On the lookout for a cruise the place you possibly can actually relax and benefit from onboard facilities with out getting caught up within the hustle and bustle of a unique port of name day-after-day? Take into account a repositioning cruise.
Repositioning cruises are the title for one-way sailings that carry the ship to a brand new house port or a unique a part of the world to kick-start a brand new cruise season. As a result of these sailings typically cross oceans, you may probably expertise ports in a couple of cruise area — and have ample sea days to benefit from the spa, eating and leisure choices on board.
All the main cruise strains supply the occasional repositioning cruises, usually on ships that normally sail in locations with shorter seasons, corresponding to Alaska or the Mediterranean. Right here, we reply all of your questions on repositioning cruises.
Word: Listed fares had been correct on the time of publication and are topic to alter with out discover.
What’s a repositioning cruise?
Cruise ships chase heat, sunny climates, in order that they typically transfer — or “reposition” — from one a part of the world to a different when chilly climate units in. Cruise strains do not wish to sail ghost ships — vessels carrying solely crew and no paying passengers — throughout the ocean as a result of it is losing a possibility to earn cash. They’ve found out that, by discounting charges, they will fill the cabins on these oddball itineraries.
Repositioning cruises are by no means round-trip sailings. Your origin and vacation spot cities — or, in cruise-speak, embarkation and disembarkation ports — is not going to be the identical. You would possibly sail out of Florida and arrive in Barcelona or Southampton, England, permitting you to discover two continents on one trip. Or, you would possibly sail from Boston to Florida or from San Diego to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Repositioning cruises are identified for having a greater-than-average variety of days spent at sea, however it’s not as for those who by no means get off the ship. On a transatlantic crusing, port stops might be in Spain’s Canary Islands or Portugal’s Azores islands. A repositioning cruise from Southern California to Vancouver earlier than the Alaska cruise season would possibly sail up the Pacific Coast and go to cities like San Francisco and Astoria, Oregon.
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One other side that makes a repositioning cruise totally different from a typical crusing is that many of those itineraries are longer than per week. (That is by design. It takes longer to sail from Florida to Europe than it does to sail to and from the Caribbean.) Nonetheless, there may be lots of flexibility, simply as with reserving any cruise. The shortest you may discover is 4 or 5 days (for instance, Southern California to Vancouver) and the longest is round 28 nights (sure, nearly a complete month, normally between continents).
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Are repositioning cruises one-way?
Sure, repositioning cruises are one-way voyages that begin in a single area and finish in one other. As a result of they occur when a cruise ship switches locations primarily based on seasonality, these sailings typically contain journey to a unique a part of the world, which can lead to many consecutive days at sea.
The place and what time of 12 months do cruise ships reposition?
The excellent news is you possibly can e book a repositioning cruise practically six months out of the 12 months, spanning mid-spring and mid-fall months, that are the cruise strains’ shoulder seasons.
As a result of repositioning cruises should not all tied to the identical vacation spot, this solely widens your choices when it comes to geography. To check the place these will sail and when, it is advisable to know a vacation spot’s cruise season.
Take Europe for instance. Nearly all of Mediterranean and Baltic sailings happen within the spring via the early fall. Europe-based ships flee the area in the course of the winter, spending November via March within the heat Caribbean. Due to this fact, a ship might want to journey from the Caribbean to Europe in spring and return to the Caribbean by fall. Search for transatlantic repositioning cruises throughout these changeover months.
Some ships keep within the Caribbean year-round and solely reposition when the cruise line chooses to maneuver them to a unique house port. Nonetheless, ships crusing brief seasons in Alaska, South America, Canada/New England and Europe will all the time be repositioned at the least twice a 12 months.
And the Atlantic is not the one ocean that sees repositioning voyages. Some cruise strains supply transpacific crossings once they ship ships to or from Asia and Australia.
What occurs on a repositioning cruise?
