On a flight home from a cruise last week I struck up conversation with a seatmate who asked what I did for a living.  After telling him I was in the cruise business his comment was, “that sounds fun, but I’ll bet it’s tough selling vacations in such a difficult economy.”  I thought about that a lot this week.  He was right on both counts;  it’s fun and it certainly has been a challenge, but I have a lot for which to be thankful!

First, I work with an extraordinary team here at CruiseDeals.  I know it’s politically correct to say that in a public forum about employees, so let me explain why it’s sincere.  Everyone at CruiseDeals takes our customers’ vacations and satisfaction as seriously as if it were our own trip.  We’re a ”dot-com” in name only–we don’t operate like a call center where our job is to get your credit card number and move on to the next caller.  We do our best to provide up-front, honest pricing.  Our goal is to make sure you have the best possible vacation–one that’s right for you, your family, or friends.  If you’ve purchased from us I sincerely hope you felt that way as well.  If not, you can let me know how we can do better by calling 800-668-6414, ext. 300 or writing to kweisner@cruisedeals.com.

Second, we are honored to have arranged cruise vacations for more than 220,000 guests since opening our doors in 2003.  The reality is customers have more choices of where to buy than ever before, and we know that we don’t deserve anyone’s loyalty until we’ve earned it.   Many of you have chosen us time and again, and we can’t express enough how much we appreciate your for doing so.  220,000 is a lot of people, and our goal is to make every single one feel like they’re our only customer.  Being big is good since it translates into buying power, but not if it comes at the expense of doing a good job for our customers.

Third, despite the current economic challenges, it’s still a privilege (and a lot of fun) to be in a business that’s truly interesting and always improving.  We’ve come a long way since my start in 1985 where most cruise ships were converted passenger liners from the 1940s and 1950s.  Not only has the hardware become more spectacular and diverse, but pricing puts a cruise within reach of so many more people.  I am convinced there is still no better value for a vacation than a cruise, even after adding in the “extras” such as taxes, gratuities, beverages, shore excursions, etc.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts as we near Thanksgiving.  All of us at CruiseDeals and the Travel Leaders family wish the very best to you and your families.

And now. . . I’ll turn it over to Martha to share some her hand-picked deals! 

Avalon River Cruises: Save $1,000 per person

Thinking of planning a trip to Europe? A river cruise combines the best of what a blue-water cruise offers; unpack once, fine dining, transport between cities while you’re sleeping, with the hands-on experience of European land-based tours. And since most River cruises dock in the very heart of the historic cities they visit, you become instantly immersed in the history and culture of Europe’s famous cities.   Interested?  CruiseDeals is making this fantastic way to see Europe more affordable with $1,000 off per person on select 2012 Avalon River cruises to Europe!  As always, I’ve done the research for you and picked out my favorite deals from the promotion.

My favorite pick: March 25th 11 Days Burgundy & Provence from Paris to Côte d’Azur: This spring voyage starts from just $2,089 per person after the $1,000 savings which is just $189 a day on a luxury river ship! This vacation begins with two nights in Paris, followed by visits to Beaune, Chalon-Sur-Saone, Tournus, Lyon, Tournon, Viviers, Avignon and Arles. Your vacation ends with an overnight in the stunning Côte d’Azur on the French Riviera. This deal can only be booked by calling 800-668-6414! What makes this offer even sweeter? Because these rates are all inclusive, the price includes meals, regional wines and beer at dinner, shore excursions with local guides and more.

Looking for different cities?  We’ve arranged savings on 30 different voyages so give us a call and talk to one of CruiseDeals.com’s knowledgeable cruise consultants about booking this offer (which ends November 29th).

On Deck: What’s Coming Up Next Week:  Tuesday Price Drops

For one day only on Tuesday, Celebrity will drop rates on a handful of sailings departing in the next couple of months. These weekly cruise deals provide a terrific savings, but rates really do go right back up on Wednesday so I always suggest planning to act on these limited time offers. Here is my favorite pick:

November 28th Celebrity Millennium 5-Night Western Caribbean from Miami: Inside rates will drop $60 per person from $229 down to $169 which is only $34 a day! Or, enjoy the fresh air and views from your Veranda cabin for just $279 and only $56 a day, a $50 per person price drop from $329. These are unheard of rates for a premium Celebrity cruise!

