Per day.

"Cruising has become a lot cheaper than most people realize," says MacDonald. "And since the price of a cruise includes accommodation, meals, entertainment and transportation from the point of embarkation, it's far less expensive than a comparable vacation on land."

MacDonald says that cruise lines have been struggling to fill their ships in the face of lower demand from the U.S. where the recession has hit hardest. In addition, he says a number of new ships were delivered this year with more coming in 2010, which has significantly increased the number of available cabins for sale.

"More ships and less demand have resulted in cruise fares dropping to record low levels," explains MacDonald. "There are some tremendous cruise bargains for travel consumers, and it looks like they will last throughout 2010. It may sound like a cliché, but there never has been a better time to take a cruise."

According to the Ipsos Reid poll, 54% of Canadians are planning to spend as much as last year on their next vacation (defined here as three days or more and further than 100km from home), while 19% said they will spend more. Only 17% say they plan to spend less, while 10% say their next vacation will be their first.

Source: Canada NewsWire (press release)