Have you ever taken a repositioning cruise?

[Andros]

Last year we sailed Brilliance Barcelona to Miami in November. Had the time of our lives and decided to sail her again. A few short weeks away and getting geared up for another great adventure. You can read my review and go to my homepage. Both links are in my signature. Lots of pictures and good info on finding the best cruise fares and info about our upcoming trip to Europe. You will not be disapointed in a repositioning cruise. Especially if you are as money concious as I am. Have a great time, no matter what cruise/intinerary you choose;)! Andros.

[BS102]

Hi,

Repo cruises can be great! We have been to the same old carrib ports dozens of times, so we like sea days. The prices can be awesome. We got a 14 day for $303!

Once we got a great price on Lirica, 19 day ft Lauderdale to Genoa. At least it sounded good. It turned out that one-way airfares from Europe were awful. Eventually, we got another repo, a 14 day on Splendour of the Seas from Europe back to Fla. By getting a round trip ticket, it saved so much that it was like the second cruise was free.

[delarda]

We took NCL Spirit out of Vancouver, BC. After going to a couple of ports in Alaska, we headed down the Pacific coast to San Francisco. In case you're curious, one cannot see any of the coast line. It was a great trip and we really enjoyed it.:)

 

We just finished the Princess Islander cruise from Vancouver, BC, to Los Angeles and we're quite disappointed. The first night's ride was rock and roll. There was no turn down service for 2 out of our 3 day cruise; after asking for 2 cokes, the waiter disappeared and never came back; there's no free steak, lobster or anything else of value on this cruise even during the Captain's dinner; the buffet was good except the last night, half the buffet was shut down (as were the pizza bar, hamburger grill, etc.). There was plenty of dessert but little else. :mad:

[critterchick]

We love the Coastal repo cruises - have done 5 of them on Princess. 3-day cruises are kind of like a long weekend, but we prefer the 7 & 9 nighters that we've taken. 3 nights on a Grand class isn't really enough time to get to know the ship, so we're doing #6 on the Diamond next spring!

 

We're also doing a 14-night Ultimate Alaska in the fall, combining Alaska with a repo to Los Angeles - RCI has finally wised up to the fact that pax do not like to disembark in Ensenada at 6:00 am and be bussed up to San Diego!:eek:

[hugosmom]

I would love to know how to find repositioning cruises. I have not found a way to search for them in any of the various places I've looked. Any hints?

[bluto&olive]

we sailed the island princess out of la last may 7 nights to vancouver via sitka and ketchikan alaska. lot of fun except the last day / night could have been better we left victoria b.c. (our favorite city) at 5pm? and spent the night going to vancouver ( a ferry boat ride away.) the four in our party would much rather had more time in victoria than floating around so they could open up the casino i like to gamble but...victoria is the provincial capitol and it is spectacular lit up at night...

 

past cruises:

carnival celebrity e/caribbean.. carnival fantasy bahamas... norweigan sun alaska...ss norway e/caribbean..princess diamond mexican riviera..island princess pacific coastal... next one: transatlantic :cool:

[martinimadam]

Try looking for Transatlantic or Transoceanic. Also, the dates can help...usually when the ship is moving to or from Europe (spring and fall) or from Alaska to Mexico or Caribbean (early fall).

 

Hope this helps!

[Chosen One]

DH and I had our best cruise to date on a repositioning. We flew to San Juan and spent three nights there before hopping on an inexpensive 7 night repositioning cruise by Celebrity (OV cabins were going for 300.00!). We never would have considered a suite on Celebrity if not for the awesome price. It was an incredible cruise and I would jump on it again if the opportunity came our way.

 

The only minor downfall was forgetting that cruising from the Caribbean to Norfolk, VA in May meant the day at sea was rather chilly! We had packed for San Juan weather :eek:. I still enjoy the sweatshirts we ended up buying on the ship to get us through the temp drop.

