Autumn escapes: 10 great fall cruise deals

As lazy days of summer give way to fall, cruise prices tend to take a dip. This year is no exception. Popular itineraries such as fall foliage cruises to New England and Canada fetch premiums, but you’ll find off-peak season deals in the Caribbean and Europe, among other destinations. Find the bargains via the cruise lines, your travel agent or websites such as iCruise.com and VacationsToGo.com.

Here are 10 great fall deals.

• Pay from only $35 per day for a 13-day cruise on the Norwegian Star, as the ship repositions from London (Dover) to Tampa. The October 6 sailing, priced from $449, has just two port calls, Ponta Delgada in the Portuguese Azores and Miami. The rest of the cruise is at sea, where you can enjoy the spa, restaurants, waterslides and other shipboard attractions.
• Book a cruise on Celebrity Summit as the ship repositions from the New York market to the sunny Caribbean, and pay from $199 for an inside, from $299 for an ocean-view stateroom. The six-day cruise, embarking October 18, is from Bayonne, New Jersey to San Juan, with port calls in St. Maarten and Tortola.
• Get a taste of what it’s like to cruise with Holland America Line by doing a three-day cruise on the Westerdam, as the ship sails from Vancouver to San Diego. Embarkation is September 27; fares from $229.
• Explore Southeast Asia on an eight-day cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, from $412 per person. Port calls include Sanya, China (known for its beaches); Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and an overnight in Bangkok (in the port of Laem Chbang). Embarkation is October 14.
• Take a break on the Carnival Sensation, on a four-day sailing from Port Canaveral, from $199 for an inside, or splurge on an ocean-view stateroom from $229. The cruise embarks November 1. You visit Nassau and Freeport.
• Set sail on the Norwegian Sky for a four-day Bahamas cruise embarking November 2; fares from $199. You visit Grand Bahama Island, Nassau and the cruise line’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay. Plus, there’s a bonus of a free beverage package.
• The end of the season brings deals for cruising to Bermuda. Hang out on the pink sands from only $549, when you cruise from Boston on the Norwegian Dawn, on the October 23 sailing. You get three days on-island.
• Catch a bargain at the end of the season. A nine-day cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, embarking October 30, is priced from $549 ($648 for an ocean-view). Round-trip from Rome (Civitavecchia), the cruise gets you to Katakalon, Greece to see Olympia, Athens (Piraeus) and Kusadasi,Turkey (for Ephesus). You also visit Naples and Crete.
• We found a number of one-week cruises priced from under $499, especially when we looked at embarkation ports outside of Florida. Example: Recover from Thanksgiving on the Caribbean Princess cruising from Houston (Bayport) on November 29; fares from $449 for an inside, $479 for an oceanview. Port calls are Grand Cayman, Costa Maya (Majahual) and Cozumel.
• Prices are often over $3,000 for river cruises, but they take a considerable dip in November, especially on sailings that take place before Germany’s historic Christmas Markets begin at the end of the month. On all-inclusive Australian line Scenic Tours you can cruise in a suite on the Scenic Jewel, on a one-week Rhine itinerary, from only $1,425. The route is Nuremberg to Amsterdam, and includes the scenic Rhine Gorge and overnight stays in Cologne and Amsterdam.