Short Cruises?

[I Luv Crusin]

I just got a letter offering special cruise prices. I guess they are repo cruises on the west coast. I don't think I'd bother with a one day cruise but the 3 day cruises look interesting especially if it could be combined with a few days in Seattle or Vancouver or San Diego(my vote!) This would be for the future but it looked like you could get a verandah suite on a 3 day for under 400.00 per person.

 

Are these as interesting at they look?

On the 3 day do they stop anywhere?

Does HAL do similiar cruises on the east coast?

Does this happen every year?

 

Thanks!

[Tracyr]

The Pacific Northwest Cruises are great get a ways. I take a group every year and we call it our annual Girl Cruise. A bunch of us leave our husbands and kids at home. We started as a group of 4 and have grown to 24 booked for this year. Last year we went from LA to Vancouver BC and stopped in Astoria, Oregon. Sometimes these cruises are the last leg of the Panama Canal cruise and sometimes they are just repo cruises. I would agree that the one night would be to short. We did a two night once and it also was pretty short. Three is great. This year we are doing the round trip Seattle three nights in October.(It is a Celebrity cruise though)

[Bramcruiser]

I did the 4 day repositioning last year on the Oosterdam from Vancouver to San Diego. They make for a nice quick getaway. If you can combine it with some sightseeing at either end - or both like we did - you can turn it into a combi land/cruise vacation. We only had one port of call - Victoria, most beautiful city on the west coast in my totally biased opinion, he he he!

 

If you like short vacations and sea days go for it.

 

HAL and the other lines tend to do these cruises twice a year - once in the spring northward and then again in the fall southward. The main purpose is to bring the ships to and from the Alaska route before and after the season.

[lougee1043]

have done overniters (1 and 3) from vanc bc to pdx---great fun for a weekend trip --little planning and less packing--spur of the moment

[Druke I]

We've done several 3 nighters up the Left Coast, both on Princess & HAL. Great way to try a ship. We go up, stay a night or two in Vancouver (or Seattle or Portland), and then AMTRAK home. Great long weekend!

[BoulderMary]

I'm a first time cruiser and would like to take a short cruise in the Northwest to give it a try. I read one review of a repo cruise on Norwegian where the cruiser was quite disappointed. It was at the end of a Panama Canal cruise and she felt the staff really were not attentive--that it was sort of like the last few nights at summer camp--the counselors couldn't wait to take off. Also, they were pulling up carpets and cleaning pools--getting ready for their next big cruise. Additionally, the spa and other services were closed. Does anyone else have experience with this? I am thinking about taking my 80-year-old mom and my 12-year-old daughter for mother's day.

 

Thanks for your opinion!

[Bramcruiser]

I'm a first time cruiser and would like to take a short cruise in the Northwest to give it a try. I read one review of a repo cruise on Norwegian where the cruiser was quite disappointed. It was at the end of a Panama Canal cruise and she felt the staff really were not attentive--that it was sort of like the last few nights at summer camp--the counselors couldn't wait to take off. Also, they were pulling up carpets and cleaning pools--getting ready for their next big cruise. Additionally, the spa and other services were closed. Does anyone else have experience with this? I am thinking about taking my 80-year-old mom and my 12-year-old daughter for mother's day.

 

Thanks for your opinion!

 

God no! Even though it was a repo I was on (Oosterdam southbound last fall), and in some ways it didn't feel like a usual cruise, I never felt like the staff were getting ready to depart and that maintenance of the ship was taking priority over passengers. I felt quite the opposite on my last cruise. No services were closed and all facilities were open to the public at their usual times. With the ship so well maintained we had a spotless repositioning cruise. The only maintenance I saw was things like washing windows and varnishing the handrails. Nothing to inconvenience anyone or to give the ship an ugly work-in-progress look. In addition, the staff provided its usual services with the same gusto as if it was a regular trip.

 

I guess I was lucky to have good fortune.

[Travelbug 2]

We have done a couple of west coast repo's with HAL and NCL. While we enjoyed NCL they pale in comparison to HAL.

The service was very good and nothing seemed to have been cut because they were repo's. They are great getaways for us as we live on Vancouver Island, just a ferry ride away from the Vancouver pier.

[kryos]

IAre these as interesting at they look?

On the 3 day do they stop anywhere?

Does HAL do similiar cruises on the east coast?

Does this happen every year?

I think they do these cruises every year, but they are only on the west coast.

 

A three-day cruise would be fine by me if I didn't have to fly to the port. Three days could be a nice getaway when you don't have the time for anything longer, and I imagine a three-day cruise would be a great way to explore a ship that you've never been on.

 

But, since I live in Philadelphia, I can't benefit from something like this. The cost of the airfare, not to mention the lousy cross-country flight, wouldn't be something I'd be willing to consider for just three days. If I have to fly anywhere ... even Florida (a 2.5 hour flight), the cruise has got to be for at least ten days. I did make one exception to this rule ... for a great deal I got on a five-day Celebrity cruise last December ... but that only involved a Florida flight. I would never have even done that if it meant flying cross-country.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[I Luv Crusin]

I think they do these cruises every year, but they are only on the west coast.

 

A three-day cruise would be fine by me if I didn't have to fly to the port. Three days could be a nice getaway when you don't have the time for anything longer, and I imagine a three-day cruise would be a great way to explore a ship that you've never been on.

 

-rita

Rita,

I'm just south of you near Washington DC. I'd consider doing it if I could afford to make it at least a week vacation. I went out to San Francisco last Sept for 5 days and had a great time, jet lag and all! I got a good ticket on Independence Air.................

[bob brown]

One way cruises are my favorite! It feels almost like you are on a liner as opposed to a cruise and are going someplace. Last May I did a great six day from San Diego to Vancouver via San Francisco, Astoria, and Victoria on "brand X". In 2001, I did a one way from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego on the Ryndam. in 2002 went from Montreal to New York City on the Rotterdam.

While the lion's share of "coastal" cruises on full size cruise ships are on the west coast, there are occasional opportunities on the east coast during seasonal repositionings. There are San Juan to Cape Liberty, Port Everglades to Montreal, and some others. You have to really dig through cruise calendars to find these. The reason there aren't more or shorter legnth is the archaic Jones Act.

[jhannah]

We are taking our second coastal cruise next month. For us, they are ideal getaways. It's less than an hour flight to port, and we never leave our own time zone for the entire trip. Two wonderful, relaxing days at sea plus a visit ashore. (This time it's Victoria.) For someone who's wanting to see what cruising is all about, this is a great way to do it.

[kryos]

Rita,

I'm just south of you near Washington DC. I'd consider doing it if I could afford to make it at least a week vacation. I went out to San Francisco last Sept for 5 days and had a great time, jet lag and all! I got a good ticket on Independence Air.................

I guess it's just my hatred of flying. I'm seriously considering after this year doing only cruises that go in/out from New York. I am having that much trouble with flying these days. I can barely motivate myself to fly to Fort Lauderdale to do a ten-day cruise. I can't imagine being willing to travel to the West Coast for a three-dayer.

 

So, the problem is more related to me ... and the problems I've encountered with flying as I've gotten older. I'm sure for others, these three-dayers can be a blessing.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[cruisequeen10]

Usually at the end of a specific destination (going from the Caribean to the Panama Canal to Mexico to Alaska) this is where a lot of the crew change. Their contract is up for that leg and new crew come aboard.