Australia Repositioning Cruises: Routes and Season

Australia’s cruise season runs opposite to the northern hemisphere’s, which is what creates the repositioning traffic. Ships arrive in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in October and November for the southern summer, and leave again in March and April. Getting them there and back produces some of the longest and cheapest voyages in cruising.

The seasonal pattern

Arriving, October to November. Ships come from the North American west coast, from Asia, or occasionally all the way from Europe. The Pacific routes usually run via Hawaii and the South Pacific islands, taking two to three weeks.

Leaving, March to April. The reverse, as ships head north for the Alaska season or back to Asia and Europe. Autumn in Australia is spring in the north, so the timing lines up with the Alaska deployment.

What the voyages involve

These are transpacific crossings, and they are long. Expect 14 to 21 nights, with sea days in runs of five to nine. The Pacific is wide and the islands are far apart, so even routes that call at Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa or New Caledonia have substantial ocean between stops.

You cross the International Date Line on most of them, gaining or losing a full calendar day depending on direction.

Who sails them

A mix of Australians heading north, North Americans heading south, and a strong contingent of British passengers on the longer routes. Because the market is split across hemispheres, these voyages are often quieter in North American search results than their quality deserves, which sometimes keeps fares soft.

Princess and Royal Caribbean both maintain a serious Australian presence and run the most transpacific repositioning between them, with Holland America and Cunard on the longer and more traditional routes.

What it costs

Low per night, high in total. A 16-night transpacific at $70 a night is excellent value per day and still over $1,100 per person before flights. The flight is the real consideration: a one-way long-haul between Australia and North America or Europe is expensive at any notice and punishing at short notice.

Book the flight with the cruise. On this route more than any other, leaving it until later is how a cheap voyage becomes an expensive vacation.

Practical points

• Visas. A one-way voyage may call at several countries and end in one you then need entry rights for. Check every port, not just the last one.
• Seasons reverse. You will pack for two climates, and the ship will cross from one into the other.
• Time changes. Frequent, in the same direction, for most of the voyage. Easier than an eastbound Atlantic crossing but not nothing.

Who it suits

Committed sea-day travelers with time. Three weeks is a long vacation by most standards, and the format rewards people who treat the ocean as the destination rather than the gap between ports.