"Prices are dropping because they want to fill the ships," said Travel Agent Jennie Koncewicz, with AAA Hudson Valley.

Koncewicz said the travel industry is desperate to stay afloat. And you can take advantage, saving big on cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

It just goes to show you don't have to give up that summer vacation in this economy. And one of the best deals for families? Goin' to Disney World.

Disney is offering free meals in a package deal, if you go from August 16th to October 3rd. A family of four can get six days and five nights with hotel, theme park tickets and free dining for about fourteen-hundred-dollars. You pay for travel separately, and have to book it by June 21.

"So they can have a tremendous savings for a family. Seven hundred to about a thousand dollars!" said Koncewicz.

For Delmar realtor Charles Krueger, his dream vacation this summer - is by bus.

He and his wife are looking at a bus tour of the Maritimes through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

"We gotta drive to Boston. But we don't have to put the other two to three thousand miles on the car and pay for the gas, which is more expensive in Canada too," Krueger said.

He'll also get discounts for booking with the same tour company he's used before, and for booking far in advance.

Even in the high season of summer, there are discounts at the beach too. We found hotel packages at Cape Cod and the Jersey shore that offer three nights paid, the fourth night free. Hotels, in general, are reducing rates around 25-percent, according to Koncewicz.

But if you want to stay closer to home, one option is Lake George. Check out family packages that include two nights and four tickets to Fort William Henry Resort and to the Great Escape Amusement Park, for under five hundred dollars.

It's vacation....on a budget.

"You can have your cake and eat it too! It's just picking the right vacations," Koncewicz said.