Below are four of the best deals that we found (at least as of today). These fares are per-person, based on double occupancy, and do not include taxes or government fees – and it’s possible you may qualify for deeper discounts based on location, age, or other factors.

Princess Cruises: 7-Day Alaska Inside Passage Cruise

Ship: Golden Princess
Departs: Seattle, Washington
Departure Date: July 31, 2010
Ports of call: Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan while sailing in Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm Fjord, depending on your itinerary.
Length: 7 Days

*Note: Take a look at the August 14th sailing – it’s $200 less per person for a balcony, but the same or higher in every other class.

Visit Princess Cruises for more information. (limited time link!)

Holland America Line: 7-Day Alaskan Explorer Cruise

Ship: ms Zaandam
Departs: Seattle, Washington
Departure Date: September 3, 2010
Ports of call: Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria BC while sailing in Glacier Bay
Length: 7 Days

Visit Holland American Line for more information.

Carnival Cruise Line: 7-Day Glacier Bay Cruise

Ship: Spirit
Departs: Seattle, Washington
Departure Date: September 13, 2010
Ports of call: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Vancouver BC while sailing in Glacier Bay.
Length: 7 Days

Visit Carnival for more information.

Royal Caribbean 7-Day Sawyer Glacier Cruise

Ship: Rhapsody of the Seas
Departs: Seattle, Washington
Departure Date: August 27, 2010
Ports of call: Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria BC while sailing in the Alaska Inside Passage and Tracy Arm Fjord.
Length: 7 Days

Visit Royal Caribbean for more information.

The cruise industry typically sets itineraries two years in advance, so it took a little time for Alaska to see the decline after the $46 tax for each visiting cruise passenger was put into place a few years ago. Last year, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Princess all announced plans to pull ships from Alaska once they saw their profit margin sinking under the new taxes.

Carnival’s CEO made a statement last year explaining that cruise lines operate primarily as a business, and if business is better somewhere else (e.g. a ship can make more money in Europe than Alaska) the line won’t hesitate to move a ship.

Earlier this year Alaska changed the law and lowered the tax rate (after much lobbying from local tourist associations and the cruise line industry) – but the effects won’t be seen until at least 2012 since ships have already been scheduled and booked for other itineraries around the world.

Unfortunately for businesses dependent on cruise tourism in Alaska, this could be too little too late. It will take years to recover the business cruise ships were bringing to the region and may force some local businesses to close.

Cruise lines have the luxury of taking their business elsewhere relatively easily by pointing their ships in another direction – land-based companies do not.

Poll after poll will tell you jobs and the economy are the number one concern in America – which is why it’s puzzling to me why a state would impose a policy that encourages business to leave the region – and in most cases the entire country. Lower tourism means fewer businesses and higher unemployment.

Alaska figured it out too late for it to benefit anyone in the next two years – I hope Washington D.C. doesn’t make the same mistakes.

VIA: USA Today – Cruise Log

The teenager was traveling with her family on board the Carnival Victory which has seven day cruises out of San Juan. The tour bus they were traveling on was not a Carnival-sponsored excursion, though Carnival said it was canceling trips to that beach area. Princess cruises has followed suit, but according to CruiseCritic.com, Norwegian Cruise Line (Epic is set to dock tomorrow), and Royal Caribbean have yet to determine any cancelations at this time

The cancelations of trips to certain beaches is a good start for the cruise lines, but in order to make real change, we suggest suspending travel to the island for a period of time until they can get their act together and reduce their crime rate.

For the last few years running, St. Thomas has recorded a violent crime rate between 5 and 7 times that similar-sized cities in the United States. Although St. Thomas is a territory of the United States, it is self-governing and has an independent police force – a group that many locals feel a sense of distrust for.

Tensions between local police and U.S. Federal officials have been strained in the last few years, after an ATF agent shot and killed a resident in 2008 while intervening in a domestic dispute. The local police cried foul, and the United States pulled out all ATF agents about 6 months later. The FBI and DEA still have offices on the island, though some believe they’re hands are tied for political reasons.

If local police are the problem, then it is up to the people to stand up for a change – and while the crime rates may seem like enough motivation to us, nothing has changed on the island for the better.

Cruise lines should suspend all travel to the island for one month – and only return pending an independent assessment of the changes made to help protect citizens and travelers.

St. Thomas is an economy based on tourism – it wouldn’t take long for every business owner (undoubtedly the ones with the most political power, too) on the island to be calling for a change. Until they need a reason to change, they will continue to sit on the sidelines as long as their business isn’t affected – and it hasn’t been.

The tragedy this week is terribly unfortunate, but maybe it will be the wakeup call to the cruise lines that supply the island with its cash crop – tourists – that it is time for more action if any real change is desired.

This is the first time Carnival has offered round-trips to Hawaii, which they hope will provide customers with “a more convenient and cost-effective means for visiting the breathtaking island chain.”

Flying into your cruises departure port can be a tricky balance. Arriving a day ahead of time is preferred, but not always the most convenient or cost-conscious. Arrive too late and you’ll spend even more money trying to catch up with the ship at another port. This airfare/hotel gamble gets even more expensive with an exotic location like Hawaii.

Carnival should expect to see plenty from California and neighboring states take advantage of the new offer – which will leave first from Los Angeles, and San Diego will follow a few months later.

The Hawaiian Islands expected to be on the itinerary are Hilo, Kahului, Honolulu, Lihue, and Kona.

