Transatlantic cruises and repositioning cruises for 2026 and 2027

What is a repositioning cruise?

A repositioning cruise is a one-way sailing that moves a ship from one cruising region to another when the season changes. Norwegian describes it as a ship moving between regions “to match seasonal travel demand”, once or twice a year, usually in spring or fall. You board in one port and get off in another, often on a different continent.

The lines sell these sailings because the ship has to make the trip either way. Norwegian says they often cost less per night because they include more sea days and run outside peak season. That is the whole trade: a low nightly fare for a long trip with few ports and a one-way flight.

What is a transatlantic cruise?

A transatlantic cruise crosses the Atlantic between North America and Europe. There are two kinds.

• Repositioning crossings. Ships that spend winter in the Caribbean and summer in Europe cross eastbound in spring and westbound in fall. Celebrity says its ships sail eastbound in the spring and westbound in October and November. Most include a few port calls, in the Azores, Bermuda, Madeira, the Canary Islands or Spain.
• The liner crossing. Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 sails directly between New York and Southampton with no stops, as a regular service and not as a change of season.

When they sail

Eastbound in April and May, westbound from September to November. Queen Mary 2 crosses for much of the year.

How long

Usually 11 to 17 nights for a repositioning crossing. 7 nights on Queen Mary 2.

Sea days

Six or more in a row on most routes. Celebrity says some repositioning itineraries spend up to 10 nights at sea.

U.S. ports

Mostly Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa and Port Canaveral. A few sail from New York, Boston, Norfolk and New Orleans.

European ports

Barcelona, Rome (Civitavecchia), Lisbon and Southampton are the usual ones.

Documents

A passport book. A one-way crossing is not a closed-loop cruise.

The best transatlantic cruises for 2026 and 2027

We picked on the criteria in how we rate cruises, weighted toward what matters on a crossing: how well the ship fills a sea day, the food, the fare per night and whether you can board without flying to Florida. From-prices come from our monthly snapshot and show the date they were checked.

1. 1

   Best-value transatlantic cruise without a flight to Florida

   Royal Caribbean, Mariner of the Seas (from New Orleans, spring 2027)

   Why: A 17-night Spain and Morocco crossing from New Orleans in April 2027, one of the few big-ship crossings that starts at a Gulf port. The ship comes back from Barcelona in October 2027 on a 14-night crossing by way of Bermuda. A resort-style ship has plenty to fill the sea days.

   Watch out: It is an older, busy ship, and drinks, Wi-Fi and tips are extra. Royal Caribbean requires infants to be 12 months old on transatlantic cruises.

   From $596 per personChecked October 2026
2. 2

   Best crossing from the Mid-Atlantic

   Carnival Cruise Line, Carnival Sunshine (from Norfolk, May 2027)

   Why: A 15-day Carnival Journeys crossing from Norfolk, Virginia, to Dover, England, in mid-May 2027, when the ship leaves for a season in Europe. A rare transatlantic cruise you can drive to from Virginia, Maryland or the Carolinas.

   Watch out: It is a single sailing, so there is no choice of date. Carnival Sunshine is an older ship, and a long crossing shows the limits of its dining and lounge space.

   From $658 per personChecked October 2026
3. 3

   Best choice of ships and dates

   Celebrity Cruises, Any Edge-series ship

   Why: Celebrity puts nine ships on transatlantic cruises, including its Edge-series ships, on sailings of 11 to 16 nights. They run between Fort Lauderdale or Tampa and Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon or Southampton, with calls in the Azores, Bermuda or the Canary Islands. Good food and an adult crowd suit a long run of sea days.

   Watch out: Almost every Celebrity crossing starts or ends in Florida. Crew tips are extra, even on the All Included fare.

   From $166 per personChecked October 2026
4. 4

   Best adults-only transatlantic cruise

   Virgin Voyages, Scarlet Lady or Resilient Lady (Miami to Barcelona, spring 2027)

   Why: 14-night crossings from Miami to Barcelona in April and May 2027, by way of the Canary Islands, Morocco and mainland Spain. Every restaurant and Wi-Fi are in the fare, and nobody on board is under 18.

   Watch out: More than half the trip is at sea, and the ships are lively. Alcohol and the daily gratuity are extra.

   From $175 per personChecked October 2026
5. 5

   Best small-ship crossing

   Oceania Cruises, Allura (Barcelona, November 2026)

   Why: A 15-night crossing from Barcelona in November 2026 on Oceania's newest ship, with specialty restaurants, Wi-Fi and gratuities in the fare. With about 1,200 guests, the ship is quiet on sea days.

