Now's the time to plan for next year's cruises.
Passengers planning cruises for 2007 and beyond are likely to have fuel surcharges tacked onto their bills.
That's no surprise, since many lines have been adding such charges already, but the price is going up. It's good to remember that the early bird gets the worm.
Crystal Cruises, for example, has increased its fuel surcharge from $4 to $5 on all voyages that start Jan. 1 or later. But its announcements included a caveat that passengers who booked 2007 cruises before July 17, 2006 won't face the new hike.
The roller-coaster nature of fuel prices has no impact in the industry, as nobody seems to reduce or eliminate such surcharges when fuel prices fall. Consumers just have to accept the additional cost as a fait accompli -- at least for the foreseeable future.
Cruisers can cut their expenses in other ways, however. There's a "Kids Sail Free" deal on a Christmas 2006 voyage offered by MSC Cruises, an Italian line. Kids 12 and under sharing a stateroom with two full-fare adults will sail free on the 11-night Caribbean cruise that starts Dec. 18.
Another carrier that caters to kids, Disney Cruise Line, hopes to entice bookings with a real-live link to the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The ghost ship from the film, the Flying Dutchman, is anchored at Castaway Cay, a private, Disney-owned island where passengers disembark.
Fictitious characters, including the ship's captain, cavort around the place in typical Disney style, attracting the attention of both kids and camera buffs.
In the hope that new itineraries will attract repeat passengers as well as first-time cruises, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises has added exotic new ports on four 14-night voyages for 2007. They include Nuku Alofa in Tonga and Vanua Levu, Lautoka, and Yasawa in Fiji. The line's Paul Gauguin, an intimate vessel that carries 330 passengers, sails from Papeete, Tahiti to the Society, Tuamotu, Marquesas, Cook, and Austral islands. Trips range from seven to 14 nights in duration.
Regent Seven Seas is adding even more new ports. On 2007 cruises that vary from a week to 111 days, the line will have new stopovers and special on-board guests, including ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of Jacques) in the Amazon.
Seven Seas Mariner, an all-suite vessel featuring balconies in every stateroom, will start the year with a 59-day cruise that visits 31 ports in 16 countries. The "Circle South America" itinerary has four segments, allowing passengers to come or go as time and price permit.
Later in the year, the same ship will return to Burma -- one of its former ports -- after an absence of several years. The "Grand Asia Pacific" has a 107-night schedule divided into eight segments.
For some potential passengers, the most enticing new idea from Regent Seven Seas is the decision to offer selected wines and spirits without charge on all of its cruises. Already in place on Regent's world cruises, the policy promotes a social atmosphere by coaxing passengers out of their cabins.
