The Caribbean Season

The Caribbean continues to be the single most popular cruise area in the world and cruise lines are offering early-booking discounts for passengers who make a deposit 90 to 120 days ahead. Passengers have a choice between taking an eastern Caribbean cruise from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, most often visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Nassau; a western Caribbean cruise from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa or New Orleans, which usually calls at Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and sometimes Key West, and a southern Caribbean cruise, which often begins in San Juan and may call at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Aruba, Grenada or Barbados.

For shorter getaways, three- and four-day sailings from Miami or Port Canaveral can take you to the Bahamas or the Mexican Caribbean. Norwegian Cruise Line’s 1,534-passenger Seaward, for instance, offers three-day cruises from Miami to Nassau on weekends alternating with four-day midweek sailings from Miami to Key West, Cozumel and Cancun year-round. Fares range from $559 to $1,649 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare.

Carnival Cruise Line’s glittering 2,044-passenger mega-ship Fantasy has special three- and four-day sailings from Port Canaveral that can be turned into a seven-day holiday when combined with a stay at a Disney World hotel. Unlimited admissions to all theme parks, a breakfast with the Disney characters and a rental car are included in the price, which ranges from $1,049 to $1,729 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare. Children sharing a ship cabin and hotel room with two full-fare parents pay $449 apiece for the weeklong vacation, plus air fare.

A new seven-day Land of the Maya cruise is being introduced this season by Regency Cruises aboard the 400-passenger Regent Spirit, based in Cozumel from Dec. 25 through March 26. The ship, which features all-outside cabins, sails on Sundays and calls at the ports of Cancun; the Honduras island of Roatan, noted for its diving; Belize City, Belize; Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala, and Puerto Cortes, Honduras. Fares range from $1,395 to $2,195 per person, double occupancy, plus air fare, with an early-booking discount of 25% to 30%, based on date of sailing.

Passengers looking for a money-saving cruise should check out older ships, which are comfortable if not always glamorous. For example, the sturdy Britanis from Fantasy Cruises is an American-built ship going into its 63rd year; it makes seven-night round-trip sailings from Miami to the Mexican Caribbean every Saturday. Fares range from $599 to $1,699 per person, double occupancy, plus air-fare add-ons.

Some romantic couples and singles of all ages find cruising the Caribbean aboard a sailing ship suits them best, particularly people who want a casual, water-sports-oriented sailing rather than a more formal shopping-showtime-and-sightseeing cruise. Entertainment, casinos, live music for dancing and activities for kids are scarce on the sailing ships, but so are formal nights and assigned dining-room seats.

A pair of elegant 148-passenger vessels called Wind Star and Wind Spirit from Windstar Cruises can spirit you away to the yachtsman’s Caribbean with calls at less-visited, more exotic islands. Fares for the all-identical, all-outside luxury cabins are $2,895 per person, double occupancy.

Club Med 1 is a similar design, also with sails that are computer-operated, but carrying 386 passengers in a Club Med-style ambience. The ship is in the Caribbean from now until April 8 with four different Caribbean itineraries; schedules and fares are available on request from (800) CLUB-MED (258-2633).

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Slater and Basch travel as guests of the cruise lines. Cruise Views appears the first and third week of every month.