To give you some idea of the lengths to which the cruise industry is presently going (apparently because of the slow travel season), I have to cite another promotion of Norwegian Cruise Line. For two Mediterranean departures from Barcelona on November 30, 2008 and January 25, 2009, on a fascinating itinerary (the ship goes to Rome, Athens, Ephesus (Turkey), Alexandria (Egypt), and Valletta, Malta, before returning to Barcelona, 12 nights in all, the line has decided to throw in free trans-Atlantic airfare for bargain-hunting passengers. And thus the price for a balcony cabin for this 12-night cruise is $1,999 per person, including round-trip air fare to and from Barcelona from either San Francisco, Newark, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, or Washington, D.C. For $200 more, they’ll fly you from Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, or Los Angeles.
Since the value of that airfare is at least $1,000 (and possibly far more), you’re paying less than $999 for 12 nights at sea in the glorious Mediterranean — and in an outside balcony cabin, to boot. Transfers to and from the ship are also included, and the stay in Egpyt is overnight, permitting you quite comfortably to visit Cairo, the Pyramids, and the Sphinx.
As with all deals of this sort, the airfare-included-cruise can be booked at this price not from the cruise line, but from Online Vacation Center, which you reach by dialing tel. 800/329-9002 or visiting www.onlinevacationcenter.com. It’s obvious that the demand for a winter cruise of the Mediterranean isn’t strong enough to fill the ship at normal rates.
But then, the demand for all such travel products is fairly weak at the moment. It’s a buyer’s market out there.
Write and read comments about this post.
September 17th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
That is a great thought.. I wasn\’t thinking in that direction.