\u201cThat\u2019s right, you and a guest will enjoy a 12-day cruise from Lisbon, Portugal, to Florida aboard a super-luxury ocean liner. Your cruise will include a balcony cabin with twice-daily maid service; three gourmet meals every day; unlimited Champagne, wine, cocktails, and beer; daily trivia and bridge games; fascinating lectures; afternoon cocktail hours featuring exquisite tapas; a fully equipped fitness center, nightly entertainment, and two days in beautiful Bermuda. All this can be yours (more oohs and aahs) if \u2026. the Price is You-Know-What.\u201d (Applause.)<\/p>\n
What would you bid? Fifteen thousand? Ten thousand?<\/p>\n
If so, you would hear the dreaded buzzer indicating you overbid.<\/p>\n
The correct bid? A mere $3,200, which comes out to $133.33 per person per day, not counting airfare.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the price my wife and I paid for the above cruise aboard the Azamara Onward in November. The fare even included staff gratuities, and our travel agent graciously threw in a $300 credit to spend onboard. That\u2019s an incredible value, considering that a 12-day Mediterranean cruise in October 2024, on the same ship in the same room is listed on vacationstogo.com for $10,320 \u2014 $430 per person per day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no easy feat these days to find a room in a mid-priced hotel and three meals for $133 per person, so how did we land such a bargain?<\/p>\n
We booked a repositioning cruise.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/champagne-toast.-Silversea.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Silversea<\/p><\/div>\n
Twice yearly, the major cruise lines \u2014 including MSC, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Holland-America, Celebrity, Virgin, Disney, Azamara, Oceania, Regent and Silversea\u2014 reposition their ships.<\/p>\n
In the fall, liners that spent the summer calling on European ports are redeployed across the pond to Florida, where they will spend the winter season visiting Caribbean islands, Mexico, and Latin America.<\/p>\n
The ships generally take 12 to 14 days to cross the Atlantic. Most depart from Barcelona, Rome, or Lisbon. En route, one or two stops are made on islands like the Canaries, Madeira, Azores, Bermuda, or Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Enjoy French cuisine at the elegant La Dame on the Silversea. Photo: Silversea<\/p><\/div>\n
In the spring, the ships return to Europe, making the same stops along the way.<\/p>\n
Because they know most passengers prefer cruises that stop at a different port every day, cruise companies offer steep discounts to entice travelers onto repositioning cruises. And since they don\u2019t have to pay to dock their ships in different ports daily, the cruises cost less to operate than standard cruises.<\/p>\n
Repositioning cruises are a win-win for the cruise companies and travelers who prefer days at sea where they don\u2019t have to rush off the ship every morning and be herded onto buses that take them on excursions to visit yet another rum distillery, beach, museum, or cathedral. Because there\u2019s nothing to see but the sea, you can\u2019t help but relax. There\u2019s no rush. There\u2019s nothing frenetic about it. If you\u2019re one of those people who has to be on the move at all times, you can always take advantage of the walking track or head to the fitness center.<\/p>\n
Repositioning cruises are targeted toward a specific demographic \u2014 retirees who love the days at sea and have the time to cross the ocean at a leisurely pace \u2014 so the sailings rarely sell out. Our ship, which can accommodate 680 passengers, had just 429 passengers. Ninety percent appeared to be at least 65 or older. Many told me they were on their tenth, twentieth, or forty-third repositioning cruise in the case of an Australian woman.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Silver Dawn. Photo: Silversea<\/p><\/div>\n
During the day, the pool deck was mercifully free of annoyances found on standard cruises, e.g., screaming children, wet t-shirt contests, and music blasting from giant speakers, making it easy to concentrate on a good book, converse with new friends or enjoy a snooze in the late autumn sun.<\/p>\n
Fellow passengers who have taken multiple repositioning cruises told me that the weather can vary wildly. Cruises in October or May generally encounter highs in the mid-seventies\u2014cruises in November or April average ten or so degrees cooler. The key is to pack clothes you can layer, shed, or don as the weather dictates.<\/p>\n
Is a repositioning cruise for you? If your idea of a perfect vacation is outdoor sports, a tropical beach, or sightseeing, the answer is no, you probably won\u2019t. If you prefer vacations that give you free time, you love being catered to 24\/7, and you can view the ship rather than a different port every day as your primary source of entertainment, you probably will.<\/p>\n
How much can you expect to pay? It depends on the cruise line, the level of service it offers (not all include free booze and gratuities as ours did), and the room category you book. As I\u2019m writing this, in mid-December 2023, Vacations To Go, the company we booked our cruise, is featuring more than 30 repositioning cruises in October\/ November from Europe to Florida on its website.<\/p>\n
Starting prices (per person, double occupancy) range from as little as $529 for an inside cabin on Royal Caribbean \u2014 less than $50 per person, per day \u2014 to $370 a day for a suite on Silversea, one of the world\u2019s priciest lines, favored by travelers who demand nothing but the best. Airfare to\/from port cities isn\u2019t included.<\/p>\n
If you like to plan ahead and want to lock in your price on a specific cruise, book now, but be forewarned: You may bag a better deal if you are willing to wait until a month or so before departure because some lines drop their prices even more.<\/p>\n
Whatever you choose, bon voyage.<\/p>\n
You just may run into me because I\u2019m getting ready to book another one.<\/p>\n