Budget Itineraries

If you're looking to cruise at the cheapest rates possible, certain itineraries stand out as almost always having low total or per-night prices. These tend to be the shortest cruises and voyages with a high percentage of days at sea.

Weekend Cruises: You won't find entire seasons of one- or two-night sailings, but these every-so-often cruises make great short getaways that won't break the bank. For example, NCL offers one- and two-nighters out of New York and Miami, as well as quick, one-way trips between Seattle and Vancouver. Princess also offers short sailings between Vancouver and Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Inside cabins on one-night cruises start around $99 (though we've seen them as low as $69), and two-night trips start around $149. You'll spend so little time in your cabin that it makes sense to pay less for it and get your money's worth of free food, entertainment and onboard amenities like the pool and disco.

3- and 4-Night Cruises: A combination of short itineraries and older ships make three- and four-night cruises excellent values. Carnival offers entire seasons of short cruises to the Bahamas, Baja Mexico, the Western Caribbean and even Canada and New England. Royal Caribbean offers three- and four-night Bahamas cruises on the older Majesty of the Seas and Monarch of the Seas, while its four-night Western Caribbean cruises are on ships with a few more onboard amenities. Look for rates under $200 per person -- we've seen three-night cruises start at $139 per person, but anything under $100 per night is a good deal. Just be prepared for a party atmosphere to prevail onboard, as shorter itineraries also tend to attract a younger crowd.

Repositioning Cruises: For really cheap nightly rates (between $40 and $75 a night per person), repositioning cruises -- one-way sailings that take place when a ship is moving from one cruising region to another -- are the best bet, though they tend to have pricier total rates than the short sailings. These itineraries occur at the beginning or end of the warm-weather cruise season (spring, late summer and fall, mostly). Look for voyages from the Caribbean, Florida and U.S. East Coast to Europe (or vice versa) with stops in the Canary Islands or Azores along the way. On the West Coast, you'll find repositioning sailings between Alaska and the southern California homeports, as well as Panama Canal voyages between California and Florida.

The combination of lengthy itineraries (typically longer than seven nights) and a higher-than-average percentage of days at sea drives down the nightly rate, making these cruises an ideal way to try out a premium or deluxe cruise line without busting your budget (mainstream cruise deals are just as good). Celebrity tends to have especially appealing deals, like this spring's 14-night cruise from Miami to Amsterdam on Celebrity Century for $799 (just $57 a night). Fall repositioning deals we've spotted recently include a seven-night Pacific Coast cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles on Sapphire Princess from $599 and a 13-night transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to New York on Norwegian Gem from $749.

Repositioning cruises tend to attract mature travelers and retirees who have the time to vacation for 10 days or longer.