Repositioning Cruises
RepositionCruises.com has all “Repositioning Cruises” for 2014 and 2015 as dates and itineraries officially announced by the world’s major cruise lines. here you’ll get your answers to questions’ like “What is a Repositioning Cruise”, what are the best destinations, how cheap are the prices, which are the best lines and ships, how to find them, why and when to take them, what are the benefits and disadvantages, what are the best or cheapest routes.
Relocation cruises 2014-2015 deals are also a pointer where, when and what are all the new cruise ships debuts. Another clue they give is about the lines’ itinerary changes or major changes in destinations and operational regions. Whatever the type of reposition cruises might be, be sure that you’ll get a best price deal on visiting some the world’s most popular vacation travel destinations!
What is a “Repositioning Cruise” - definition
“Repositioning Cruise” is one-off sea/ocean voyage that cruise passenger ships make when transferring from one operational region to another. Usually, this is done in Spring and Fall, often each year. But there are some exceptions of these “usual times”. Your off-season vacations will be marked by discounted cheap rates, big (yet not crowded) cruise ships, lots of “lazy leisure days” to enjoy the tranquility of the sea. Ship relocation deals are the preferable option for “highly addicted” travelers to enjoy a truly special and most affordable sea cruising vacation.
The special ship relocation voyages always feature an one-way itinerary (connecting different embarkation and disembarkation ports) since cruise ships relatively often change their sailing areas due to economic reasons. Another most prominent feature of all these “ship transition cruises” deals is the bargain price – they all are really really cheap in comparison to the ship’s regular cruise rates.
Repositioning cruise deals are rarely called that way by travel agents or in the cruise lines brochures. One of the most popular substitute names officially used by the cruise travel industry’s representatives is “Discovery Voyage”. The list of synonym names for the repositioning cruise deals includes: “Relocation Cruises”, “Transit-” or “Transition Cruises”, “Crossings” (also with “Eastbound” and “Westbound”). Of course, the most traditional (by definition) is “One-Way”, and also by destination - “Panama Canal”, “Suez Canal”, “Transpacific” and “Transatlantic”.
As to reasons why to embark on a relocation cruise – there are so many big ones. The most simple way to group all these special voyages is to name them “different cruises“. So many people dream to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a beautiful liner. So many dream to visit and sail the mighty Alaska. Or the mesmerizing Hawaii. Or to cross and experience the Panama Canal engineering miracle.
Repositioning Cruises
When considering this unique type of travel vacation themed as “Repositioning Cruises”, know that it’s all about long and exciting voyages, transiting famous canals, crossing the world’s biggest oceans. You’ll be most probably sailing coast to coast, often from one sea to another. It’s about comfort and impeccable service on some of the world’s best cruise liners. It’s about all the fun you can get on up to 3-weeks transitions visiting different continents, changing cold with worm climates. It’s about big-size swimming pool and Jacuzzi experiences, gourmet cuisine, bingo and casino thrills, onboard duty-free shopping. Some ships even offer rock climbing, surfing, hovering and ice-skating at sea. These are two Wiki links to their directories for Relocation and Transfer, where you can search many (although not cruising related) categories on re-position.
Why to take reposition cruises?
- It’s a longer, often Transoceanic voyage
- The itinerary has only a few ports of call. Destinations are from the “special and exotic” category, featuring Africa, South America, Transatlantic and Transpacific, US East Coast and Caribbean, often Asia and Australia.
- Top-option for “best fun” experiences on bigger passenger ships, with a lot more sea days than on a normal voyage.
- Irresistibly cheap rates - most affordable to cheap cruise rates on both mainstream and top luxury ships when they relocate in Spring and Fall each year.
- These are all low-season discounted deals on alluringly low priced cruises.
Still, whoever is blessed with enough free time and an adventurous spirit may enjoy each year at least one of the not so many repositioning cruise ships.
Cheap repositioning cruises – examples, benefits and disadvantages
- Passenger ships sailing during the hot summer in Alaska relocate in Fall to the Caribbean Sea region through Panama Canal, or to Hawaii and then to Australia or Asia for their winter seasons.
- Ships from Northern Europe sail to the Mediterranean Sea or cross the Atlantic Ocean to operate round-trip itineraries leaving from USA ports (Florida nad New York mostly) or to Caribbean for round-trips from Barbados or Puerto Rico.
- Ships move from South America to Florida (for Caribbean) or Transatlantic to Europe (Baltic or Mediterranean) in early Spring.
- Another exotic destination is Africa. Search for ships sailing along the Africa’s east coast. In Fall they will be departing from UK (Southampton, mostly) to Cape Town or Mombasa. In spring they will return (usually departing from Cape Town South Africa) to UK ot the Mediterranean.
Benefits
- They are cheap! The lower to absolutely cheapest price is the most important factor for the popularity of these special deals. The average cost of a repositioning cruise is up to 50 percent less compared to a typical round-trip sailing from the same port. And the best index is the “Price Per Person Per Day” – it could be as low as US $40!
