Wanderlust World Wanderlust World U.S. law prohibits cruise passengers from departing from one U.S. port and arriving at another U.S. port. This applies to non-U.S. flagged vessels, which includes all major cruise line vessels.
To take a one-way cruise, the best opportunities are with cruises that start at a port outside the U.S. Some international cruises are only one-way. Many South American cruises start in Buenos Aires and finish in Chile.
One way to take a one-way cruise is to book on a repositioning cruise. Cruise companies will move their ships from one region to another for seasonality or market reasons. In January 2009 the Carnival Splendor was repositioned from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to San Francisco, California, with a 49-day cruise around South America.
Repositioning cruises are not listed on regular cruise schedules. Contact the cruise lines or a travel agent specializing in cruises to get information.
The Cunard Line owns the luxury cruise ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. These ships offer at least one around-the-world cruise each year. The entire trip takes more than 3 months, but you can book shorter legs of the trip. Other cruise lines that offer around-the-world cruises are Princess, Regent, Holland America, P&O and Crystal.