TRAVEL – CRUISE DEALS As with virtually every part of the travel industry, cruise lines are offering some sizable discounts to fill their ships. CruiseCompete is a great place to begin looking for bargains. Based in Des Moines, Iowa (with nary a cruise ship in sight), the service asks you first to pick a cruise ship and the dates you wish to sail. It then shares that information with more than 300 travel agencies, which email prices back to you. You pick the lowest bid and book with that agent. The service is free. Clicking on “View all Cruise Specials” on the Web site’s home page allows you to search cruises by various categories: region, cruise line, length of cruise and type of traveler.