Repositioning Cruises

Fall and Spring are important times for cruises. These two seasons are in fact the peak time of the year for repositioning cruises. What is a repositioning cruise? While certain ships spend all year sailing on the same itinerary, or at minimum in the same region, others relocate several times a year in line with the season. For example, they may go from a New England/Canada itinerary, and then to the Caribbean, or Hawaii or Alaska. Cruise liners sell these one way itineraries (generally at a discount) instead of sailing the ships empty without passengers. These types of voyages are known as repositioning cruises. They frequently offer themes with subjects that range from theatre to wine tasting, or they offer an enrichment option like a guest lecturer for example. Since ocean crossing world voyages have increased in popularity, so has this unique cruising style.

Want to win a cruise?

One way would be to do searches in google for things like Repositioning Cruises in 2009 or Holland America repositioning cruises. Look for regions which have highly specific seasons each and every year. For example, cruise liners that spend summer time in Alaska don't have a choice except to relocate each fall during September or October. At that time, they will often feature unique trips along the coast of California, or to Hawaii or even through the Panama Canal. Just the opposite would happen during the spring time. You can also keep an eye open for transAtlantic cruises when ships have to reposition from the East Coast (for example New York or Florida) to Europe and offer a season of Mediterranean cruises, for example. This often happens during the spring or fall. Other types of repositioning cruises will travel to Asia, or the Middle East or Africa.

On a reposition cruise, you can travel all across the Caribbean or even see a whole coast line all at one time. You can cross the Atlantic Ocean stopping off  in unusual locales, such as Greenland. Or you can even go to several different cruise areas or even different continents on one cruise. Repositioning cruises will many times include lots of days at sea, which provides an even more relaxing vacation since you are not constantly hopping from one port to the next. Plus, when ships reposition, you can really save money. The per day cost for these repositioning cruises are frequently way cheaper than a regular cruise would be. There have even been16 night trans-Atlantic cruises going from around $599!