 

Many of the passengers did a back-to-back repositioning (14 days) from Florida to San Juan to Norfolk. We were alittle jealous but it was a blast!!!

[KAYEF]

For hugosmom:

When you go to a site like *****, they have a REPOSITIONING section.................just like "Alaska" or "Mexico" etc. Under that heading are listed all upcoming repo cruises; you get GRAT prices on them, too.

There's nothing like all those SEA DAYS.............:) coming up Nov. 1st for us.

[Cully]

Would Like Too !

[chasetf]

Repo is the best way to do a Panama Canal full transit. We got a get price and had an even greater time. :D

[jkloni]

We've done several repositioning - from New York mostly (probably 4?) - though we are from the New Orleans area. We leave on the Crown Princess repositioning this Friday - 8 night NY-SJU. We also have a 15 night NY - New Orleans booked for next November.

 

Usually great prices and we also love sea days more than port days because our cruises are somewhat like family reunions with others we have met on previous cruises that are now cruising together.

 

They are hard to find sometimes though. You have to find a website that has an option for a 'repositioning' search. The website discussed above has that options as does 7 blue seas dot com. I found out about these last 2 repositioning cruises (Oct06 and Nov07) by my travel agent. The Nov 07 cruise we got a balcony for less than $65 per day. The cruise has gone up a bit, but is still less than $100 per day. Great prices and we are going Eastern, Southern and Western Caribbean.

[deadzone1003]

No, I will be, god willing. I have a balcony for a 31 day repositioning cruise from Sydney, Australia to L.A on the Sapphire Princess. (I believed when this was offered, it was to San Francisco which would have been better.) This would be considered a repositioning cruise as Sapphire Princess is doing Australian cruises during our winters and returning to North America to prepare for their summer Alaskan duties. It will visit Melbourne, Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji, Pago Pago, Rarotonga, Tahiti, & Hawaii. The only problem with this type of repositioning cruise is that the balconies & higher are booked within 60-90 days of initial offering. The initial offering is basically unadvertised.(they don't need to) You have to follow the Princess forum to get in on the initial offering around June, about 22 months before embarkation. These repositioning cruises are usually sold-out with the exception of the inside cabins. The prices on these repositioning cruise is way above the average, but this is perhaps the most exotic of all the repositioning cruises around.

[crazy 4 cruising]

I'm going on my 1st Sept 07 when the Rhapsody not only repositions, but leaves :( Galveston to eventually end up in Asia. I am really looking forward to it--it's my RETIREMENT cruise!!!! Just wish I had the money to stay on it and go to Hawaii!! I have looked at others before and wanted to and am so glad that I found this within the first week it was open and got a GREAT JS.

Question--for those of you who do transatlantic--which is easier---going from US to Europe or coming from Europe to US. Do you book the flight through the crusie line or on your own? Someone had posted that they fly over & that seems to get the long flight out of the way. That's the part of going to Europe I hate--the long flights.

[Parrot Mom]

We are living in Romania for two years and are looking at a RCCL transatlantic to get home at the end of next year for the final trip. We will have our then 8 year old with us. Is the Adventure Ocean still open on these long trips. Are any of the services cut out or limited.

 

Thanks, Dana

 

You would just have to find a trans-Atlantic cruise going west to the US from the nearest port..Whether it's Rome, Barcelona, Venice, etc.. Many Europeans and Australians use this way I discovered to get to Florida for extended vacations or have winter homes there..

[Parrot Mom]

I'm going on my 1st Sept 07 when the Rhapsody not only repositions, but leaves :( Galveston to eventually end up in Asia. I am really looking forward to it--it's my RETIREMENT cruise!!!! Just wish I had the money to stay on it and go to Hawaii!! I have looked at others before and wanted to and am so glad that I found this within the first week it was open and got a GREAT JS.

Question--for those of you who do transatlantic--which is easier---going from US to Europe or coming from Europe to US. Do you book the flight through the crusie line or on your own? Someone had posted that they fly over & that seems to get the long flight out of the way. That's the part of going to Europe I hate--the long flights.

