pros and cons repositioning

[geoherb]

I retired last month. The offers for trans-Atlantic cruises are very tempting. We won't be doing one this year (having just sailed last month on the Zuiderdam on a Panama Canal cruise). But it looks great to me. An offer I just got from Princess had one cruise priced at $43 a night per person. Even the airfare getting home from Barcelona was not too bad--$650.

[RuthC]

TA Repositioning :confused:

Has anyone gone over for the sailing prior to the repositioning sailing and then stayed on the ship for the repositioning sailing?

Oh, several times. If I'm going to go to the trouble of all that packing, and the horrible long flight over, I am going to make it worth my while. Reduces the "aggravation per day" factor considerably. ;)

The last time there were three cruises prior to the trans-At (although 2 were only 7 days each). :D

Once you get used to longer cruises, you just don't want to go back to short ones.

[RMLincoln]

One-way air fares can be an issue with TransAtlantic cruises. DH likes to keep to his 5-hour limit for flights, so we fly IcelandAir European Cities, plus you can stop over in Iceland for up to 7 days and pay the same air fare as if you were flying through. We usually fly from Boston on their overnight flight which we find very comfortable. Aerlingus also offers some good one-way fares. Also check with HAL Air for some good prices, but then you have to deal with their selection of flights which may have horrible timing so we have avoided them, but others have had very good results.

 

Love the TAs westbound for the extra-long days and we have always hooked it up with some other things to do in Europe. After busy touring in Europe a TA is perfect with some long sea days to relax. We have never encountered a lack of entertainment, never thought of that happening but we use different cruise lines... have come back from Europe on HAL, Princess and NCL. m--

[RuthC]

We did the Baltic on the Eurodam and then stayed aboard for the Transatlantic to New York. We jumped ship in Halifax because it was more convenient ( a four hour drive home) but the TA included stops in Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, the Gaspé in Quebec and Halifax. It was our first extended cruise and we were totally hooked.

Great itinerary---fascinating, especially good for someone who wants a longer cruise, only one trans-oceanic flight, but doesn't want the many consecutive sea days at the end. This itinerary alternates a day or two of sea days with a day or two of ports. Not enough time to get exhausted, nor bored.

[slidergirl]

I seek out repo's on the West Coast...

• Fall repos appear to be cheaper than Spring repo's
  
• inside and oceanview cabins can be cheaper than flying or me driving the coast!
  
• 2 or 3 days may not be enough time for the full cruise experience
  
• sometimes sections of the ship can be under maintenance during repo's
  
• sometimes there are staff changes and some inexperience as it's not their typical routine
  
• the waters are less protected, so the ride can be rougher
  
• it may be harder to stay on schedule due to the rougher waters.
  

 

As you have helped me out with some Vancouver eating suggestions...

 

I love the West Coast repos. They are not the booze cruises that you get on short cruises in the Caribbean. I'm not a cruise fanatic where I need to have the traditional "full experience" when I sail. I'm on these cruises to relax and refresh after a long tourist season. I have decent enough meals prepared for me, I can find a cozy nook to spend the day in quiet solitude with my tablet and music of my choice (using my noise-cancelling headphones of course), and I get to spend pre- and post- cruise time in some of my favorite cities - Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Diego. I do not have the thousands of dollars to spend on the multi-week/months cruises, but the traditional cruise does not appeal to me, anyway (despite being in the HAL demographic wheelhouse). I work in Hospitality, so I would rather give staff some "time off" from constantly assisting me and either relax or have the extra time for some more "needy" guests. I am more than willing to have new staff "learn" and make their mistakes with me than to have them learn with seasoned cruisers who expect certain standards and service.

The short repos are what you make of them - expect the full experience and you may disappointed - think of it as a short experience on a ship - you may be surprised.

(I'm taking the 4/24 repo San Diego - Vancouver)

[sapper1]

As you have helped me out with some Vancouver eating suggestions...

