Just like the animals with which they share the oceans, cruise ships do not stay in one place year round. Instead, as summer turns to winter (and vice versa) the ships migrate from their current gateway port to a new one to embark on a new season of cruising. Loathe to lose money on any trip during the year, companies do not want to make this trip with an empty liner. Thus the repositioning cruise was born.
Repositioning cruises have in the past been treated as something of a throwaway voyage both by cruise companies and by passengers. For people looking for a cheap cruise with a difference however, they are certainly worth looking into. Here is a quick look at some of the pros and cons of taking a repositioning cruise.
The biggest single benefit of taking a repositioning cruise is the price. These voyages are heavily discounted compared to what you would pay for a regular cruise due to the fact they are a one way trip. A side benefit of this is that you will get to spend as much time in two different cities as you please, one at the beginning of the cruise and one at the end. For some travelers a Transatlantic repositioning cruise could be the gateway to exploring Europe for example.
One problem with repositioning cruises has always been that as the primary goal is ship movement cruise companies have wanted to get the liner to its new port of call in the fastest way possible. A result of that has been a cruise with plenty of time for rest and relaxation and exploring the ship, but very little in the way of stopping at ports on the way to the destination. In recent years however, this seems to have been changing. Take the 2010 repositioning of the Holland America Maasdam for example. On its journey from Dover (England) to Boston, there are featured stops in Amsterdam, Liverpool, Dublin and Reykjavik among others. This is the kind of new repositioning cruise that companies are moving towards.
A big drawback of cruises of this nature can be the length. As ships are generally being moved over huge distances it is rare to see a repositioning cruise that is under 12 nights in length, and some can be as upwards of 3 weeks. Also, as ships only need to be moved a couple of times per year it would make sense that you have to be extremely flexible with dates in order to find one that matches your schedule perfectly.
Repositioning cruises are certainly not for everyone, but for the right person they offer an interesting alternative. When looking for a cheap cruise you could do worse than having a quick search online and seeing if there is a cruise of this type that makes sense for your schedule and budget.
Photo via StGrundy
