By the middle of April, many of the ships that have spent the winter cruising in the Caribbean reposition to be ready for the summer cruising season in Alaska.

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which is also known as the Jones Act, prohibits foreign-flagged ships from embarking and disembarking passengers in U.S. ports unless they call in another country on the way. Because it’s much less expensive to register ships in countries other than the U.S., nearly all cruise vessels these days are foreign flagged. So they can’t embark passengers in Seattle and disembark them in Alaska, unless they stop in Canada.

That’s why most Alaska cruises, and most Alaska repositioning cruises, begin or end in Vancouver. Which isn’t a bad thing. Vancouver is one of the most beautiful, vibrant cities in the world. And this year, it’s getting a facelift for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

One of the nice things about Alaska repositioning cruises is you can usually find one that suits your needs. They range in length from 3 to 20 days. And you can often disembark in more than one port. Because the shorter sailings are often sold at a very deep discount — fares as low as $99 per person aren’t unheard of — they’re also a good way for first-time cruisers to “test the waters.”

Holland America repositioning cruises to Alaska.

On April 18, 2010, Holland America’s Ryndam leaves Tampa on a 21-day voyage to Vancouver. She calls at Grand Cayman and Columbia before transiting the Panama Canal. After passing through the canal, she visits Costa Rica, four ports in Mexico, San Diego, and Victoria before arriving in Vancouver on May 9. With a two-level dining room, an exhibition kitchen with plasma TV monitors, and just 1,266 passengers, Ryndam is a lovely place to spend three weeks. Passengers can also embark in San Diego on May 5 for a four-night cruise.

Holland America fans who don’t have much time for vacation can board their Zaandam in San Diego on April 21, 2010. En route to Vancouver, she calls at Catalina Island, Astoria, Oregon, and Victoria, BC. During the days at sea, passengers can enjoy a pool with a retractable roof, a jogging track, tennis and volleyball courts, and the Ocean Spa. With fares starting at just $399 per person, it works out to less than $135 per couple, per day.

Ryndam’s sister ship, Statendam, sails from Fort Lauderdale on April 25, 2010 and calls at Aruba before entering and crossing the Panama Canal. After that, she visits Costa Rica, Guatemala, four ports in Mexico, and San Diego, before ending the voyage in Vancouver on May 16. A 26-foot splashing fountain in the three-story atrium greets passengers as they board. Those with less time can board in San Diego on May 12.

Cruisers who love days at sea can join Holland America’s Amsterdam in Los Angeles on April 29, spend three nights aboard and disembark in Vancouver on May 2nd. The 1,380-passenger Amsterdam is a sister ship to the Rotterdam.

On May 4, 2010, the 1,918-passenger Zuiderdam sails from San Diego to Vancouver. Passengers can disembark in Vancouver four days later. But those who want to see Alaska can remain aboard and cruise the Tracy Arm, and then visit Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan before leaving the ship when it returns to Vancouver on May 15.

Princess Cruises repositioning cruises to Alaska.

Coral Princess is 1,974-passenger cruise ship with a demonstration kitchen, a ceramics lab, and a swimming pool with a retractable dome roof. She sails from Fort Lauderdale on April 21, 2010 and transits the Panama Canal, arriving in Vancouver on May 10. As an alternative, passengers can board in Los Angeles on May 6, call at Victoria, BC on May 9, and arrives in Vancouver the next day. This four-night getaway is a nice break for west coast cruisers, and with fares from $349, it’s very affordable.

The 2,600-passenger Golden Princess has four pools, nine whirlpools, an adults-only Sanctuary, 17 lounges, and more than 700 balcony staterooms. She sails from Los Angeles on May 9, overnights at Catalina Island, and visits San Francisco, and Victoria before ending in Vancouver on May 14.

Royal Caribbean repositioning cruises to Alaska.

Sailing from the opposite direction, Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas sails from Honolulu on April 27, 2010. She spends two full days in Maui and then visits Kona and Hilo on the Big Island before crossing the Pacific en route to Vancouver. Five days at sea give passengers plenty of time to enjoy the spa, fitness center, and rock climbing wall. Special deals for California residents start as low as $899.

On May 8, Radiance of the Seas sails up the west coast from San Diego to San Francisco. After a couple of days at sea, she visits Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier, and Sitka in Alaska, and then Nanaimo and Victoria in British Columbia. Passengers leave the vessel in Vancouver on May 21.

1 Comment »

Repositioning cruises on Royal Princess.

Another one of the former Renaissance Cruises “R Class ships, Royal Princess is a sister ship to Pacific Princess.  It carries 710 passengers in style in 355 spacious and well-designed staterooms, 75% of which have balconies.

The beautiful, wood-paneled library with leather wing chairs is one of the largest at sea with over 4,000 titles.  And Sabatini’s Italian Restaurant and Sterling Steakhouse provide passengers with additional dining options.

Royal Princess spends the summer in Alaska and the fall in Tahiti, so she offers a couple trans-Pacific repositioning cruises.

On April 30, 2010, Royal Princess sails from Fort Lauderdale and calls at Aruba before transiting the Panama Canal.  After leaving the canal, she visits Costa Rica and four ports in Mexico before heading up the Pacific coast for San Francisco.  She’s in port until 10PM, which lets passengers spend the evening ashore in San Francisco.  Then she sails for Seattle, arriving two days later.  With a total of ten sea days, there’s plenty of time to relax and enjoy the ship’s amenities.

Once the Alaska season is over, Royal Princess heads to the South Pacific.  She leaves on September 14, 2010 from Vancouver, British Columbia and arrives in Hilo, Hawaii six days later.  She calls at Kona, Lahaina, and Kauai in the Hawaiian islands before arriving in Honolulu.  Passengers who embarked in Vancouver can stay aboard and sail all the way to Papeete, or disembark in Honolulu on September 24.

