Despite more media talk, last-minute cruise deals not going away

Congratulations to the cruise industry on working so hard to change perception on cruise deals. The latest examples is this otherwise good article from TheStreet.com that uses the headline grabber: "Don't Bank on a Last-Minute Discount on Your Cruise Vacation This Year." We wrote this before and we have a feeling we will be writing it again, but last-minute deals are not going away.

Wall Street investor and financial news media -- like TheStreet.com -- love to hear about advances in revenue management from the cruise industry. And it is true the cruise companies are becoming more aggressive and more disciplined in their pricing, upselling and ancillary revenue. But the point remains, even if they don't call it "last-minute" deals, there will still be plenty of discounts and unique sales and offerings for last-minute cruise shoppers. There is still too much inventory and even more coming and the companies need to maximize revenue.

Just look at these deals that Paul Gauguin are promoting. Shoppers just need to be smart and make sure they involved in all cruise companies' email lists and loyalty programs.