Let's look at some of most commonly offered repositioning cruises. There is a small market for cruises in Europe during the deepest winter months, with most ships going to the Canary Islands or the Middle East. But the European summer season features dozens of ships sailing throughout the Mediterranean, Atlantic Coast and the Baltic Sea.
Most of the summer season ships in Europe are American, and they sail trans-Atlantic cruises from the Caribbean to reach Europe in the spring. They again reposition to the Caribbean during the autumn months.
On the other coast, every ship relocating from the Caribbean to Alaska must go through the Panama Canal - unless they won't fit. So, while Panama Canal cruises are offered throughout the year, the April/May season offers a much larger variety of canal cruises to choose from.
Many repositioning cruises for ships headed to Alaska will make a run for Hawaii on the way up the West Coast. These cruises often start in San Diego and sail for the Hawaiian Islands. Some of these ships will repeat this as a roundtrip cruise a few times. Then comes the true repositioning cruise - the one that leaves San Diego for Hawaii but returns to Vancouver, Canada.
Each year offers slightly different repositioning cruise itineraries depending upon demand and what the cruise lines need to accomplish. For example, the two circumnavigation cruises of South America scheduled this winter will not be repeated with these ships. These are one-time cruises. Interestingly, I have already met several cruisers who are aware of the unique nature of these cruises and have booked them for that reason alone.
Another unique repositioning cruise I am aware of this year is a West Coast cruise that starts in San Diego and ends in Vancouver. This is a nine-day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. The ship visits Catalina, San Francisco, Astoria, Seattle and Vancouver. While this only happens once this year, it will likely be repeated next year and beyond if it proves to be popular.