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Single leg cruise journeys

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Masboroughlad

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Is it possible to buy cabins for single legs of cruise journeys?

Looking at UK to Palma Mallorca and vice versa - return or one-way (either way).

If so, who would I book through?

Thanks in advance.
 
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37201xoIM

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Could be worth having a chat with a specialist like these people: http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/
(I used them some years ago when they were very helpful in booking me to travel on a freight ship from Port Said to Trieste with CMA CGM - but I think they would advise on more 'vanilla' vessels too!!)
 

StephenHunter

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Could be worth having a chat with a specialist like these people: http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/
(I used them some years ago when they were very helpful in booking me to travel on a freight ship from Port Said to Trieste with CMA CGM - but I think they would advise on more 'vanilla' vessels too!!)
That reminds me; I'm looking to write a novel where a social media star decides to go around the world in under 80 days... perhaps they might be useful...
 

37201xoIM

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That reminds me; I'm looking to write a novel where a social media star decides to go around the world in under 80 days... perhaps they might be useful...
When I did my little voyage (I think it was only about 4 nights - insect move!), the other passenger was a Swiss guy who, if I remember correctly, was writing a dissertation or thesis on this journey from Singapore to Europe..... (Mind, I did unmask him as a train crank within an hour or two as well!)

People do quite often use voyages like this to get down to their magnum opus, free of distractions!
 

AndrewE

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Could be worth having a chat with a specialist like these people: http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/
(I used them some years ago when they were very helpful in booking me to travel on a freight ship from Port Said to Trieste with CMA CGM - but I think they would advise on more 'vanilla' vessels too!!)
That's a useful link, thanks. Unfortunately they say on their blog

Update On Cargo Ship Travel – And Rail Alternatives​


19/07/2021 2 Comments

Since the Spring of 2020, concurrent with the present pandemic, the more than 200 container ships represented by The Cruise People have not been carrying passengers. Some attempts have been made to re-open service, but due to prevailing border control and quarantine conditions, these have had to be delayed until later. The projected restart dates for passengers on cargo ships are now as follows;

Atlantic Container Line operates weekly between Liverpool & Continental ports and Halifax and New York.
NSB & various German owners: about October 1, 2021 (now delayed untiL January 2022).

ACL & Grimaldi Lines: about October 1, 2021 (now delayed until April 2022)

CMA CGM French Line: about January 1, 2022

Polish Steamship Company: to be advised
When we looked I found that the scheduled ferries from Barcelona to the Balearics were very expensive. Not like the French services from Marseilles to Corsica, which I think were fixed at the same price per km as the main French rail network - as were the flights. It made them quite reasonable.
 
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Cruise line operators will only sell you tickets for the whole tour, and not to intermediate ports - they want their cabins fully occupied. The only exception is on long round-the-world cruises where say Southampton to Sydney is offered and then new passengers can be embarked. Perhaps the nearest thing to a cruise to Spain is Brittany Ferries Plymouth to Santander route which restarted last weekend. The ship 'Pont Aven' is a superior vessel and takes foot passengers. The rail station in Santander is very close to the sea terminal, so then rail to Barcelona via Madrid and then overnight by ship to Palma.
 

Cheshire Scot

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In terms of Palma to UK, it could be worth contacting the cruise line or port agent a few days before a proposed journey in case any cabins have become vacant during a cruise which might then be available as a single leg although a backup plan B would be required in case this approach di not work. In the course of a cruise it is not unusual for passengers to be disembarked during the cruise for medical reasons as, although cruise ships do have medical facilities on board, these are typically used to get an ill passenger to the next available port where they can be hospitalised rather than to look after ill passengers until reaching the planned port for disembarkation.
I have no knowledge whether this option would actually be feasible, and perhaps less so since the advent of Covid, but I have over the years witnessed many medical disembarkations from cruises, the most regular sign of which is an ambulance waiting on the quayside when the ship arrives or pulling up alongside the ship whilst in port although in some cases, on a 'sea day' the ship may come in close enough to land for a helicopter to come out and take the unfortunate passenger off.

Although not relevant to the journey noted by the OP, it may be of interest to others reading this thread that Cunard and one other line which I think is MSC do from time to offer single leg fares between Southampton and Hamburg. These offers occur when specific cruises have passengers joining/leaving at both ports and e.g. a cabin vacated at Southampton will not be re-occupied until Hamburg (or vice versa) and hence that/those cabin(s) will be offered for sale as single legs.

In both cases it is worth noting since Covid cruise lines have placed more stringent emphasis on passenger's Insurance cover including requiring evidence of such.

I would also endorse the suggestion of using Brittany ferries to Santander as having sailed with them to both France and Spain I have found their facilities and service to be a cut above the typical cross channel offering.
 

TheGrew

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Cruise line operators will only sell you tickets for the whole tour, and not to intermediate ports - they want their cabins fully occupied. The only exception is on long round-the-world cruises where say Southampton to Sydney is offered and then new passengers can be embarked. Perhaps the nearest thing to a cruise to Spain is Brittany Ferries Plymouth to Santander route which restarted last weekend. The ship 'Pont Aven' is a superior vessel and takes foot passengers. The rail station in Santander is very close to the sea terminal, so then rail to Barcelona via Madrid and then overnight by ship to Palma.
That's not actually true. The UK and American lines tend to operate like that but some other like the Italian MSC have people embarking and disembarking throughout Mediterranean loops.
 

Iskra

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I don't know if you will find what you want, but the Iglu cruise website is very good for finding and planning cruises and it includes more obscure options like repositioning cruises, which are one-way.
 

DelW

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It's certainly possible on longer voyages - I've done Cape Town to Southampton one-way only (having flown out to South Africa). The ship was on the last leg of a winter trip to Australia and back, and there were quite a number of passengers embarking at Cape Town.
 

DelW

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Very common to do one way transatlantic on a ship and to fly back, though I'd imagine those are sold as package trips.
They don't have to be - it's certainly possible to book QM2 one way and book your own flight the other way, though it tends to be more expensive than booking the standard Cunard ship + flight package.
I've done separate bookings when using the ship crossing as part of an extended US trip, returning from Boston or Atlanta some time later.
 

IceOneBro

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Of course, you can go on a cruise alone, but such cabins are usually more expensive than double cabins. I love cruises, and I used to go on cruises with my wife because it's so much more fun to travel together. I prefer cruises whose itinerary goes through exotic countries. Today, buying a ticket for a cruise is very easy because you can do it online at the tour operator's website. But before you buy a ticket, I recommend using a specialized website where you will know the schedule of cruise ships and their itineraries.
 
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