Travel Q&A

Q: Is there any way I can go by sea to Fort Lauderdale , Fla. , to attend an October wedding, perhaps by hopping a cruise ship? F.T., Maplewood , N.J.

A: The idea of shuttling between the Northeast and Florida by ship appeals to many people, but there is no simple ferry service and the alternatives are complicated, time -c onsuming, and expensive. Arriving in time for a particular date could be another obstacle. But if you are determined, there are a few possibilities to check.

Your idea of hopping a cruise ship is complicated by a U.S. law called the Jones Act that prohibits passengers on foreign flag vessels – and most big cruise ships are registered abroad – from boarding at one U.S. port and disembarking at another U.S. port without stopping first in a foreign destination.

Some itineraries would seem perfectly suited to you, except for that law. I found a 13-day Holland America cruise for October that departs from New York and pauses three days later in Fort Lauderdale before continuing into the Caribbean and circling back to conclude in Fort Lauderdale . You could use that ship to reach Fort Lauderdale , but only by staying with it until its final stop. Most people would find that too much trouble and expense, unless they were looking for a Caribbean vacation at the same time.

“We are sometimes unable to allow passengers to take portions or segments of a cruise because it violates the Jones Act,” an online Holland America agent wrote. “Our marketing and planning departments do extensive research in arranging our itineraries to ensure our ships do not violate this United States Maritime law.”

Occasionally there are ships that leave a port such as New York , Philadelphia or Baltimore and stop in Bermuda before continuing to southern destinations such as Florida , but you would have to search for such an itinerary at booking sites or ask a cruise specialist to do that work for you.

Another possibility is a repositioning cruise. These cruises occur when the cruise seasons change, and for October travel you may find a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Europe that makes a call in New York or elsewhere in the Northeast before heading south. Last October, for instance, the Norwegian Jewel had an “Exotic Caribbean” itinerary starting in Philadelphia and ending in Miami . Whether you could board one of these depends on whether the line is willing let passengers book just segments of the cruise. This can happen if there is space available, but it depends on the line’s policies for partial trips and whether the booking complies with the Jones Act.

For a roundup of repositioning cruises, go to www.cruising.org and find the press releases section. Usually in August there is a notice that summarizes autumn repositionings. The cruise lines’ own sites note these, too; search for sailings in September and October.

Another possibility for moving up and down the Eastern coastline is aboard a smaller boat plying the Intracoastal Waterway . Companies such as the American Canadian Caribbean Line (www.accl-smallships.com) offer regular voyages with stops at many of the historic port towns. These usually are not budget trips and often it’s a new port every night for 10 days or more. Also, the itinerary’s start and finish probably aren’t going to perfectly suit where you want to start and end, requiring some land travel at either end. One 14-night ACCL itinerary goes between Warren , R.I. , and Stuart , Fla. (near Jacksonville ).

You can find other possibilities through a site devoted to small ships, www.smallshipcruises.com. Click on the “U.S.-East” link.