One way cruise

[MicCanberra]

From Mon 6 Apr 2020
(To Fri 17 Apr 2020)
Ship Mein Schiff 1

Cruise Schedule: Montego Bay, Jamaica (06 Apr d2200); Belize City, Belize (08 Apr 0800-1900); Costa Maya, Mexico (09 Apr 0700-1900); Cozumel, Mexico (10 Apr 0630-2000); Fort Lauderdale, Florida (12 Apr 0800-1800); Miami, Florida (13 Apr 0800-1800); New York City, New York (16 Apr a0730(+1)disembark)

[MicCanberra]

From Tue 21 Apr 2020
(To Wed 6 May 2020)
Ship Marella Discovery 2

Cruise Schedule: Montego Bay, Jamaica (21 Apr d2000); Amber Cove, Dominican Republic (23 Apr 0800-2200); St Johns, Antigua (25 Apr 0800-1900); Funchal, Madeira (01 May 0800-1800); Malaga, Spain (03 May 0800-1800); Ajaccio, Corsica (05 May 0800-1500); Naples, Italy (06 May a0600)

 

From Fri 6 Nov 2020
(To Thu 26 Nov 2020)
Ship Amadea

Cruise Schedule: Montego Bay, Jamaica (06 Nov embark(+1)d2000); Santiago de Cuba, Cuba (08 Nov 0800-2300); Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (10 Nov 0800-1800); Roseau, Dominica (12 Nov 0800-1800); Soufriere, St Lucia (13 Nov 0800-1800); Bridgetown, Barbados (14 Nov 0800-1800); Scarborough, Tobago (15 Nov 0800-1800); Paramaribo, Suriname (17 Nov 0800-1700); Iles Du Salut, French Guiana (18 Nov 0900-1800); Macapa, Brazil (20 Nov); Santarem, Brazil (21 Nov (+1)); Boca da Valeria, Brazil (23 Nov); Manaus, Brazil (25 Nov a1200(+1)disembark)

[bob brown]

Keep in mind, many of those ships in the last posts primarily cater to German speaking passenger's.

[MicCanberra]

True but there are not a lot of options out of Jamaica.

[Lady D.]

Gosh thanks everyone, we are trying to create a new cruise/travel experience.  I love Cruise Critic so much information from such wise Cruisers. You are AMAZING!!!

[Lady D.]

Gosh thanks everyone, we are trying to create a new cruise/travel experience.  I love Cruise Critic so much information from such wise Cruisers. You are AMAZING!!!

[MicCanberra]

Enjoy.

BTW, I loved San Antonio. The walk and of course the Alamo.

[momofmeg]

Repositioning cruises perhaps? I am not sure about Jamaica but I know you can take one from NY/NJ to San Juan. Both Celebrity and RCI have one in the fall with the reverse in the spring.

 

We have done one on a ship repositoning from Europe to the Caribbean. That was our 25th anniversary trip. We flew to London stayed there a few days then took a train to Dover, boarded ship, went to la Havre, Portsmouth, Dublin, and Cork, cruised the Atlantic  and then was in Newfoundland and Novia Scotia and ended in NJ from where we flew home on a much shorter flight.

 

The only other one way cruise I know about is some of the Alaska cruises you can do northbound or southbound. We did northbound from Vancouver to Anchorage.

[momofmeg]

On 1/8/2019 at 9:58 PM, lenquixote66 said:

I could be wrong but I seem to recall friends of ours flying to San Juan ,touring the area and then cruising to several Caribbean islands and sailing to NY.

Yes that was ships in the southern  Caribbean cruising out of San Juan. They reposition in the spring, to  perhaps Canada and New England, Europe, Bermuda, or  Bahamas east coast from NY/NJ. You can do the reverse cruise in the fall. both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity has  a ship that does this twice a year between NJ and San Juan. Probably other lines?

[Bizmark'sMom]

I boarded a Lindblad cruise on Antigua, and disembarked 2 weeks later on Barbados. So, yes, those Carribean cruises are out there. They just aren't on the main US lines.

