Cruise lines, navigating a dreadful economy and tight-fisted consumers, are rolling out a bounty of bargain fares to fill their ships.

With many deals matching the sort of deep discounting the industry resorted to in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, travel agents say cruising has become almost cheaper than staying home.

Consider: a seven-night eastern Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Liberty for $299 plus taxes and fees.

The fall is always a good time to shop for cruise discounts because bookings slack off during the period. But this year -- amid the dramatic downturn in the U.S. economy, punctuated by a credit crisis, rising unemployment and a slump in consumer spending -- the cruise deals are better and more widespread than usual.

''We always say cruise lines are resilient to the economy, but we have seen a slowdown in the number of bookings compared to the same time last year,'' said Harrison Liu, a spokesman for Miami-based Royal Caribbean International. "We're working closely with travel agents and all our partners to entice consumers.''

Behind the discounts: Cruise lines have high fixed costs such as fuel, crew salaries and other operating expenses. The incremental cost of carrying each passenger -- a little food and drink, a few bed linens and towels -- is small.

That dictates that cruise ships sail full with two passengers per berth; often, they fill the third and fourth berths available in cabins.

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