Repositioning Cruises - Pros/Cons

[giltedge]

I am thinking about booking a repositioning cruise in the future. I would like to hear from people who have gone on these cruises and what they thought about them. Do you really save money? Are they really good vacations, etc? I am afraid I would get tired of too many days at sea.

Thanks for any comments. :)

[Mines]

I am thinking about booking a repositioning cruise in the future. I would like to hear from people who have gone on these cruises and what they thought about them. Do you really save money? Are they really good vacations, etc? I am afraid I would get tired of too many days at sea.

Thanks for any comments. :)

 

We did our first repositioning cruise (a transatlantic) last December. We loved every minute. There was nothing boring abount sea days - plenty of time to relax, things to do on board, etc. It is nice to visit ports, but it is equally nice just to relax on board as well. If you can pick one that has both, all the better.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

I am thinking about booking a repositioning cruise in the future. I would like to hear from people who have gone on these cruises and what they thought about them. Do you really save money? Are they really good vacations, etc? I am afraid I would get tired of too many days at sea.

Thanks for any comments. :)

 

 

We did our first transatlantic last November/December on Oceania's Insignia. Small ship around 670 passengers & we had a lot of sea days. My husband loved it, but not so much for me. Never have I watched so many movies:rolleyes: . Oceania is not big on entertainment & only had one guest speaker. Loved the food & the cabin, but I would go for a bigger ship for so many sea days & probably go back to Princess. Good luck!

 

Jan

[kitty9]

You have to love sea days. And yes, most repositioning cruises are cheaper. I recently did a Crystal 17 day repositioning cruise and it was more than 1/2 of what they would charge for any other 17 day cruise.

[momofmeg]

We found that Celebrity has the best prices for repositioning crusies-but you MUST book early within a month or two after they come out as they go up considerably very fast.

 

Our cruise had two guest speakers. We also had a couple of classial music concerts in the afternoons on sea days so we were kept very busy. My hubby LOVED the space lectures we had.

 

Oh yes! We DEFINELTY want to do it again! and on Celebrity.

 

One thing though, if you get sea sick easy, a transatlantic may not be for you. I don't, but I did have a bad spell one day while we were in the middle of the Atlantic.

[momofmeg]

You have to love sea days. And yes, most repositioning cruises are cheaper. I recently did a Crystal 17 day repositioning cruise and it was more than 1/2 of what they would charge for any other 17 day cruise.

 

Our 12 day cruise was only $200 a person more then we ususally pay for a 7 day.

[claud925]

I recently did a Crystal 17 day repositioning cruise and it was more than 1/2 of what they would charge for any other 17 day cruise.

 

Hi, Darcie - you meant that the price you paid was "less" than 1/2, yes?

 

I've taken a few repositioning cruises - and you DO have to love sea days (and I adore them), so if you're not sure how you'd fare, best you stay away from the smaller, intimate ships that do not offer much variety.

 

Better to stick with the big, flashy ships (you know - the ones with rockclimbing walls, skating rinks, wave pools and water slides, and promenade malls that feature parades), and those sea days will just fly by.:)

 

You certainly do save money on them, so good luck with deciding!

[momofmeg]

Hi, Darcie - you meant that the price you paid was "less" than 1/2, yes?

 

I've taken a few repositioning cruises - and you DO have to love sea days (and I adore them), so if you're not sure how you'd fare, best you stay away from the smaller, intimate ships that do not offer much variety.

 

Better to stick with the big, flashy ships (you know - the ones with rockclimbing walls, skating rinks, wave pools and water slides, and promenade malls that feature parades), and those sea days will just fly by.:)

 

You certainly do save money on them, so good luck with deciding!

 

Not for me-I have no desire to rock climb.

[chrisbd1]

I'm doing my first repo cruise in November. We choose it so we could see some different islands in the Caribbean. Sea days don't bother me, I bring plenty of books :) . I look forward to days of doing nothing.

[PurpleCow]

We just booked a B2B, first a (repositioning) trans-atlantic and then Scandinavia and Russia. The cost for the trans-atlantic wasn't much more than the air fare would have been. I love sea days, but the ship does put in a several ports, though mostly uninspiring ones.

[Grannycb]

Not all repositioning cruises are long transatlantic voyages. Take a look at the Grandeur of the Seas for it's spring and fall cruises between Tampa and Baltimore. The price is very reasonable and the itineraries are interesting.

[cb at sea]

You really need to be cruising because of the ship, and not the ports! If the ship is your thing, then give it a try! Otherwise, stick to a regular itinerary!

[Bette And Bill]

We have done the repostitioning cruise from Los Angles to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal. 16 days aboard ship, with stops along Mexician Riviera, Costa Rica, Panama, then on to Aruba and Curacao. For us we only had air fare one way. In September we are doing a 13 night from Vancouver, to Alaska, and then on to Seattle, San Francisco, and finally ending in LA. I think the key is to go where you would like to go anyway and enjoy the extra days on the ship.