   Watch out: Fares are well above the mainstream lines, and cocktails and spirits cost extra. November is late in the season for a calm Atlantic.

   From $3,780 per personChecked October 2026
6. 6

   Best for a classic, slower crossing

   Holland America Line, Any spring or fall crossing

   Why: Crossings of 13 to 15 days on mid-size ships with live music, lectures and a calm routine that suits sea days. Its long Voyage of the Vikings itineraries cross between Boston and Europe by way of Canada, Greenland and Iceland.

   Watch out: Evenings are quiet and there is little for children. Drinks, Wi-Fi and tips are extra unless you add the Have It All package.

   From $139 per personChecked October 2026
7. 7

   Best Disney transatlantic cruise

   Disney Cruise Line, Disney Wish (spring and fall 2027)

   Why: Disney Wish crosses from Port Canaveral in late April 2027 for its first season in Europe and comes back in September, arriving in New York for a fall season. It is the first European season for a Wish-class ship.

   Watch out: Disney fares are high for the length, and the crossings fall inside the school year.

   From $984 per personChecked October 2026

Cunard transatlantic cruises: Queen Mary 2

Cunard is not one of the lines we price, but no guide to transatlantic cruises is complete without it. Queen Mary 2 is the only ship in regular service across the Atlantic. A crossing takes 7 nights between the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and Southampton, usually about once a month in each direction from April to December. The 2027 schedule has nine or ten crossings each way, and the ship has a major refurbishment early in the year.

A few things set it apart from a repositioning cruise:

• It runs in both directions through the season, so a round trip transatlantic cruise is possible: sail over, spend a week in Britain and sail back, with no flight at all.
• The clocks change slowly. They move one hour on five of the seven nights, back when you sail west and forward when you sail east, so there is no jet lag to speak of.
• It is more formal. After 6pm there are formal nights, with black tie or a dinner jacket, and informal nights, when men still need a jacket.
• Dogs can cross in the ship’s kennels.

The Brooklyn terminal is covered in our New York cruise port guide.

Repositioning cruises by line

The big lines all run crossings. This is what each one sells for 2026 and 2027.

• Royal Caribbean repositioning cruises. Royal Caribbean sells transatlantic cruises from Florida, New York, Barcelona and Southampton, in spring and fall, and transpacific sailings from Sydney, Japan, Honolulu and Seattle. Its newest ship, Legend of the Seas, crosses from Barcelona in late October 2026 on a 13-night sailing.
• Celebrity repositioning cruises. Celebrity has the widest choice among the premium lines: nine ships on the Atlantic, plus Pacific sailings between Honolulu and Vancouver or Sydney.
• NCL repositioning cruises. Norwegian lists transatlantic crossings between Florida and Europe, Panama Canal sailings between California and Florida, Pacific Coast trips and transpacific voyages between North America and Asia.
• Princess repositioning cruises. Princess lists 22 transatlantic sailings in its 2027 program, and its ships also reposition along the Pacific Coast and through the Panama Canal.
• Holland America repositioning cruises. Holland America crossings run 13 to 15 days, and the line has long northern routes from Boston.
• Carnival repositioning cruises. Carnival sells them as Carnival Journeys. The 2027 crossing leaves from Norfolk.
• MSC repositioning cruises. We could not confirm the 2026 and 2027 crossings for MSC when we checked in October 2026, so look at the line’s own site for current dates.
• Disney repositioning cruises. Disney crosses twice in 2027 with Disney Wish. Disney Magic also has a 14-night Panama Canal repositioning cruise from San Diego in fall 2027.
• Virgin Voyages repositioning cruises. Virgin Voyages sells 14-night spring crossings from Miami to Barcelona, and a 12-night crossing from San Juan in April 2028.
• Viking repositioning cruises. Viking’s ocean ships cross on itineraries such as the 14-day Atlantic Ocean Passage from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale, with calls at Madeira and St. Martin. Viking is adults-only and is not one of the lines we price.
• Oceania transatlantic cruises. Oceania crossings are longer and port-heavier than most, on ships of about 1,200 guests.

Other repositioning routes: Panama Canal, Alaska and transpacific

The Atlantic is the busiest route, but ships reposition everywhere a season ends.

• Panama Canal. Ships that spend summer in Alaska and winter in the Caribbean pass through the canal in April and May and again from September to November. These full transits take about two weeks. See our Panama Canal cruise guide.
• Alaska repositioning cruises. At each end of the Alaska season, ships sail one way along the Pacific Coast between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. These are usually the shortest repositioning cruises.
• Hawaii. One-way sailings between Vancouver and Honolulu in spring and fall take 8 to 12 nights. See our Hawaii cruise guide and Honolulu port guide.
• Transpacific repositioning cruises. The longest of all: between North America and Japan, or between Hawaii and Australia. Celebrity sails between Honolulu and Sydney, and Royal Caribbean recommends May to October for the South Pacific, outside cyclone season.

