Repositioning Cruises

Has anyone heard of Re-positioning Cruises? As the name implies, it is where the ship is going from A to B to get ready for the next series/seasons cruises in another part of the world and a "one off" cruise is offered from A to B.

 

Has anyone been on one, are they different from normal cruises, what happens if the ship is not full up, do they close some of the facilities (ie not make all restaurants available for every meal)?

 

Also, how does one find out about these Re-positioning cruises? Where are they advertised?

Also called transatlantics if going across the pond

Panama cruise also repositioning

Most sail full so do not worry

Has anyone heard of Re-positioning Cruises? As the name implies, it is where the ship is going from A to B to get ready for the next series/seasons cruises in another part of the world and a "one off" cruise is offered from A to B.

 

Has anyone been on one, are they different from normal cruises, what happens if the ship is not full up, do they close some of the facilities (ie not make all restaurants available for every meal)?

 

Also, how does one find out about these Re-positioning cruises? Where are they advertised?

 

Repositioning are not only full but also wait listed . We enjoy repositioning cruises the best .

Ships don't move around empty.

Heads in beds pay the bills.

When, for example, the ships are leaving FLL and the Caribbean sailing season to reposition to Europe, they sell the cabins for the Transatlantic trip. Sometimes it is a cruise of few ports and other times there could be more.

 

Often the per diem is lower than, for example, a cruies sailing the Mediterranean that embarks and disembarks in Europe.

 

Most ships go out full most cruises these days.

If necessary, they continue to drop prices until they sell all the cabins.

Everything on board the ship is same as for all cruises. Same dining, same public areas all operating, same entertainment........ same everything.

 

They're not called repo/repositioning cruises by the cruise line so as not to devalue them, but by agents selling them. They are available on the websites.

 

In addition to the Trans-Atlantic ones, the ones that move between Alaska and California are called "California Coastal" by couple of Carnival lines. Those that are seasonally moved between Pacific and Gulf of Mexico are "Panama Canal".

 

They can be cheap, and are often much cheaper than closed-loop/regional cruises. A verandah on a HAL ship can be currently had for $69 pppd before add-ons and that's the only way I'd pay for a verandah on the Prinsendam ($80 pppd). Even Seabourn was selling a repo for $125 pppd few weeks ago. A 1 week cruise on the same Seabourn ship around the Antilles is selling for ~$500 pppd

 

My upcoming TATL on the Prinsendam has 25% unallocated cabins but that hasn't accounted for various inside, outside and verandah categories being sold as GTYs. The highest window category went from 13/30 unallocated in C to 0/30 in 10 days, maybe to accommodate G which has been GTY for weeks.

 

There seems to have floor reached for all 4 of HAL's October TATL sailings as the price hasn't moved in 4-5 weeks. I'll report back on what the final occupancy was.

The repositioning cruises are listed on all the websites and in all the brochures same as all other cruises. They customarily reposition in spring and fall to and from the Caribbean. Some ships will go from Caribbean through Panama Canal to do Alaska for the spring/summer/fall and others will go north to do Canada/New England or Bermuda cruises. Still others go to Europe for the spring/summer/fall.

 

Look at all the usual sites you customarily read to find itineraries/ships that interest you or if you have a TA, speak with them.

We've done two. 3day LA-Vancouver (2003) and 6 day San Diego-Vancouver a few years ago.

 

These were cruises getting ships to Alaska for the summer in April/May. They leave Alaska in September.

 

The cruise in 2003 was empty, 188 pax on the HAL Amsterdam. Seems that this was one of the repo cruises that HAL had boarded passengers. Before they just dead-headed it up the coast. Many venues were closed, the gift shop didn't open til the last day.

 

Our last repo cruise was a full sailing with every venue open.

Many thanks to all for your comments.

 

I originally posted this thread because I have seen a cruise advertised for next year at virtually half price - a big saving.

 

I suppose a good way to get notification of these cruises is to find a friendly travel agent to help you out as they are likely to get to hear about them early.

We have done several and have more booked. To find them, identify the areas that have seasonal appeal. An easy one is Alaska. There the season is from May to September. So in the Spring, cruise lines are moving ships there and in the Fall they are moved away. Most, but not all spend the Winter in the Caribbean. Others head to LA, Asia, Hawaii, among others.

 

In January, we will be on the Grand Princess. She has been spending summers in Europe and winters in the Caribbean. Princess will be moving her to Alaska, but she it too big for the Panama Canal. So there is a one time 49 day cruise around Cape Horn. It starts in Fort Lauderdale and ends in San Francisco.

We've done 2 repositioning cruises: a Panama Canal - Port Canaveral, FL to Los Angeles, CA; and a WestBound TransAtlantic - Barcelona to Port Canaveral.

 

The WBTA was a little less full than the PC one, and both were not really "full". But nothing was closed or cut back on, as far as we could tell.

 

:)

I originally posted this thread because I have seen a cruise advertised for next year at virtually half price - a big saving..

 

That's high. The westbound HAL TATLs are going for 1/4 of the listed price (an absurd amount to begin with). Wait and they'll come down further.

 

No need for a travel agent. The cruise lines even have them in their printed brochures though they might be given fancy name.

Many thanks to all for your comments.

 

I originally posted this thread because I have seen a cruise advertised for next year at virtually half price - a big saving.

 

I suppose a good way to get notification of these cruises is to find a friendly travel agent to help you out as they are likely to get to hear about them early.

 

 

There is no secret about them or need for somone to 'get the word' about them early. They are clearly scheduled and listed in itineraries for all the cruise lines months in advance.

 

Go to websites for cruise lines that interest you and read the itineraries.