Don’t Miss Out: Deals to Jump on Now

Princess Alaska CruiseTours 50% Off Launch Fares

If you have been dreaming of a vacation to Alaska now is a great time to book. Princess has just dropped rates on a number of Alaska Cruisetours this year. If you aren’t familiar with a Cruisetour, it is package land and sea vacation and Alaska is one of the best destinations for a Cruisetour. Princess’ Alaska cruisetours range from 10 to 13 nights and include a 7-day cruise around Alaska. The most popular Princess Cruisetour is the Denali Explorer, which for a limited time are now 50% off launch fares.

Some Highlights of Denali Explorer Cruisetours include:

-7-Day Voyage of the Glaciers Cruise

-Visits to Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park

-Scenic Direct to the Wilderness rail service

-Stays at exclusive Princess Wilderness lodges

Cruisetours cannot be booked online, so call 800-668-6414 to speak with one of CruiseDeals.com’s knowledgeable cruise consultants about booking a Cruisetour now!

As always, I’ve done the research and picked out some of my favorite deals from this offer:

August 20th Diamond Princess 10-Night Denali Explorer, Vancouver to Fairbanks- This Cruisetour will begin with the Cruise portion, and end on land- Inside cabins from $974, this is only $104 more per person than the cruise by itself. So you will be getting 4 more nights for just $26 a night!

September 6th Diamond Princess- 11-Night Classic Alaska, Fairbanks to Vancouver- This Cruisetour will begin with the land portion, and end on the Cruise. Inside cabins from $886, only $55 more per person than just the cruise! Or, book an Ocean view for $1,016- just $122 more per person than the cruise alone.

There are over 50 tours included in this limited time offer, if one of these doesn’t work for you, call CruiseDeals.com at 800-668-6414 to book one that does!

Carnival Early Saver Fares

If you like to plan ahead for your vacation now may be the best time to book! Carnival offers a variety of different fares and one of the best ways to get the lowest prices are with Early Saver Fares. Carnival is essentially rewarding you for planning and booking early by offering you some of the lowest rates, typically around 20% lower. However, if after you book your cruise, you find a lower Carnival advertised fare, they will match that rate and issue you the difference in onboard credit. It is important to point out that Early Saver reservations require a full non-refundable deposit per person. These incredible fares are only offered when you book early, more specifically, up until 3 months in advance for cruises 5-Days or less, and 5 months in advance for cruises 6 days and longer. If you’re planning a vacation a few months in advance, these are great rates to take advantage of- just please keep in mind that your deposit will be non-fundable.

We want you to be able to take advantage of these offers, so CruiseDeals.com has a dedicated Early Saver Page featuring departures where the Early Saver Fare will only be offered for a few more days. Check it out here

On Deck: What’s Coming Up Next Week

Look out for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity to drop rates on a handful of sailings for Tuesday only, as part of Royal Caribbean’s “Sales Event” and Celebrity’s “Exciting Deals”, both of which are offered weekly. I encourage you to take advantage of these deals on Tuesday if you see something you like because the rates will definitely go back up Wednesday.

I’ve gone through next week’s Sales Event and Exciting Deals offers and picked out what I think are the best deals:

Celebrity:

April 18th Celebrity Millennium 15-Night Transcanal, San Juan to San Diego: Category 9 Inside Cabin rates will drop $840 per person to $799-only $54 a day! Concierge Class cabins will drop from $2,049 to $1,099, a $950 price drop and still only $75 a day! Ocean view and Veranda cabins will also drop between $800 and $900.

Royal Caribbean:

June 12th Brilliance of the Seas 12-Night Mediterranean, Roundtrip from Venice: Category K Inside cabins will drop from $1,579 to $849- a $730 price drop and only $71 a day for this Summer Mediterranean cruise! Book an Ocean view cabin, category G for only $999-dropped $720 or book a category D1 Balcony cabin for $1,299, a $1,150 price drop from $2,449!

Remember, these fantastic rates will only be bookable on Tuesday so plan accordingly!

Have you signed up for CruiseDeals.com’s SeaMail? Each Tuesday we send out a handpicked selection of our Top 5 Cruise Deals. To get the deals, sign up here.

CruiseSource.us one of the original cruising blogs is going through a redesign. The purpose of the redesign is to make CruiseSource.us a more valuable resource for cruisers. I will beusing this blog post to test out different functionality. This process should only take a couple of days. I’m very excited about the future of CruiseSource.us – - If you want to get CruiseSource.us articles delivered directly to your email, please subscribe here.

