Pick A Cruise, Any Cruise

By: Jim Gullo
Topics: travel talk

(AP Photo/James Nielsen)

Want to join me for some armchair cruise fantasizing? (And no, that's not ALL I ever do). Then click over to Cruise Direct Online and start imagining where you'd like to go. The site monitors the offerings and prices from twenty big cruise operators, including heavy hitters like Cunard and Holland America, and allows you to book cruises on a moment's notice. There are also links for special deals, reviews on cruise lines and itineraries, and tips on getting the most out of your cruise.

For example, I'm going to Hawaii in three weeks on Holland America's ms Zaandam, on a 15-day cruise from San Diego (sorry, my sailing is sold out, so if you're going, we'll have to be like two ships passing in the night). If you want to jump on a ship to the Aloha State, click on Hawaii and Cruise Direct pulls up 77 options for sailing to the islands in the coming months. Want to visit the Mediterranean? Click that region and 89 options come up, enough for a whole afternoon of frittering away your time reviewing options (I speak from experience here). Should we go to Nice first, and then Greece, or the other way around?

That's all fine, you say, but I want to go cruising NOW, and I want to pay very little for it. What you need, my friend, is the site's cruise deal of the day, which is updated daily and discounts upcoming cruises. The one that I saw offered good prices on 11-day sailings in the Caribbean with Regent Seven Seas Cruises, a high-end ship on which I'd happily travel again. So I guess I'll see you in St. John. See you on board, and happy sailing.