In search of a cruise the place you possibly can really relax and reap the benefits of onboard facilities with out getting caught up within the hustle and bustle of a distinct port of name daily? Contemplate a repositioning cruise.
Repositioning cruises are the identify for one-way sailings that deliver the ship to a brand new residence port or a distinct a part of the world to kick-start a brand new cruise season. As a result of these sailings usually cross oceans, you will possible expertise ports in multiple cruise area — and have ample sea days to reap the benefits of the spa, eating and leisure choices on board.
All the key cruise traces provide the occasional repositioning cruises, sometimes on ships that normally sail in locations with shorter seasons, reminiscent of Alaska or the Mediterranean. Right here, we reply all of your questions on repositioning cruises.
Notice: Listed fares had been correct on the time of publication and are topic to vary with out discover.
What’s a repositioning cruise?
Cruise ships chase heat, sunny climates, in order that they usually transfer — or “reposition” — from one a part of the world to a different when chilly climate units in. Cruise traces 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’ll 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 — won’t be the identical. You may sail out of Florida and arrive in Barcelona or Southampton, England, permitting you to discover two continents on one trip. Or, you may sail from Boston to Florida or from San Diego to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Repositioning cruises are recognized for having a greater-than-average variety of days spent at sea, but it surely’s not as if you happen to by no means get off the ship. On a transatlantic sailing, port stops may very well 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 may sail up the Pacific Coast and go to cities like San Francisco and Astoria, Oregon.
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One other facet that makes a repositioning cruise completely different from a typical crusing is that many of those itineraries are longer than every 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’s a number of flexibility, simply as with reserving any cruise. The shortest you will discover is 4 or 5 days (for instance, Southern California to Vancouver) and the longest is round 28 nights (sure, virtually 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 usually contain journey to a distinct a part of the world, which can lead to many consecutive days at sea.
The place and what time of yr do cruise ships reposition?
The excellent news is you possibly can ebook a repositioning cruise practically six months out of the yr, spanning mid-spring and mid-fall months, that are the cruise traces’ shoulder seasons.
As a result of repositioning cruises should not all tied to the identical vacation spot, this solely widens your choices by way of geography. To examine the place these will sail and when, you must know a vacation spot’s cruise season.
Take Europe for example. The vast majority of Mediterranean and Baltic sailings happen within the spring by the early fall. Europe-based ships flee the area through the winter, spending November by 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.
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Some ships keep within the Caribbean year-round and solely reposition when the cruise line chooses to maneuver them to a distinct residence port. Nevertheless, ships crusing brief seasons in Alaska, South America, Canada/New England and Europe will at all times be repositioned no less than twice a yr.
And the Atlantic is not the one ocean that sees repositioning voyages. Some cruise traces provide transpacific crossings after 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 usually as you may on a typical crusing as a result of there are not any ports in the midst of the ocean you are crossing. These itineraries usually 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 an inventory of nations and solely unpack as soon as. However if you happen to want leisurely, lazy days, then a transoceanic repositioning cruise could be your ticket to utopia. This big stretch of time is a superb alternative to crack open books you’ve got been which means to learn, launch right into a knitting challenge or lastly have time for each day exercises.
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Programming — reminiscent of comedy nights, health lessons, boutique procuring, artwork auctions, wine tastings and night reveals — are as a lot part of a repositioning cruise as some other crusing, solely you may have the ability to absorb an entire lot greater than you usually would. Some cruise traces arrange themed sailings or invite visitor lecturers on board for further sea-day activities.
You additionally may wish to contemplate springing for a cruise line’s all-inclusive beverage package on a repositioning cruise. You may get higher worth than typical from the worth since you’ll be ordering most of your drinks on board as a consequence of fewer port stops.
One other worthwhile splurge is a balcony cabin. You may have quick access to recent air with out the top-deck crowds and may benefit from the romance of gazing out on the seemingly infinite ocean. Simply you’ll want to 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 ebook a repositioning cruise, you will possible be on board for no less than two weeks, permitting sufficient time for the ship to sail between the place it is at present primarily based and its new residence port. Generally the voyage will be even longer, and it is possible you will not have greater than 5 – 6 port stops throughout that point.
Meaning a lot of days on board, lots 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 worth, 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. Nevertheless, the price of the possibly costly one-way or open-jaw flights wanted earlier than and after a repositioning cruise may eat up a lot 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 need a passport to cruise is if you happen to’re booked on a closed-loop crusing — a voyage that departs from and returns to the identical port throughout 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 with the intention to board the ship.
Are repositioning cruises cheaper than different cruises?
It is determined by the sailings to which you are evaluating them, however repositioning cruises are sometimes comparatively reasonably priced. Regardless that repositioning sailings can usually be two to a few weeks in size, you may discover that they are inexpensive than a daily weeklong voyage that begins and ends in the identical port of name. That is as a result of repositioning cruises provide largely sea days, throughout which you will be having fun with the ship as a substitute of lounging on the seaside or exploring museums.
Learn how 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 reside close to the embarkation or debarkation ports can save much more by solely having to purchase a one-way aircraft ticket, relatively than a full spherical journey.
Repositioning cruises will be difficult to seek out on reserving websites. They usually 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 won’t be labeled something particular past Caribbean or Pacific Coast cruises.
Not all the 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 in search of, do an internet seek for the time period and the cruise line you want to sail. Even higher, name a travel agent or the cruise line’s reserving employees instantly, they usually can assist you discover the repositioning cruise that is finest 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. Nevertheless, you will solely wish to ebook this voyage if you happen to’re thinking about 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 lengthy voyage that may let you sail from Fort Lauderdale by 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. For those who’re brief on time, you possibly can choose 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
Celebrity Cruises‘ Celeb Edge will relocate from its base in Sydney on April 20. Its final vacation spot is Vancouver, the place will probably be stationed for a sequence of Alaska voyages. On its manner, it should take passengers on a 17-night trip to expertise the great thing about French Polynesia earlier than concluding the crusing in Honolulu. Port calls embrace 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 presents 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 residence 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 fashionable engineering marvels and presents a lot 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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