On many repositioning cruises, you’ll not get off the ship as typically as you would possibly on a typical crusing as a result of there are not any ports in the course of the ocean you are crossing. These itineraries typically characteristic a string of sea days, so be ready to spend extra money and time on board.
Some folks love port-intensive cruises to allow them to shortly verify off a listing of nations and solely unpack as soon as. However for those who choose leisurely, lazy days, then a transoceanic repositioning cruise may be your ticket to utopia. This big stretch of time is a good alternative to crack open books you have been which means to learn, launch right into a knitting venture or lastly have time for each day exercises.
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Programming — corresponding to comedy nights, health courses, boutique buying, artwork auctions, wine tastings and night reveals — are as a lot part of a repositioning cruise as another crusing, solely you would possibly have the ability to absorb an entire lot greater than you usually would. Some cruise strains arrange themed sailings or invite visitor lecturers on board for additional sea-day actions.
You additionally would possibly wish to think about springing for a cruise line’s all-inclusive beverage bundle on a repositioning cruise. You may get higher worth than standard from the value since you’ll be ordering most of your drinks on board on account of fewer port stops.
One other worthwhile splurge is a balcony cabin. You may have easy accessibility to contemporary air with out the top-deck crowds and may benefit from the romance of gazing out on the seemingly countless ocean. Simply be sure you pack a sweater or sweatshirt as a result of shoulder seasons in these climates should not essentially sunbathing climate.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of a repositioning cruise?
Whenever you e book a repositioning cruise, you may probably be on board for at the least two weeks, permitting sufficient time for the ship to sail between the place it is at the moment primarily based and its new house port. Typically the voyage might be even longer, and it is probably you will not have greater than 5 or 6 port stops throughout that point.
Meaning a number of days on board, a lot of them consecutive. It is a bonus for anybody who enjoys stress-free at sea and would not thoughts exploring the ship for days at a time with out touching land; it is a drawback for anybody who sees cruises as merely transportation to discover new locations.
A bonus of repositionings is the value, which is commonly cheaper than what you’d pay for a round-trip crusing of the identical size or which has extra port days constructed into the schedule. Nonetheless, the price of the possibly costly one-way or open-jaw flights wanted earlier than and after a repositioning cruise might eat up many of the cash you’d save by reserving that sort of voyage.
Do you want a passport for a repositioning cruise?
Sure. The one time you do not want a passport to cruise is for those who’re booked on a closed-loop crusing — a voyage that departs from and returns to the identical port inside the U.S. Since repositioning cruises do not depart from and return to the identical port, the exception will not apply, and you may want a passport as a way to board the ship.
Are repositioning cruises cheaper than different cruises?
It depends upon the sailings to which you are evaluating them, however repositioning cruises are sometimes comparatively inexpensive. Though repositioning sailings can typically be two to a few weeks in size, you would possibly discover that they are inexpensive than an everyday weeklong voyage that begins and ends in the identical port of name. That is as a result of repositioning cruises supply principally sea days, throughout which you may be having fun with the ship as a substitute of lounging on the seaside or exploring museums.
The way to rating repositioning cruise offers
Most of the time, a repositioning cruise is an effective deal as a result of it prices a lot much less per evening than a typical crusing. It is because the one-way, sea day-heavy itineraries are much less fascinating to nearly all of cruisers, they usually happen throughout slower journey seasons.
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Vacationers who stay close to the embarkation or debarkation ports can save much more by solely having to purchase a one-way airplane ticket, moderately than a full spherical journey.
Repositioning cruises might be tough to search out on reserving websites. They typically are known as repositioning cruises or transatlantic or transpacific cruises. When ships reposition between ports within the U.S. and Canada, the one-off one-way itineraries may not be labeled something particular past Caribbean or Pacific Coast cruises.
Not the entire cruise line or on-line journey company reserving pages have an choice to verify a field and seek for repositioning cruises. If you cannot discover what you are on the lookout for, do an internet seek for the time period and the cruise line you want to sail. Even higher, name a journey agent or the cruise line’s reserving workers instantly, they usually may also help you discover the repositioning cruise that is greatest for you.
