Repositioning cruise

[Lisas mom]

We have booked a repositioning cruise in September on the Island Princess, going from San Francisco through the Panama Canal and to Florida. Has any one been on a repositioning cruise before and noticed any difference in service, food, entertainment between a repositioning cruise and a regular scheduled cruise leaving from one port and returning to the same port? I was wondering if the amenities are the same for both. Thanks for your help.;)

[mariakitty]

I haven't been on a repo cruise, though know those who have. You should expect the same level of service you would have on a "regular" cruise, and really it's not different than many of the other itineraries that Princess offers which start in one port and end in another.

 

Sounds like a great cruise! I'm sure you will have a lot of fun. :)

Maria

[readytogo2]

No differences on ours..the best part is we only needed one way airfare:D

[Nancyquilts]

We just got off Coral Princess from LA to Florida - one of the best cruises - great staff and food. Enjoy. Nancy

[Colo Cruiser]

These longer Panama repos are pretty regular cruises for the Island and Coral in between Alaska seasons.

We have taken many repos and have not seen any difference in any service/ food etc.

[chrysalis]

The food on ours was the best of all our Princess cruises.

[Lisas mom]

Thank all of you for your help. I feel more confident now that we made a good choice.:o

[FredS]

A repro cruise is just a name that lets people know this cruise is done only once or twice a year. It is not like a Carib cruise every week or 10 days, or an Alaska cruise every week; the same ship going back and force every week. Repro cruises are simply the moving of the ship from one starting port to another. The crew is the same and often continues with the ship on it's regular cruises. At times they also have fewer port calls, depending on where they are going, so the price is cheaper than a regular cruise for the same number of days. There is no difference in them at all from cruiseing a seasonal itineray.

[cruiseryyc]

Have been on two repo cruises (from Ft. Lauderdale to Vancouver) and loved them. My favorite type of cruise.

[paul929207]

We did b2b repo cruises last year from Santiago, Chile to Acapulco to Seatlle on the Star Princess. Everything was wonderful.

[gipper77]

You are sooooooooo LUCKY!! Good choice!!:)

[sultan_sfo]

We did the same cruise on the Island Princess. It was simply terrific. Load uo on wine from Safeway / Trader Joe's (10 min walk from Pier 35). And board early because the kind of photo op with SF background you will have "before" sailaway is unmatched.

 

Enjoy.

 

We have booked a repositioning cruise in September on the Island Princess' date=' going from San Francisco through the Panama Canal and to Florida.

...

;)[/quote']

[Layla]

We love this cruise. We did it from Vancouver to FLL in 2007 and area doing it again this September (you'll be joining us in San Fran). It's wonderful!:) The crew seems really happy to be going from the cold in Alaska to the Caribbean. You've made a great choice.

[Putterdude]

Our experience has been very good...I think with these repositioning cruises they are trying to draw you into the cruising fraternity so put their best foot forward.

[cruznliz]

We have done a number of repositioning cruises and they are always fun and special. As Layla mentioned, the crew is usually in very good spirits. After doing the same route for 3 or 4 months I'm sure the prospect of different ports and a different climate are most welcome. ;)

[rpach10115]

We were on a 7 night repo cruise on the star a few years ago.

 

It went from acapulco to los angelas.

 

I LOVED it because it stopped in places that you only get to go to on 10 day, or longer cruises.

 

In 7 nights, we did Acapulco, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallerta, Mazatlan, Los cabos, and LA These places are all usually on the 10 night cruises. It was great.

 

That is the best part of repo's, you get to see more places in a shorter amount of time that are usually on longer cruises.

 

I DID notice that the fellow passengers were a bit older than usual. Maybe this was just this cruise, but that thought did occur to me while on board.

 

No matter, we still had fun closing down the bars every night. (well, almost every night:rolleyes:)

[Druke I]

We love repositioning cruises, particularly those with many sea days.

 

One of our best was on Sky Princess' last trip as a Princess ship, Sep 2000, San Francisco to Sydney, 27 nights. Grand trip!

[cruznliz]

I agree with rpach that repo cruises very often stop at unusual ports. Even though we live in Southern California we enjoy the Los Angeles to Vancouver cruises because they often stop in San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Astoria, Oregon. Those cruises are the only ones that stop in Santa Barbara and Astoria. And as far as I'm concerned one can never go under the Golden Gate Bridge too many times! :D We also enjoy Victoria, BC. It's nice to spend a whole day there and not just a few hours in the dark. ;)

[SFParrtHd]

Great choice, we have done the FL to SF a few times and Sydney to LA. I like the repo cruises the best. You will not notice any difference, in fact I think they have been better than some of the others. The Coral/Island are our fav ships. Sultan is right, don't miss sailaway. Have a great time.

[wrecks]

lisa's mom - please join our roll call.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=779746

 

See you on the water,

Rex

[Bucky3]

Lucky You! We love every cruise, but if we HAD to choose a favorite ship, it would be Island Princess. Looks like your itinerary has a whole day in Panama (Amador) and that would certainly be a "plus" for us. Enjoy!

[HKM]

We enjoy repositioning cruises and try to do at least one a year, sometimes combining it with a pre-or follow-on cruise. Repositioning cruises are cheaper and more relaxing, usually with lots of sea days. You get to know and enjoy the company of fellow passengers and crew members. We've noticed no reduction in services or quality of food with one stipulation. On very long (30 day repositioning, especially crossing the Pacific, fresh fruit and dairy products can be scarce for a few days. Also, the entertainment may be repeated; however, this gives you an opportunity to catch an act you may otherwise have missed. We also loved the Island Princess, when we took it from Ft. Lauderdale to LA last year.