This is gonna sound nuts?

Question

I've never been on a cruise before... so bear with me here.

Okay. You leave out of one port. Let's say... heck, I don't know. Charleston, SC. At the end of the cruise, do you come BACK to Charleston? Or should you book a flight from the last port back home?

Stupid question, I know. I'm sorry. Help?

Answer 1

Not necessarily. Check the itinerary. Some cruises return to the same port but not all of them. For example, I boarded a cruise ship in Athens and the cruise ended in Rome. I had to fly home from there.

Answer 2

They usually come back to the same port...

Answer 3

No, its not a stupid question but a good one if you want to know about cruising.  I have been on about 20 cruises and most of them have been round trip.  BUT, there are many cruises that are one way and they are not specific to a country or a region of the world.  Most cruises leaving from the US ports from Boston to Charleston, to Florida, to the gulf coast ports of Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston, to the California ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco, to the ports in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada, are round trip.  But those ports also have some one way cruises, like a cruise to Alaska; a cruise East or West through the Panama Canal, a cruise to Australia or South America; Transatlantic cruises such as those on the Cunard ships out of New York City; and/or cruises in Europe and the Mediterranean.  And then there are what are called "repositioning" cruises which occur when a cruise ship is moved from one region of the world to another when the cruise season ends, or just before a new season begins.

I will be doing a one way cruise in another month in South America from Chile to Brazil.  And yes when cruises are one way you have to arrange to fly back (or cruise back) to the port city you started from, or your home city.  

There are two ways to accomplish this. Cruise lines typically offer air transportation to cover before and after the cruise; they include the air fare in the price you pay for the cruise (including transfers between the airport and the port).  OR, you can make your own air arrangements.

If/when you look at the cruise line web sites, or a cruise brochure, the complete cruise itinerary is shown and tells what port you leave from and where you return.  Many cruises are listed as "round trip from (whatever port city))"

Answer 4

The only time a ship does not return to its embarkation port is when it is moving to new location for season change and those cruises are very clearly marked/displayed so all passengers know its not returning.

Answer 5

Not stupid at all!

In general, cruises in North America are round trip.  There are some exceptions, but those are mostly in Alaska or during "repositioning" cruises.

From Charleston specifically it looks like all the cruises are round-trip.

If you're just learning about cruises, you might like this "Introduction to Cruises":

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/in...

There's also a "cruise search" box on those pages where you can research cruises based on departure port, destination, time of year, etc.

Answer 6

Naw, they bring you back to the same port. It wouldn't be right if they stranded you somewhere else, lol.

Answer 7

Most cruises start and end at the same home port.

Answer 8

Nothing wrong with your question, and the answer is yes.  Well, really the answer is both.

Most cruises are round trip, meaning you start and end from the same port.  However, there are many one way cruises, meaning the start and end ports are different.  I have been on eight cruises and they were all round trips.  However, my next cruise (which begins tomorrow) is one way, leaving Los Angeles, going through the Panama Canal, and finally arriving in Miami.

Answer 9

Its usually a round trip, you end up where you started.  But they schedule your off-shore's so that you stop at different places on the way back.

Answer 10

Normally a "round" trip...It would note otherwise