 

Usually a lot of sea days and you can really enjoy the ship.

 

Keith

We take a lot of repostioning cruises (often as part of a back to back combination) and its our favorite kind of cruise. Having spent an awful lot of time cruising (over 2 1/2 years) we now try to avoid the typcial 7 or 10 day round trip cruises and look for much longer voyages that always begin and end in different places. Repos can be nearly anywhere in the world including transatlantic, transpacific, from Asia to Europe, South America to Europe, etc. etc. On our most recent cruise we actually had 9 straight sea days which we thought was heaven! Of course many cruisers prefer to be in ports nearly everyday and Repos are often not for them.

 

Hank

We have done quite a few repositioning cruises.

Years ago we did a couple of TransAtlantic cruises -- going to Europe and returning.

We have done repositioning cruises from Ft Lauderdale to Montreal where the ships were relocating after spending the winter in the Caribbean and then starting the Canada/New Enlgand cruises.

We have also done repositioning cruises where the ships go from the Caribbean and head to Seattle and Vancouver for the Alaskan season and vice versa.

None of our repositioning cruises were cheap.

And there were only a hand ful of cabins that were not sold out.

Many thanks to all for your comments.

 

I originally posted this thread because I have seen a cruise advertised for next year at virtually half price - a big saving.

 

I suppose a good way to get notification of these cruises is to find a friendly travel agent to help you out as they are likely to get to hear about them early.

If you click on "Cruise Deals" up at the top of this page, on the left side of the screen, under "Last Minute Cruises" they are currently showing some repositioning cruises, a Pacific Coast Cruise from Vancouver, and several Transatlantic cruises.

 

If you are able to travel at the last minute, you can pick up some greatly reduced closeout rates on repositioning cruises. Sometimes they practically give away the remaining unsold cabins.

 

A good way to receive notification of cruise offerings on a regular basis from more than just one source is to get on the mailing lists of a number of cruise lines and travel agencies.

 

Or you can just google repositioning cruises.

After reading Krazy Kruizers post we wanted to add that we have done some very cheap repo cruises. Many of the best deals have come at the last minute (just inside the final booking period). On a RCI Brilliance of the Seas cruise from Europe to the US we once managed to get a nice balcony cabin for about $60 per passenger day and there have some other similar deals.

 

Hank

We can't wait until near cruising time to book cruises.

We have so very few flights out of Pittsburgh and they fill up quickly. And of course we no longer have direct flights to cruise ports.

There are all kinds of repos. From an Atlantic port at the end of the season to a Caribbean port. From South America at the end of their summer to the U.S. and vice versa when their spring begins.

 

We have taken several trans-Atlantic repos at the end of the summer season (Sept., Oct., Nov.). They can be tremendous bargains, particularly when bought within the final three months when final payment deadlines have passed. But only if you can find an economic airfare, a task that may be difficult but is not impossible.

 

Look at some of the prices for this autumn's sailings. Unbelievably low. Because of economic conditions, some cruiselines are also doing something they seldom do -- despite the final deadline having passed, they offer cruise air.

 

There are also some compelling deals for next spring.

I 've taken about 7 or 8 repos or trans-Atlantics. While the per diem cost may be less, in my experience the food and entertainment are generally poorer. They are not such a bargain for everyone.

Has anyone heard of Re-positioning Cruises? As the name implies, it is where the ship is going from A to B to get ready for the next series/seasons cruises in another part of the world and a "one off" cruise is offered from A to B.

 

Has anyone been on one, are they different from normal cruises, what happens if the ship is not full up, do they close some of the facilities (ie not make all restaurants available for every meal)?

 

Also, how does one find out about these Re-positioning cruises? Where are they advertised?

 

We've done 3 "coastals" and they were bargains. After the Alaska season we catch one from Vancouver to LA and spend some post cruise time there. Last year we continued through the Panama Canal to Miami. We got it cheap but it was cheaper still after final payment.

 

This year it's a TA from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale. We booked early at a great price and has been sold out for awhile now.

 

All coastals and the full transit Panama Canal cruise had full amenities and services. Repositioning cruises tend to be great value and the cost per day can be as low as $50 for an inside cabin.

 

I check the cruise lines website and look for them specifically as I only need 1 way airfare for the coastals.

We did a repositioning cruise with HAL from Vancouver to Ft Lauderdale via the Panama Canal. It was 21 nights and was the best cruise I've ever been on. We absolutely loved it. The ship was full and everything was just the same as on any other cruise. Have to say the age of the passengers was older because of the length of the cruise. The only child on board was an 18 month old toddler and she earned the nickname "Princess of the Ship" because everyone adored her and made such a fuss of her!

Repositioning next year April 15 - 15 night Suez Canal with RCI from Dubai to Barcelona

Come and join us.

We have done two repositioning cruises and had a great time. I think I enjoyed the Panama Canal transit on the Pride more as we stopped every few days which was nice. Going from Sydney to Honolulu was a fantastic trip through the south seas....Bora Bora was fantastic. Neither cruise was what I would call inexpensive, but it was a great experience. Check my photos for both cruises in my signature. Whatever you decide to do, have a great cruise!

Many thanks to all for your comments.

 

I originally posted this thread because I have seen a cruise advertised for next year at virtually half price - a big saving.

 

I suppose a good way to get notification of these cruises is to find a friendly travel agent to help you out as they are likely to get to hear about them early.

 

A better way to hear is to go to the websites of each of the cruise lines that might interest you, and sign up for their emails for specials. Sign up for snail mail specials. Go to the major online cruise websites and sign up for their email specials. EM