 

We have flown to Europe and spent a few days in Barcelona and London and then cruised back home. A friend did Miami to Barcelona and found it very tiring.. Going west..to the US you have the opportunity to visit several ports, often with day inbetween.. and then four or five days at sea before coming back.. If you go East you have your rest days at first and by the time you get off the ship you have forgotten those sea days.. We did book the flights through the cruise line,but paid a deviation fee so that we could fly to Europe the most direct way...and on the way home from Ft. Lauderdale...directly to Boston.....echh who needs a transfer somewhere else....I want to get home and to my own bed..lol

[Jane110]

Repo cruises are definitely not for me.....

 

After 2 days at sea (which I do enjoy) I'm ready to jump ship and see land.

 

I'm a traveler, I want to see new places, not just a ship.

 

So, if I found one that was about a 3 day cruise, that could be a fun getaway, but that's about all I could stand.

[Happy ks]

Jane110, that's exactly what we did with our little 3 day repo. Two sea days, one day in Astoria, Oregon and a day in Vancouver, it was a great long weekend trip. I'd love to reverse it in the fall, I adore Vancouver! I think we're lucky to live close enough to the Port of Los Angeles to take advantage of this.

[renataleo]

I Would Like To Know If I Can Go From Auckland (new Zealand) To Buenos Aires Or To Montevideo,january 2007,and If I Am Not Asking A Lot,somebody Can Helpe Me Find A Reposition From Brazil To Usa,or From Soulth America(any City)to Usa,after May 2007,pleaseeeeee,thanks A Lot

[WELSH WIZARDS]

I Would Like To Know If I Can Go From Auckland (new Zealand) To Buenos Aires Or To Montevideo,january 2007,and If I Am Not Asking A Lot,somebody Can Helpe Me Find A Reposition From Brazil To Usa,or From Soulth America(any City)to Usa,after May 2007,pleaseeeeee,thanks A Lot

HI, ITS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED SOMEWHERE EARLIER ON THIS TREAD BY SOMEONE, BUT MAY BE YOU MISSED IT SO I'LL REPEAT IT FOR YOU. VACATIONSTO GO IS A VERY GOOD , EASY TO USE SITE FOR FINDING REPOSITIONING OR TRANSATLANTIC CRUISES. JUST SEARCH DOWN THE LIST OF DESTINATIONS UNTIL YOU FIND EITHER , OR TRY PUTTING IN ANY PORT YOU WANT TO SAIL FROM OR TO ,AND THEY USUALLY HAVE ALMOST EVERYTHING THATS GOING. IF NOT EMAIL OR PHONE. I THINK ITS TOLL FREE FROM MOST PLACES. THEY ARE USUALLY VERY HELPFUL.

[twirlgirl]

We were on the Holland America Veendam sailing out Tampa on April 22 th. While we liked the ship we found that the ship had been in service for the season as a 7 day Western Caribean. Our trip was 17 days but the ships activites were still geared for 7 days. Not only that but the activites for 7 day passengers are geared for younger people and the cruise director never adjusted the activites for the older passengers on the longer cruise. Our ship had the Norovirus so things really shut down. The Food and Beverage department did adjust to the long cruise and the chefs were great. Many people complained about the lack of entertainment . Only 2 major production shows in 17 days because they only do 2 on a 7 day cruise. We enjoy playing tennis and had to beg them to set up nets for tennis instead of volley ball which 99 percent could not use. The only nets they had were volley ball nets which they lowered and the balls went thru the nets. At least we did get a little exercise chasing the balls down the deck. We did write a letter during the cruise but never heard from Holland America. Would we do another? Yes but would check with cruise line to make sure they were in tune with what passengers want on the longer cruise. We are traveling on Crystal thru the Panama Canal in December but we know they are always prepared as we did this before.