What have you seen...

[MisterMatthew]

What have you seen while aboard a relocation cruise?

 

Let me back up, i may have terminology wrong.  A repositioning cruise.  

 

I assume the MAIN PURPOSE is to move the ship.  That being said, have you seen differences such as:

 

Ratio of crew to pax?

Lesser amount of entertainment on the World Stage?

Amount of pax aboard?

Etc?

 

Thank you.

-----Matthew

[FlaMariner]

We've been on 2 HAL TA's (2019 & 2021) I believe those qualify as a "re-positioning" cruise......We've experienced nothing different as far as crew ratio or entertainment.  

 

The 2019 crossing was, of course, before the unpleasantness.....And the 2021 crossing was the maiden voyage of the Rotterdam and was during the unpleasantness and passenger capacity was 60%....But that was due to the unpleasantness and not related to the "re-positioning".

 

 

 

[YXU AC*SE]

Six of my last seven cruises have been repositioning cruises. primarily westbound TAs.   Really not a lot of difference from any other itinerary, other than generally almost no kids, and pax generally skew older.  Entertainment seems to be on a seven-day cycle for Music Walk.    I have seen most of the Step One / RWS shows in the main theatre, so really not a giant draw. The rest of the acts were, meh, okay.  

 

We were on the inaugural TA crossing for Koningsdam in 2016, which was a little bit of fantastic -- the usual dance cast was replaced with Ukrainian ballroom dancers, and the ship was filled with a lot of trade (TAs) as the Pinnacle class concept was brand new to North American markets ...  it was head and shoulders above any of my other HAL cruise experiences ...   brand new concept for HAL that had a summer season to work out the kinks in Europe. Booked the inaugural sailing for Nieuw Statendam, hoping for the same?   Nope. 

 

Benefits?    14 or 15 days and staff really get to know you and your preferences.   And in the case of a TA, usually seven or eight [blissful] sea days where the ship becomes your destination.   Booked on the Rotterdam this October.   Looking forward to it.      Scott. 

[Mary229]

The crew including the entertainers needs to reposition also.    I have not noticed any difference. 

[CruiserBruce]

Repositioning cruises can be very popular. Most sell very well. You shouldn't see any significant changes.

[RuthC]

I've done many Atlantic crossings, and a couple of Pacific crossings, all on various routes. I never found a difference between those and other long cruises I have taken. All have been somewhat different from short cruises, but that's to be expected. 

[JeffElizabeth]

They used to be bargains,  but I haven't priced one recently.  They also tend to have more sea days. We love them. Taken them from Florida to Europe, From Florida to San Diego through the Panama Canal.  Also Amsterdam to Boston. 

[AKJonesy]

1 hour ago, JeffElizabeth said:

They used to be bargains,  but I haven't priced one recently.  They also tend to have more sea days. We love them. Taken them from Florida to Europe, From Florida to San Diego through the Panama Canal.  Also Amsterdam to Boston. 

Someone mentioned on another thread a great price for Transatlantic Repositioning from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale.  I'm showing about $1300 all in for OV which works out to be in the $90 per day all in.  The downside and likely great price is the voyage departs Nov 26; 3 days after Thanksgiving!  I was really tempted until I saw the date.  No way am I going to try and travel on or around Thanksgiving.  

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, AKJonesy said:

Someone mentioned on another thread a great price for Transatlantic Repositioning from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale.  I'm showing about $1300 all in for OV which works out to be in the $90 per day all in.  The downside and likely great price is the voyage departs Nov 26; 3 days after Thanksgiving!  I was really tempted until I saw the date.  No way am I going to try and travel on or around Thanksgiving.  

I'm on that Nov 26 cruise; booked well before the recent $1 deposit promo.

Hoping only mild travel since American Thanksgiving doesn't mean anything once we're in the sky. Should be better leaving from an international terminal instead of domestic terminal. Maybe wishful thinking...

[WriterOnDeck]

Just a tip to the OP: If you put more detail in your headline, you would get a lot more responses. Many of us don't click on the vague topics. Be specific there about what you are asking and you will get great responses from this group.

 

I've done at least a dozen transAtlantics and transPacifics, (plus a number of ocean crossings on grand cruises -- world, asia for example -- but those would be different). HAL will have more daytime activities for all the sea days. It's a slower pace. I love it!

[kazu]

I’ve done a number of transatlantics (and yes they are repositioning cruises) over the years (most recent was last November).  There is little difference from a regular cruise staff wise.  I have found there can be more daily offerings on the sea days and some of them very enjoyable.