If two weeks at sea sounds too short, our world cruise guide covers the voyages of four months and more, and the segments you can book on their own.

How much is a transatlantic cruise?

The fare per night is usually the lowest a line charges all year. The total cost is not, because of what goes around the cruise.

• The one-way flight. One-way international fares can cost nearly as much as a round trip. Price the flight before you book the cruise.
• A hotel night. Fly in at least a day before a European departure. Missed connections are the most common way to miss a ship.
• Sea-day spending. With little to do ashore, the bar, the spa, the casino and specialty restaurants get more of your money. A fare that bundles drinks and Wi-Fi is worth more on a crossing than on a port-heavy week. Our all-inclusive cruise guide compares the bundles.
• Insurance. For days at a time the ship is far from any hospital. Buy a policy that covers medical evacuation.

For cheap repositioning cruises, look at the oldest ship on the route, an inside cabin and the very first or last crossing of the season. Fares on unsold crossings can also drop late; our last-minute cruise guide explains when. Solo travelers should watch for reduced single supplements on these sailings; see our singles and solo cruise guide.

How to find repositioning cruises

Lines don’t always label them. Three ways to find them:

1. Search by month and length: April, May, October and November, 11 nights or more.
2. Look for a different start and end port. One-way is the mark of a repositioning cruise.
3. Use the line’s own page. Most have a “transatlantic” or “repositioning” destination filter.

Our month guides show what moves when: April, May, October and November 2027.

Eastbound or westbound, and are transatlantic cruises rough?

Westbound is easier on the body. Sailing from Europe to the U.S., the clocks go back an hour on several nights, so you get 25-hour days. Eastbound, you lose those hours.

Eastbound is easier to plan. A spring crossing from the USA to Europe leaves from a U.S. port you can reach on a domestic flight or by car, and puts you in Europe at the start of the season. See our European cruise guide for what to do next, including the entry rules for U.S. travelers.

The weather depends on the route and the month. Repositioning crossings mostly take a southern route by way of the Azores, Madeira or the Canary Islands, which is milder than the direct northern route to England. Any crossing can be rough, and late-fall sailings are the likeliest to be. Pick a cabin low and in the middle of the ship if motion worries you.

Sample sailings

Eastbound from New Orleans, spring 2027. From-prices per person, checked October 2026.

Departs	Line and ship	Nights	Itinerary	From	Link
Apr 24, 2027	Royal Caribbean, Mariner of the Seas	17	17 Night Spain & Morocco Transatlantic (from New Orleans, Louisiana)	$596	Check price

Eastbound from Norfolk, spring 2027. From-prices per person, checked October 2026.

Departs	Line and ship	Nights	Itinerary	From	Link
May 15, 2027	Carnival Cruise Line, Carnival Sunshine	15	Carnival Journeys - 15 Day Transatlantic (from Norfolk, Virginia)	$658	Check price

Westbound from Barcelona, fall 2027. From-prices per person, checked October 2026.

Departs	Line and ship	Nights	Itinerary	From	Link
Oct 21, 2027	Royal Caribbean, Mariner of the Seas	14	14 Night Spain & Bermuda Transatlantic (from Barcelona, Spain)	$469	Check price

Transatlantic and repositioning cruise FAQ

What is a repositioning cruise?

A one-way sailing that moves a ship between regions when the season changes, such as from the Caribbean to Europe in spring. It usually has more sea days and a lower fare per night than a regular cruise.

How long is a transatlantic cruise?

Queen Mary 2 takes 7 nights between New York and Southampton. Repositioning crossings with port calls usually take 11 to 17 nights.

Are there transatlantic cruises from Europe to the USA?

Yes, in fall. Ships leave Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon and Southampton from September to November and arrive mostly in Florida. Queen Mary 2 sails from Southampton to New York through much of the year.

Can you take a round trip transatlantic cruise?

On Queen Mary 2, yes: book a crossing each way. On other lines you would need to pair a spring crossing with a fall one months later, so most people fly one way.

Do you need a passport for a transatlantic cruise?

Yes. The birth-certificate rule covers only closed-loop cruises that return to the same U.S. port, and a crossing ends on another continent. Our no-passport cruises guide explains the rule.

Are repositioning cruises cheaper?

Per night, usually yes. Norwegian says they often cost less because they have more sea days and sail outside peak season. Add the one-way flight and a hotel night before you compare totals.