Many of the major Cruise Lines are attempting to move their remaining 2010 inventory and get a jumpstart on 2011 with some big sales this week. Norwegian, Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America have Cruise Sales running this week. Below are the details for NCL, Celebrity, and Princess sales. It was tough to get the sales to display properly on the blog… click on links for details for each sale. The Celebrity Cruises Buy One Get one Half-Off is a very strong sale!

NCL Dash Sale September 14th-17th

The NCL Dash Sale applies to sailings 3-days and longer. On Board Credit is based on category and length of cruise; see the chart below for details. This offer CAN be combined with other offer to get additional On Board Credits but group rates do not apply. To combine; you must book using the PGDASH rate code.
Reduced Deposit is 50% off the standard deposit. Reduced Deposit does not apply to Courtyard Villas (Categories A3,A4,A6,S4,S5), Courtyard Penthouses (Category A7), Owner’s Suites (Categories AA,A2,A5,S2,S3), Spa Suite (Category S9), and Penthouse with Balcony (Category S6).

On Board Credit Per Stateroom
                                 Studio Inside Oceanvie Balcony Mini-Suite Suite Garden Villa
3- 5 Day sailings $7.50   $15        $20        $40               $50         $75         $100
6+ Day sailings $12.50   $25       $50         $75             $100       $150        $250

Celebrity BOGO Sale 9/10-9/17
Booking window: 7 days 9/10/10 through 9/17/10
* Applies to NEW BOOKINGS made during this time frame only
• Rates will be unrestricted LAF rates
• Not applicable to groups BOGO 1/2 off the 2nd guest
• Capacity limit of 20 staterooms per sailing (some sailings we allow more bookings based on need)
• Cannot use Resident Rates/ or Senior Citizen Promo codes for this offer.

Promotion Codes: Price programs will begin with BOGOxxx
Applicable Products and Starting from Rates:

Princess 3-Day Sale September 15-17th up to $100 Onboard Credit

Winter/Spring 2011 to the Caribbean and Panama Canal
Must book by 9/17/2010
Use Promo Code: R3S

Stateroom category 6- to 9-day cruises 10+ day cruises
Interior/oceanview staterooms $25 per stateroom $50 per stateroom
Balcony staterooms and above $50 per stateroom $100 per stateroom

Hurricane Earl has caused several ships to change itineraries in order to avoid the storm. Some of the most popular Islands in the Caribbean like St. Maarten and St. Thomas are too close to the projected path of Hurricane Earl. So in the interest of safety and not ruining vacations the cruiselines have altered some itineraries of ships currently cruising the Caribbean.

Carnival Victory, Carnival Pride, Carnival Dream, Norwegian Epic, Enchantment of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, and possibly the Norwegian Dawn will have their itineraries modified due to the storm. You can see all the details on these changes on the CruiseSource.us Hurricane Cruise Tracker page.

We will hold the drawing at 5 PM ET on Tuesday August 10th, as long as we get to $1700 donated. Thank you Airline Ambassadors for allowing us to lower the goal! We really want to give away this flight so please DONATE. If you win there is a $50 activation fee, you must use the ticket within the 12 months, and there are a few restrictions about Holidays.

It makes sense that a lot of the time first time cruisers test out cruise vacations on the short 3 and 4 night itineraries. The typical 3 & 4 night sailings are on medium-sized ships built 10 – 15 years ago. The new highly innovative ships are doing 7 – 10 night itineraries. So when people test out cruising on a short cruise, they are not getting to see experience the ships with endless activities and amenities. That is why I wanted to let you know about 2 opportunities this fall to spoil yourself on 2 rare short voyages on one of Royal Caribbean’s youngest ships. The Liberty of the Seas, one of the newest biggest ships at sea is offering a couple of 3 and 4 night cruise vacations. These rare sailings are the only opportunities for first-time cruisers to test out the large new Liberty of the Seas on a short itinerary. The best part is that because these sailings are not typical and most people are not even aware that they exist. Due to the lack of awareness of the October 28th and November 28th departures the prices are the same as or even less than the smaller, older ships. Rates are starting as low as $249 per person.

These two sailings are my top recommendation for first time cruisers. They are amazing deals and a true taste test of the best that the cruise lines have to offer. These Liberty of the Seas sailings are also excellent options for experienced cruisers who want to go big and only have a few days to do it.