Many cruisers can't wait for this time of year when ships are getting ready to reposition to new home ports for the fall and winter season.
Ships that have spent the summer cruising from Vancouver and Seattle to Alaska are now heading to new home ports. Some are on their way to serve ports for the winter in places such as the Mexican Riviera, Caribbean, Panama Canal, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In the Atlantic, some ships are staying in Europe for the winter, but most are heading back to the east coast of the U.S. to start up their cruises in the Caribbean. They'll reverse the process in the spring.
There is some commonality with these repositioning cruises.
Many of them last longer than seven days, most offer good value or a unique journey and, with all the days at sea, you'll probably make some lasting relationships.
Although there is still space available on some ships for the fall repositioning, I've selected a handful that will be available next spring -- some for their price, some for their uniqueness. From time to time over the coming weeks we will feature many others on portsandbows.com.
Cruise lines update prices frequently. All of these were available at the time of writing and do not include taxes and fuel surcharges.
Carnival Cruise Line's Liberty
- Miami to London departing April 25 for 14 days
- Two ports in Portugal; Vigo, Spain; and Le Havre (Paris)
- Nine days at sea
- Starting price $749
- Auckland to Honolulu, April 12, 14 days
- Ports include Raratonga, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Hilo and Honolulu
- Eight days at sea
- Starting price $2,139
- A separate trip on the same ship cruises the Hawaiian Islands then heads to Vancouver
Holland America's Volendam
- Singapore to Vancouver, April 4, 46 days.
- Stops include ports in Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, South Korea, Beijing, five ports in Japan, Russia, several ports in Alaska and then south to Vancouver. (Shanghai, Beijing and Kobe are overnights).
- 19 days at sea
- Starting Price $6,800
- New York to Barcelona, April 18, 15 days
- Ports include; Rome, Florence, Granada, Seville, Cannes Lisbon and others
- Six days at sea
- Starting price $1,099
Princess Cruise's Crown
- Ft. Lauderdale to Lisbon, April 26, nine days
- Only one stop in the Azores, the rest is at sea
- Starting price $971
Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas
- Tampa to San Juan, April 18, seven nights
- Cozumel, Ocho Rios, Dominican Republic
- Three days at sea
- Starting at $539
Visit www.portsandbows.com for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind the scenes stories from the industry. Don't forget to sign up for the email newsletter for even more cruise information. Phil can be reached at email@example.com