Most of the major cruise lines ply different cruise routes during the different seasons. The Mediterranean is popular during the summer months, along with many countries in the northern hemisphere. Cruises to Alaska only take place from May to September, when access is easiest and temperatures are more conducive to shore excursions. The Caribbean is popular during the winter months, from November to April, when hurricanes have passed and many guests are looking for winter sunshine to break the long winter months. The southern hemisphere is opposite to the northern hemisphere with its seasons, making it excellent for cruises from November to May. Cruises to South America, Australia and New Zealand will generally take place during the northern hemisphere’s winter months, taking advantage of the southern hemisphere’s summer.
Obviously the major cruise lines move their ships from one area to another twice a year to take advantage of these preferential cruising seasons. During April and May, Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebrity, Holland America and other cruise lines will offer one-off relocation cruises as the ships move from the Caribbean to their summer destinations which may be in Alaska, Europe and the Mediterranean. Similarly around November the ships will once again relocate to their winter destinations.
Many of the relocation cruises cross the Atlantic where there are few opportunities for port visits. This puts the emphasis on the onboard entertainment. Many classes are offered to fill the days with card games, dancing, lectures, film shows, beauty demonstrations, art auctions and more. There may be classes to teach common gambling games such as poker, blackjack, craps and roulette. The professional croupiers will teach more advanced play, and who better to learn from than the professionals? For those who enjoy gambling, a relocation cruise offers some of the best opportunities to play, as there are no ports. Cruise ships must close their casinos whilst in port, but with almost ten continuous days at sea, the opportunities abound for making the most of the onboard top class entertainment and gambling.
Relocation cruises represent some of the best value for money round. These cruises are one-offs and are generally priced low to begin with. Add to that the increased amount of entertainment offered during the day, rather than being ashore and you can really get excellent value for money. This advantage, coupled with some unique itineraries to traverse the Panama Canal, cross the Atlantic or sail up the western US coast to Alaska should put these cruises on every serious traveler’s ‘must do’ list.
