Repositioning Cruise?

[alexspepaw]

I'm sure this has been discussed before...but I'm fairly new to this site.

 

I'm thinking about taking a repositioning cruise next year...we love sea days. I also see some pretty good deals on last minute repositioning cruises.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions from you vets?

[Goldryder]

I am doing a Transatlantic repo cruise in late September next year from Dover to Galveston on NCL Dream. Its 17 days, 4 port days - Le Havre, La Coruna, Funchal and Miami. Its worked out with flights at £1700 for a solo cruiser in an inside cabin.

 

I too love sea days so when I found out about this cruise I jumped at it, and it will be the last westbound crossing of the ship before she leaves for Star Cruises in Asia.

 

Most of the cruiseline websites have sections with their 2006 repo cruise programmes on them, I went through a TA and got some discount too, so its a really good idea to shop around and get a good deal. I certainly cannot complain at £100 a day including full board on ship, all transfers and all flights.

[Mekamax]

We've done two repositioning cruises - Hawaii to Vancover and Panama Canal Alcopulco to San Jun. Both were wonderful!!! Would recommend. Only thing different I did was book the air through the cruise line and get insurance to cover luggage mainly... :) Debbie

[alexspepaw]

Thanks...sounds like a repo cruise might be just the thing.

 

Anyone done an Atlantic crossing?

[luv2cruise450]

We've taken 2 transatlantic crossings and next week will be embarking on our 3rd! We love the longer sailings and the sea days plus the 'off the beaten path' ports that are on the itinerary. Our first was on HAL's Noordam that went from Tampa to Lisbon in the spring. We loved it so much that we came home and ended up cancelling a 12 day Cariibean cruise on the Horizon and re-booking instead the Millenium's fall westbound transatlantic that was from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale! And next week we will fly to LIsbon to embark on the Prinsendam's westbound transatlantic! A few ports will be repeaters...like the Azores anf Madeira (but we loved our stops there and certainly welcome returning again!) and a few will be new...like Agadir and Casablanca in Morocco plus Lanzarote in the Canary Islands! If you have the time and enjoy the sea days...check into booking a transatlantic!

Happy sailing!

[kitty9]

I've done five and they're great. If you're not a good sailor and you don't like bumpy cruises, stay away from anything that's in the North Atlantic. That part of the ocean is very, very rough. I was on a cruise where the seas were over 50ft high.

[alexspepaw]

Thanks...I'll definitely look at the south Atlantic.

[LBB]

I had a great time this year going from Miami up to New Jersey. I booked the opposite for next year and I'd love to try a transatlantic. The extra sea days are great for doing absolutely nothing and enjoying the relaxtion.

 

I highly suggest a repo cruise.

[Goldryder]

The transatlantic repo I am going on next year is across the widest mid Atlantic route from Madeira to Miami, so being closer to the equator it could be calmer than the northern route. Either way, I am looking forward to going. :D

[alexspepaw]

Thanks again for all the replies...what got me started is that there are two RCCL repositioning cruises next week - one is an 11 day cruise from Barcelona to Miami for $449pp, and the other a 14 day cruise from Barcelona to Galveston for $499pp.

 

These seem like fantastic deals if you can go short notice, and I was thinking I would try and save some vacation for a similar deal sometime next year.

[TigersRWunderful]

What is a repositioning cruise?

[Goldryder]

What is a repositioning cruise?

 

Basically its a trip the ship makes from one port of embarkation to another at the end of that section of the season. EG.. NCL Dream is doing Baltic cruises until mid September and then she does Caribbean from start Oct, so she sails across the Atlantic to finish one section ready to start the next. Hence it being called a repo or repositioning cruise.

[MariaG]

What website do you look at for repositioning cruises?

[TigersRWunderful]

Ahh. I got it now. :) Thanks!

[alexspepaw]

Are we allowed to mention specific travel web sites on these boards?

 

I will be glad to tell you where I found the specific cruises I mentioned, but I don't want to violate any rules.

[Goldryder]

Most, if not all, cruiseline sites list their repositioning cruises. Some TA's know about them too. On the cruiseline sites they are often listed as 'specials' or just as repositioning.

[critterchick]

We do a repositioning cruise almost every year from Los Angeles to Vancouver. Sometimes they are only 3 nighters, which really isn't long enough for us anymore. We're going on the Island Princess, a 9-night trip with lots of ports, in 2006, and the Diamond Princess in 2007. Those cruises are generally listed as "coastal" or "Pacific Coastal" on the websites.

[Post Captain]

My wife & I are on a transatlantic repositioning cruise (well, technically a "crossing" rather than a "cruise") on the Celebrity Constellation, departing Bayonne, NJ, on April 28, bound for Dover via Le Harve. And on the QE2 from Southampton to New York on January 3. The lines themselves don't advertise these voyages as "repositioning" trips, but you can read between the lines and know it's a repositioning voyage when when you hit upon those rare itineraries that are different from the particular ship's routine routes... As for online booking agencies: Check some of the major ones--they're easy to find without looking too long or hard or far. On those sites, repositioning cruises usually are listed as such. Apart from the price being right, repositing cruises offer a chance to enjoy a (potentially extended) sea voyage without the need to be a tourist and spend much of your time sightseeing. The sights you'll see & savor will be the sea itself, & the ship you're on.

[surrocruiser]

Am I looking in the wrong places???? I keep reading about how people are finding great deals on repo cruises but everything I seem to find is pretty high priced. What am I doing wrong?

[alexspepaw]

PostCaptain,

 

I saw the Bayonne crossing on Celebrity, and I am interested in that cruise. My big question is - what will the weather be like in late April on a trans-Atlantic crossing? Will the ship be crossing in the Southern part of the Atlantic?

 

We don't mind a little chilly weather, but we would like to be comfortable on deck.

 

Thanks!

[kitty9]

If the trans Atlantic is leaving from Bayonne, you're going to be in for an interesting cruise. That's the North Atlantic and it can be very rough especially in spring and winter. I did a crossing from Ft Lauderdale to London in April and the first few days were fine, but once we got to a point on the ocean that was north of Virginia, we had seas of 40 to 45 feet tall----waves were washing over the deck 6 windows for 5 days. Southern crossings leave from Miami or Ft Lauderdale and end in Barcelona or Lisbon. Anything that leaves from NJ or NY is considered a North Atlantic crossing. Also, it was very cold once we passed an area equal to where Washington DC would be. Temps were in the 50's with rain.