What constitutes a cheap cruise deal? Well, I recently returned from a Royal Caribbean holiday through Key West and Cancun, Mexico, enjoying five days and four nights of total luxury for four hundred bucks. To me, that was a cheap cruise deal well worth the effort.

There is so much competition among cruise lines today that finding a cheap cruise deal is easy. Magnificent ships built to carry thousands of passengers are luring a lot of first time cruisers off the land and onto the water. Cruise line competitiveness is only intensifying with the major companies getting involved in recent years in a "let's see who can build the biggest ship" type of battle. These ships obviously need to be filled with passengers and cheap cruise deals are there to be enjoyed.

Don't get a cheap cruise deal confused with a cheap holiday. Sure if you want to stay in one of the prime state rooms you're going to be paying for the privilege but my experience tells me that a cruise should be enjoyed from the ships decks and wonderful amenities and not from your state room. If that's what you're after then you might want to consider another type of holiday.

So which cruise line do you select for a cheap cruise deal? Carnival, Celebrity, Crystal, Disney, Royal Caribbean... it depends on where you want to go in the world. Today, cruise lines are offering more of everything; more choices and simply more service. It's all aimed at ensuring you just have more fun. Let's face it, they want your repeat business.

There are many areas online for you to locate the best cheap cruise deals. I know of people who are total cruise junkies ( up to nine cruises a year ) who are always monitoring the latest cheap cruise deals. Cruise lines often advertise limited deals; you'll want to be quick for these. Many people prefer to travel in groups which can reduce the overall cost of the cruise even further but for group deals, you'll want to speak with your cruise line agent.

If you are a first timer and don't know the process in first, locating, and then booking a cheap cruise deal then the best advice is to speak with someone who has done it before. Even better, your local travel agent will be able to answer most of your questions and if they can't, then the alarm bells should be sounding!

Cheap cruise deals but not cheap cruise holidays. More like cheap cruise deals and luxury fun-filled holidays. That is the nature of cruising on the world's oceans today. And your hip pocket won't be unduly ravaged.