The value on cruises is so great right now, we’ve included some of the best bargains for vacations departing from US ports. Check these out from Vacations-to-Go. (www.vacationstogo.com)

Cruises are not only the easiest way to see the world but they also offer more value for the dollar than any other international vacation option.

After all, where else can you unpack once and wake up every morning in a fascinating new destination? And where else can you spend as little as $45 to $50 per person, per day, and receive comfortable, well-maintained accommodations with twice-daily maid service, 3 meals, a full slate of shipboard activities and nightly entertainment?

This unmatched value is magnified during economic slowdowns, like the one we find ourselves in now.

With the cruise lines' price-to-fill model, weakened demand translates instantly into lower prices, and this year we have seen prices at all-time lows in cruise markets around the world. In turn, the cruise passenger's bang-for-the-buck is at an all-time high.

Here are a few examples of the extraordinary values in the marketplace right now:

A 4-night Bahamas cruise starting from $42.25 per person, per day (FastDeal #31430)
A 14-night Trans-Atlantic cruise starting from $46.64 per person, per day (FastDeal #25692)
A 7-night Mexico cruise starting from $51.29 per person, per day (FastDeal #18213)
A 10-night Canada/New England cruise starting from $54.90 per person, per day (FastDeal #33261)
A 7-night Caribbean cruise starting from $57 per person, per day (FastDeal #15017)
A 28-night Panama Canal cruise starting from $57.11 per person, per day (FastDeal #19635)
An 8-night Asia cruise starting from $62.38 per person, per day (FastDeal #13721)
An 8-night Mediterranean cruise starting from $62.38 per person, per day (FastDeal #32905)
A 14-night South America cruise starting from $67.79 per person, per day (FastDeal #33239)

Cruise lines provide such outstanding value because of the efficiency with which they deliver their service.

For example, the typical cruise ship has teams of room stewards, chefs and waiters working 7 days a week to clean 1,000 cabins per day and prepare and serve three or four meals a day to 2,000 passengers. When the ship sails from the port of departure, the Hotel Director knows exactly how many meals will be served for the entire cruise and the ship has been provisioned accordingly. Every cabin, table and employee is fully utilized, every day.

That's much more efficient and less wasteful than the system land-based hotels and restaurants must employ to serve a much smaller group of customers who vary in number daily.

As ships have gotten larger and cruise lines have grown into billion-dollar enterprises, feeding and transporting millions of passengers every year, the cruise lines' huge buying power has reduced their costs for everything consumed on the ship. Plus, larger ships and show lounges spread the cost of entertainers, the captain, officers and cruise director over more people.

And unlike airlines and hotels that accept empty seats and rooms during slow periods, cruise lines will do whatever it takes to sail full. All lines except the four 6-star cruise lines will slash prices as low as they need to in order to fill every cabin, even in a recession.

They do this for two reasons. First, on most lines, a significant percentage of the crews' compensation comes from gratuities -- and there are no gratuities from empty cabins.

Second, venues such as casinos, spas, boutiques, photography studios and excursion desks are completely dependent on onboard purchases, which of course are directly related to the number of people onboard.

All of this has resulted in the best bargains ever for people cruising this year, and as of now, prices have not begun to rise toward normal levels.

Vacations To Go has become the biggest seller of cruises in the world by being the best there is at finding and offering the lowest discounts in the industry, frequently selling them out before other agencies are even aware they exist.

For a look at more of the incredible cruise deals available during the next 90 days, click here.

Here are the best cruise deals in the next 90 days, organized by port of departure.

Click below for best cruise deals departing US and Canada ports:

Anchorage, AK
Baltimore, MD
Bayonne, NJ
Boston, MA
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Galveston, TX
Honolulu, HI
Jacksonville, FL
Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Mobile, AL
Montreal, QC, Canada
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY (All ports serving...)
Philadelphia, PA
Port Canaveral, FL
Portland, OR
Quebec City, QC, Canada
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Seattle, WA
St. Thomas, USVI
Tampa, FL
Vancouver, BC, Canada

2010

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