New North American Itineraries Lead to Discounts and Lower Prices

Economic recession and war in the Persian Gulf have paralyzed many potential travelers and put spring and summer vacation plans on hold.

And many cruise lines, hit with cancellations and sharply declining bookings for European sailings, have made last-minute itinerary changes to bring ships back into North American waters for the summer.

Many of these new cruises are considerably less expensive than the Mediterranean sailings they replaced--and cruise lines are adding to the savings rodeo by offering a wide array of other economies, including two-for-one plans, early booking and first-time passenger and senior discounts. Prices are especially attractive on trips to Alaska, Eastern Canada and Mexico.

The latest company to pull its ship from the Mediterranean is San Francisco-based Seabourn Cruise Line.

Seabourn’s president, Duncan Beardsley, said the Seabourn Pride is offering a new series of 14 New England and Canada itineraries from a Boston base, instead of its scheduled Mediterranean sailings. The new cruises cost about 12% less than the Mediterranean cruises they replaced.

Royal Cruise Line, which has moved its 450-passenger Golden Odyssey from a scheduled Mediterranean season to Alaska, is offering a two-for-one plan--meaning the first passenger of a couple sharing a cabin pays full fare, the second goes free.

Single travelers also get 50% off their fares. New prices begin at $749 per person, double occupancy, for a seven-day sailing, with the discounts being good for all Alaska cruises.

“The phone is ringing off the hook,” said Royal Cruise Line spokeswoman Mimi Weisband, who reports a minimum of 300 new bookings a day since the program was announced.

Cunard’s Sea Goddess I, which also has been moved to Alaska from the Mediterranean, has two low-priced repositioning sailings that cost $421 a day per person, double occupancy, instead of about $700 per day. Two 14-day Panama Canal sailings, one leaving St. Thomas on May 18 for Acapulco, the other returning Oct. 19 from Acapulco to St. Thomas at the end of the season, cost $5,900 each. The fares include tips, bar beverages and wines.

If that seems steep, there’s a two-day party cruise from Los Angeles on June 8 for $1,000 per person, double occupancy, to sample the Sea Goddess I service.

Princess cruises is offering standby Mexican Riviera sailings from Los Angeles aboard the Dawn Princess, with prices slashed to $595 per person, double occupancy, from $1,195. Or you can book a 10-day Mexican Riviera cruise aboard the Fair Princess starting at $925 per person, double occupancy, from $1,570.

Princess has also extended its early booking discounts for summer sailings to Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England. Passengers booking one of these cruises before March 31 can deduct $150 to $250 per person, depending on the cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line will take two passengers for the price of one on its Los Angeles-based Southward, subject to available space, on the following dates: March 1 through May 10 for three-day sailings, April 8 through June 17 and Oct. 14 through Dec. 16 for four-day sailings. These apply to cruise-only fares (those without air fare). Port taxes, departure tax and fuel surcharges are additional.

Royal Viking Line has discounts for both first-time RVL passengers and repeat passengers. First-timers get a $500 discount on the March 21 and April 21 Panama Canal cruises aboard the Royal Viking Sky, as well as on the April 7 Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. Repeat RVL passengers get $800 off any of the three sailings.

Also, anyone who wants to take a companion along to Australia and New Zealand, sharing a cabin on a 12-day Australia/New Zealand cruise departing before March 10, will get 50% off the second fare, RVL spokeswoman Fran Sevcik said.

Californians can get as much as 44% off on sailings from Los Angeles to Mexico with Norwegian Cruise Lines’ “residents program.”

Here’s how it works: At embarkation, you need to prove California residency by showing a driver’s license or an original copy of a recent telephone or utility bill. Only one passenger per cabin needs to prove residency.

You can book any 1991 three- or four-day Ensenada sailing aboard the Southward, which departs year-round every Friday and Monday. A cruise-only rate (without air fare) can run as low as $295 per person, double occupancy, for three days, $306 for four days.

Or you can book ahead for NCL’s new Westward (the former Royal Viking Sky), scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles Oct. 26 for a winter series of seven-day sailings between Los Angeles and Acapulco. Price for these cruises could run as low as $647 per person, double occupancy, without air fare. Reservations are now being accepted.

