1-Day Cruises?
 

Has anyone had any experience with one day cruises? Seems like some sort of repositioning sailing. I have seem some rather compelling rates departing out of Seattle into Vancouver BC, of course with port taxes exceeding the room charge ($29 + $30.95 tax), up to $79 for a high end room.

Seems to be cheaper than dinner, movie, hotel, etc.

I was curious if they scrimp heavily on these cruises, what the occupancy rates were like, if they had full food service, and if it was an entertaining method of getting to canada for the weekend.

Dunno.

I would think it is harder for the lines to fill those voyages since you can't legally do any sort of Back2Back cruise combination using it.

In NYC you are going to get a young party crowd - drinking all night and no need to drive. Large groups of friends, loud, etc. Sounds awful.

From what I understand, these are just like any other cruise, the line just decided this would be a good chance while moving a ship to IMO:

1. make some extra money

2. possibly introduce someone to cruising

3. build brand loyalty

Sometimes not full and you can get nice upgrades. Done several just for fun on HAL. Seattle-Vancouver is a nice run.

We've done both 1 day & 2 day cruises (to nowhere) way back then & been on many cruises since. Here's a quick overview:

You are really on that big ship for 18 hours at best (earliest boarding is typically 12 noon & ship is docked at the pier the next morning, generally by 8 am or 9 am - with all guest being OFF the big boat by 10 am or 11 am since the room stewards have to clean up, change sheets, etc. & prepare for the next group of guests arriving at the pier and eager to come on board.

Get plenty of rest/sleep on the night before your 1 day cruise, as otherwise, your time on the ship will blink so fast that you don't want to spend 8 to 10 hours of those 18 hours sleeping in your stateroom (cabin) - especially if you opted for a nice balcony or upscale suite. Pricing isn't that much more than an oceanview - the taxes, fees & other onboard charges are the same, including the "suggested" gratitudes or tips (averaging $10 to $15 per person per night, depending on the cruise line) If you get the balcony, think about it as unless you plan to party in your stateroom, dine & drink, etc. - your view is pitch black outside, perhaps moonlight & stars along with the coastline at a distance, since you aren't far out in the open water.

It's a big ship so it will probably take you an hour or two to finish checking out everything, walk & walk & walk to find the main dining room - see the long lines and then dash to the buffet & to the upscale, extra-charge restaurants only to find that there are lines too, everyone is on it this evening with no place to go and trying to make the best of it - and will be getting off in the morning. Bars will be open soon, along with the casino, the pool, the gym, the "duty-free" gift shops, and the showroom - wow, overwhelmed with so much to do, so little time remaining & can I not sleep & stay up all night to try to get it all in. It's designed for the cruiselines to make extra money without sailing an empty ship as it re-position from port A to port B overnight, and to attract party-goers on a budget & to introduce future loyal cruisers to give it a try, etc.

SEA-YVR is nice & short, calm waters & warm ocean wind, and easy to get across the border to head home the next day, or better yet, to stay up there for an extra day or two, to recover from all the excitement onboard. If it's NCL that you are looking at, those are excellent ships, very friendly international staff on board, and food is quite good - checkout more info over at CruiseCritics Forum (many postings) and you will have a fun time on it. For the money spend, it's probably a better deal vs. staying on dry land - just stay away from the casino & watch the bar charges and you will be fine.

Nowadays, it's mostly resort casual dress code, no formal tux to worry about, and all charges are done on your electronic room key linked to your registered credit card, so NO cash involved while on board - just sign & it will be billed to the cc.

Plan to arrive at the tier by 11:30 am to board early, as lunch is included but many people missed it (especially on regular cruises coming in from the airport, etc.) - find out if the main dining room is open, sit down & enjoy a nice lunch being served by the attendant, why rush to the buffet - if you are still hungry, you can still go to the buffet for more (nobody keep tracks of how many meals you ate while on the ship, really) - then make your way to the statement to drop off your carry-on/overnight bags, attend the mandatory life-boat drills & before you know it, it will be sailaway time - usually with another party (BBQ) pool side - sometimes, it won't leave until 6 pm or even 8 pm (regular cruises tend to leave earlier, 4 pm to 6 pm) & the big dinner is one of the main event, again, I always tell new folks to enjoy a sit-down meal first, then check out the buffet after the dinner show if you are hungry again (or look for the snack bar for pizza, wings, burgers & fries, etc.) Some people will party, dance & dance while others go to watch the evening show - all in a matter of few hours as things tend to slow down by midnight. Before you know it & shortly after you crashed in your comfortable bed, it's morning & getting close to being off the ship (debarkation) - one final meal, the breakfast & you will soon be off - or told that it's time to go.

