Azamara

(Travel Weekly) Hedging their bets against a recurrence of the kinds of economic and geopolitical disruptions that forced widespread, last-minute discounting in recent years, several luxury cruise lines are rolling out aggressive early-booking deals on 2012 sailings. For most, it’s a new strategy to build a more solid foundation of advance bookings, coupled with the hope that they won’t have to discount again later. The deals include incentives such as 50% or higher discounts off published fares, free airfare, thousands in bonus savings per stateroom and hefty onboard spending credits. The deadlines vary by line; most require reservations by Oct.