The Intentional Travelers

Taking Advantage Of Repositioning Cruises

In the early twentieth century most ocean liners were luxury transportation getting people from one part of the world to another. Trans-Atlantic cruises were the most common but there were routes covering the entire globe. Today cruise ships are a whole lot more than just transportation and they have cruising seasons around the world’s in many popular regions.

A repositioning cruise traditionally is when a cruise line needs to move their ships from one seasonal location to another. Winter is high cruising season in the Caribbean while Europe is a Summer market. For that reason several dozen cruise ships head out east across the Atlantic every Spring and back west in the Fall. These Atlantic crossings are by far the most common repositioning cruises but there are repositioning cruises in other markets. They include in the Fall Alaska cruise ships leaving to get back to the Caribbean or west across the Pacific. A late Summer reposition movement goes down to South America in the Fall and back north in the Spring.

Just a decade or two ago these cruises were tremendous bargains but even today they represent opportunities to spend a week or more cruising at really good savings. The down side of these cruises is that on average you spend seven to nine straight days at sea. The up side is that the ships provided the same entertainment, the same great cuisine and the same attentive service. Additionally most of these cruises also provide a port of call or two at each end of the cruise.

Lately, as cruising gets more popular and more people become frequent cruisers the ships have less trouble filling those repositioning cruise cabins and the pricing has often adjusted upward as a result. Even so, if it’s the cruise experience you enjoy these cruises are still a good value considering the length of the cruise relative to price.

In addition to those values these cruises offer, some cruise lines offer additional programs for passengers to help fill those sea day stretches. These range from art and craft classes and demonstrations to lectures on a number of topics. In these programs you’ll find artists, college professors, art historians, archaeologist, naturalists, adventure travelers and explorers.

If you love cruising and are looking for new cruise opportunities, take a little time and explore repositioning cruises.

Featured here is a typical offer from Royal Caribbean for a November 2022 sailing from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale…

Todays Featured Image Yellow Coneflower

Wild Echinacea Paradoxa – Yellow Coneflower at the edge of the woods in the North Carolina Arboretum on The Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville.

These giclée prints will soon be available in several sizes and styles, custom printed for each individual order on archival, museum grade paper using fade resistant inks.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these posters that are perfect for framing.

The Walt Disney World Transportation System

Includes New Downloadable pdf Map

Before you plan a trip to Walt Disney World it might be helpful to understand the transportation system options. The basic drive in and spend a day at a park is pretty straight forward. Get inside The World and follow the signs to the selected park. Pay about $20, park and take the transports to the park entrance. But if you’re staying on property the options are many.

Magic Kingdom Transportation Center

The Liberty Belle, Frontier Land at Nite, Magic Kingdom

When Walt Disney World was just the Magic Kingdom this was featured as the starting point for visitors. Now each park and resort has its own parking. If we’re visiting Disney World and staying at a Disney resort, after check-in, that’s where our car stays.

If you are staying at one of the resorts near the Magic Kingdom (The Contemporary, The Polynesian, The Grand Floridian) you are on the monorail loop that stops at each resort and the Magic Kingdom entrance along with the “transportation center”. There are also New York style ferries that travel back and forth from the transportation center to the Magic Kingdom entrance. Smaller boats from each of those three resorts also sail across Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom entrance. Each resort also offers a bus stop with service to each of the other parks and Disney Springs running about every 15 to 20 minutes. There is also the option of switching monorails at the Magic Kingdom station with service going over to the front Epcot entrance. Also in the Magic Kingdom neighborhood are the Wilderness Lodge and the Fort Wilderness campground, that along with busses also have boats over to the Magic Kingdom entrance.

Boat Service

There are a few resorts that have regular boat service to Disney Springs. They include Saratoga Springs, Port Orleans & Riverside. Saratoga Springs is also near enough to Disney Springs for a nice walk along the trails around the lake.

There is boat service in the Boardwalk area with stops at Boardwalk, Swan & Dolphin, Beach Club and Yacht Club resorts with short rides to the Disney Studios Park and Epcot.

Walking To Parks And Disney Springs – There are not many easy walking trails or sidewalks inside Walt Disney World. If you’re staying in the Boardwalk area (Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan and Dolphin) there are sidewalks that will take you on a short walk from the hotels to either The Disney Studios Park or Epcot. The Epcot entrance is into the World Showcase area in the park.

Staying at Saratoga Springs allows a pleasant walk around the lake to Disney Springs and Downtown Disney.

A recent addition to Disney World are the cable cars called the Skyliner. The Disney Skyliner is an enclosed gondola cable-car system now operating six stations connecting the Disney Pop Century, Disney Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, the new DVC Riviera Resort with two of the theme parks. The Skyliner takes guests to Epcot at the International Gateway and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The remainder of the resorts rely on the bus system to get around. Regarding the bus system, you can take a bus from almost all hotels to the six parks (that includes 2 water parks) and Disney Springs, but you cannot take a bus from one resort to another unless they share the same bus route. To go from one resort to another you will have to go to a park bus stop or Disney Springs and switch to a bus going to the other resort. Another word of caution, normally, if you are a resort guest you can drive to other resorts and park. Unfortunately in busy periods they will restrict parking to only guests of that resort so you may get turned away.

