How to grab a great autumn cruise

If autumn makes you miserable, and you long for some sunshine, there are definitely some ways to get a good deal.

Caribbean cruise trips often sell out a year in advance but in 2009 and 2010 this hasn’t happened, there are still good cabins on offer, at bargain prices.

Flexible dates can mean saving as much as £100 per person, travelling on a Tuesday sailing is cheaper than a weekend one. You can get cheaper flights too, because it’s midweek, and find a cheap hotel room to get an extra day’s holiday in your embarkation port.

When you get there, ask for an upgraded room – hotels will often have rooms on offer up to 25 per cent cheaper than they make publicly available. So ask what their unpublished rate is and then say that you’d like an upgrade for the amount you agreed to pay – it doesn’t always work, but it’s always worth a try!