So Many Repositioning Cruisers Get These 5 Things Wrong

So Many Repositioning Cruisers Get These 5 Things Wrong

Cruise lines charge less per day for repositioning  cruises than ANY of their other cruises, making   them some of the most inexpensive and appealing to  many cruisers. But I’ve met so many people on them   discovering too late that being inexpensive  alone is not a good reason for doing them,  

As they’d been caught out or fallen into  some traps. The same ones I see repeatedly. Welcome aboard, I’m Gary Bembridge helping  you to get cruising right, including how   to spot and avoid the repositioning  cruise mistakes most people make. The first, and basic, thing that I see that trips  

People up is misunderstanding what  a repositioning cruise is and isn’t. A repositioning cruise is when cruise lines  move their ships from one major cruising   region to another at the beginning and end  of each season when the weather changes,   basically chasing the warm weather. The most common repositioning cruises  

Are between the Caribbean,  the busiest cruising region,   and the Mediterranean and Alaska, the  next two biggest cruising regions. There are other repositioning cruises that now  go to and from more far flung, and exotic places,   as new regions grow in cruising popularity.  For example, a friend of mine went on a  

Virgin Voyages repositioning cruise when they  sent the ship at the end of the Mediterranean   summer season though the Suez Canal and Asia onto  Australia for the summer season “Down Under”. I am now also seeing ships being repositioned  to be based in Tokyo Japan and Cape Town  

South Africa for seasons there. And of  course, there are repositioning cruises   of expedition ships to and from Antarctica and  the Arctic when those seasons start and end. It does though surprise me that people don’t  always fully grasp that repositioning cruises  

Are one-way trips, and passengers on them must  fly long haul one way to either join the ship   or get back home, as there will not be a ship  doing the return leg for many, many months. They are not for people who want to avoid flying.

This lack of clarity in many  passengers’ minds is also   evident to me as people keep asking  me about when they can go on them. Many assume they are available at any time  of the year. They are not. As I mentioned,  

Repositioning cruises only happen at the beginning  and the end of the cruise region seasons. So, around March/ April time the ships are sent  from the Caribbean to Europe or Alaska, and then   all are sent back in October/ November time.  You can’t do them at any other time of the year.

This means repositioning cruises are not sailing  at the best time of the year for any region,   and often you’re not going to have  sunny days, could have rougher seas,   and more disruptions from weather and  sea conditions meaning missing ports.

But even when people understand this, some are  not factoring in what commitment they require. Repositioning cruises are longer cruises. They  are often 10 days to two weeks for the Caribbean   to Mediterranean and Alaska ones, and many weeks  if you’re heading down to places like Australia.

And most of that will be sea days  with a few ports at either end. So,   maybe only 3 or 4 ports in a 10- to 14-day  cruise. The purpose is to get the ship to   a new location as fast as possible, stopping  at a couple of places on the way to refuel,  

And make it a little bit more  interesting for the passengers. For example, the last repositioning cruise  I did was 12-nights on P&O Britannia from   Southampton to Barbados. We called in at Madeira,  and then into two Caribbean ports before Barbados. Although repositioning cruises are  mostly sea days with few ports,  

There are some where you can see  some incredible things. For example,   the repositioning cruises to and from the  Caribbean and Alaska go through the Panama Canal. A few ships sail Northern Europe  and not the Mediterranean,   and reposition with a stop or two in  Iceland, Greenland, and New York on  

Their way to the Caribbean, like friends did  on Holland America Nieuw Statendam last year. It amazed me on the ones I did how many people I  met did not like sea days but still booked due to  

The price, or had only been port intensive cruises  with no sea days and were finding them boring. I found the people who were enjoying  repositioning cruises saw the ship   more as the destination rather than the  ports, or saw it as a chance to unwind.

But for people that do like sea days,  there are several unique features   of repositioning cruises that I saw people  overlooking or not taking full advantage of. First, while repositioning cruises are limiting  on when you can go and where you can go,  

There is a staggering amount of choice  on who you can go with. Pretty much every   single cruise line from the big mass market,  mainstream lines like MSC, Royal Caribbean,   Norwegian and Carnival, right up to  the ultra-luxury lines like Crystal,   Seabourn, Silversea, all reposition their  ships between the regions twice a year.

So, your choice is enormous. Big ships,   little ships, premium ships,  anything that you want to do. Second, something else people do not  take advantage of enough is that new   cruise ships are built in Europe, but most  of them are deployed in the Caribbean. This  

Means either when they leave the shipyard  or not long after they are repositioned   to the Caribbean. So, this is a great way to  try new ships with lots of time to explore. Friends of mine, and a few cruise vloggers,  

Do that all the time and did that on ships like  Wonder of the Seas, Norwegian Prima and so on. Third, because as I mentioned at the  start the cost per day is cheaper than   a line usually charges, some cruisers,  including several friends of mine,  

Use that to try a line that they’ve always  want to try but couldn’t afford normally,   or upgrade into a fancy cabin or  suite that is usually out of range. My friends Graham and Pete went on the Norwegian  Viva repositioning recently in the Haven  

“ship-within-as-ship”, something they would  never be able to afford on any other sailing. Fourth, for solo travellers happy  to cruise solo on a longer cruise,   they are often attractive either  because the fares are lower,   so the pain of the surcharge is less, but  also often they can snag low solo supplements.

Fifth, as they tend not to be sold out as the  sea days and time makes them less appealing,   they can be good for travellers who like and  can wait for late deals as they often have them.

The sixth, and I must admit something I saw as  a plus, was there are usually fewer passengers   than on other sailings and they are not full,  so are less busy, with fewer lines, and it’s   easier to get into popular restaurants, shows or  ride attractions on the big resort-style ships.  

Also, there is time to try everything. I  found on big ships with lots of features,   like when I was on a regular cruise on Norwegian  Viva and Symphony of the Seas I did not get to see   and try everything as was off sightseeing.  On a repositioning cruise there is time.

There was something I came across some  people on the repositioning cruises   I did get a bit stressed about  though, and it involved money. Some got caught up in the incredibly  good value fares and booked,   but had not considered the real cost.

The trip is long, 10 days to two weeks,  so costs like drinks, gratuities,   speciality dining, Wi-Fi and then attractions  like shopping or the casino to fill up time   will mount up. Also, on ships without a  guest laundry may mean sending that in.

But the big hit for many was the  one-way flight. These can be expensive,   and many had not checked, factored  that in, nor booked early to get   better pricing. For some it wiped  out the benefit of the lower fare.

If you’re not sure if a repositioning cruise is  for you but wonder if a transatlantic on Cunard   Queen Mary 2 may be, join me in this video  where I talk about the 10 things people get   wrong on those starting with why the most common  myth people have is wrong. See you over there.

Cruise lines charge less per day for repositioning cruises than ANY of their other cruises, making them some of the most inexpensive and appealing to many cruisers. But I’ve met so many people on them discovering too late that being inexpensive alone is not a good reason for doing them, as they’d been caught out or fallen into some traps. The same ones I see repeatedly.

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00:00 Start
00:40 What are repositioning cruises?
02:12 When can you do repositioning cruises?
02:58 How long are repositioning cruises?
04:42 Upsides of repositioning cruises?
07:58 Budget watch outs of repositioning cruises?