 

I love the West Coast repos. They are not the booze cruises that you get on short cruises in the Caribbean. I'm not a cruise fanatic where I need to have the traditional "full experience" when I sail. I'm on these cruises to relax and refresh after a long tourist season. I have decent enough meals prepared for me, I can find a cozy nook to spend the day in quiet solitude with my tablet and music of my choice (using my noise-cancelling headphones of course), and I get to spend pre- and post- cruise time in some of my favorite cities - Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Diego. I do not have the thousands of dollars to spend on the multi-week/months cruises, but the traditional cruise does not appeal to me, anyway (despite being in the HAL demographic wheelhouse). I work in Hospitality, so I would rather give staff some "time off" from constantly assisting me and either relax or have the extra time for some more "needy" guests. I am more than willing to have new staff "learn" and make their mistakes with me than to have them learn with seasoned cruisers who expect certain standards and service.

The short repos are what you make of them - expect the full experience and you may disappointed - think of it as a short experience on a ship - you may be surprised.

(I'm taking the 4/24 repo San Diego - Vancouver)

The only time ever, on HAL, that I have seen groups of young people, beer bottles in hand, roaming the ship looking for the party, has been on the four day San Diego to Vancouver cruises. I have been on five of them and really don't expect much improvement on my upcoming one.

[xlxo]

I work in Hospitality, so I would rather give staff some "time off" from constantly assisting me and either relax or have the extra time for some more "needy" guests. I am more than willing to have new staff "learn" and make their mistakes with me than to have them learn with seasoned cruisers who expect certain standards and service.

The short repos are what you make of them - expect the full experience and you may disappointed - think of it as a short experience on a ship - you may be surprised.

(I'm taking the 4/24 repo San Diego - Vancouver)

I agree..... the discount repo prices are a great opportunity for staff to get comfortable for their full time duties.

 

Not everyone understands service training issues when problems erupt. I was lucky on another cruise line repo when some other cabin's plumbing was not working for the entire trip (plumbers in training?). Love the low cruise price.

[Bamaman1]

We're scheduled for the 4/2/2017 TA from FLL to Rome on the Konigsdam. We ended up paying $530 less taxes/port fees for 13 days--very reasonable. We're flying from Rome to Budapest--one of our favorite cities--for a week. We're only staying in Rome for Easter, as it's our 3rd time there in 3 years.

 

Some have complained about the return one way airfares. We booked Norwegian Air Shuttle for $238 back to the U.S.--changing planes in Oslo. Not bad!

 

Advantage: Price

[MMDown Under]

We're scheduled for the 4/2/2017 TA from FLL to Rome on the Konigsdam. We ended up paying $530 less taxes/port fees for 13 days--very reasonable. We're flying from Rome to Budapest--one of our favorite cities--for a week. We're only staying in Rome for Easter, as it's our 3rd time there in 3 years.

 

Some have complained about the return one way airfares. We booked Norwegian Air Shuttle for $238 back to the U.S.--changing planes in Oslo. Not bad!

 

Advantage: Price

 

What a bargain for both cruise and flight.

 

When we did our TAs, it was very difficult for us to get reasonable cost flights. In the end, we got return flights to Europe from Australia and bought one way tickets from US back to Europe.

[EDLOS]

We're scheduled for the 4/2/2017 TA from FLL to Rome on the Konigsdam. We ended up paying $530 less taxes/port fees for 13 days--very reasonable. We're flying from Rome to Budapest--one of our favorite cities--for a week. We're only staying in Rome for Easter, as it's our 3rd time there in 3 years.

 

Some have complained about the return one way airfares. We booked Norwegian Air Shuttle for $238 back to the U.S.--changing planes in Oslo. Not bad!

 

Advantage: Price

 

Yes , I paid $252.20 on Norwegian Air from Boston to Barcelona thru Gatwick (2 hour layover) to connect to my HAL Eurodam TA in November.

Norwegian is going to fly this summer out of Providence R.I airport to Ireland and Scotland for less than $100 each way.

