Sherman's Travel

Truth be told, my only experience with a repositioning cruise was as a precocious 6-year-old sailing Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 instead of flying when my family moved back to the U.S. from Paris. Our week at sea was spent watching the newly released Beauty and the Beast and splashing in salt water swimming pools. Even our poor cat, Fuzzy, came along for the ride, although I think she had significantly less fun than we did. (Apparently this trip made quite the impression on me, as the parent volunteers from my first grade class still to this day remember how I regaled them with tales of the QE2.)

Fond childhood memories aside, these types of cruises generally offer the best deals around, since cruise lines need to move their ships from one place to another and offer significant discounts on “one-way” passages. The itineraries can cost as little as $42/night – though note since you spend less time in port you’re more apt (so the cruise lines hope) to open your wallet for the ship’s onboard activities and specialty restaurants.

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It’s just about the most wonderful time of the year for cruisers in search of jaw-dropping value, when summering cruise ships from Alaska, Europe, and other northerly locales point their hulls south toward the warmer waters and their winter bases in the Caribbean, Florida, Mexican Riviera, and more. And the direction of these sailings is not the only thing headed south – rates on these “repositioning” sailings are slashed as much as a whopping 80 percent off, as cruise lines look to woo vacationers with discounted rates on these relocation runs, while offering passengers access to off-the-path ports and plenty of extra time at sea for some quality R&R. Read our Repositioning Cruises 101 Guide for our expert advice on planning your next repositioning cruise vacation, and then make it happen with one of the exceptional deals outlined below – we’ve rounded up four cruise deal steals with radically reduced rates that are sure to have you hitting the high seas with financial ease this fall: Read more