Have fun & enjoy it, time to think & plan ahead for a regular, full scale cruise next time - 18 hours is just too short to fully appreciate it all. Good luck, any other questions - feel free to ask again.

Thanks everyone for the responses. My wife and I are a little green to the cruise scene, but we did do a 7 day cruise on Disney earlier in the year, and I additionally did another 7 day about 15 years back on Carnival (back when they didn't really suck that much). I just see this as something a little different for us to try out.

Lots of dates to pick form, but only the Oct 1 for ms Zaandam on HAL worked out with the schedule. We will probably hang out in YVR for the day (or stay the night, haven't really planned that far yet), and fly back to SEA.

Since its such a short run and last minute type of thing, I ended up booking a HAL interior room. Unless they just like to aggregate passengers or need to open up the cheapees for more sales, i probably doubt i will get an upgrade?

Making me feel better about that super cheap interior room. :D

I ended up booking the higher end dining for my wife and I with a reserved time at "Pinnacle Grill" on ms Zaandam (HAL). Is this nothing more than another buffet? Disney had table service for their higher end dining, but is this perhaps not the case on a short cruise or HAL in particular?

Thanks for the advice!

Without questions, smart decision since on short cruises, inside cabin is fine - pocket the small savings and use it for the upscaled dining (surf & turf, etc.) You aren't going to spending any time inside except for maybe a few hours of sleep. Besides, you are unlikely to see any whales at 6 am the next morning from the balcony as she slowly ease into the harbour & deck at CP tier downtown (maybe some dolphins ?? will come alongside & get playful) - if I recall, October can be chilly & foggy up @ YVR.

Google the HAL website or perhaps CruiseCritics for particulars on your ship - lots of useful info. The trend with speciality restaurants on these lines is that these are high end, extra charge "fine" dining - perfect for a little celebration, birthday or just to celebrate for no specific reasons, quieter service paced to not rush you (and, few kids running around in circle or knocking things over, etc. - another reason we tried our best to avoid the buffet, usually just do it once during each cruise unless it's for a rush breakfast before shore excurison) I doubt it's a buffet only deal especially if you will "charged" extra - beware that on top of that $$, lobsters and alike might have an extra surcharge add-on (true at least on all NCL cruises nowadays)

Have fun & by Oct. 1st, that downtown SEA pier will be quite mellow since most Alaska cruises are gone by then - easy to check-in & enjoy !!

It's just like any other cruise - full buffet, show ...

It's a way for the cruise line to provide a tour of their ship, so that one can decide to stay on those same ship for a longer cruise.

Besides, the Seattle-Vancouver cruises are technically repositionning cruises, which are generally cheaper as well.

You can find them here:
US to Canada: http://www.cruisetosomewhere.com/from-us-to-canada.htm
Canada to US: http://www.cruisetosomewhere.com/from-canada.htm

These are fabulous to check out the ship and cruise line. And a definite benefit to get a cruise credit for loyalty programs. Win win in my book!

Actually, many cruise lines changed the rules lately about these loyalty program qualifications, so even 3 or 4 night cruises don't necessary qualify or bump you up to the next tier upon taking x number of cruises. Not sure about HAL's current rules on this but the above changes applied to my preferred NCL program - so no repeat cruiser status for doing a 1 nighter. The perks had been cut back too until you reach the upper tiers, 12+ cruises or higher - yike, following the trend with the airlines industry & their programs. But, for what it's worth, cruising is still a bargain comparatively speaking, unpack once & then for the next 7 or 10 or 12 nights or what not, everything stayed in the closet - then, just repack once & disembark/head to the airport or drive home if sailing from home port.

And, surprising affordable on many lines .... as long as one keep tab on the bar charges, casino visits, bingo games and duty-free/off-shore "bargain" shopping & diamond specials onboard. (Edit: NEVER, NEVER bid and buy any onboard art auction items on longer cruises, it's a rip-off)

one day cruise is not enough. 3 nights is the recommended stay

Sounds fine for us. We are used to this kind of weather :p

Date night on a boat sounds more interesting than staying in town...

Or take the train back? The train to/from Vancouver is nice since it is a coastal run. If you train up, you walk across the street from where the Amrak run ends to catch the skytrain to the terminal. Reverse the process if coing down. HAL is good - have lots of experience with them.

i would bet that the lines would rather start from sea, but if they did, they would be under us crew regs if the cruise ends in ak....ergo they save enough by doing the 1 day positioning to warrant the hassle.....

its like the left coast to hawaii trips which stop in mexico during the cruise....