Seasonal Cruise Ship Repositioning Lower Prices

In a few months, many cruise ships will start finding new homes for the summer. While some cruises in the Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera are in full swing year-round, many ships in those regions now will soon move to Europe and Alaska for the spring, summer and fall seasons.

The movements of these ships from one area of the world to another are known as repositioning cruises, which means lower prices. Two reasons for the low fares are the length of the cruises and the fact that more than half of the time is spent at sea instead of visiting ports of call.

Carnival’s largest ship to date, the 3,600-passenger Dream, will sail two trips in the Mediterranean before it moves over to this side of the Atlantic on a repositioning cruise

Norwegian Cruise Line has one of the shorter cruises on this list with its ship Norwegian Jewel. The cruise is 11 days from Miami to London leaving on April 17. Travelers are at sea eight of those days with only two port visits before arriving in Dover, U.K. The low starting price makes up for the lack of ports. Packages start at $399 US with balconies at $849 US.

Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas is sailing from Galveston, Tex., to London on April 19. It’s a 14-day cruise with nine days at sea. Ports include Bermuda, Azores, Cork, Ireland and Cherbourg, France before arriving in Southampton, U.K. Starting price is $739 Cdn.

Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, a sister ship to Freedom and Liberty, the three biggest ships in the world, has a 13-day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on April 12 to Southampton starting at $709 Cdn. The cruise has nine days at sea.

There is a back-to-back cruise on the Princess Ruby that provides a little bit of everything. Add the Ruby’s seven-day Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on April 11 to its 16-day Atlantic cruise to Barcelona, Spain and you have a 23-day cruise starting at $1,800 Cdn. If you just sail the Atlantic cruise it’s $1,600 so you’re really getting the Caribbean portion for just $200 more. This one has 10 days at sea, which is less than half the cruise’s duration and two of those days are in the Caribbean.

In the premier class of ships, Celebrity’s Century leaves Miami on April 25 on a 14-day transatlantic sailing to Amsterdam in The Netherlands with nine days at sea. Prices start at $789 Cdn with a suite available at $1,979 Cdn. Compare that to the repositioning of their new ship, the Celebrity Solstice, and the price is a lot different. New means higher prices. A 15-night cruise on the Solstice to Rome departing on April 19 has a starting price of $2,009. Other reasons for the price difference are fewer days at sea and more ports.

Still with premier class ships, Holland America’s new Eurodam is sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen, Denmark on an 18-day trip leaving on April 25. Prices start at $1,050 Cdn. Eurodam will be at sea for nine days and the trip includes an overnight stay in Lisbon.