Repositioning Cruises

[AuntieBarb]

Repositioning cruises? Who likes them and why?

 

We're headed out in just 36 more days on the Dawn's repo to Miami 11/1/09. 14 days! Woohoo! (Still looking for more to join our roll call. I know you're out there!)

 

My favorite part is the length and the special itineraries. :)

[EileenN]

I'm out here alright...all the way on the west coast. I am going on this cruise just to meet you and people like you who have made us feel welcome on the roll call. What a crazy frendly group!!!

be back on the east coast by Wednesday. Hope more join us.

[kdg51]

Besides the different itineraries we like the repo cruises for the extra sea days. Time to relax between ports. We also find the crew is excited that after going back and forth all season they have a change and a chance to see new places. Our favorite repos where the ones that sailed back home. No need to count suitcases or extra baggage, no flights to take and an hour later we were home.

 

Last year we could not take our April vacation so we went back to back on the Spirit with 2 different itineraries but we found that the shows and the menus and activities all repeated the second week. On the repos they were always picking up new entertainers along the way. This year we enjoyed Alaska and the only thing that kept us from feeling shortchanged was the trip from the East to West coast that felt like it lasted forever. We've done 2 Panama Canal repos and we only had to travel that long flight one way.

[mamasue]

We did an 11-day repo in April.... Miami to Dover on the Jewel.... we loved it!!

 

9 of the days were sea days.... we didn't get bored at all..... we had a great time!!

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

;) We did the 46-day Around South America and Cape Horn this past January. Our first RCCL cruise and first time on the Mariner -- since the ship was being moved from Fla. to Cal. -- and too large to transit the Panama

Canal -- RCCL broke the voyage up into 3 Legs (FLa to Rio, Rio to Valpariso, and Valpariso to San Diego). There was about a 50/50 split between port days and sea days. The main attraction were the 3 overnites - in Rio, Buenos Aires and Valpariso. - we used the ship as our hotel and really

got to see each of the cities in more depth. Much more relaxing, too.

The

Mariner is a very large ship -- and we had plenty of time to explore all

it had to offer. Was a very unique itinerary as the Captain and majority of

the crew had never been to these places before, either. They were as excited as the passengers -- maybe even more so ! Early in the booking process -- a large group of us created our own "Hornblowers" Roll Call

and we really enjoyed "talking" and learning from each other. When we

all met at the "Meet and Mingle" party -- was like seeing old friends/family.

Hopefully, we can get together again in the very near future. :D

[romrai]

We are going on the repo out of Boston on the 23rd of Oct. It is the second repo for us. I actually like....extra sea days, longer cruising, and cheaper prices. I actually am disappointed with the amount of stops our next one does, so don't even plan to get off the ship in some ports. As we live a extremely busy/hectic lifestyle, it is the only way to really make me settle down and relax. Its also a way to try all restaurants without waddling off the ship.

[terrymtex01]

It wasn't like I was not already head over heels in love with cruising, but when we took our first (and so far only) repo cruise I was HOOKED. I loved the excitement the crew had and I loved the extra sea days. It seems that on repo cruises there is a very nice mixture of sea days and port days. One benefit also is you leave out of one port and arrive at another, so you get to visit two different cities if you are able to go in a few days early and stay a few days after the cruise. We are taking the Dawn repo cruise this Nov 1st and will only have a partial day before the cruise in NYC and we are flying back home the day the cruise disembarks, so we aren't getting to take advantage of the embarkation and disembarkation ports. More than anything, I think for me it seems you get a much longer cruise and usually for less $$. Repo's are my fav.. 8-)

[capp]

We're doing our first repo next year 10/10/10 (love the date) on the Jewel and are thrilled! I've been wondering though, just why are repos so much less $$? There are a lot of longer cruises with the normally higher prices, and it seems to me that the itineraries are fabulous. It's also easy to book airfare to and from different cities, and, like Terry said above, you get to visit 2 different places before and after. I would think they'd be more money, not less.

 

Not that I'm complaining! I feel like we got the deal of a lifetime.....

 

Mimi

[Planer's Edge]

We're doing our first repo next year 10/10/10 (love the date) on the Jewel and are thrilled! I've been wondering though, just why are repos so much less $$? There are a lot of longer cruises with the normally higher prices, and it seems to me that the itineraries are fabulous. It's also easy to book airfare to and from different cities, and, like Terry said above, you get to visit 2 different places before and after. I would think they'd be more money, not less.

 

Not that I'm complaining! I feel like we got the deal of a lifetime.....

 

Mimi

 

Mimi is so excited she thinks she is sailing on the Jewel next year, although she is really on the Dawn. :D

 

Repo's are usually cheaper because you are at the tail end of one season moving to the very beginning of another season.

 

PE

[capp]

Mimi is so excited she thinks she is sailing on the Jewel next year' date=' although she is really on the Dawn. :D[/color']

 

Repo's are usually cheaper because you are at the tail end of one season moving to the very beginning of another season.

 

PE

 

You are correct sir, blonde moment, not enough coffee yet! I'm sad it's such a long way off. Just think, I get an entire YEAR to pester you w/ questions!

[BikerAl]

Mimi is so excited she thinks she is sailing on the Jewel next year' date=' although she is really on the Dawn. :D

 

PE

[/color']

 

And I was going to blindly quote her and say how much we are looking forward to that cruise...lol It will be our first repo, and I will continue to read all the great things about them.