In July, I found to connect to a HAL cruise out of Rome (Civitivecchia) it was cheaper to purchase one way tickets rather than round trip. (open jaws too) I Returned from Barcelona. You really need to shop airfares today and the day of the week you shop can mean hundreds of dollars in savings.

Recent example to China on Saturday fare was $1275, following Tuesday $980. for same identical flight out of Boston

Edited March 11, 2017 by EDLOS
More info

[whogo]

Holland America's Flight Ease fares were hundreds of dollars cheaper than anything I could find checking a travel agent, consolidator, and a number of online websites. We had our choice of flights and prices. There was no problem arranging to fly in a couple of days early for our last couple of transatlantic cruises. Doesn't cost a thing to check Holland America's prices. I think HAL does particularly well with international fares.

[slidergirl]

I agree..... the discount repo prices are a great opportunity for staff to get comfortable for their full time duties.

 

Not everyone understands service training issues when problems erupt. I was lucky on another cruise line repo when some other cabin's plumbing was not working for the entire trip (plumbers in training?). Love the low cruise price.

 

I am more accepting of service hiccups because of what I see daily in Hospitality. The hotels I've worked in have a training cycle every 6 months when the seasonal hires (from the Philippines, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Turkey, Paraguay, etc.) leave and the new ones come in. You have to expect some service flaws at that time. Some people who cruise 30-160 days/year may expect staff to be excellent and bow to their every whim would not do well on a repo. I have done quite a few of these; I've seen so-called "seasoned" cruisers bitch and moan over a mere 4 nights of an extended cruise; They know the situation - if they can't deal with it, they should debark in San Diego/Vancouver. These cruisers just diminish the short experience others are paying for.

I haven't experienced a booze cruise atmosphere on any of my repos, even on other lines. Maybe I'm just lucky.

[kazu]

The only time ever, on HAL, that I have seen groups of young people, beer bottles in hand, roaming the ship looking for the party, has been on the four day San Diego to Vancouver cruises. I have been on five of them and really don't expect much improvement on my upcoming one.

 

I still remember our "Sail Away Gang" cruise in 2015. New people came on in San Diego and to say "drinking atmosphere", is putting it lightly. And, to be clear, I enjoy a drink as well as the next person ;) .....but

 

for example - our first night leaving San Diego, the MDR atmosphere had definitely changed.

 

When the prime rib arrived a bunch of tables yelled "MOO" and then "MEAT".

 

Very loud, very disruptive. Not at all what MDR dining is like to me ;)

[Takes Notes]

I agree with all previous posters. It seems the biggest advantage is "dirt cheap" fares. The one way expensive flight is a good use for airline miles. You have to like days at sea and 13+ cruise total.

 

I've done seven crossings all Atlantic, all traveling east. I don't mind losing an hour a day. Sometimes the change happens at noon, which is sorta bizarre. It's 11:50 am and one minute later is is 1:00 pm. (Somehow, no one starves in the shorter lunch time).

 

If you really need more ports, the canal crossings linking Caribbean with Alaska might be a good choice, but.....a bit more expensive. Remember too that the Panama adds about $200+ pp to the usual port taxes.

 

I think I'll try an Atlantic crossing in Oct. I suppose the best way is to travel a day or two earlier to let your body adjust to the time zones, and crash in a hotel.

[slidergirl]

Curious - when do you expect new staff to get their onboard training? It has to happen sometime. Do you suggest that, on the short repos, HAL assign only experienced staff to those extended cruise passengers and leave the new staff to fend for themselves with the repo people?

 

I've seen the turned up noses, the rolling eyes when a guest realizes they have a trainee. I've seen a new Butler ripped to shreds by a snob of a guest who was expecting to be served by one of the experienced Butlers. I've seen one or more of my Front Desk trainees rattled by a guest because the guest did not want to be checked in by "someone who didn't know what he was doing."

