Sherman's Travel

Don’t let the Carnival Cruise Line’s recent newsworthy items deter you from hitting the high seas. There are millions of cruises that sail each year without making the news. They have great customer service, activities for families, couples, and seniors, onboard entertainment, and unique ports around the world. Today we’ve rounded up the best of the best, from exotic international cruises to the always-popular beach destinations. Read more

If a Mediterranean, Adriatic, or Baltic cruise is on your 2012 travel wish list, check out the $1,776 July 4th sale fares now being offered by Windstar Cruises (must be booked by July 6). Windstar, which operates three tall-masted luxury ships – 312-passenger Wind Surf and 148-passenger Wind Star (shown at left in Greece) and Wind Spirit – has lowered fares on 20 European voyages sailing from mid-July to mid-November (with some fall voyages priced as low as $1,476 and December Caribbean voyages priced from $976).

I have cruised around Europe extensively and have sailed on both Wind Star and Wind Surf. If, like me, you prefer smaller ships to the behemoths, you’ll enjoy the intimate ambiance, wonderful service, superb cuisine, and easy camaraderie that these ships offer. Here are few of my recommendations for itineraries among those on sale until July 6:

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If you’re looking for a break on a luxury getaway over the next several months, here are three great spending credit offers – from a $1,500 air credit to a $200-a-day spa credit – in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Florida:

Four Seasons Resort Nevis: If you’re in the mood for a Caribbean escape, consider a stay at the 196-room Four Seasons Resort Nevis (shown at left), which is fresh from a December 2010 renovation and features a world-class golf course, four restaurants, and a serene spa. Book five nights in a Deluxe Oceanside or Deluxe Oceanview Room or a Plantation Suite, Ocean Suite, or Luxury Suite and you’ll get a $1,000 air credit (applied to your bill at check out). Book a Villa and the credit is $1,500. Rates start at $545/night.

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Carnival Corporation is having a rough week, from ship fires, to armed robberies, to barred ports of call. Coupled with the Costa Concordia disaster, it’s understandable that travelers may be a bit more reluctant to book a cruise for their vacation time. But despite the bad press, and perhaps to some extent because of it, this is a great time to find cruise deals; and scores of them are available right now.

January through March is what the cruise industry refers to as “wave season” and it’s the time of the year that the most aggressive deal and advertising campaigns are launched and, consequently, when most cruise reservations are made. Even so, demand for the season isn’t down and deals abound; the industry still wants to fill its cabins. What this means for you is that your cruise deal options are wide and varied. What you want to watch out for especially are flash sales and special offers and rates.

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MSC Cruises has announced an eye-catching new promotion, which offers complimentary stateroom upgrades on select 7-night Caribbean and European sailings. Pay for the lowest-cost interior cabins with this great-value “Move Up in the World” deal, and be bumped up to balcony cabins at no extra cost. What’s more, the offer can be redeemed for peak-season sailings, so there’s no need to sail during iffy-weather shoulder seasons in order to snag the freebie upgrade. Or, splurge for a full-price balcony suite, and be upgraded to the top-of-the-line butler suites in the line’s elite cruise line-within-a cruise line, the MSC Yacht Club, found on Fantasia-class ships. Read more

Ring in 2012 from the high seas with this roundup of priced-to-go cruise deals on Carnival. We’ve found six sailings to warm-weather destinations in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Mexico embarking from a trio of destinations in Florida (Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami), San Juan in Puerto Rico, Charleston, and New Orleans. Set sail for four to six nights, with rates working out to as low as $104/night, and savings to as high as 65 percent off brochure rates. Book now while everybody else is distracted with holiday preparations and have yet to set their sights on New Year’s Eve plans – these low fares are bound to spike in the weeks to come, when latecomers start scrambling for quick New Year’s getaways. Read more

Are you an adventurous, spur-of-the-moment traveler looking for a great deal? For a four-day period, Quark Expeditions is offering passengers who buy one of four cruises to Antarctica in November at regular price (beginning at $6,190) an additional ticket for a companion for only $1. If you’re cruising solo, rates for these upcoming trips are 50 percent off.

Cruises to Antarctica are notoriously expensive, so this is a great deal if you’re able to jet to Ushuaia, Argentina, where the cruise departs, in the next week or two. This 12-day polar cruise travels through the Drake Passage, Antarctic Peninsula, and South Shetland Islands and offers a slew of adventurous activities, like kayaking, camping, mountaineering, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Passengers will spot a variety of penguins and seals while marveling at the “big ice.”

The sale begins today at 8:30am and ends on Thursday, November 10 at 8:00pm; departure dates include November 13 (two sailings), 19, and 29, 2011.

Use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find the lowest rates on flights, hotels, vacation packages, and more travel deals.

We’ve just dug up a tempting cruise deal for select European river sailings in 2012 aboard luxe Avalon Waterways. Book via Premier River Cruises by November 25, and nab comped rates on second passenger fares when paying full fare for the first passenger. This limited-time offer is valid on select 7- to 14-night cruises, like the 7-night Paris & Normandy sailing, with rates starting as low as $2,098 for two people – working out to just $1,049 per person. Other available sale fares include $2,490 for two ($1,249 per person) for the 7-night Burgundy & Provence sailing, or $2,598 for two ($1,299 per person) for the 7-night Danube River cruise. (Note that taxes and fees are additional, and are applicable for the promotional fare, as well.) What’s more, guests participating in this promotion will also receive up to $250  inshipboard credit, valid for redemption for onboard purchases at the spa, gift shop, and more. Read more

Upscale French cruise line Compagnie du Ponant is offering would-be cruisers to the Antarctic some sizable savings for select sailings this fall and winter. A notoriously expense cruising journey, Ponant offers a top-of-the-line experience to the White Continent aboard its luxurious yachts, and is now slashing rates by up to 20 percent on seven sailings between November 2011 and February 2012. Plus, they’ve extended the value even further by offering a $1,400 flight credit per cabin (or $700 per passenger), applicable towards airfare to the embarkation (and disembarkation) point in Ushuaia, Argentina.

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Does sailing off into the Mediterranean sunset under billowing white sails sound like a head-in-the-clouds fantasy? Well, go ahead and turn that tall tale into your very own reality this fall (and beyond) onboard the sumptuous sailing yachts of Windstar Cruises. Happily, we’ve pinned down refreshingly down-to-earth rates on a duo of shoulder-season autumn sailings, as well as uncovered a special promotion for those looking ahead to their 2012 vacation planning. Read more