Tag Archives: cruise

Reposition yourself, Part 1

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First of a two-part series

Cruise ships Zuiderdam and Celebrity Solstice docked in San Diego.

Cruise ships Zuiderdam, foreground, and Celebrity Solstice in San Diego. — ©IBIT/G. Gross

There are bargains to be had on cruises and airline flights that don’t fit the regular schedules. In Part 1, we look at repositioning cruises.

Whether for maintenance, the change of seasons or a shift in marketing strategy, cruise lines occasionally have to relocate their vessels. The travel industry calls this “repositioning.”

And it can work out to be a good deal for you.

From the industry side of things, the logic behind selling repositioning trips is easy to grasp. If they have to move the ship or the plane, anyway, why not make some money from it, even if it’s less than what they’d make on a regular round-trip

That’s the thing about repositioning trips, you see: They’re nearly always one-way.

The cruise industry in particular has been doing this for decades, shifting vessels from frigid European waters in the winter months to warmer Caribbean climes, and vice versa. These position changes occur in the spring and fall.

In recent years, the cruise industry has found a different reason to move their ships around, shifting them to hot new non-traditional markets around the globe. Fifteen years ago, it was Europe. Now, it’s Asia and the Middle East.

For cruise travelers, repositioning makes for a very different kind of cruise.

Most cruises typically last from three to five days. You start from Port A, visit Ports B through E in short order, depending on the number of days the cruise lasts, then return to the port from which you first departed.

Repositioning cruises can be as short as three nights or as long as four months.

At first, these were strictly “deadhead” trips, starting in one port and ending in another, with several consecutive days at sea in between. Nowadays, many repositioning cruises manage to work in several port calls on their one-way sailings.

What’s more, cabin prices on repositioning cruises can see some major markdowns — sometimes in excess of 75 percent.

Do I have your attention now?

If the only cruising you’ve ever done has been on Carnival or Royal Caribbean vessels, the bargains you can find on repositioning cruises might give you a chance to check out some of the high-end luxury lines that otherwise would be financially well out of reach.

Even with discounts that big, repositioning cruises aren’t necessarily dirt-cheap. So how do you know if you’re getting a good deal?

The traditional way to calculate the answer — not just for repositioning cruises, but any cruise — is to divide the total price per person for the entire cruise by the number of days.

If it comes in under $100 a day, that’s not bad.

If it works out to less than $75 a day, it’s may be a steal.

If it adds up to $50 a day or less…what are you waiting for?

Here’s one example of a repositioning cruise I pulled off the Web:
Royal Caribbean Splendour of the Seas
Barcelona, Spain – Sao Paulo, Brasil
15 nights
$799
That works out to $53 a day.

Some repo cruises have gone as low as $35 per day. You’d be hard-pressed to do that well on a land-based vacation.

You will have an added expense on these cruises, namely your return flight home. But with the money you can save on the cruise itself, that might not be such a hardship.

Repositioning cruises are not for everybody. Even on those that make multiple port calls, you’ll spend the vast majority of your time at sea, aboard ship. If you need a lot of on-board activities and hype to keep you distracted, this kind of cruising may not be for you.

But if you love the idea of being at sea for days at a time, away from the cell phone and the cable TV, able to read, exercise or just chill to your heart’s content, a repo cruise is worth a look.

Any good travel agent, especially those specializing in cruise travel, can hook you up with a repositioning cruise. So too can the various individual cruise lines.

If you’d rather do it yourself, VacationsToGo.com and its spinoff, RepositioningCruise.com always have lists of repo cruises on sale.

About.com offers a bare-bones listing of the cruise ships being featured on repositioning runs this spring and fall.

Next time, we’ll look at the airlines’ version of repositioning and how to make it work for you.

the IBIT TRAVEL DIGEST 4.4.2012

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The good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media. ​

Bicycle parking lot, Amsterdam | ©IBIT G. Gross

TOURISTS: A BILLION SERVED?
Some of you out there (and you KNOW who you are) are old enough to remember when McDonald’s fast-food joints started running those “1 million served” slogans on the marquees they mounted in front of their trademark golden arches. The count has long since run into the billions, of course.

Well, it looks as if the world’s tourism industry may be catching up.

If the UN World Tourism Organization is right, some time this year, someone will step off a plane or a train or a cruise ship to become something the world has never seen before:

The One Billionth Tourist. That’s one billion in 2012 alone.

There’s a reason why tourism is one of the largest industries on Earth. Nothing, it seems, stops the world from traveling. Not recession, wars, or flight crews losing their minds.

If you’re interested in the breakdown by region, the Adventure Travel Trade Association has it for you here.

