Repositioning cruise- things to do?

[jocap]

I suppose some of you have been on a repositioning cruise, say to/from the Caribbean to the UK.

Did you find that there were lots of activities on board, for these sea days?

How many days did you swim before reaching, or leaving Southampton?:(

I hear that P&O provide coaches back to the airport you flew from...has anyone used those?

Or, if you got back to somewhere in the Med, were the flights OK, or were you waiting for hours in an airport?:rolleyes:

Cheers and thanks-

Jo.

[insidecabin]

Depends onthe ship

 

Some have packed out activitivities. some can be a bit lacking

 

Remember for TA's there is a 5hr difference so you either have 5 23hr days or 5 25hr days.

 

Also you tend to spend more time over meals.

 

We love transatlantics and try to do at least one a year.

 

 

The down side is flight costs are making them more expensive you could do 2 weeks for £500-£600 not so easy ATM.

[Goldryder]

I have done several repo cruises and never been at a loss as to what to do with myself, the activities etc are the same as on a non-repo type cruise...always something going on around the ship - usually the pool deck or inside somewhere if the weather is playing up.

 

I cruised with Olsen from Jamaica to Dover, flew out to Jamaica from Manchester and the shuttle coach took me back to Manchester airport from Dover...so I would imagine P&O would be the same sort of arrangement.

 

As for waiting for hours in the airport, the longest so far for me with Olsen, NCL & Costa has been 3 hours tween arriving and boarding the plane.

[yorkshirephil]

We have done several repositioning cruises, each one we have done slightly differently. Most of the cruise lines have a coach service that can be used to get you to /from the port/airport of departure/arrival. Sometimes it works out cheaper to get a taxi, sometimes not. We have never had a problem with flights from Europe or the Caribbean, effectively it is just the same as any fly holiday.

 

We have never been stuck for things to do during the repo sea days, there is usually more entertainment. We tended to stay up later in the evenings and not get up as early. We also tended to have leisurely breakfast and lunch in the dining room as opposed to buffet. We would always take a couple of extra books or use the library more. We have even been known to use the gym.

[lizdave]

We are doing our first cruise and just happens to be a repositioning cruise A124 . P and O offer a complementary transfer to/from Southampton. We are parking at Birmingham Airport jumping on a coach to Southampton by my reckoning it will take about 3 1/2 hours.

[insidecabin]

If they cut down through Newbury drive time is about 3hr for a coach probably have a comfort stop so about right at 3:30.

[Elaine0138]

Hi Jo there is usually so much going on it is hard to fit everything you would like to do in.

 

I am off on Ventura's TA in October travelling down on the coach from Manchester airport then flying back there.

 

You are missed over on the other board why don't you pop in and say hello

[jocap]

Hi, everyone, and thanks for your answers.

We're considering one of the P&O ships, returning this March- good to know that the coach works well for those. We're thinking of driving down to Manchester, or taking the train, but will have to be careful about coming back, as our last train arrives at 6.30.

It sounds as if you've all enjoyed Repos....we'll probably give it a go!!:D:D:D

Jo.

[ChrissieM]

We've done 2 repo cruises, one in each direction, and love them. But we definitely preferred the fly out sail back option, which we did in March this year on Azura. After 4 consecutive days in Caribbean ports it was lovely to just relax and switch off as we sailed back. The weather was great all the way back until the last couple of days, when it was cooler but still dry. Had a very hot day in Tenerife, our last stop. Loads of stuff to do on board.

 

The coach system works very well, except on the Oceana one we did when we sailed out, the coach driver was not a regular and didn't know where the cruise terminal was in Southampton. The passengers had to go and enlighten him as he wandered around Southampton ...

 

All part of the fun :)

[jocap]

Thanks, Chrissie- we were looking at the Azura, or Ventura ones, as they both arrive back before Easter on April 8th. The prices seem very reasonable, even for a balcony....I found that I can't manage inside for more than 11 nights. We had 17 nights inside to Venice this June, and I kept getting up and going on deck- which meant getting dressed.....:rolleyes:

Jo.

[seacat65]

Hey JoCap- saw your posting and just had to say Hello.

 

I miss our Alphabet game. It is still there but not many are participating, plus you don't get post credits. Take care and Happy Cruising to you

 

Seacat