Posted on Sun, Oct. 12, 2008

''When the going gets tough, the tough get going.'' In a time of economic crisis, when people tend to stay at home, America's tour operators have pulled out every smart tactic of marketing, whittled profit margins to the bone and have announced the most remarkable discounts -- to keep Americans traveling.

In cruising, the giant new ocean liner, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is permitting tour discounters to sell a 15-night Caribbean sailing from Fort Lauderdale, leaving on Dec. 19, for as little as $1,873 per person in inside cabins -- that's $125 a day on one of the most glamorous ships on earth. Contact Ecruises.com if you'd like to book.

But in my view, the most innovative offers are from a pioneer in cruise discounting, Leisure Larry, who is reentering the field after a several-year retirement. And while I'm not thrilled by the name chosen for his new service -- ''Travel Themes and Dreams'' -- his products could awaken the dead, and not simply the Americans depressed by stock market levels.

An example? How about a $949, two-week repositioning cruise that first flies you, for no extra charge, to Europe to board a major ship, then takes you through the Mediterranean and across the ocean to finally deposit you at a pier in midtown Manhattan?

You leave New York on Nov. 15, flying overnight to Barcelona, Spain, on a ticket that's provided to you. In Barcelona, you receive a transfer to the docks, where you board the big Norwegian Gem for a 13-night sailing -- that's nearly two weeks. You sail on to enjoy one-day stops in each of Nice (Villefranche), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia) and Ajacio (Corsica), then spend a day at sea, stop for a day in Malaga (Spain) and then commence a six-day crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, finally arriving in New York City at 8 a.m. on Nov. 29.

For the entire 13-day cruise, including one-way trans-Atlantic airfare to Barcelona, you pay less than $1,000 per person for an inside cabin. And you book the trip by either laboriously tapping out www.travelthemesanddreams.com, or a substitute URL that works just as well: www.leisurelarry.com. Or phone 877-870-7447.