Transpacific Repositioning Cruises: 2026–2027 Schedule, Routes and Lines

Transpacific repositioning cruises follow two routes across the Pacific. The northern one links Vancouver, Seattle or Los Angeles with Tokyo in 13 to 22 nights, sailing west in September and east in April and May. The southern one links the West Coast and Hawaii with Sydney or Brisbane in 15 to 50 nights, south in September to November and north in March and April. Both exist for the same reason: ships moving between the Alaska season, Asia and the Australian summer.

They are the longest voyages most mainstream lines sell, with more sea days than any Atlantic crossing. This page is the overview of both routes and the current schedule. For the detail, see our guides to repositioning cruises to Japan and Asia for the northern route and Australia repositioning cruises for the ships moving to and from the Australian season. The short coastal and Hawaii moves from Southern California are covered in repositioning cruises from Los Angeles.

The transpacific schedule for 2026 and 2027

Of the 517 repositioning sailings in our repositioning cruise finder, each checked on the cruise line’s own website in late September 2026, 38 are transpacific crossings departing between October 2026 and December 2027. Three sail in late 2026; the other 35 in 2027.

The finder link above shows the current list, filtered to transpacific routes, and each row links to the line’s own page, so dates the lines add later show up there.

The two routes compared

The North Pacific route

Ships follow the great circle between the Pacific Northwest and Japan, which bends north along the Alaska coast and the Aleutian Islands. None of the 17 North Pacific crossings in our data sails nonstop. Westbound itineraries typically start with Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka or Whittier, sometimes Kodiak, Homer or Valdez, then cross to Hokkaido or northern Honshu (Kushiro, Hakodate, Otaru, Aomori) before Tokyo or Yokohama.

The luxury lines take the longest: Viking’s crossings are 22 nights in each direction, and Regent’s 19. Holland America’s Noordam does Seattle to Tokyo in 13 nights, the shortest in our data. Princess’s Sapphire Princess and Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas cross farther south between Los Angeles and Japan, the former by way of Hawaii.

Eastbound spring crossings from Tokyo all finish in Vancouver in our data, where those ships start their Alaska seasons. Because the voyage begins abroad, it can call at several Alaska ports on the way without running into the US cabotage rules that CBP enforces against foreign-flagged ships carrying passengers between two US ports. They do matter westbound: a passenger who boards in Seattle cannot leave the ship early in Ketchikan and fly home, because that would be a one-way trip between two US ports. Our Japan and Asia guide covers the ports, weather and clocks in detail.

The South Pacific route

The southern crossings are longer and warmer. They come in three lengths:

• Honolulu to or from Sydney or Brisbane, 15 to 18 nights. Royal Caribbean (Anthem and Ovation of the Seas) and Celebrity (Edge and Solstice), calling at Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia or New Zealand. Our Hawaii repositioning guide covers this leg port by port.
• The West Coast to or from Australia, 18 to 36 nights. Princess between Los Angeles and Sydney, Cunard’s Queen Victoria from Los Angeles to Sydney (the fastest at 18 nights), Holland America and Royal Caribbean between Seattle and Sydney or Brisbane, and Carnival Luminosa from Sydney to San Francisco.
• The very long ones. Holland America’s Volendam sails Fort Lauderdale to Sydney through the Panama Canal in 35 nights, and Grand Princess takes 50 nights from Los Angeles to Sydney by way of Japan and Taiwan.

Sea days come in runs of several at a time: between the mainland and Hawaii, between Hawaii and the South Pacific islands, and on the longer routings across the open ocean to Australia or New Zealand.

Sea days, the date line and the clocks

Sea days. No other mainstream itinerary has as many. Even routes with island calls have several open-ocean days in a row, and a month-long voyage can have more sea days than port days. For how ships fill them and who finds them hard, see what to do on sea days.

The date line. NOAA describes the international date line as roughly following 180 degrees longitude, zigzagging around eastern Russia and the Aleutians. Cross it westbound and the calendar jumps a day forward; eastbound you live a date twice. On the North Pacific route it happens beyond the Aleutians; on the South Pacific route, usually between Hawaii and the islands or Fiji.

The clocks. Westbound, the ship sets clocks back an hour on many nights, which is easy on the body. Eastbound, they go forward, which most people find harder. Ships usually make the change at night or at midday, and announce it the day before.

Weather on each route

The two routes feel nothing alike. On the North Pacific crossing in September or April, expect air temperatures that stay cool for most of the voyage, frequent fog and cloud near the Aleutians, and long swells on the open stretch. Typhoon season around Japan runs through late summer and early fall, so a September arrival can lose or swap a Japanese port.

The South Pacific route is tropical once the ship is a few days south of the mainland. The Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June through November, and the South Pacific cyclone season begins around November, which is one reason most southbound crossings leave in September and October. Captains reroute around storms, and on a long crossing that usually costs an island call rather than comfort. For how ships handle heavy weather and how to reduce seasickness, the advice in are transatlantic cruises rough applies on the Pacific too.

Which lines run transpacific crossings

In our data, Royal Caribbean and Princess lead with 8 crossings each, followed by Holland America (5), Celebrity and Viking (4 each), Carnival, Norwegian, Oceania and Regent (2 each) and Cunard (1). The split by route is clear: Viking, Oceania and Regent cross only to Japan, Celebrity only to Australia, and Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland America and Carnival do both.

The luxury lines run the longer, slower versions: Viking’s Japan crossings are 22 nights where Norwegian and Royal Caribbean take 14 or 15. Our comparison of the best cruise lines for repositioning cruises covers what each is like on long runs at sea.

Costs, flights and documents

Fares. Per night, transpacific crossings are usually among the cheaper ways to cruise on a given line, because few people can take three to five weeks. The total is still large, and prices change daily, so the finder links to each line’s live fare.

Flights. One end of every crossing is a long-haul one-way flight, from Tokyo, Sydney or Brisbane. That ticket is the biggest variable in the cost of the trip, and it rises sharply close to departure. Book it when you book the cruise. For Americans, the best combination is usually flying out to Asia or Australia and sailing home, since the long flight is then booked months ahead rather than chosen around a ship’s arrival time.

Documents. Bring a passport book valid well past your return. US citizens need an Australian Electronic Travel Authority for Australia, and every cruise passenger needs a New Zealand NZeTA if the ship calls there. Starting in Vancouver adds Canadian entry rules, including an eTA for visa-exempt non-US travelers who fly in.

Which crossing to choose

If you want cooler weather, Alaska scenery and the shorter commitment, take a North Pacific crossing in September, westbound, when the clocks go back and Japan is mild on arrival. If you want warm weather and island calls, take a Honolulu to Sydney crossing in October or November and fly home from Australia, or do it in reverse in April and finish in the US. If you want the longest voyage the mainstream lines sell, the Seattle to Sydney and Los Angeles to Sydney sailings run four to seven weeks.