Think Asia and Pacific Rim cruises.
Right now the greatest discounts we're seeing are for those cruises that require the longest flights, notes Tom Baker of CruiseCenter in Houston, a top producer for many of the more affordable lines. "The farther the distance, the better the value," he says, pointing to Holland America's 14-day Australia-New Zealand cruises for $999 per person and 16-day Australia-Singapore cruises for only $1,299 per person. "These same types of cruises sold for twice this rate in 2008." Also consider segments of world cruises, suggests Paul Niskanen of Cruise Masters in Portland, Oregon. Some segments may be longer than you have time for, but that's when the right cruise agent will negotiate with the line on your behalf. "Say you don't have two weeks for a Sydney-Hong Kong cruise, so you want to do Sydney-Singapore instead," says Niskanen. "This is the year the cruise line will make an exception for someone who wants to get off the ship early. Last year they wouldn't have entertained it."

Know when not to purchase your airline ticket through the cruise line.
"It's generally less expensive to buy your ticket on your own rather than through the cruise line," says Baker. Moreover, the air itineraries booked by cruise lines are usually less convenient than what you could get on your own (they might have you flying from Boston to Rome via JFK and Frankfurt). Cruise lines don't book your airfare until after you've made your final cruise payment, normally 75 to 90 days ahead. By then, Turen says, many of the best seats may be gone. And if you want to change the itinerary or schedule or airline? You must pay a pricey "air deviation" fee. Another reason not to buy your airline ticket from the cruise line is that often cruise line-negotiated airfares are not eligible for mileage credit. The only advantage of buying your airline ticket through the cruise line? If your flight is delayed and the ship sails without you, the cruise line will make the arrangements to get you to the ship's first port and bear the expense. But there's a simple way to avoid missing the ship: Arrive in your embarkation port a day early.

Realize that business-class upgrades sold by cruise lines are not true business-class tickets.
Many travelers are tempted to buy airfare from the cruise line because the line advertises a business-class upgrade for a reasonable price—say, $499. What they may not realize is that the business-class ticket (which actually costs more like $1,299, once the $800 or so in surcharges is added in) may be only a partial business-class fare. The across-the-ocean segment is in business class, but the domestic segment may be in coach. Say you live in Los Angeles and are flying to Athens for a cruise: You could end up in coach to Dulles, then in business class to Frankfurt, then possibly in coach again from Frankfurt to Athens. Before buying a business-class ticket from a cruise line, look into alternatives: If you're crossing the Atlantic, keep in mind that there are plenty of low business-class fares nowadays, thanks to the slump in corporate travel, and that certain airlines' premium-economy cabins equal or even surpass business class on their competitors. You could fly in premium economy to London, Paris, or Amsterdam on Open Skies, Virgin Atlantic, or British Airways, then—since on many intra-European flights, business-class and coach seats are the same size—connect to a coach flight to your embarkation city.