[chasetf]

I am thinking about booking a repositioning cruise in the future. I would like to hear from people who have gone on these cruises and what they thought about them. Do you really save money? Are they really good vacations, etc? I am afraid I would get tired of too many days at sea.

Thanks for any comments. :)

We like them.

 

Pros:

• Usually pretty cheap / best price per day
  
• Great itineraries
  
• Usually longer than normal 7 or 10 day trips
  
• Sometimes go to places they do not normally go
  
• Only have to fly one leg if sailing to or from home
  
• Best way (and on some lines the only way) to do a full transit Panama Canal

Cons:

• Limited selections
  
• "One of" trips (another limiting factor)
  
• No choice of dates (again "one of")
  
• Not the best months (between seasons) (at the start or end of a season)
  
• Cannot do a round trip from a local port (means having to fly at least one leg
  
• If you have to fly both legs then air will probably be more expensive

[Dorset Cruiser]

We repositioned from The Canaries to Barbados a few years ago and that was great. The Atlantic was flat calm all the way across and from The Canaries to the Caribbean it just got hotter and hotter each day - wonderful. That trip was in November. We are doing the reverse trip on Sea Princess on 12th April from Barbados to Southampton via the Azores and it will be interesting to see what the Atlantic is like in April:eek: :eek: I am expecting some rough seas and have stocked up with a double supply of travel sickness pills:p Last January we had a rocky ride over the Tasman Sea with force 8 gales and very, very, very, high seas - we survived but it was a bit terrifying lying in bed and listening to all the crashes and bangs going on. I was all for getting my lifejacket and making my way to my muster station:eek: However, as I say, we made it to Tasmania although it took us about 6 hours longer than expected.

[MonaCK]

We did a repo cruise in 2005 on the Voyager from Miami to NJ. We -really- loved the fact that we could walk off the ship, go to our car and go home. My family is also very much into sea days, so we really enjoyed the fact that there were only two ports of call. It was an 8 day cruise, and I think the cost was something obscenely cheap like $400 per person. The only con was that we were the first ship going to Cape Liberty that year, so things were REALLY disorganized upon debarkation.

[NCTribeFan]

Our 2nd cruise, on RCI's Empress, was part of a repositioning cruise. She was being moved from Tampa to NY to start her NY-Bermuda itinerary. We were on the first leg, which was Tampa, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, St Thomas, and off at San Juan. 7 days. Those staying on or boarding in SJ were going to the Bahamas then to NY.

 

It was a fantastic cruise. There were lots of Puerto Ricans on board and there was a great salsa band (much more entertaining than the bad-reggae pool bands that seem to be on all ships).

 

The price was great. We booked cruise air (at that time I thought that was the only option, and on a repo it may still be a better choice than booking your own 1-way fares).

 

I would do another in a heartbeat. Since they happen rarely, you have to search for them and book early. Unfortunately for me, they seem to be most frequent in early spring and fall, and I can't normally cruise during those times.

[Romy40]

Okay, repositioning cruise sounds great for us, but - - where do you book them? We love Princess, but have never seen one on their site.

[Karysa]

The one reason that I could never picture myself doing a repositioning cruise is that I always have the what if's. For instance, what if my parents got ill or worse, or my kids, grandchildren in the future. My sister is doing one soon and I already have my fingers crossed. Six days on the sea without a way to come home is just too long for me.

Karysa

[surfinggoofy]

We are getting ready to leave for Santiago on Monday to meet up with the Star Princess for 24 days.

 

It will be our first repo cruise. WE have 12 ports and one stop in Peru for 48 hours.

 

The price was a little more than our seven day honeymoon cruise on the Freedom last sept what a deal!

 

They still have rooms open for last minute cruisers!

[NCTribeFan]

They can be hard to find. I think Carnival shows them under their Special Voyages when you go to their "find a cruise" page.

 

You could try some of the big online agencies or try just Googling "repositioning cruises" and see what you get.

 

We booked ours through a local TA. She was just searching the date range I'd requested for the best prices and it came up.

 

If you do a really broad search in April or in the fall, you can probably find them.

[surfinggoofy]

On some cruise discounters web sites you can do a search for cruises 16 day or longer or world cruises and then pick what you like and directly go to the line or your TA or use the discounter :cool: ..

[GrumpaTom]

If you want to test and see what a Repo cruise can be like they have short Repo cruises to/from the Pacific Northwest in Spring & Fall for the ships that service Alaska.

 

We have taken a few of these cruises and they can be amazingly cheap and every one has been enjoyable to a point.

 

The cruise companies and travel websites have made it fairly easy to find these Repo cruises as they now have their own category "U.S. West Coast", the cruises range from 3 day to 14 day depending on their itinarary.