 

They used to be a real bargain but a lot of people have caught on and if the itinerary and ship is right, the price can go up as time goes by, not down if the ship isn’t completely sold out.  And others can be a deal.

 

There isn’t a more civilized way to cross the pond IMO 🙂 

[MisterMatthew]

I am thankful to all of you.  Wonderful responses!

 

---misterMatthew

[Hlitner]

We have done several HAL repostioning cruises (across the Atlantic and the Pacific) and I really do not think the term applies to most HAL voyages.  HAL does not generally leave a ship in a "home port" for any length.  What other lines would consider a repositioning cruise, HAL will often think of as just a segment of a longer cruise (the Grand Med cruises out of Port Everglades are a good example).  When we have done these cruises, everything aboard is quite normal when compared to other voyages  The ships have been fully staffed, most have been close to capacity, and life aboard is normal except that you generally will get lots of sea days.  When HAL still did Production Shows, they only had a small repertoire (generally no more than 4 different shows) so they were often spread out.   That is no longer an issue since HAL does not do Production Shows,  The Step One DAncers do their repertoire (same old same old).  It is often common to have 1 or 2 lecturers aboard.

 

DW and I love the repo (i.e. trans ocean) cruises because  we enjoy the long/lazy sea days.  We have seen a few passengers who were miserable and bored, but most HAL cruisers seem to be happy with sea days.

 

Hank

[albingirl]

I'm looking forward to booking another.  I've found the staff to be more relaxed, maybe since they don't have that hectic turnover.  Also, the passengers seem to enjoy the long, lazy days.  There is something quite magical about all those days at sea.  It's a very different vibe.

[wandrr]

We have done several repo cruises and enjoyed them all, but one stands out.

 

On "Another Cruise Line" a few years ago we did a trans-Atlantic repo on a huge mega-liner, fully expecting large crowds and suchlike. Not so! The ship was half empty, which means the 14 restaurants and all the many shows and attractions were always available. Essentially, it seemed like we had the ship to ourselves. Turns out a large group (a couple of thousand or so) had cancelled at the last minute, which explains the great situation for us. Had they been on board, we would have suffered.

 

Your mileage may vary, of course, so be prepared for anything. Overall, we echo the previous posters - repo cruises are good!

[SilvertoGold]

Have done too many to count and loved them all.  We do not see them as any different from regular cruises, more sea days sometimes, but that has been the only real difference over the years.

 

And how are you Mr M?  Are you planning and when will you spill the beans on your next cruise so I can put it on my calendar to watch for your posts ?  :)

[DaveOKC]

We have done several Alaska to San Diego repositioning cruises (5-7 days).  Normally I find the service to be not quite as good as on "regular" cruises.  I suspect that this is due to 1) new crew coming onboard and 2) the different routine (a one time route) as compared to a regular route that is rerun throughout the season.

[MisterMatthew]

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Have done too many to count and loved them all.  We do not see them as any different from regular cruises, more sea days sometimes, but that has been the only real difference over the years.

 

And how are you Mr M?  Are you planning and when will you spill the beans on your next cruise so I can put it on my calendar to watch for your posts ?  :)

 

SilverToGold,

 

I will be spilling left and right!!  Oh wait, that is my 4th drink.  Lol.  Just kidding.

 

Lately, ive been looking for something around the 3rd week of NOV.  (be it a regular cruise, or a repositioning).  The reason is this---here in LV, NV at that time----there will be Formula One racing.  As a Uber contractor, i am ESPECIALLY aware that traffic will be a nightmare.

 

Will see what comes down the pike.

 

----Matthew

 

[whogo]

For a real treat, book the cruise before the transatlantic, too. The only thing better than a 14 day transatlantic cruise is a 14 day Mediterranean cruise followed by a transatlantic cruise.

[OlsSalt]

We used to have three talented enrichment speakers a day during the long sea days- all excellent. Varied topics, but all timely. We loved our long sea-day voyages - either trans Pacific or Trans Atlantic .

 

 Not sure what the onboard programing is today, but hope they come back to the high standard of the past. 

[SilvertoGold]

1 hour ago, MisterMatthew said:

SilverToGold,

 

I will be spilling left and right!!  Oh wait, that is my 4th drink.  Lol.  Just kidding.

 

Lately, ive been looking for something around the 3rd week of NOV.  (be it a regular cruise, or a repositioning).  The reason is this---here in LV, NV at that time----there will be Formula One racing.  As a Uber contractor, i am ESPECIALLY aware that traffic will be a nightmare.

 

Will see what comes down the pike.

 

----Matthew

 

Sounds like a plan, a very good plan! Hope you find something perfect!