Travel Bargain: Repositioning Cruises Offer Great Deals

August 30, 2011 -- Could you use a little pampering at sea? A nice, long, luxurious time afloat? Then you're in luck. Fall is the perfect time to book a so-called repositioning cruise, and thereby bag one of the biggest bargains in the travel industry.

Every fall and every spring, the major cruise lines move their ships around the globe like chess pieces, repositioning them to take advantage of the changing seasons. Starting in September, when travelers' fancies turn to warmer climes, ships begin to migrate from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, from Alaska to Mexico or to the South Pacific. The reverse occurs in spring.

These are voyages, says Robert Sharak, executive vice president of marketing for the Cruise Lines International Association, tend to be both longer and significantly cheaper than a standard cruise.

A 16-day transatlantic crossing from Barcelona, Spain, to Galveston, Texas, onboard Carnival Cruises' newest ship, the Magic, costs (drum roll here, please) $864. Not $864 a day. That's a total of $864,inclusive of all fees. That's $54 a day. Ports of call include Palma de Mallorca and Malaga, Spain; Las Palmas, Canary Islands; and Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos.

Why so cheap? The trips occur off-season, says travel expert Aaron Saunders, who writes about cruising at FromTheDeckChair.com. "How do you fill a ship in late September or mid-October?" he asks. "You price it so that people can't say no."

Because the cruise lines are shifting their fleets, passengers also have the opportunity to visit ports that might otherwise not be accessible.

"Travelers can really get a fantastic deal," said Emerson Hankamer, president and COO of travel website VacationsToGo.com, "especially if they're willing to begin and end their trip in an atypical port."

He cites a 14-night trip on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas departing from Mallorca, Spain, and finishing at Colon, Panama. Price: $36.92 a day.

Because of the low price, there's sometimes a misconception, says Saunders, that these trips are somehow "lesser cruises." The reverse is true. The low price doesn't denote second-rate service or reduced amenities. If anything, travelers may find that extra services and enhancements have been added to keep them happy and amused during the extra-long voyage.

"What's great about this trip," Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said of Carnival's Barcelona-to-Galveston crossing, "is that it's our newest ship, with extra activities scheduled."

Carnival will offer two other repositioning cruises this season, both 14-day ocean-to-ocean transits of the Panama Canal: One departs from Long Beach to Tampa Nov. 28; the other from Tampa to Long Beach Dec. 17. Ports of call on these cruises include Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Cartagena, Columbia; and George Town, Grand Cayman.