Deal alert: 7-night cruises with Celebrity starting at $239

Looking for a last-minute cruise that won't break your bank account? Celebrity Cruises could be your line.

As part of an aggressive new wave season promotion, the Miami-based cruise operator is offering fares for seven-night sailings at extraordinarily low rates — as little as $239 per person.

The catch: The very lowest rates are for sailings that start in just a matter of days to just a few weeks from now.

That's a sign the line has suddenly found itself with last-minute inventory to sell for upcoming departures — something that works to your advantage if you're in the market for a spontaneous trip.

The deal

The most enticing offers available as of early Wednesday included:

• A seven-night sailing from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera beginning Saturday that starts at $239 — or about $34 a day.
• A seven-night sailing from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera beginning Jan. 21 that starts at $299 — or about $43 a day.
• A seven-night sailing from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera beginning Feb. 4 that starts at $269 — or about $38 a day.
• A seven-night sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the southern Caribbean beginning Feb. 18 that starts at $299 — or about $43 a day.
• A seven-night sailing from San Juan to the southern Caribbean beginning March 4 that starts at $349 — or about $50 a day.

The sailings to the Mexican Riviera will take place on Celebrity's 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice. The voyages to the southern Caribbean are on the line's 2,218-passenger Celebrity Millennium.

As of early Wednesday, Celebrity was also offering a couple of early-season, seven-night departures to Alaska for as little as $350 — or $50 a day. The trips will take place on Celebrity Millennium in May and June.

All of the low-priced fares are for the cruise only. The line's all-inclusive package — which includes drinks, Wi-Fi and crew gratuities — would incur an extra charge above these low base prices.

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The stunningly low fares are part of the line's new wave season promotion called the Semi-Annual Sale. It offers 75% off a second adult fare when purchasing a full adult fare. In addition, the line is tacking on additional savings of up to $800 in onboard credit per stateroom (based on sailing length and number of passengers in the cabin).

Related: Norwegian drops rates as low as $37 a day for some sailings

The Semi-Annual Sale offer is valid through March 1 for most voyages departing through April 30, 2025.

In addition to seven-night voyages for as little as $239, Celebrity is advertising select three-night voyages for as little as $168 per person, not including taxes and fees.

Additional savings

Meanwhile, would-be cruisers might be able to get additional savings of up to 35% when booking one of the deeply discounted Celebrity trips with an American Express card, thanks to a lucrative new Amex Offer unveiled in recent days.

This offers a rare "double dipping" opportunity for discounts when booking a Celebrity voyage in the coming weeks.

Note that most of the discounted fares mentioned above are only available for windowless "interior" cabins, which are the lowest-category cabins on each of the ships. But that's not always the case. The $299 fare available for the Jan. 21 sailing of Celebrity Solstice is for an ocean-view cabin — that is, a cabin with a window.

Plus, in some cases, it doesn't cost much to upgrade to a better cabin. On the Feb. 18 sailing of Celebrity Millennium, for instance, an ocean-view cabin is available for $349 — just $50 more than an interior cabin.

Related: 6 ways to get a deal on a cruise

All the fares, notably, are per-person rates that are based on two people staying in a cabin. They're not available for solo travelers.

In addition, while the rates include accommodations, meals and entertainment, they don't include port taxes and fees, which range from $102.50 to $223.53 for the above-mentioned sailings. Cruise lines typically advertise fares without including taxes and fees but add these costs to final bills at the time of checkout.

Base pricing below $300 for seven-night cruises is relatively unusual for Celebrity, which bills itself as a more upscale brand than some of its big-ship rivals.

By contrast, the lowest-priced seven-night sailings available from Norwegian Cruise Line early Wednesday started at $399 — about 67% more than the lowest-priced seven-night sailings available from Celebrity.

The lowest-priced seven-night sailings available from Royal Caribbean as of early Wednesday started at $329 — about 38% more.

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