Frommers.com Cruise Blog: Crystal Offers Discount Standby Fares on Five Early-Summer Cruises

Frommers.com Cruise Blog Coverage of the hottest trends in cruising, descriptions of major cruise ships, and tips on how to get the most out of your trip from Frommers.com's resident cruise expert. Crystal Offers Discount Standby Fares on Five Early-Summer Cruises 8 Apr 2011, 7:39 am Want a luxury cruise on the sort-of cheap? Slap your deposit down on one of the five sailings Crystal Cruises has just put on sale in a "standby" promotion. Bookings won't be confirmed until about a month and a half before the sailing date, but if you're, say, retired and have flexibility regarding your vacation plans, you could walk away with a good deal. The five sailings, with their standby fares, are: 12-day Alaska cruises, round-trip from San Francisco, departing May 9 and 21 and June 2. Per-person standby fares are $2,995 for a stateroom with picture window or $3,995 for a balcony stateroom. 11-day Scandinavia/Russia sailing, Hamburg to Stockholm, departing May 22. Per-person standby fares are $2,995 for a stateroom with picture window or $3,995 for a balcony stateroom. 14-day North Cape/Arctic Circle voyage, Copenhagen to Stockholm, departing June 13. Per-person standby fares are $4,995 for a stateroom with picture window or $5,995 for a balcony stateroom. Standby fares are based on availability, require a $500-per-guest deposit upon reservation, and will be confirmed, the line says, "on a 'first requested, first confirmed' basis no earlier than 45 days prior to departure." Final payment is due within three days of confirmation. The deal applies only to new bookings and only covers your cruise—i.e., it doesn't include airfare or port, security, or handling charges. The last time Crystal offered this kind of standby deal was in 2002, when it also applied to five Alaska and Scandinavia/Russia cruises. That deal explicitly noted that "The $500 deposit will be refunded in full if Crystal Cruises is unable to offer registered guests a confirmation." That fine print isn't in the published fine print this time, but I'm assuming it applies. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.