The Carnival Magic is part of the cruise line’s Dream Class of ships and is set to debut in Barcelona next May for a few seven to 12-day Mediterranean cruises before making the 16-day trans-Atlantic voyage to its home port of Galveston, Texas in October.
Carnival Magic will have seven-day itineraries to the western Caribbean (Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel) and eastern Caribbean (Nassau, Freeport, and Key west).

For shorter voyages, CCL will move the Carnival Triumph to the port of Galveston as well, making it the largest ship to operate a year-round short cruise program from that port.

The two ships currently calling Galveston home, the Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy, will reposition to New Orleans – bringing Carnivals pre-Katrina cruise levels back to the embattled city.

This news is exciting for those of us outside of Florida, who are far more likely to take a cruise if the port is just a few hours away driving distance – and to have the ships include one of the newest and largest ships from Carnival – that’s not so bad either!

CEO Stein Kruse said that the move “will certainly be a positive influencing factor” as Holland America decides when and where its cruise ships will sail in 2012.

“I can’t say right here and today what we will do because those decisions haven’t been made, but I can tell you that it’s a far more positive outlook than it has been for the last couple of years,” Kruse said.

The island nation also received its fifth win for the Caribbean’s leading cruise destination, and Ocho Rios was named the leading port in the Caribbean.

Travel professionals from nearly 200,000 companies and tourism organizations in 160 countries vote every year on the top destinations.

“Without a doubt, our success at the World Travel Awards must be attributed to the increasing diversity of experiences that we have to offer cruise visitors,” said William Tatham, of the Port Authority in Jamaica. “We have everything from shopping and historical tours, to high impact adventures and that allows Jamaica to connect with almost every passenger on a cruise ship in ways no other destination can.”

Ocho Rios may have some competition in the future, though, since construction will soon begin for a new port in Falmouth, Jamaica. The new port will be in-itself a tourist destination, and will be able to accommodate the newest megaships like Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.

The groundbreaking comes as global demand for the cruise market is estimated to hit 27 million passengers by 2020.

The cruise industry is still doing well despite the economic downturn. Global cruise passengers are expected to number 13.5 million this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association.

Asia Pacific currently accounts for 7 per cent of the world’s cruise market and Singapore wants to become a cruise hub.
By 2015, Singapore hopes the new terminal can host the world’s largest Oasis-class cruise ships and attract 1.6 million cruise passengers. The terminal can handle 6,800 passengers at any one time and will double Singapore’s berth capacity.

STB says greater efficiency and accessibility will allow passengers to disembark and depart from the terminal within 30 minutes.

The 28,000-square-metre terminal, equivalent to about three football fields, is one of the biggest in Asia. Reclamation work will start next month and when completed in 2011, it is expected to create 3,000 jobs in the tourism and related industries.

Observers said cruise passengers tend to spend about 30 per cent more on average, which could boost Singapore’s economy.

It’s never fun to be at the mercy of a cab driver that knows an area much better than you. Even here in America, cab drivers from New York and Las Vegas have been known to take unsuspecting tourists on the LONG, EXPENSIVE route to their destination. So what happens when you feel like you’ve been similarly duped abroad? Well, six American tourists in Antigua decided to take the law into their own hands.

The group took a $50 tour from the Carnival Victory, which they assumed would bring them back to where they started. However, the cabbie told them their tour ended at the beach (only once they reached the beach), and that if they wanted a ride back to the ship it would run them another $50. The group refused to pay, so the cabbie drove them to the police station where a fight broke out and two officers were allegedly injured.

The six were charged with assault and malicious damage, were released on $5,000 bail each and are expected to be in appear in court tomorrow.

This could really end up being a black eye on Antigua’s record. For an economy based so heavily on tourism, it’s foolish to make such a big deal out of dispute that was clearly a tourist scam. With that said, we don’t know how the group acted once they arrived at the police station, or if they initiated the confrontation. One thing’s for certain: it’s not good for Antigua’s reputation as a tourist destination.

The fall 2010 to spring 2011 schedule for Princess Cruises is now available, and the line has added two Pacific crossings between California and Sydney in addition to several Hawaiian cruises.

“Due to the enthusiastic response to our 2009 Trans Pacific sailing we wanted to offer additional opportunities to experience this unique itinerary,” says Princess Cruises executive vice president. “The two new month-long sailings visiting 13 tropical ports of call will give cruisers a true taste of the idyllic South Pacific.”

Here is a list of the new Princess Itineraries:

• 2-day Pacific Coastal (Vancouver to San Francisco) – September 20, 2010
• 30-day Hawaii, Tahiti & South Pacific (San Francisco to Sydney) – September 22, 2010
• 29-day Hawaii, Tahiti & South Pacific (Sydney to Los Angeles) – October 23, 2010
• 10-day Mexican Riviera (roundtrip out of Los Angeles) – January 5, 2011
• 14-day Hawaiian Islands (roundtrip out of Los Angeles) – January 29, 2011
• 14-day Hawaiian Islands (roundtrip out of Los Angeles) – February 26, 2011
• 14-day Hawaiian Islands (roundtrip out of Los Angeles) – March 26, 2011

The fares for a two-day coastal cruise start at $199, the Hawaiian cruises at $1995, and the nearly month-long-cruises across the Pacific start at $4195.

To make room in the schedule, Princess canceled approximately 15 cruises that were scheduled for Mexican Riviera itineraries.