What are the most effective 2025 repositioning cruises?
14-night transatlantic on Wind Spirit
Windstar Cruises‘ Wind Spirit, a masted crusing ship, is repositioning from Lisbon to Barbados on Nov. 4. Nonetheless, you may solely wish to e book this voyage for those who’re occupied with crusing vessels otherwise you’re not simply bored. The ship is small, and there are not any port calls on the schedule.
Costs begin from $2,599 per particular person for a room with a window.
23-night Panama Canal on Coral Princess
For a prolonged voyage that may mean you can sail from Fort Lauderdale via the Panama Canal to Mexico after which up the California coast earlier than arriving in Canada, take a look at Princess Cruises‘ Coral Princess. Starting April 10, the ship is that includes a cruise that is longer than three weeks because it repositions to Vancouver for a season of Alaska sailings.
Fares start at $2,846 per particular person for an inside cabin. If you happen to’re brief on time, you possibly can decide as a substitute for a shorter voyage of 16 nights that additionally begins in Fort Lauderdale on April 10 and ends in Los Angeles earlier than the ship strikes on to Canada. Fares for the shorter cruise begin from $2,134 per particular person for ocean-view lodging. (Inside rooms are bought out.)
17-night French Polynesia and Hawaii on Celeb Edge
Celeb Cruises‘ Celeb Edge will relocate from its base in Sydney on April 20. Its final vacation spot is Vancouver, the place it will likely be stationed for a collection of Alaska voyages. On its approach, it’ll take passengers on a 17-night journey to expertise the fantastic thing about French Polynesia earlier than concluding the crusing in Honolulu. Port calls embody Paihia and Auckland in New Zealand and Raiatea, Papeete and Moorea in French Polynesia.
Charges begin at $3,069 per particular person for an inside cabin.
What are the most effective 2026 repositioning cruises?
13-night transatlantic on Carnival Glory
This two-week repositioning voyage on Carnival Cruise Line‘s Carnival Glory departs Barcelona on April 11, 2026, and gives simply 4 port calls. The crusing will go to Alicante and Malaga in Spain, in addition to the British territory of Gibraltar and Celebration Key, Carnival’s new seaside vacation spot within the Bahamas. The voyage concludes in Port Canaveral, close to Orlando, which is the ship’s seasonal house base in Florida.
Costs begin from $739 per particular person for an inside cabin.
13-night transatlantic on Rotterdam
On Oct. 18, 2026, Holland America‘s latest ship, Rotterdam, units sail on a transatlantic repositioning from Amsterdam within the Netherlands to Florida’s Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. These ports bookend calls on Bruges, Belgium; England’s Isle of Portland and Cornwall (Falmouth); and Bermuda.
Costs start at $1,229 per particular person for an inside cabin.
14-night transatlantic on Norwegian Star
Norwegian Cruise Line‘s Norwegian Star will relocate from the Mediterranean to Miami on Nov. 20, 2026, providing a repositioning cruise that begins in Barcelona. It calls on Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Motril and Cadiz (Seville) in Spain, in addition to Madeira (Funchal) alongside the way in which.
Fares begin at $1,233 per particular person for an inside cabin.
16-night Panama Canal transit on Seven Seas Grandeur
For a repositioning crusing that transits one of many world’s most spectacular trendy engineering marvels and gives a number of port stops, take a look at Regent Seven Seas‘ 16-night Panama Canal crossing on Seven Seas Grandeur. Departing from Miami on Dec. 29, 2026, passengers can take a look at Grand Cayman; Cartagena, Colombia; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Corinto, Nicaragua; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and San Diego earlier than reaching Los Angeles.
Costs for this voyage on Seven Seas Grandeur, an all-inclusive, all-suite vessel, begin at $10,099 per particular person.
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