 

Al

[cliffd64]

Repositioning cruises? Who likes them and why?

 

We're headed out in just 36 more days on the Dawn's repo to Miami 11/1/09. 14 days! Woohoo! (Still looking for more to join our roll call. I know you're out there!)

 

My favorite part is the length and the special itineraries. :)

 

Of my 20+ NCL cruises, the Dawn repo this November will be our first repo cruise and we are very excited about it :)

[MrLee]

The upcoming Nov. 1 repo on the Dawn will be our 4th repo cruise. The first one was a 17 day Dover to Houston and the upcoming one will be our 3rd year in a row on the Dawn repo. I like to just relax and not feel the pressure of a port intensive cruise. This year we do have 6 port days in a row but since I've been to all of them before, no pressure to even get off the ship. You may have noticed a theme here...relaxation! :D

[mimi217]

We took our first repo this year, New Orleans to Boston 12 nights, and loved it. We flew into N.O. a couple of days early and got to enjoy their Jazz Festival and the city. We loved docking in Boston because we were home in an hour. The price was great. You just have to shop around for a good price for air for a one way flight. I'm looking forward to repos. in the future. Linda

[AuntieBarb]

I second the "extra sea days" sentiment. That's what it's all about...love for the sea...and the ship! :)

 

We took our first repo this year, New Orleans to Boston 12 nights, and loved it.

 

Linda, our first repo was on the Spirit to New Orleans. Thanks to that sailing, we met a great bunch of people, which has blossomed into life-long friendships. Several of us returned to New Orleans last year for a cruise, as well as a few days in New Orleans pre and post cruise and now several of us are on the Dawn's repo this fall. If it weren't for our love of the Dawn, we'd be on another repo to/from there....but I have no doubt we'll return. :)

[AuntieBarb]

Of my 20+ NCL cruises, the Dawn repo this November will be our first repo cruise and we are very excited about it :)

 

You're going to be hooked and 7 day cruises will never seem ample enough ever again! :D

[dockrocker]

Repo's are usually cheaper because you are at the tail end of one season moving to the very beginning of another season.

 

And also because many people don't want to fly into one port and out of another. I think there's a lingering misconception that this is more expensive, which used to be true but really isn't nowadays. And of course, people driving to the departure port don't want to have to fly home, or vice versa.

 

Love repos for the reduced price, interesting itineraries and sea days.

[dtiger]

I like the repo cruises, usually the prices are better, this year not as much though.

 

This repo cruise we're going on Oct. 23rd on the Spirit has more ports than the past repo cruises I've gone on, 9 ports in 16 days.

 

They bring entertainers on at various ports which is nice.

[capp]

Do they fill the ships on a repo, or are there usually a lot of empty cabins?

[dockrocker]

Do they fill the ships on a repo, or are there usually a lot of empty cabins?

 

They fill them, sometimes by dramatically dropping the fares close to sailing time. We've been on several repos and the ship was always full.

 

If you have the flexibility to book late, you can get some outstanding deals on transatlantics and coastal repos. We just did a 7-day Vancouver to San Francisco via Alaska on the Sun for about $350 pp. As dtiger notes, the Caribbean runs that start in the Northeast and end in Miami or New Orleans aren't marked down as much.

[Planer's Edge]

Do they fill the ships on a repo, or are there usually a lot of empty cabins?

 

As of right now NCL.com shows our repo completely soldout.

 

PE

[debshomespun]

I am on the Dawn 11/1 repo cruise, and it will be our first repo. Some of our reasons for going was the itinerary, the length (14 days-WOW) and the price. We got an exceptional deal on the pricing for an oceanview cabin.

 

Probably the most important reason we are going, is to meet all the great CC friends from our roll call. We get to spend 14 glorious days with them in the beautiful caribbean! We also get to cruise out of NYC, which we have never done before.

 

How many days, Auntie Barb? I think I better start to pack soon! Can't wait to meet everyone! :D :D

[njsonja]

i'll be with you on that 11/01 repo cruise! best bang for the buck; got an upsell!!!!! will be in a suite! so incredibly looking forward to this; i keep hearing that "bing" when you put your card into the i.d. machine when you get back on the ship!

 

counting the hours, minutes, seconds....love repo cruises because you can make wonderful friendships (you have more time than most cruises); enjoy being away from real life for so much longer!

 

have 2 other cruises booked but they will be so short in comparison!

 

sonja and jeff

[Planer's Edge]

i'll be with you on that 11/01 repo cruise! best bang for the buck; got an upsell!!!!! will be in a suite! so incredibly looking forward to this; i keep hearing that "bing" when you put your card into the i.d. machine when you get back on the ship!

 

counting the hours, minutes, seconds....love repo cruises because you can make wonderful friendships (you have more time than most cruises); enjoy being away from real life for so much longer!

 

have 2 other cruises booked but they will be so short in comparison!

 

sonja and jeff

 

Please come and join the roll call at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=781251

 

Did you get your upsell recently? If you just recently got it I am pretty sure of your cabin number and if I am correct you are going to love that cabin.

 

PE

[weltek]

The airfare usually makes repos out of our price range. Living in the midwest not near any major hubs, it makes it more difficult to score deals.

 

I just asked the question elsewhere here if people tend to spend more money on repo cruises due to more sea days. The few people that answered said no.