And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

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AIR
from Travel Daily News
The world’s largest airline alliance broadens its reach in the East. Star Alliance agrees to accept Taiwan’s Eva Air as a new member by mid-2013. China’s Shenzen Airlines joins Star this year. That will give Star eight airlines in the Asia-Pacific market.

from Travel Weekly
Pinnacle Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Never heard of them? There’s a good chance you’ve flown with them without knowing it. That regional shuttle or “puddle-jumper” flight you took with Delta, United or US Airways? In reality, it was these guys.
​
from Travel Weekly
The bad news: Southwest Airlines quietly raises its airfares. The worse news: Five of its rivals match Southwest increase for increase. You didn’t have to do that, guys. No, really, you didn’t.

LAND
from Smarter Travel
Truth or Consequences is one thing but — Elephant Butte, NM? Rabbit Hash? Leg O’Mutton? Crapstone? Some of wackiest town names you can find — including one Colorado town whose name is No Name. SLIDESHOW

from The Economist (United Kingdom)
Airlines aren’t the only ones looking to bypass online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity. A half-dozen hotel chains have joined forces to do the same thing.

from Smarter Travel
Shoes that fold up. Shirts that don’t smell. Jackets that double as pillows or even carry-ons. Clothing for the road warriors among you.

from Ethical Traveler
The world’s most ethical travel destinations among the world’s developing nations.

SEA
from the New York Times For every style of music, it seems, you can find a cruise for it, and rock-themed cruises are among the most popular.

from USA Today Another week, another cruise ship runs into mechanical troubles on the high seas. This time, it’s the Azamara Quest. Another engine room fire. Everyone’s safe.

from Der Spiegel (Germany)
Was the Costa Concordia disaster a tragedy waiting to happen? Der Spiegel talks to maritime experts who say yes, and say why.

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AFRICA
from Vanguard News (Nigeria) via allAfrica.com
A diplomatic showdown may be coming between the Nigerian government and British airlines over complaints that Nigerian passengers are being overcharged compared with passengers from other West African countries. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are the carriers most often cited by officials inthe capital, Abuja.

from The Star (Kenya) via allAfrica.com
Government urged to combat child sex tourism in Kenya. The laws forbidding it are not being enforced.

from The Star (Kenya) via allAfrica.com
Tourism investors in northern Kenya appeal to the media to start reporting more of the region’s positive aspects, including its track record as a film location.

from The New Vision (Uganda) via allAfrica.com
Should Uganda use the controversial Kony 2012 video to lure tourists to the country? These guys say yes. EDITORIAL

from Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Unlike many African countries, Uganda doesn’t have a national airline — and odd as it might sound, the country might have a better chance of boosting its tourism without one. EDITORIAL

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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from theNew York Times
In New Orleans, they’re re-imagining the hotel bar. It’s not just for tourists anymore. Updated drinks, better food and good music are earning once-stodgy hotel bars a local following.

from the Los Angeles Times
Downtown (Las) Vegas, baby. The part of town that first made southern Nevada a major destination is renewing itself.
​
from the Los Angeles Times
Oakland is moving up in class as a destination. Yes, that Oakland.

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ASIA/PACIFIC
​from Japan Australia
Like the idea of traveling Japan by train and want to save money, but you’re an expat, not a tourist? The Japan Rail Kanto Area Pass may be just your ticket.

from The Telegraph (London UK)
I’ve said it before: China likes to do big things. The world’s tallest bridge connecting two mountain tunnels? I’d say that qualifies. It’s 355 meters high. That’s 1,165 feet. You could fly a jumbo jet under that.

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EUROPE
from Rick Steves via SFGate.com
Europe’s not just about cathedrals and vineyards. If you’re into adventure travel, the Old World is ready to satisfy your need for an adrenaline rush.

from the New York Times
History may be the biggest draw in Cologne, the oldest city in Germany, but fresh shops, restaurants and hotels have Cologne thriving in the present.

from VisitBritain Shop
Better than a hall pass, especially in London — a Pub Pass. Pretty cheap for what you get, and good for a year.

from Hotel Chatter
How’s this for a memorable summer: Commute to the 2012 London Olympics…from Paris.

Edited by P.A.Rice

the IBIT TRAVEL DIGEST 3.26.2012

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A roundup of the good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media. ​

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

© Radkol | Dreamstime.com

TINGO ALL OVER
A new hotel reservation site has made its debut on the Web. It’s called Tingo, and its main calling card comes into play after you make your hotel reservation.

The folks at Tingo say they will keep an eye on your pre-paid reservation. If your room price drops after you’ve reserved it, Tingo will arrange a refund of the difference, automatically.

You can read more about Tingo in this msnbc.com story here.

BRIDGING THE WORLD
In my next life, I might be an engineer, because I love bridges. Admiring them. Photographing them. Sailing under them. Or best of all, walking over them.

I still have fantasies about riding the elevator that runs up the inside of each of the two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge, with my trusty little Canon G12 camera in hand, to take pics from the very top.

That probably explains why I got such a kick out of Cristina Puscas’ list of 13 famous bridges that you can walk or climb. It’s on the BootsnAll Web site, which specializes in independent travel.