It has been announced that Walt Disney World will be starting a dedicated on-property taxi service to provide rides between any location inside the “World” for a flat fee (suggested fare is $29 per ride).

Todays Featured Poster • Dawes Glacier Alaska

A number of miles up into Alaska’s Misty Fjord is a channel named Tracy Arm and at its end sits a glacier calving blocks of ice into the channel. One of Alaska’s most beautiful glaciers but only a few cruise itineraries will visit it each year.

These giclée prints will soon be available in several sizes and styles, custom printed for each individual order on archival, museum grade paper using fade resistant inks.

River Cruising Across Europe

River Cruising Across Europe Part I – The Danube

Europes main street is a waterway. It starts at the North Sea with the Rhine River, flows into the Main in Germany and then transitions to the Danube River. As it flows southeast across the continent it touches nine countries before finally emptying into the Black Sea near Romania. If you are thinking about a river cruise in Europe there’s an 80% chance that you will cruise a portion of this waterway. The itineraries that are available along this route are so popular that on any given day you’ll usually find a dozen or two riverboats tied up along the river in Budapest, Hungary.

Most cruises will fall into one of four itineraries:

The Grand European Cruise – One of the most popular these cruises usually start in Budapest and heads west to end in Amsterdam or vice versa. The cruise normally lasts from 12 to 16 days.
A Week Long Cruise West From Budapest – These itineraries sail one of the most historic stretches of the Danube and end in Passau or Regensburg, Germany.
Amsterdam And The Rhine – Often characterized as “the romantic Rhine” this itinerary includes Holland’s Kinderdijk with the iconic windmills and the Rhine with its castles and German vineyards. They usually take about a week.
The Eastern Danube – Sailing west from Budapest these cruises explore the Balkins through Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania ending near Bucharest or vice versa and take 10 to 14 days.

What Makes River Cruising Special?

One of the biggest appeals of river cruising is the ability to dock right in the middle of popular cities or villages where so much is right at hand. Often there are no buses or taxis to take and it’s easy to go and come as you please. In addition, unlike ocean cruising, there’s usually a constant flow of changing scenery. From city scapes, small villages, castles and interesting locks , it’s a pleasure to sit and watch the world drift by.

Sights And Cities

Traveling west on the Danube from near Bucharest and the Black Sea you’ll pass and visit a number of memorable cities, towns and sights. Sail through the Danube’s Iron Gate canyon, spend a day in a number of Croatian and Serbian villages and stop in Belgrade. Spend time in one of the greatest cities on the river, Budapest, Hungary. Sailing west from Hungary you’ll explore amazing Vienna and Passau in Germany. Continue on for stops in Ragensburg, Nurenberg and Wurzburg, Germany with opportunities for numerous side trips. Switching to the Rhine River there are opportunities to spend time in Germany’s Koblenz and Cologne before sailing on to Holland’s Kinderdijk and ending in Amsterdam.

Canals, Locks And River Conditions

Unlike ocean cruising, river cruises are more subject to river conditions like flooding and low water. Droughts in Europe can cause the rivers to get too low for the river boats to navigate and flooding will prevent the boats from getting under bridges. While most companies will offer options like using buses and hotels to run the itinerary others will simple cancel. For those reasons it is recommended that you keep an eye on what’s happening so you won’t be surprised and shocked when that trip falls through.

Europes rivers are connected and controlled by a large series of locks and dams. Any cruise along the Danube or Rhein will require using any number of locks.

Companies Sailing The Danube

While there are easily a dozen companies offering river cruises on the Danube the five with the best reputations and reviews are:

Avalon Waterways HERE
AmaWaterways HERE
Emerald Waterways HERE
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise HERE
Viking Cruises HERE

Scandinavia Cruise Options

This Weeks Cruise Deals And Featured Itineraries

Explore Cruise Life

Cruise Scandinavia And The North Atlantic

Cruise up Norway’s stunning fjords, visit The Netherlands’ fabled tulip fields and windmills, or stroll through the Viking medieval cities. Cruise the British Isles or stark Iceland.

Popular Northern Europe And Atlantic Cruise Destination – Amsterdam and Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Alesund, Bergen and Flam (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark), Stockholm (Sweden), Edinburgh and Inverness (Scotland), Tallinn (Estonia), Southampton and Liverpool (England), Dublin (Ireland), Akureyri and Reykjavik (Iceland), Qaqortoq (Greenland)

POPULAR CRUISE ITINERARIES AND SHIPS

ONE OF OUR FAVORITE CRUISE TRAVEL SITES

There are a lot of cruise booking sites but some are easier to navigate than others and we’re particularly fond of Cruise Specialists.

Please Note • Todays cruise industry is incredibly dynamic with new itineraries and special deals changing daily. With endless possibilities and ever changing offers it is nearly impossible to stay up-to-date. This series will regularly highlight new offerings we think you might find interesting. Most links here will take you to individual cruise line websites where you can search for specific cruise offers. We do not receive any discounts or commission from travel or cruise companies.

Explore Exotic And Amazing Ports of Call

From lost civilizations to some of the greatest natural wonders, cruises can help you explore the world in luxury. Explore your cruise options using these convenient links:

Royal Caribbean

Norwegian Cruise Line