[momofmeg]

I thought of something else I know MSC allows  embarkation on some of their cruises at Caribbean ports but it is less expensive for Americans to embark at Miami. Plus I think you are expected to disembark at the same port you embark.

 

[Hlitner]

If you are looking for one-way in the Caribbean that ends or begins in a USA port, you will generally need to book repositioning cruises.  They are actually quite predictable.  In the late Fall, many ships that finish their Canada/New England cruises will do a one-way repo cruise to a Caribbean port (Florida or San Juan).  We have often taken the Regal Princess repo cruise which generally in around 10/31 and is 10 days between NYC and Ft Lauderdale (with 2 or 3 Caribbean ports).  

 

While "one way" cruises are very common around the world, they are a very rare thing when it comes to Caribbean cruises from US Ports.  The reason is that most cruise lines operate their Caribbean cruises so as to comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)'s provisions for what is commonly called a "closed loop" cruise.  These cruises must begin and end at the same US Port and only visit ports (mostly in the Caribbean) that participate in the WHCI.  The reason for complying with these rules is that the cruisers can travel without having a valid Passport.  

 

Hank

[Texas Tillie]

13 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

  The reason for complying with these rules is that the cruisers can travel without having a valid Passport.  

 

Hank

 

And the reason many Americans don't have a valid passport is that they really can't afford to travel and are trying to do everything on the cheap. 

[George C]

For a place to stay in Jamaica we really like sandals resorts

[MicCanberra]

Cruising may be cheap but it is not that cheap.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

And the reason many Americans don't have a valid passport is that they really can't afford to travel and are trying to do everything on the cheap. 

Ouch!  That is what some folks would call a very broad generalization :).  Although we always recommend that everyone on a closed loop cruise should have a valid Passport, it is very understandable that some folks do not agree.  Consider a relatively young couple with 2 children, who only take a annual 7 day (or shorter) Caribbean cruise.  It would cost them about $520 (cost for 4 new Passports) plus additional cost to obtain usable Passport photos.  Add the cost of Certified mail (a good idea with Passports) and this young family is going to spend nearly $600 just for Passports.  That is a pretty hefty price for many families...especially when they might take 1 cruise or less per year.   Not sure avoiding a $600 extra expenditure is "cheap" for many folks who must carefully budget their travel.  I started cruising in my 20s (back in the 1970s) when the cost of travel was a real stretch.  In those days, a Passport was relatively inexpensive :).  As a person who has made travel a major part of his life (we are in travel mode at least 6 months a year) we love seeing younger folks taking cruises and developing a love of International travel.  

 

The closed-loop cruise rules were adopted because of lots of lobbying by the cruise industry.  The law and regulations help encourage many folks to cruise which is a win-win for the consumer and the cruise lines.  

 

Hank

[Texas Tillie]

4 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Ouch!  That is what some folks would call a very broad generalization :).  Although we always recommend that everyone on a closed loop cruise should have a valid Passport, it is very understandable that some folks do not agree.  Consider a relatively young couple with 2 children, who only take a annual 7 day (or shorter) Caribbean cruise.  It would cost them about $520 (cost for 4 new Passports) plus additional cost to obtain usable Passport photos.  Add the cost of Certified mail (a good idea with Passports) and this young family is going to spend nearly $600 just for Passports.  That is a pretty hefty price for many families...especially when they might take 1 cruise or less per year.   Not sure avoiding a $600 extra expenditure is "cheap" for many folks who must carefully budget their travel.  I started cruising in my 20s (back in the 1970s) when the cost of travel was a real stretch.  In those days, a Passport was relatively inexpensive :).  As a person who has made travel a major part of his life (we are in travel mode at least 6 months a year) we love seeing younger folks taking cruises and developing a love of International travel.  

 

The closed-loop cruise rules were adopted because of lots of lobbying by the cruise industry.  The law and regulations help encourage many folks to cruise which is a win-win for the consumer and the cruise lines.  

