and the temptation to devour six meals a day.

The public clearly doesn’t share her views. More than 11 million Americans are expected to book a cruise in 2005, which makes cruising the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry.

But because some people react poorly to the cruise experience, it’s important that first-time cruisers consider taking a test cruise of about three nights before committing to a longer trip.

These mini-cruises are offered from many new port cities: Long Beach; Mobile, Ala.; Galveston, Texas; and Jacksonville, Fla. From some cities, such as Norfolk, Va., overnight cruises to “nowhere” are offered for first-time passengers willing to venture aboard for only a few hours.

Some cruise lines no longer permit travel agents to announce discounted rates, and cruise prices have risen considerably in the past year. But several large discounters continue to advertise cruise bargains. They do so by maintaining the price but throwing in extras such as pre-cruise hotel stays in port or credits for drinks purchased during the cruise, both of which are not considered to involve discounts.

White Travel Service, (800) 547-4790, www.whitetravel.com, emphasizes low-cost repositioning cruises planned by lesser-known lines that permit discounting, such as those scheduled by MSC Italian Cruises, departing April 2 and May 2 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Each departure spends 17 days meandering through the Caribbean and then crosses the Atlantic to Genoa, Italy.

Both of these cruises are being sold by White Travel for as little as $44 a day, per person, for inside cabins. The April 2 departure is on the new Opera, going to San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Martinique; Barbados; then spending five days at sea crossing to the Canary Islands; Palma de Mallorca; and Genoa; starting at $749 per person in inside cabins, $1,049 per person in outside cabins, plus port charges. (At the Travel section’s deadline Tuesday, the least expensive room categories had already sold out.)

The May 2 departure is on the year-old Lirica, sailing nearly the same 17-day route until it enters the Mediterranean to stop in Malaga and Barcelona in Spain on the way to Genoa. The price starts at $749 per person in inside cabins, $969 in outside cabins, with port charges and government fees additional. (At the Tuesday deadline, the least expensive room categories were nearly sold out.)

If you do snare a bargain for your next cruise, don’t let incidental and optional expenditures eat up your savings. Prime among your decisions should be a refusal to patronize the onboard casino; virtually no one is a winner at cruise casinos.

Remember too that alcoholic beverages cost money on cruises and are no longer offered at the bargain rates of yesteryear. But fruit juices at sea often are free and provide a satisfying, cost-free accompaniment to your meals or snacks. The key saving is enjoyed through do-it-yourself walking tours of the ports you visit, or the decision to buddy up with another couple to hire a taxi to drive you around, and thus avoid the costly motor coach tours that all the cruise lines offer for half-day or full-day tours when the ship arrives at a port.

The current popularity of cruises means that cruise prices are bound to be higher than in the past. Look for discounts from cruise brokers such as GalaxSea Cruises and Tours www.cruisestar.com, (800) 662-5450; Cruise Brothers, www.cruisebrothers.com, (800) 827-7779; Cruise Value Center, www.cruisevalue.com; (800) 231-7447; or Cruises Only, www.cruisesonly.com, (800) 278-4737.