But Europe is one of those funny destinations: if you haven’t been, the flight and costs associated

With Thanksgiving upon our readers in the United States, one thing seems certain: 2012 is rapidly drawing to a close. And that has people including yours truly looking to plan their cruise vacations for the upcoming year.
Even if you ignore the fact that European river cruising is absolutely on fire, the deep-ocean cruise industry is offering some of the most varied itineraries in years, all sailing aboard the latest-and-greatest cruise ships.
But Europe is one of those funny destinations: if you haven't been, the flight and costs associated with it might seem daunting. After all, why would you want to spend ten hours hurtling across the Atlantic in a metal tube when you could just take a cruise to Mexico?
Perhaps that's a statement rather than a reason, but it happens to be true.  From the Scottish Highlands hotels birmingham to the Greek Islands, few destinations in the world can match the sheer variance in culture, cuisine, and history present throughout Europe. Cruises that depart from ports of call like Athens, Venice and Barcelona have a certain cache to them, as do voyages that sail from the beautiful northern cities of Copenhagen, hotels birmingham Stockholm, and Hamburg. And once you sail Europe once, it gets in your blood there's no stopping it.
This year, everyone is in Europe and that translates into great deals on offer throughout the Mediterranean. Name your favorite mainstream, luxury, or expedition cruise line you literally cannot find one that isn't sailing to a European destination.  Of course, all that capacity means that if you can be flexible with your travel plans and accommodations, the savings you'll realize hotels birmingham onboard will more than offset hotels birmingham the cost of your flights abroad. The only destination this doesn't always hold true for is Northern Europe, where relatively limited capacity tends to keep prices higher, on average, than the Mediterranean.
Have you been to Barcelona so many times that you could run the Shore Excursion desk? No problem; new ports of call are all the rage for 2013.  If you've been before, seek out voyages that bypass traditional favorites like Capri for Taormina, or Southampton for Portsmouth.
Don't be afraid to check out the luxury lines; quite often, their European offerings tend to offer an amazing value coupled with an amazing product.  Consider this: a mainstream line will charge you for all drinks, shore excursions, gratuities, and other "unbundled" expenses, but the initial cost of admission will be less.  A luxury line, on the other hand, will charge more upfront, but less onboard but your dollar stretches much, much farther. This also holds true for river cruises: hotels birmingham while they come at a slightly higher price-point, what you're getting (complementary guided tours; complementary beer, wine, soft drinks and bottled water at various times; and complementary hotels birmingham internet) can represent a real savings.
As mentioned above, river cruising is exploding in popularity and it's a great value.  So be one of the first to get in on the ground floor; there's no better hotels birmingham way to explore inland Europe!  Looking for a great deal? Pick "shoulder-season" voyages departing in March and April, or October and November. Not only are price-points better (for cruise, hotels birmingham air and hotels), but smaller ports like Melk, Rudesheim, and Giverny, hotels birmingham to name a few, won't be overrun with the summer crowd.
If you've been to Europe, then I'm preaching to the choir on this one. If you haven't been, you owe it to yourself to go. You'll be simply amazed at the wealth of beauty that exists just a short plane flight away.
From the Deck Chair and site content © 2009-2012 Aaron Saunders, unless otherwise noted. All information is considered accurate at the original time of publication; certain features, layouts, and amenities may have changed hotels birmingham since.