You fancy an autumn cruise – but where to go? The Mediterranean or the Caribbean? The balmy Indian Ocean or the bracing Baltic Sea? Tough call – but perhaps you don’t need to be so picky. With a bit of know-how, it is possible to take in two or three of the seven seas in a single trip – and often for a nice chunky saving.

In the trade, they are called “repositioning cruises”: the ones where the ships of the line sail away from the Mediterranean on a quest for better winter weather.

These shoulder-season voyages differ from the usual port-intensive itineraries by including a big slab of sea time, typically five or six days, slap bang in the middle. As a result, prices can be a steal.

A three-week transatlantic cruise from Marseilles to Buenos Aires, for example, goes for the same price as a sevennight August cruise on the very same boat in the Med – and you get to see not just Barcelona and Madeira, but Recife and Rio, too.

Here is our pick of the ripest “repo” cruises available in the months ahead.

Unless stated, prices include all meals, entertainment, port taxes and scheduled return flights from the UK

SOUTHAMPTON TO MIAMI

The Navigator of the Seas is an all-singing, all-dancing 138,000-ton whopper – more like a floating resort, built to compete as much with Las Vegas and Orlando as with rival ships. Departing from Southampton on November 5, her 13-night autumn repositioning cruise to Miami is a seadog’s dream, with the only stops being La Coruña, Lisbon, Madeira and the Canaries.

There’s little risk of boredom during those long days at sea, though. As well as a climbing wall, an ice rink, mini golf and a basketball court, you can expect a packed programme of shows, a cavernous casino, a shopping arcade and a huge spa and gym, where you can attempt to hang onto your body shape despite the orgy of round-the-clock free eats.

Like your waistline afterwards, the Navigator is nice and bulky – a good choice for anybody anxious about braving a choppy Atlantic. The price: cheapest passage from £757pp, which compares with £1,202pp for a sevennight Med cruise on her sister ship Voyager of the Seas, departing in September.

Details: 0845 165 8330, www.royalcaribbean.co.uk .

SOUTHAMPTON TO JAMAICA

From the four o’clock tea to the draught Boddingtons in the bar, the Braemar has a very British feel. The ship is elegant but far from stuffy, with lots of deck space, polished brasses, a pool, a hot tub and just 800 passengers – mostly Brits.

On October 9 she sails from Southampton on a 17-night transatlantic passage, calling at Lisbon and Tenerife as well as a cluster of Caribbean islands – St Martin, Antigua and St Lucia – before docking in Jamaica’s Montego Bay. Your six days at sea will be awash with gags from guest (British) comedians – not to mention the odd fellow passenger. The price: from £1,118pp – compared with £1,428pp for a 15-night Caribbean fly-cruise on the same ship.

Details: 01473 742424, www.fredolsencruises.co.uk .

ATHENS TO PHUKET

A proper traditionally rigged sailing ship, the Star Clipper looks as if she’s been cast adrift from a period drama. Forget fancy spas, glittering shows, casinos and kids’ clubs; there are just 170 passengers aboard, and shipboard entertainment includes loafing in the “widows’ net”, slung like a vast hammock beneath the tree-thick bowsprit, or lounging on deck at night, watching the tip of the mast trace a slow arc across starry heavens. You get all the thrill of tall-ship sailing without having to lift a finger.

In sharp contrast to most repositioning voyages, Star Clipper turns her back on the Atlantic and heads for the South Seas, where she will spend the winter cruising the islands of French Polynesia. The big hop is a 37-night sail eastward, leaving Athens on October 11 and taking in sundry Greek islands, Alexandria, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, Oman, Goa, Cochin, Sri Lanka and the Similan islands, en route to Phuket. The price: from £3,130pp, not including flights – compared with £885pp for a sevennight Med cruise on the Star Flyer this month.

Details: 01473 292029, www.starclippers.co.uk .

GENOA TO BUENOS AIRES

While most transatlantic ships set course for the Caribbean, it makes little difference to the mileage to aim for the northeastern shoulder of Brazil. That’s the itinerary favoured by the Italian-owned (and heavily patronised by Italians) MSC Cruises ship Sinfonia.

Her 20-night cruise begins in Genoa on November 19 and calls at Marseilles, Barcelona, Lisbon and Madeira, followed by six days at sea en route to Recife. From there she hugs the South American coastline to Rio and Buenos Aires. The price: from £1,030pp – compared with £1,025pp for a sevennight August cruise in the Med aboard the same ship (or £626 departing on November 5).

Details: 0870 850 4883, www.msccruises.co.uk . Two other MSC ships, the Opera and the Armonia, will be sailing to South America, but from Venice.

REYKJAVIK TO ANTARCTICA

The prize for this year’s most dramatic repositioning cruise goes to the Fram, the latest ship to join the Hurtigruten fleet, best known for its port-hopping sailings up and down the Norwegian coast. This one sails from the top of the world to the bottom, from the edge of the Arctic to Antarctica, on an extraordinary 66-day trip, visiting 17 countries and calling at 44 ports.

Departing from Reykjavik on September 18, she sails to St John’s, in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, South Carolina, Georgia and along the coast of Florida.

From there, she traverses the Panama Canal and crosses the equator before shadowing the western shores of Ecuador, Peru and the Chilean fjords, finally crossing Drake Passage into Antarctica. The price: only more expensive “outside” cabins remain for next month’s cruise: from £10,395pp, not including flights. The 2008 repositioning cruise will start from £7,595pp, also excluding flights – whereas a 20-day Chilean Fjord and Antarctic cruise in 2008 starts from £3,495pp.

Details: 020 8846 2666, www.hurtigruten.co.uk .

SAVONA TO MAURITIUS

The Costa Marina sails from the northern Italian port of Savona to Mauritius this November, making Costa Cruises the first of the big companies to base a ship in the Indian Ocean.

The Costa Marina has lots of Italian flair and a cosmopolitan mix of passengers, and her 26-night itinerary begins on November 26. She sails from Savona across to Egypt, calling at Alexandria and Port Said, before passing through the Suez Canal to Aqaba in Jordan, and following the Red Sea to Safaga in Egypt, and Hodeidah in Yemen.

Next comes a long hop to Mahé in the Seychelles, across to Mombasa on the Kenyan coast, Mayotte in the Comoros islands, Nosy Be and Tamatave in Madagascar, St Denis on Réunion, and, finally, Port Louis on Mauritius. The price: from £2,117pp, compared with £1,099pp for the same ship’s 14-night Jewels of the Indian Ocean itinerary – or £2,269 if you take that cruise in December.

Details: 020 7940 4499, www.costacruises.co.uk .

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