Those with less time can board in Honolulu instead of Vancouver.  They’ll visit Kauai, Lahaina, and Hilo before crossing the South Pacific.  After five days at sea, they’ll arrive in Bora Bora, where they’ll spend a full day before sailing at 3AM.  En route to Papeete, Royal Princess will call at Raiatea, and Moorea.  Passengers overnight aboard ship in Papeete and disembark the next morning.

After spending several months sailing the brilliant turquoise waters of the Society Islands, Royal Princess returns to Hawaii.  Passengers board in Papeete on December 5, 2010, overnight on board, and sail the next morning, calling at Moorea, Raiatea, and Bora Bora before beginning the Pacific crossing.  After five sea days, she arrives in Hilo, and visits Kona, and Maui before ending the voyage in Honolulu.  Cruisers who love being at sea will enjoy there voyages a lot.

Repositioning cruises on Ocean Princess.

The third of the old Renaissance ships, Ocean Princess was formerly the Tahitian Princess.  She offers some of the longest and most exotic repositioning cruises in the Princess repertoire.  And travelers with the time and money can enjoy an unforgettable experience both on board and ashore.

On March 20, 2010, Ocean Princess begins a 48-day voyage from Shanghai to Capetown.  Passengers can embark or disembark in several places along the way, creating the voyage that best suits their needs.

Cruising the Mediterranean

After leaving Shanghai, Ocean Princess visits Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Oman, Dubai, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Durban, and East London before arriving in Capetown.  Of the 48 days, 25 are at sea, so there’s a nice balance of port calls and days off.   And it’s hard to imagine so many diverse travel experiences rolled into one journey.

Her next voyage calls at some very exotic African ports, and this is a great way to visit some places you might be hesitate to travel to independently.  Ocean Princess leaves Capetown on May 7, 2010 for the North Atlantic and calls at ports in Namibia, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Gambia, and Senegal before arriving in the Canary Islands.  From there, she sails to Funchal, Casablanca, Ceuta, Seville, Lisbon, and Le Havre before disembarking passengers in Dover.  If you want to see lots of Africa but still enjoy the comforts of home, this is a wonderful option.

At the end of the European season, Ocean Princess returns to Capetown, sailing from Rome on October 20, 2010.  Passengers will visit Sorrento, Barcelona, Nice, Portofino, Livorno, Rome, Livorno, Cannes, Barcelona, Tangier, Casablanca, Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Namibia before arriving in Capetown.

From Capetown, she does the Singapore voyage in reverse, calling at Mozambique, Reunion Island, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Oman, Dubai, India, and Malaysia along the way.  From Singapore, she stops in the Phillipines, China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam before ending the voyage in Bangkok.

Find more Princess repositioning cruises here.

No comments »

During the late 1990s, boutique cruise line Renaissance Cruises launched eight 684-passenger “R Class” ships that featured spacious cabins – many with balconies – old-world ambience, and intimate public areas.

Unable to survive the after-effects of 9/11, Renaissance ceased operations in 2001.  And today, three of their R Class ships have joined the Princess fleet as Pacific Princess, Royal Princess, and Ocean Princess.

For Princess cruisers who’ve only sailed on their 2,500+ passenger ships, these smaller ships will come as a revelation.  And many will find that less really is more.

First of all, the smaller ships can visit ports the big ship can’t – places like Kotor, Montenegro, and Ravenna, Italy.  And once you’re in port, you won’t find the town overwhelmed by cruisers.

On board, the service is really attentive, and the food is absolutely first-rate.  There’s a big difference between serving 350 diners at a time and serving twice that number.  And the difference shows in the quality, variety, and presentation of the food.

Avoid cabins at the front of the ship where you be awakened each morning by the anchor chain or the bow thrusters.

Repositioning cruises on Pacific Princess.

Sunset at Sea

If you have the time and the money, Pacific Princess will take you pretty much around the world in 2010.  She sails in the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, along the coast of Mexico, across the Pacific, throughout New Zealand, Australia, and Asia, in the Mediterranean, and across the Atlantic.

In some ways, the entire circumnavigation is one big repositioning cruise, with countless places to embark and disembark along the way.

She sails on January 27, 2010 from Fort Lauderdale and arrives in Rome 107 days later.  There are plenty of ports – and days at sea – in between.  And you can enjoy as many or as few as you can afford.

After leaving Fort Lauderdale, she calls at Aruba and Cartagena, Columbia before transiting the Panama Canal.  She then visits Costa Rica, Guatemala, an Mexico, before arriving in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles, she sails for Honolulu, spending five days at sea.  There’s another six days at sea before she reaches Fiji.  She calls at Vanuatu and three ports in New Zealand, before arriving in Sydney, where passengers can embark or disembark.

Pacific Princess calls at Cairns, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Truk, Micronesia, and Guam en route to Japan, Korea, and Beijing, China.  From there, she spends three days at sea before making port calls in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, the Maldives, Mumbai, Dubai, Muscat, and Luxor.

On the last leg before arriving in Rome for the summer Mediterranean season, she sails through the Suez Canal and calls at Athens and Sorrento before arriving in Civitavecchia.

By November, she’s ready to head back to the Caribbean.  Passengers can board in Athens on November 23, 2010 and visit Santorini, Patmos, Kusadasi, Nazareath, Jerusalem, Port Said, Alexandria, and Sorrento before arriving in Rome.

Those who have less time or have already sailed in the Mediterranean, can board in Rome on November 5 and call at Livorno, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Ceuta, Casablanca, and the Azores, before crossing the Atlantic.  They’ll call in Hamilton, Bermuda, and then spend two more days at sea before arriving in Fort Lauderdale.

Find more Princess repositioning cruises here.

2 Comments »