Crystal Cruises deal: 2-for-1 fares from Los Angeles include flight and $1,000 credit [Updated]

Here’s a way to stay close to home and still indulge in a luxury cruise. Crystal Cruises is offering two-for-one fares for sailings from Los Angeles to Canada and Mexico next year that come with a $1,000 onboard credit per couple and a kid-sail-free promotion.

The deal: Crystal Cruises’ two-for-one pricing applies to all cabin categories on selected Pacific Coast cruises. [Updated Friday, 8:15 a.m.: An earlier version of this article said the two-for-one pricing applies to only Category E cabins.] The price, which is half off the brochure rate, includes airfare and an onboard credit of $1,000 per couple. Also, children 17 and younger can sail free in the same cabin. Prices start at $2,650, plus tax and fees, per person for cruises from L.A. to Canada and from L.A. to Mexico.

When: This offer applies to seven-day cruises on these dates: April 10 departure from Los Angeles (San Pedro) to Vancouver, Canada; April 17 from Vancouver to Los Angeles; and Nov. 20 and Dec. 4 cruises that travel round trip from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico, via San Francisco.

Tested: This deal has a lot of moving parts, so take a minute to figure out what saves you the most money. For example, two-for-one fares for a cabin on the April 10 cruise aboard the Crystal Symphony from L.A. to Vancouver start at $2,695, plus tax and fees, per person based on double occupancy.

Under this offer, return airfare from Vancouver to L.A. is included in the price. If you find airfares on your own, you can apply $500 in airfare credit to the per-person fare, bringing it down to $2,195.

The deal also includes a $1,000 credit per couple that can be used for spa services, a bottle of wine or other shipboard expenses.

And, lastly, children 17 and younger sail free in the same cabin with two paying adults. However, the cheapest cabins, Category E, are designed for only three people. So if you want to bring more than one child, you would have to pay to upgrade to a bigger cabin. Note too that the kids-sail-free offer doesn’t include airfare or cruise credits, and you pay port charges and fees of about $275 per child.

I called this week to make a reservation and found Category E cabins still available for the April 10 sailing.

Tips: I suggest calling or sitting down with a travel agent to book this deal. I called Crystal Cruises twice to ask questions about the offer and learned the company uses a travel agency to make cruise reservations. (A company spokesman later verified this.) During one call, the representative told me airfare wasn’t included in the price, which was incorrect. So read up on the deal at the website to make sure you get all the extra goodies if you decide to book by phone.

Contact: Crystal Cruises, (888) 722-0021, or contact a travel agent