- All relocation cruises offer a full set of entertainment and dining options onboard – they are just like the regular ones. This is the perfect chance to sample all the stuff on board since you are going to spend so much time at sea. There are even more onboard activities while ships reposition! The list of the “bonuses” includes guest lecturers, top comedians and numerous specially themed activities and games to entertain guests.
- And yes – the repositioning cruise ships are almost always not crowded.
Disadvantages
- Too much time aboard the ship instead of visiting different ports of call (sea intensive as opposed to port intensive). Some find it pretty boring.
- Embarkation and disembarkation not in the same port increases the expenses as to additional flight fares added to the cruise ticket price.
- Spending a lot of time aboard the ship might tempt you to enjoy more “money spending fun” by splurging on bar drinks and gambling in the casino.
- The duration of relocation cruises - some last up to 18 days, and most people cannot afford so much time off work.
- You may experience occasional “bumpy ride” due to rough waters (especially on smaller ships), and often “choppy weather” as your ship transits from one part of the globe to another. The “changing weather” issue will also has its impact on your cruise packing list, you know!
What time of year are the most cheap Repositioning Cruises?
Most of them are operated in Spring and Fall. Some exceptions are a few ship relocation itineraries in the end of August, and some very rare very late re-position sailings in December, January or February. The best and most busy months with readily available and cheap relocation cruise deals are April-May, and September-October.
What are the best Repositionig Cruises?
When it happens that you have to choose what is the best, there’s this rule number one stating “expect the best from the best”. When you book on major cruise line ships, expect cheap rates, best value for money indices, lots of vessels in the fleet to choose from, great destinations and service.
The biggest lines and operators with regularly offered reposition sailings are Celebrity, Princess, Holland America, NCL Norwegian, Costa, MSC and Royal Caribbean. Recently, Carnival also decided to do a lot of ship transitions moving around several of the “Fun Ships” from one place to another. All these company decisions are made with economic considerations in mind. Lines do cruise ships repositioning to improve profits by departing from different ports or to more attractive destinations.
Some of these lines relocate ships each year crossing the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and USA (Florida, New York, Boston) or South America (Brazil, Argentina). Some reposition ships between Alaska and Australia, or between Alaska and Florida ports via Panama Canal transits. Some lines offer transiting through the Suez Canal on cruise ships repositioning between Europe and Asia. So what you gotta do is choose a destination and departure port. If you are big fan of a particular line – just search its page here – it is that simple.
If you ask “the best of the best” not as best prices, but rather as experiences, the simple answer to this question is “luxury cruises”. Generally, luxury cruise deals offer smaller ship cruise travel marked by sophisticated, all inclusive, superb service experiences. The list of top luxury lines includes Crystal, Seabourn, Azamara and Oceania. The more “affordable luxury” options are on Cunard, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America lines. If you simply in love with budget travel deals, save a ton of money and book deals on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Costa, MSC – the cheapest of them all. Of course, the savings you can always spend on “ship drinks”, onboard gambling, Spa and massages and what not - the choice is always yours to make!
How much do repositioning cruises cost?
It depends on the itinerary as destination and length, but an one-way Transatlantic could cost as little as US $60 Per Person per day (double occupancy, fares inclusive of taxes and fees). You might pay 50% or even less for an one-way reposition cruise than the normal price for a round-trip with multiple ports of call.
What adds to these low prices is your one-way return flight fare. Still, you may purchase a cheap fly-cruise package with the flight fare included in the total price and a convenient departure from major US ports to UK or the Mediterranean’s biggest port cities – Rome, Barcelona and Venice being among the cheapest end-points. The same goes with the Hawaii and Alaska.
Never forget that almost all relocation cruises are operated in low season, so to buy discount cheap cruise and stay packages is always a quite reasonable option. You’ll be able to enjoy a budget-friendly off-season vacation to not so crowded places in some of the most charming and colorful seasons – the always new lush-luxuriant Spring and the melancholic-romantic Fall.
Repositioning cruise ships and lines
Our main page is also a hub-page for the website. The information regarding regions (destinations), lines and ships operating reposition cruises is segmented in the links below. By following our links you will be able to compare all the lines’ off-season discounted, one-way cruises. You can also compare their prices, and to have fun planning your affordable “budget friendly” vacation for this or the next year.
- by line – Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Cunard, Disney, HAL, MSC, NCL, Princess, Royal Caribbean.
- itineraries and destinations – Alaska (Vancouver, Seattle), Transatlantic crossings, Panama Canal transits, Suez Canal transits, Europe (Mediterranean, UK), Florida, New York, Hawaii, Australia (New Zealand).
Visit us again soon for latest Repositioning Cruises 2014-2015 updates on itineraries and prices. Since RepositionCruises.com don’t offer bookings, we can only wish you best of luck with the real deals – good cabin availability, and good luck finding and booking them with the cheapest rates possible! Repositioning cruise ships will surprise- will charm you, really, with their deals prices. And if you are a first-timer – don’t miss this rare opportunity to sample what the ship cruising is like – for a totally cheap price! Enjoy you “happily cheap” vacations, and best of luck with the damn prices out there!