 

I love my repo cruises. But, then, I am very uncomfortable with someone fawning over me at every turn (why I did not like the St. Regis Bahia Beach - a great Forbes 5 star hotel on a great beach in a great location, but I felt smothered by the staff).

[kazu]

<snip>

Others on this thread have said not to expect the "full experience" and that it wasn't really a true show of HAL.

 

 

I think you have miscontrued what some of us have said. As one of those that has said that the cruise takes a different tone and "not the full experience", it has nothing to do with the crew or crew training.

 

It has to do with the change in menus, activities on board, unavailability of certain cabin amenities and the ambience on the ship.

 

These short coastals on the cruise are hard on the crew with the turnaround days and the demands of the passengers.

 

I have only been on two, but, it was not the passengers who had stayed on that I saw making huge demands on the crew.:(

[Lizzie68]

I think you have miscontrued what some of us have said. As one of those that has said that the cruise takes a different tone and "not the full experience", it has nothing to do with the crew or crew training.

 

It has to do with the change in menus, activities on board, unavailability of certain cabin amenities and the ambience on the ship.

 

These short coastals on the cruise are hard on the crew with the turnaround days and the demands of the passengers.

 

I have only been on two, but, it was not the passengers who had stayed on that I saw making huge demands on the crew.:(

 

Exactly! Which reflected in the unhappiness of the servers who had become our friends in the previous 18 or so days.

 

And it was left to us to try to make them feel better and assure them they are doing a great job.

[OlsSalt]

slidergirl, I hope your upcoming cruise is a wonderful and comforting embrace for you. I know the crew will be happy to have you on board, because you have a forgiving and accommodating attitude about the unique demands found with in the hospitality industry. Bon voyage.

 

NB - Wow. 50 minutes to clean one hotel room? No wonder I enjoy cruises so much because that is something I now don't have to do, or feel guilty about not doing.

[TheEmerson]

I have been itching to book one solo as my DW is not interested in such a long cruise. But the cost for a solo traveler in a Neptune cabin is a kick in the liver for that duration. I have thought of trying the HAL Single Partners Program once but I am not sure if the Neptune cabins are apart of the program. That would bring my costs down.

[sapper1]

I don't think I misunderstood. If changes in the expected norm are there on a repo (changes in menus, reduction of activities, stress on crew), why would someone who is sensitive to noticing the changes take that short cruise extension? Would it not diminish the overall extended cruise experience because the last 4 nights are below the "normal standards" in offering?

 

I brought up crew training because it has to happen sometime. The shift of staff to serve the Alaska season has to be trained by the existing staff while the existing staff tries to work those last days. It is always physically and emotionally draining to try to do your "regular" job while also having to train. It takes longer to do normal tasks, have to positively correct and coach the new staff. My eye opener was when I shadowed our best housekeeper for a day (all of us shadowed for a day in a different department). It normally takes her 50 minutes to clean a standard room - with me "helping" her and learning what she does, we took far too long. She ended up falling behind in her cleaning schedule. At the end, she had to drop 3 rooms from her list (fortunately we did not have a full house and could leave those for the next day).

 

I'm going to shut up again. I'm going to enjoy my upcoming repo - visit friends in San Diego, go into a relax and refresh coma for 4 nights, and do some izakaya in Vancouver. Then, I'll go back to the Summer Season rat race. I'll stick to a land vacation for my Fall relax and refresh or go back to one of the cruise lines I have used before. Honestly, reading posts here on this board have made me wondering if I made a bad choice of HAL. Yes, I'm in their target demographic, albeit on the young end (I'm 62).

To answer your question, a lot of Americans get off in San Diego, while most of the Canadians continue on to Vancouver.

It is so simple and easy to clear Canadian customs in Victoria or in Vancouver and to check into the hotel right at Canada Place. I usually have a declaration which requires paying duty and that takes time. When we fly home from the States we have to clear customs in Montreal or Toronto airport and try to make our homeward flight on time. If the cashiers line is busy, sometimes it is a cliff hanger as to whether we will make our onward flight or not.

