Forecast for 1993 Favors More Early Bookings : Some lines will increase the traditional discounts for travelers who reserve in advance for sailings.

Cruise fans have a lot to look forward to in 1993. This year, for a change, the early bird gets a bigger discount than the last-minute booker on sailings from a number of lines. And at least two new cruise lines are on the horizon: Florida-based SeaFest Cruises, which will operate the Sapphire Seas on short sailings from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas, and London-based Orient Cruise Line, which will base its 800-passenger Marco Polo in Asia.

In a sharp reversal from the recent pattern of letting last-minute passengers get substantial discounts when a sailing is not full, a number of major cruise lines have instituted a policy to reward early bookings instead.

“We had gotten to the point that the customer was waiting until the last minute (to book) and still not sure he was getting the best prices,” said Rod McLeod, chairman of Cruise Lines International Assn. and senior vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.

RCCL introduced its Breakthrough program early last year to reward passengers for planning ahead rather than holding off in hopes of getting a last-minute discount. The plan promises the lowest prices on any given cruise will be available for the earliest bookings, with prices gradually increasing as sailing time nears. The program continues through 1993.

“The earlier you book, the more you save,” is the way Carnival Cruise Line’s Bob Dickinson, senior vice president of sales and marketing, described his company’s Super Savers plan.

Early bookings with Carnival get up to $1,000 off per cabin, with the discount decreasing as the sailing fills up. For Carnival’s three- and four-day sailings, an early booking can net a discount of up to $400 a cabin. Super Savers are in effect on all cruises between January, 1993, and June, 1994.

More early-booking rewards are promised by American Hawaii Cruises, which is offering free cabin upgrades and a discount of up to 24% off brochure prices for passengers booking a cruise six months ahead of time and making a 50% deposit. Depending on cabin category and sailing date, the upgrades will jump from one to three categories.

Holland America Line’s Keep It Simple program promises dis counts from 25% to 41% for early booking passengers, depending on sailing date. Bookings are reviewed monthly, and as sailings fill, the discounts go down.

Princess Cruises’ Love Boat Saver program guarantees early booking passengers will get the best fares, even if a lower fare is introduced later on for any reason. The line’s early booking discounts include 50% savings for the second person in a cabin on Caribbean and Mexico cruises, discounts of $500-$700 per person on European cruises booked by April 2, and discounts of $50-$350 per person for Alaska cruises booked by April 2.

Royal Cruise Line’s 750-passenger Royal Odyssey makes its Mediterranean debut this summer, and early booking passengers get 10%-15% off cruises all season. Deadline for early booking on April and May departures is Jan. 31, and on June and July departures, March 1. August sailings must be booked by April 1, September and October cruises by May 1, and November and December sailings by June 1 to qualify for the discount.

At Royal Viking Line, passengers can qualify for early booking discounts of 10%-20% by booking for spring sailings before Jan. 31 and summer sailings by March 31.

Seawind Cruise Line’s 624-passenger Seawind Crown offers savings of up to $1,800 per couple for bookings made 60 or 120 days in advance for its seven-day, round-trip sailings in the southern Caribbean from its Aruba base.

And Norwegian Cruise Line just came on the bandwagon with its Dream Fares, promising the best already-discounted prices to those who book early.

Even the new twin-hulled, 354-passenger Radisson Diamond is getting in on early-booking discounts, offering $700 off the pub lished fare on seven-night Medi terranean sailings this summer for passengers who book before Jan. 30. The rates, with discount, will be $3,295 per person, double occupancy; all cabins are virtually identical outside with either a large sitting area or private balcony. Low-priced add-on air fares are available.

Back to new cruise lines, Seafest will start operating its Sapphire Seas, the former Emerald Seas, on three- and four-night sailings from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas in early February. That’s about the time London-based Orient Cruise Line, headed up by Gerry Harrod, former owner of Ocean Cruise Line, is scheduled to open its U.S. office to book the Marco Polo, the former Alexander Pushkin from the Baltic Shipping Co. The vessel will be based in Asia and is expected to complete its renovations and enter service late this fall.

Meanwhile, five brand-new ships are scheduled to come on line this year. Holland America’s Statendam makes its inaugural sailing from Ft. Lauderdale Jan. 25, and is followed by Norwegian Cruise Line’s Windward, Crown Cruises’ Crown Dynasty, Carnival’s Sensation and Costa Cruise Line’s CostaRomantica.

But while there are only five new ships this year, compared to a dozen in 1991 and another dozen in 1992, that doesn’t mean an end to the ship-building boom.

Los Angeles-based Crystal Cruises just announced an agreement with Finland’s Kvaerner Masa-Yard to build a second new ship, a sister ship to the 960-passenger Crystal Harmony, to enter service in the spring of 1995.

Carnival, Chandris Celebrity Cruises, Crown and Royal Caribbean are eyeing ambitious new multi-ship orders. Even cruise veteran Knut Kloster’s on-again, off-again 4,000-passenger Phoenix World City project, which would be the largest passenger ship ever built, looks like a “go” again.

Holland America’s 1,266-passenger Statendam, whose mid-January arrival for pre-inaugural sailings was delayed due to an engine room fire while in the Italian shipyard, is expected to be christened on schedule and set out on its inaugural cruise Jan. 25.

The fifth Holland America ship to carry the name, the Statendam is scheduled for a pair of Panama Canal cruises between Ft. Lauderdale and Los Angeles/San Francisco, followed by a Circle Caribbean cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to New York. On May 7, the ship will make a 35-day Grand Europe cruise from New York, then make a series of Baltic and Mediterranean sailings through the summer.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s 1,246-passenger, brand-new Windward will join sister ship Dreamward, introduced last December, in the Caribbean on May 16 with a pair of transcanal sailings between Ft. Lauderdale and Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. A return transit is scheduled June 6, from San Diego to San Juan, which will be home port for the Windward.

Crown’s 800-passenger Crown Dynasty is due to debut June 12, with seven-night Eastern Canada cruises, followed by a Caribbean, transcanal and Mexican Riviera winter season.

And Costa’s CostaRomantica, the 1,300-passenger sister ship to CostaClassica, is due in December for Caribbean sailings.

Carnival’s newest megaliner, Sensation, which is capable of carrying up to 2,600 passengers, will make its debut in the Caribbean Nov. 21, replacing sister ship Ecstasy on alternate seven-day eastern and western Caribbean cruises from Miami. The Ecstasy will replace a third sister ship, Fantasy, in a year-round series of three- and four-day sailings to the Bahamas from Miami, while Fantasy will be relocated to Port Canaveral for three- and four-day sailings combined with optional Orlando-area land packages.

Two additional 2,600-passenger megaliners, Fascination and Imagination, are presently under construction in Finland and are due to be delivered in 1994 and 1995, respectively.