Cheap Mediterranean Cruises

The search for cheap cruise deals is in full swing right now, with many in the Northern Hemisphere wanting to officially escape winter. While the Bahamas and Hawaii are being talked about by many, it can be easy to forget that the Mediterranean makes for an attractive destination.

The good news is that there are numerous Mediterranean cruise deals to be found.

Most cheap Mediterranean cruises are three- to seven-day affairs, typically sailing to ports in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. These types of cruises typically originate in coastal cities like Barcelona, Spain; Civitavecchia, Italy (near Rome); and Cairo, Egypt. However, there are plenty of other coastal Mediterranean cities that serve as cruise ports. Additionally, cruise operators are offering Mediterranean cruise deals all year round, giving you many options for your next cruise vacation.

Right now one of my favorite web sites for browsing cruise deals - including cheap Mediterranean cruises - is AffordableTours.com. Their web interface is clean and easy-to-use, allowing you to quickly sort through the thousands of cruises they have listed. The site's sort features make it especially easy to find some of the best Mediterranean cruise deals. Sorting by price, I found numerous interesting options for under $500. As of this writing, an interior cabin for a nine-day cruise on the Norwegian Jade in late February 2011 was deeply discounted to $469. A ridiculously low-priced $293 interior cabin for a four-night cruise from Venice was the cheapest Mediterranean cruise I could find. Also worthy of note is a repositioning cruise from Miami, Florida to Barcelona in May 2011, which is selling for a low $449 for an interior cabin.

Of course, I still recommend sites like Booking Buddy, Cruise Compete, and Orbitz for finding cheap Mediterranean cruises. All are excellent tools which provide many helpful options. And when you've spotted the perfect deal on a Mediterranean cruise, don't forget to check out the Mediterranean cruise reviews on Cruise Critic. While it's easy to be lured in by deep discounts, you also want to make sure that the offer on the cruise you're considering is truly worth it.

Here are a couple of other things to keep in mind when looking for cheap Mediterranean cruises:

• Unless you take a global or repositioning cruise, you likely won't find many cruise options to the Mediterranean region from the United States.
• For many non-Europeans, working a Mediterranean cruise into an already planned vacation to Europe is the most efficient option.
• You may be able to save additional money on already attractive Mediterranean cruise deals by booking with a large group of other interested travelers. Consider setting up your own group cruise if you can't find a group to join.

Photo by Jorge Andrade from Flickr