One Way Cruises

[JM_97]

Is there a reason why one way repositioning cruises are less expensive than round trips? The Magic has a 1 way from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale next May and I was shocked at the price - in a good way! It's a 5 night cruise with stops in St. Thomas, Nassau, and Castaway Cay, and it is similarly priced to a 3 night Bahamas cruise.

 

[motherdaughtercruisers]

I’m not sure why they are cheaper, but like you am very glad they are! Makes them perfect for B2B or B2B2B cruises!

 

[OKW Lover]

I suspect the demand for such cruises is fairly low. People need to fly into San Juan and then fly home from Ft Lauderdale. That makes the logistics a bit difficult and the air fares are usually a problem.

Still, it's a good deal for those that can deal with them.

 

[Kwami]

I was on the October 31 cruise from NYC to San Juan last year. A cast member at guest services told me that demand for repositioning cruises is always low. We weren't even half full. They combined the two dinner times into one, which was kind of annoying. But, the ship wasn't crowded, so that was good.

So, I guess that's why they're cheaper. Most people don't want to sail on repositioning cruises.

 

[kiford]

Repositioning cruises often have very few ports - so lower port fees - and are less attractive because they have a lot of days at sea. Obviously, this isn't entirely the case for a 5-day, but also as others have mentioned, one of the ends is likely to be more expensive to get to/from and/or one-way flights can be more expensive. Unfortunately so many of the repositioning cruises just don't work with my schedule because I'd love to do a repositioning cruise to or from Europe. I personally love at sea days.

 

[Marc D]

Those cruises present more difficulties for most potential cruisers in terms of logistics, often are not more interesting than ‘regular’ cruises or, in the case of TA and PC cruises, too long for families with young kids. They also sail between seasons, at times where only retired or self-employed guests can go on vacation.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I've been on many repositioning cruises and they haven't had to combine two dinner seatings into one. They may be a little lighter on cruisers but not much different than any other cruise where school is in session. I'm on a repo from NY to San Juan in November on the Dream and it is almost full. It is Jersey week though.

 

[JM_97]

This has now peaked my interest because May actually is a good time for us since we don't have kids. Plus it's a more unique itinerary at a lower price. Fort Lauderdale is actually drivable so we would also only have one flight. It still would be cheaper than a lot of the other Disney cruises that time of year.

The only "con" could be I know there's mixed reviews of the Magic right now given her age.

 

[Calantha]

This has now peaked my interest because May actually is a good time for us since we don't have kids. Plus it's a more unique itinerary at a lower price. Fort Lauderdale is actually drivable so we would also only have one flight. It still would be cheaper than a lot of the other Disney cruises that time of year.

The only "con" could be I know there's mixed reviews of the Magic right now given her age.

We were on the first cruise after the drydock and that hasn't stopped me from booking it next year for Lighthouse Point.

 

[auntlynne]

That would be the perfect cruise to add on a day pre-cruise to visit El Yunque (I have been to Old San Juan) as a day excursion or the bioluminescent bay.

Even on the first cruise post-drydock in May, it is still the Magic I cherish and a Disney cruise. It has been my favorite ship for a long time, with no signs of being bumped from that top spot until I can afford a more premium line. I do not utilize the bells and whistles on bigger, modern ships, and enjoy the lower guest capacity.

The #1 drawback is airfare. The second is that hotel prices in San Juan are higher than comparable properties in FL (I still have post-Covid sticker shock; maybe the difference is not so much as I think).

Hi, @Calantha !

I book Disney cruises principally in price, itinerary and date. Ship is probably a very small criterion (other than # of guests - which is more date related).

 

[Calantha]

The second is that hotel prices in San Juan are higher than comparable properties in FL (I still have post-Covid sticker shock; maybe the difference is not so much as I think).

Agree. That is one thing that would deter me.

 

[auntlynne]

Agree. That is one thing that would deter me.

And we stayed at the same hotel, the Residence Inn, which was sort of the mid-point, I think.

 

[Erica1016]

We are booked on that cruise! And PP is correct, it made it easier to decide to do a week on the Fantasy right after. We will spend two nights with family in Fort Lauderdale and then head up to PC!

 

[motherdaughtercruisers]

We are booked on that cruise! And PP is correct, it made it easier to decide to do a week on the Fantasy right after. We will spend two nights with family in Fort Lauderdale and then head up to PC!

I hope you enjoy your sailing!

 

[NephieRN]

We love one way cruises! We’ve done Galveston to San Juan and San Juan to New Orleans in the past. Doing NYC to San Juan in November. Logistics can be a bit harder with repositioning cruises which is probably why they are priced cheaper as many people don’t want to deal with it.

 

[reneaterry]

We've done several repo cruises and have always enjoyed them and they do usually have fewer people. However, we're booked on the NYC to San Juan in Nov and it's looking packed. The website is only showing about 40 rooms available. So lower numbers is not always guaranteed.

 

[Kwami]

We've done several repo cruises and have always enjoyed them and they do usually have fewer people. However, we're booked on the NYC to San Juan in Nov and it's looking packed. The website is only showing about 40 rooms available. So lower numbers is not always guaranteed.

I wouldn't think too much about what the website shows as available. On any given cruise, you'll see some blocks of rooms available and not others. Come back a few weeks later and a bunch of the unavailable blocks are suddenly available. Disney plays games with room availability to satisfy lifeboat and staffing requirements.

It might still be a full cruise, though.

 

[RedHead0186]

I wouldn't think too much about what the website shows as available. On any given cruise, you'll see some blocks of rooms available and not others. Come back a few weeks later and a bunch of the unavailable blocks are suddenly available. Disney plays games with room availability to satisfy lifeboat and staffing requirements.

It might still be a full cruise, though.

I can sort of second this. On one cruise (not a repo), we wanted a particular stateroom, but it was showing as unavailable on the DCL website. We asked our TA if she could check on it (and gave her a backup stateroom nearby, just in case). She was able to book the stateroom we requested, with seemingly no issue. So it seems DCL had only listed some available staterooms in that location/category, but have more available than what was listed on the website.

 

[CM Dad]

Since these are not closed loop cruises, it could be that demand is lower because people that don't want to pay for a passport are unable to do these

 

[sadiecatie]

We’ll be on this sailing, so I’m happy for the lower rates as well! I can see the reasons, with airfare and travel, that some may be dissuaded from a one-way, but we use miles and points and will be visiting family on both ends, so it’s perfect for us! San Juan is definitely worth taking an extra couple days on the front end and extending your vacation in combination with the 5-day sailing.