TRAVEL AWAY:

Repositioning South the Aquatic Way

As the warm weather wanes and flurries fly, eyes turn south and fingers punch PINs at ATMs to see how far one can go in the way of a winter vacation.

Can a couple tour the warm world for $50 a day each … without hitchhiking and sleeping in a tent? I’m talking about bedding down in a climate controlled room, eating three gourmet meals per diem at a sit-down restaurant, munching unlimited snacks, watching movies at a cinema, enjoying stage productions, listening to string quartets, sweating in work-out rooms, splashing in pools, soaking in hot tubs, using sports equipment, participating in scheduled events, taking art classes and partaking of assorted tours and lectures. As well, that $50 includes transportation to exotic places not likely otherwise seen.

Believe it or not we’re talking cruising: not cruising the curb in a beat-up van or cruising a third-world coast aboard a tramp steamer. This is about repositioning cruises on modern liners: one of the greatest travel bargains on planet Earth.

Cruise ships follow warm weather, as dictated by passengers who don’t care to sweat on the Mexico coast in July or shiver in a Russian port in January. Paying passengers prefer Alaska in the summer and the Caribbean in winter: the northeast coast of North America in August and Australia in January. In the shoulder seasons the ships must reposition between these zones. Rather than go empty they offer drastically reduced fares.

Since 15 ships representing six lines tour from Vancouver to Alaska, British Columbia residents have a unique opportunity take a repositioning cruise in spring or fall without having to travel very far at the Vancouver end. This spring, for instance, Holland America Line’s Zaandam sails from Kobe, Japan via Russia and Alaska, to Vancouver. The 22-day trip lists for $1,500, but such cruises are routinely discounted to $1000 and less as debarkation date gets closer. Add taxes etc. and you’re at the $50 a day mark. The same lines’ Statendam leaves Fort Lauderdale, Florida, visits Caribbean ports, transits the Panama Canal, stops at Central American cities and 20 days later arrives in Vancouver. List price is $1600, but one would be hard pressed to find passengers that pay list.

In March my wife and I took a 17-day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Genoa, Italy aboard MSC Poesia. We got to see several Caribbean Islands plus five Mediterranean ports. The price of that trip worked its way down to less than $500 for those who dared to wait for Last Minute deals.. At the moment the price is $1300.

The biggest advantage, aside from cost, is that you see two distinctly different destinations on one voyage. That might be the Caribbean and Mexico’s Baja, or Australia and Hawaii, or you might enjoy an Alaska cruise and stay aboard while the ship repositions to New Zealand.

Repositioning trips generally last between 10 and 20 days, but the high standards of ocean travel do not change. Pace is more relaxed as there are more days at sea.

The big disadvantage of the repositioning cruise is that you travel to at least one, and possibly two, distant ports so air fare can gobble up some of the money saved. The choice of departure dates, ports, and destinations has far more limitations than normal ocean trips. Vacations must be scheduled for spring and fall and that doesn’t work for everyone. Being on the same ship for longer can mean repetition of entertainment and dining options. Crossing the Atlantic and Pacific brings unpredictable weather so dreaded sea sickness may enter the picture for an unfortunate few.

Taking a winter vacation at a land-based luxury resort offering half the amenities found on a ship, for less than $100 a day per person, is a few steps away from impossible. Finding a resort that floats you to a new locale daily, for $50, is tricky, but nowhere near impossible.