 

Hank

 

My opinion is that family shouldn't consider leaving the confines of the good, old USA until they can "afford" passports for everyone. I am quite aware others disagree. Let's just hope grandma doesn't die or one of the kids doesn't fall and break their leg or any other of a multitude of issues and they all need to get home - and that they have a credit card with enough credit available to buy air line tickets for all to get home. Too many people save to cruise but never save to cover the "what ifs". 

[Hlitner]

16 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

My opinion is that family shouldn't consider leaving the confines of the good, old USA until they can "afford" passports for everyone. I am quite aware others disagree. Let's just hope grandma doesn't die or one of the kids doesn't fall and break their leg or any other of a multitude of issues and they all need to get home - and that they have a credit card with enough credit available to buy air line tickets for all to get home. Too many people save to cruise but never save to cover the "what ifs". 

We hear ya :).  And there is a lot of travel wisdom in what you say.  Personally, we would never suggest that any family member (or people we love) leave the country without a valid Passport.  But, I was just expressing the other point of view and the reasoning of many folks.   And having a credit card with a sufficient limit to buy air tickets is fine, but you can add a credit card with a much higher limit to handle to possible cost of emergency medical care!  But the reality is that many folks (especially younger travelers) do not have high credit limits (some do not even have a credit card)!  As a very frequent world traveler it is easy for me to come up with many reasons why folks should not travel unless they have a great credit rating and high credit limits on several credit cards :).  But many folks will never achieve those goals and will likely never have the resources to cover what you and I would agree is the "what ifs."   Should they avoid International travel because it is a financial stretch?  Perhaps.  But life is also about taking some risk.  DW and I are very adventurous travelers (we rarely take excursions or organized tours) and sometimes live on the edge with our travel choices (and these have been some of our best trips).  

 

Some of the posters here on CC have changed my mind when it comes to taking the risk of traveling without a Passport or high credit limits.  If they are willing to assume the risk (assuming they are making an informed decision) then we are on their side.  But I do think the key is that travel risk should involve "informed" decisions.  We can do our best to "inform" folks of the risk, and then it is a matter for their own risk tolerance.  DW and I travel all over the world without ever buying travel insurance (we do have an annual travel medical policy).  Many think we are crazy to take the risk of cancellation or interruption, but we are certainly well "informed" of the risk and are very comfortable taking that risk.  It is no different for those who choose to do those closed loop cruises without a Passport.

 

Hank

[momofmeg]

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Ouch!  That is what some folks would call a very broad generalization :).  Although we always recommend that everyone on a closed loop cruise should have a valid Passport, it is very understandable that some folks do not agree.  Consider a relatively young couple with 2 children, who only take a annual 7 day (or shorter) Caribbean cruise.  It would cost them about $520 (cost for 4 new Passports) plus additional cost to obtain usable Passport photos.  Add the cost of Certified mail (a good idea with Passports) and this young family is going to spend nearly $600 just for Passports.  That is a pretty hefty price for many families...especially when they might take 1 cruise or less per year.   Not sure avoiding a $600 extra expenditure is "cheap" for many folks who must carefully budget their travel.  I started cruising in my 20s (back in the 1970s) when the cost of travel was a real stretch.  In those days, a Passport was relatively inexpensive :).  As a person who has made travel a major part of his life (we are in travel mode at least 6 months a year) we love seeing younger folks taking cruises and developing a love of International travel.  

 

The closed-loop cruise rules were adopted because of lots of lobbying by the cruise industry.  The law and regulations help encourage many folks to cruise which is a win-win for the consumer and the cruise lines.  

