Cruise liners often have two different bases around the world during the year in order to take advantage of seasonal weather. Therefore a ship that spends the spring and summer in the Mediterranean, may well head off to South Africa for the winter months. The journeys these ships make between the two destinations are called Repositioning Cruises.
Although not often advertised as such, these repositioning cruises can offer some great deals to exotic destinations as the cruise lines try to fill the ships for these voyages. A cruise such as the example used above, sailing between the ports of Genoa and Durban, takes on average 22 days. A typical route would be via Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Seychelles, Kenya, Zanzibar and then on to Durban.
These one-off repositioning cruises are extremely good value and mean you get to see a lot of the world at a huge discount compared to what a cruise of this nature would actually cost. Old hands at cruising can spot these deals miles away but they would be just as much benefit to someone who is new to cruising and who wants to try it out at a reasonable price.
Other examples of routes taken by repositioning cruises are from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, the East Coast to the West Coast of the USA via the Panama Canal, the Caribbean to South America and the East Coast of the USA to the Caribbean. More recently repositioning cruises take place between the UK and Australia as well as the Far East. These are just some of the options available as obviously timings and itineraries will be dependant upon which cruise line is operating the cruise.
So whether you are an experienced cruiser, or are just about to plan your first cruise, check out repositioning cruises and get the bargain of a lifetime.