 

In short, enduring the four day extension is less stressful than trying to fly home from the States.

We also enjoy spending a few days in Vancouver. A lot of the passengers on this cruise live in the Vancouver area so why get off in San Diego?

[kazu]

I have been itching to book one solo as my DW is not interested in such a long cruise. But the cost for a solo traveler in a Neptune cabin is a kick in the liver for that duration. I have thought of trying the HAL Single Partners Program once but I am not sure if the Neptune cabins are apart of the program. That would bring my costs down.

 

If it's a Vista ship or above, what about a Signature Suite? If we are saiing on ships with them, we usually book a signature and hope for an upsell. If we don't get one -Signature Suites are nice with good space, etc., and good value. don't know if that would help you travelling solo, but thought I would mention it.

[richwmn]

I don't think I misunderstood. If changes in the expected norm are there on a repo (changes in menus, reduction of activities, stress on crew), why would someone who is sensitive to noticing the changes take that short cruise extension? Would it not diminish the overall extended cruise experience because the last 4 nights are below the "normal standards" in offering?

 

I brought up crew training because it has to happen sometime. The shift of staff to serve the Alaska season has to be trained by the existing staff while the existing staff tries to work those last days. It is always physically and emotionally draining to try to do your "regular" job while also having to train. It takes longer to do normal tasks, have to positively correct and coach the new staff. My eye opener was when I shadowed our best housekeeper for a day (all of us shadowed for a day in a different department). It normally takes her 50 minutes to clean a standard room - with me "helping" her and learning what she does, we took far too long. She ended up falling behind in her cleaning schedule. At the end, she had to drop 3 rooms from her list (fortunately we did not have a full house and could leave those for the next day).

 

I'm going to shut up again. I'm going to enjoy my upcoming repo - visit friends in San Diego, go into a relax and refresh coma for 4 nights, and do some izakaya in Vancouver. Then, I'll go back to the Summer Season rat race. I'll stick to a land vacation for my Fall relax and refresh or go back to one of the cruise lines I have used before. Honestly, reading posts here on this board have made me wondering if I made a bad choice of HAL. Yes, I'm in their target demographic, albeit on the young end (I'm 62).

 

Your mention of crew training needs to be clarified. First, there is not a massive change of crew for the Alaska season, or at any time. Crew is changed regularly and not always at turn around points. Also, the incoming crew is not "green". The housekeeping crew has undergone training in "Hal's Way" in Indonesia and the bar staff the same thing in the Phillipines. The amount of training any one crew member in those positions receives aboard the ship is minimal.

 

See here Hal Training

 

Particularly:

We operate training centers in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Manila, Philippines, where a majority of our shipboard employees are hired. Courses at these centers simulate cruise ship facilities so employees are job-ready when they report to their first postings.

[Lizzie68]

50 minutes to clean a standard room? My gosh, we've been on the balcony many times when the stewards come in to clean the room, and it is never that long - certainly less than half an hour - and yet the room is left clean and sparkling and the bathroom floor washed. Mind you, I could see it taking that long if it was a room full of teenagers!:D

[innlady1]

slidergirl, I hope your upcoming cruise is a wonderful and comforting embrace for you. I know the crew will be happy to have you on board, because you have a forgiving and accommodating attitude about the unique demands found with in the hospitality industry. Bon voyage.

 

NB - Wow. 50 minutes to clean one hotel room? No wonder I enjoy cruises so much because that is something I now don't have to do, or feel guilty about not doing.

 

 

 

We owned a B and B on Nantucket for 20 years. It would take our housekeepers about 45 minutes to clean a room...we maintained high standards.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheEmerson]

If it's a Vista ship or above, what about a Signature Suite? If we are saiing on ships with them, we usually book a signature and hope for an upsell. If we don't get one -Signature Suites are nice with good space, etc., and good value. don't know if that would help you travelling solo, but thought I would mention it.

That is an option, but I tend to like the Neptune Suites more as I use the added services daily.