 

Hank

 I agree Hank. it is so rude to call people "cheap"  when you do not know their circumstances. Maybe  they are  merely living within their budget. People who make these comments  I sometimes feel are either are not middle income people  so have no clue about what it is to live on a budget, or else  they have their credit cards maxed out and live beyond their means in  debt.  I agree with you, for a once a year trip out of the USA that is a lot of money for a young family.  I do believe though a high percentage of cruisers it is not even once every few years. I know I met a couple  on one cruise who said that cruise  was  a once in a life time trip.   They were celebrating their 35th anniversary. The wife's kidneys were going and she would soon need dialysis. So the husband  splurged on that cruise  because he felt it was "now or never" and she  had always wanted to take a Caribbean cruise. All I could think of was how wonderful the husband did that for his wife.

[navybankerteacher]

5 hours ago, momofmeg said:

 I agree Hank. it is so rude to call people "cheap"  when you do not know their circumstances. Maybe  they are  merely living within their budget. People who make these comments  I sometimes feel are either are not middle income people  so have no clue about what it is to live on a budget, or else  they have their credit cards maxed out and live beyond their means in  debt.  I agree with you, for a once a year trip out of the USA that is a lot of money for a young family.  I do believe though a high percentage of cruisers it is not even once every few years. I know I met a couple  on one cruise who said that cruise  was  a once in a life time trip.   They were celebrating their 35th anniversary. The wife's kidneys were going and she would soon need dialysis. So the husband  splurged on that cruise  because he felt it was "now or never" and she  had always wanted to take a Caribbean cruise. All I could think of was how wonderful the husband did that for his wife.

Agreed - it is best not to judge broadly.   There are many people who have to budget closely — at the same time, there are many who seem to make poor budget decisions.

People who smoke, have a weekly coffee at a place like Starbucks, who have anything but the basic cell phone, for example, should perhaps rethink some of their decisions - if one of those decisions is to travel without a passport.

[pathi]

You could also do something like my cruise in May. Coral Princess from LA to Vancouver, Then Island Princess From Vancouver to Anchorage AL. 1 way cruise, but not a 1 way cruise. :)

 

[sanger727]

On 3/18/2019 at 3:34 PM, Texas Tillie said:

 

And the reason many Americans don't have a valid passport is that they really can't afford to travel and are trying to do everything on the cheap. 

 

You are welcome to have that opinion. However I know a few people that have cruised without a passport and it was a perfectly valid decision for them at the time. For each of them it was their first trip outside the US. They had no idea if they would like it and if they would ever do it again. The cruise was also not their idea and something they were invited on by someone else. 

 

Yes, you can argue that a passport is only $10 a year, however that assumes you would use it again in the next 10 years. For a 1 trip purchase it carries a hefty price tag. 

 

One of the examples was a family of four and they have not cruised or traveled outside the US again, so a passport would have been a large money commitment for a one time trip for them. The other was my bf and after he took his first cruise he decided he would do it again so we got him a passport. But IMO it’s a perfectly reasonable decision for a first time traveler.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by sanger727

[iancal]

The only return cruises that we have taken were either in the Caribbean, Mexico, or Alaska.  All of our European cruises and our one South American cruise have been one way.   

 

We prefer one way.  When we travel we almost never do return flights.  One ways and open jaws are are about the only tickets we book these days.

[momofmeg]

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 2:16 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Agreed - it is best not to judge broadly.   There are many people who have to budget closely — at the same time, there are many who seem to make poor budget decisions.

People who smoke, have a weekly coffee at a place like Starbucks, who have anything but the basic cell phone, for example, should perhaps rethink some of their decisions - if one of those decisions is to travel without a passport.

 Clark Howard is my hero. He is cheap but also a millionaire and he says that is why he is a millionaire. Lol! Bottom line we all have to decide if something is worth the cost for our enjoyment or not and is we alone who have to live with our choices.  Lol! I know we are pretty frugal usually but  we  do splurge for special occasions. We booked  an aft mini suite balcony for our 35th Anniversary trip. We  had loved having an aft suite on our 30th anniversary Med trip.   The problem this was Canada in October and we left out of NY to go to Canada and I was very sea sick at first and by the time we got into Canadian waters most days it was too cold to use the balcony, lol! but it is okay, we did not ruin our retirement fund, so all is good! Just next time we will think about where we are going before we book something like that.