With this list as a guide, bridge-hopping can take you around the world.

INDIA, NORTH and SOUTH
The New York Times devotes its Sunday travel section this week to Asia, starting with a sizable story on India that features three possible itineraries based on time — one, two or three weeks.

The piece itself is informative enough, but some of the comments below it are just as insightful, especially those that suggest a possible bias on the part of travel writers toward northern India.

AMELIA EARHART WOULD BE PROUD
Finally, the folks at Air France are making a point of showing off one of their crews on a recent Flight 438, a Boeing 777 from Paris (CDG) to Mexico City (MEX).

Three pilots, 13 flight attendants. All women.

The airline put up its own video to mark the occasion.

I’m not sure how the macho Mexican male passengers on the flight reacted when they found out about the all-female flight crew, but I’ll bet the mujeres on board were diggin’ it.

And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

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AIR
from Gadling
When’s the best time to shop for your airfare? These guys say six weeks in advance.

from Budget Travel
What happens when your airline reservation magically disappears. One travel editor’s experience.

from AirSafe
On any given day, ten people will come to a US airport to board an airplane with a weapon in their possession — and seven of them will get past airport security. One of several statistical bits about the TSA, arrayed in the form of a vertical graphic.

from USA Today
How to keep European transportation strikes from blowing up your travel plans.

LAND
from Smarter Travel
Traveling to Europe this year? Bringing your iPhone with you? From restaurant guides and subway maps to currency converters and translators, these apps are custom-made to help the European traveler, and most of them are free.

from Woman Seeks World
One traveler’s list of the ten most popular countries to emigrate to. If you get the impression it’s a somewhat Eurocentric list, I wouldn’t argue.

from Lonely Planet
The LP crew offers up its list of the world’s ten best cycling routes. Saddle up.

SEA
from Fodors
Looking for a cruise that gets you off the familiar itineraries? One of these might feed your need for something different at sea.

from USA Today
Another old, familiar name in cruise ships is going away…sort of. Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas, whose wrap-around smokestack-mounted lounge created an iconic silhouette among Caribbean cruisers, is being transferred out of the fleet.

from USA Today
The river cruise business is heating up bigtime, especially in Europe. The Viking line christens four new European river cruisers…on the same day.

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AFRICA
from Nature
Private developers are scrambling to buy up vast tracts of African land. Is this land grab holding back progress on the continent?

from eTurbo News
Perhaps none too soon, given the above developments, Tanzania plans to host the first-ever pan-African conference by the UN World Tourism Organization on sustainable tourism management in national parks and protected areas.

from University of Oxford
Did you know that Africa has as many cities of 1 million people or more as Europe? These guys see that as one of six reasons why investing in Africa is a good idea.

from NewsDay (Zimbabwe)
Think Americans are the only people in the world who are into reality television? Zimbabwe has its own reality TV show in the works, this one focused on the country’s tourist attractions. And yes, they plan to market this show globally.

from Wolfganghthome
Rwanda is hooking up with Google Maps to digitally mark its major tourist destinations, a first for the Mother Continent, according to this blogger.

from Travel Travel (United Kingdom)
A sample of the kind of cheap Africa vacation packages available from Europe. This one just happens to include a stay at the hotel where I stayed in the Gambia.
​
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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from Frommer’s Travel
Five ways for Americans to legally visit Cuba. SLIDESHOW

from USA Today
America’s capital is loaded with history, charm, great eateries, great watering holes — and it’s table-flat. Sound like a great weekend bike ride? Now, you can rent your wheels in Washington DC.

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ASIA/PACIFIC
​from the New York Times
Myanmar, the country that many of us still think of as Burma, is emerging as a new travel destination for the early 21st century. A primer on how to get there and what you’ll find.

from the New York Times
A generation ago, Laos was the site of the Southeast Asian war your parents didn’t know about. Today, it’s the exotic, fascinating travel destination that you may not know about.

from Gadling
When it comes to visiting India’s famed Taj Mahal, timing is everything, especially if you want that great pic.

from msnbc.com
Poor Las Vegas. First, they had to contend with casinos on Indian reservations siphoning off visitors. Now, they have to deal with Singapore.

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EUROPE
from The Quirky Traveller
The quirky side of Britain’s Lake District.

​from Mo Travels
A black American expat in Amsterdam shares her all-girl getaway near Lake Garda in Italy.

from The Guardian (London UK)
​Reader tips on where and what to eat in Turkey. If all you’re expecting is kebabs, prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

from USA Today
International airports have been built on artificial islands before, but never at the mouth of one of the world’s busiest rivers, like the Thames in England. The mayor of London thinks that’s a fine idea.

from The Guardian (London UK)
Okay, this is just strange: Camel wrestling in Turkey? If your travel tastes run toward the bizarre, see this ancient Aegean custom — before the Turkish government finds a reason to ban it.

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