American Hawaii Cruises recently announced a seven-day vacation that combines a three- or four-day cruise with an island resort stay for as low as $629 per person, double occupancy. This rate is good through May 25, and also includes inter-island air fare and the use of a rental car.

Passengers can choose from resorts on Oahu, Maui, Kauai or the Big Island of Hawaii. You should know, however, that the lowest-priced cabins on American Hawaii’s ships can be small.

Crown Cruise Line’s brand-new 560-passenger Crown Monarch, sailing every Saturday from Palm Beach, Fla., gives seniors 55 and older a 10% discount that can be added to a 10% discount for booking 120 days ahead of sailing, making the total discount 20% per person.

Crown also has a limited number of cabins available for single occupancy without the single-supplement surcharge. Discounts and promotional fares cannot be applied to these, however.

April looks like a good month for seniors to sail the Caribbean with Chandris Fantasy Cruises’ Amerikanis and The Victoria. A full-fare passenger 65 or older can take along a companion in the same age group to share the cabin for only half-fare; round-trip air fare is included in the half-price offer.

Premier Cruise Lines, facing new competition in its Port Canaveral/Orlando base, has added free round-trip air fare and raised its prices only $100 from 1990, less than the $150 refund the passenger gets if the air ticket isn’t used.

The weeklong combination of Bahamas cruise and Walt Disney World land packages begins at $795 per person, double occupancy, including the use of a rental car in Florida.

Both Carnival Cruise Lines and American Hawaii Cruises have pledged to hold 1990 prices on all their ships for 1991.

On the debit side, Kloster Cruises has announced a $5-per-day fuel surcharge on all sailings of its Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Cruise Line and Royal Viking Line ships, with a maximum $100-per-person surcharge on long cruises.

One sure way to get discounts on certain cruises is to belong to a line’s repeat-passenger club. Alumni of both Holland America Line and Cunard Line recently received money-saving offers by mail for spring Caribbean sailings.

And past passengers from Ivaran Lines’ cargo-passenger vessel Americana get a 10% discount on upcoming 46-day round-trip sailings, as well as an additional 15% off for persuading a friend to book the same cruise.

Ivaran does not charge a single supplement, but sells many single cabins for less than the per-person, double occupancy rates. Fares before discounts are as low as $6,900 for an inside single cabin for the full 46-day sailing. A 23-day New York City-to-Buenos Aires segment is $3,740.

Another way to save is to have a knowledgeable travel agent who can find the bargains.

Norwegian Cruise Line has made that easier with its SeaFare plan, which makes 5% to 25% discounts available on request to all travel agents. Traditionally, cruise lines have made special discounts available only to those preferred agents who supply a certain volume of bookings to the line. The SeaFare discounts are capacity-controlled and not available in conjunction with any other discounts or promotional fares.

Lesser-known small ships such as American Canadian Caribbean Line’s New Shoreham II and Caribbean Prince continue to offer unpretentious low-cost cruises for people who want an alternative to big fancy ships.

Cabins may be small and simple, there are no gambling casinos, entertainment is low-key or nonexistent and evenings are decidedly non-dressy. Also, there are no bars on board these 80-passenger U.S.-flag ships. Passengers can take along their own alcohol and the ships will provide soft drinks and mixers.

But a lot of passengers, particularly those over 50, fill American Canadian Caribbean’s winter cruises to the Caribbean and summer sailings in Eastern Canada and along the Erie Canal. Prices start at $99 a day per person, double occupancy, and repeat passengers get every 10th cruise free.

Two 49-passenger U.S.-flag vessels, the Spirit of Alaska and Spirit of Glacier Bay, from Alaska Sightseeing Tours, have scheduled short cruises from Seattle into the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound throughout April. Two-night sailings are priced from $299 per person, double occupancy, while five-night cruises start at $699.

And if you’ve only a day to get away, a new San Diego company, Starlite Cruises, sails the 1,000-passenger Pacific Star to Ensenada and back daily with a full gambling casino, three buffet meals, live music and entertainment for $99 per person.