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There used to be a television commercial where a woman tasted a brand of margarine that was so good she would exclaim “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” She knew it was margarine, but found it hard to believe it could taste so good.

I kind of feel the same way about the incredible incentives, fantastic fares and generous give-aways being offered by cruise lines this year to lure people up their gangplanks.  I know the deals are real, but each time I see another one cross my desk I can’t believe it’s that good.

Let me give you some recent examples of what I’m talking about.

Just yesterday, the latest offer from Princess Cruises arrived in my email basket. This one is promoting cruise fares from the Far East to Australia, New Zealand, Alaska and Canada starting at just US$899 or an amazing $56 a day per person. Add in the government taxes and fees, and you’re still talking less than $65 a day.

If this was the only dazzling deal being offered this year by cruise lines, it may not have gotten my attention. But it’s just the latest in a series of consumer friendly propositions that just about every cruise line in the world has been rolling out to stimulate the vacation industry, and cruise vacations in particular.

Here are some of the other incredible deals that have been announced for 2009:

- Celebrity Cruises has offered shipboard credits of up to $200 per cabin for select 2009 cruises booked between January 5 and February 1, 2009.

- Costa Cruises recently announced fantastic prices on European cruises starting at US$449 per week, or an incredibly low $56 per day.

- Regent Seven Seas Cruises has offered free shore excursions and discounted fares including some 2- for- 1fares on a variety of voyages in 2009 if booked by March 31.

- Oceania Cruises has announced 2 for 1 cruise fares with free airfare from selected US and Canadian cities on the April 4 sailing of the Regatta on its 14-day sailing from Barcelona to Istanbul.

- French Country Waterways has offered a 2-for-1 program on select April through August, 2009 departures.

- Crystal Cruise Lines has announced savings of $1,500, $1,000 or $750 per person off nearly all 11-day Baltic and 12-day Mediterranean cruises, and half that off most shorter European sailings, depending on accommodations selected.

- Hurtigruten Cruises has unveiled a broad spectrum of lucrative savings opportunities for “Norwegian Coastal Voyage” cruises booked by January 31, 2009. The deals include two-for-one savings, single occupancy cabins at no extra charge; complimentary cabin upgrades; senior saver rates in addition to 25% off the single supplement fare; and 25% discounts off cruise fares with free hotel nights in Bergen.

- Princess Cruises has offered savings up to 50% on select cruises aboard its fleet of small ships (Royal, Tahitian, and Pacific Princess) to the Holy Land, Mediterranean, Baltic, Alaska and Iceland this summer.

- Cunard Cruise Line has announced discounted fares for trans-Atlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2 starting at just US$745.And I’ve only mentioned some of the deals here — many other cruise lines have announced attractive offers as well. These include lower deposit requirements, later cancellation periods, free or discounted shore excursions, and generous shipboard credits. In addition, most cruise lines have also eliminated fuel supplements.

So if you can already taste your next vacation, try sampling some of these great cruise deals. You may find yourself saying “I can’t believe it’s not more expensive!”