Trans Atlantic Cruise

Contemplating a trans Atlantic cruise on Regent 7 Seas Explorer Lisbon to Miami. We have been on 1 Oceania cruise and think we would like more sea time. Would be interested in feedback on this type of cruise.

We have done a transatlantic cruise on Explorer and loved it. What specifically are you interested in knowing about?

We have done 2 of these; the first on Mariner got me committed to cruising. The second this March on Explorer was spectacular! The Explorer is a magnificent ship - lots to keep you busy (if you wish) on sea days; lots of space to relax when you want. You'll be on board with a lot of veteran CCers so go to the Roll Call for your Explorer cruise and "meet up" in advance.

Enjoy,

Jim C

We have done a transatlantic cruise on Explorer and loved it. What specifically are you interested in knowing about?

Hi

We are on the same Explorer Transatlantic cruise as you. My husband is a doer also. Did the same crossing last year. The spacing of the days at sea is perfect. There are only four days straight at sea. We always find so much to do. This is my favorite ship. I am sure you will love it too. Come join us on our roll call and join our meet and greet. We will all party together.

Welcome !

Sheila and Herb

Thank you. We are thank you for all the great input.

Just curious...what time of year is it best to do a crossing for weather concerns? The advantages of going east to west or the reverse?

Just curious...what time of year is it best to do a crossing for weather concerns? The advantages of going east to west or the reverse?

East to west much better; instead of losing an hour of sleep six times you GAIN an hour of sleep six times. I strongly recommend taking the preceding Med cruise too; that extends your vacation. You get tired out by eight hour tours for a week to ten days and then you get to recover on all those sea days. We did west to east this year; never again. Losing all the sleep on the crossing then we ended up coming home tired from nine out of ten port days in a row.

East to west is magnificent; have done in on both Mariner and Voyager.

Marc

We have had a few rough seas two out of three times; I don't think March versus November really matters for weather.

Burger Queen, we've done it both ways (on Explorer) and your itinerary looks perfect! We did not extend our transatlantic cruise as we wanted the ship to be our destination. Having said that, we had a wonderful time in Funchal - great place to visit.

You don't need to be concerned over time of year for a Trans Atlantic. Cruise lines only do them twice a year for moving ships to and from the Med and Caribbean. West to east in the spring and east to west in the fall..

I would consider the time of the year. The weather is not the same. We had much better weather in November then in March!

We are considering a transatlantic cruise next February from Rio to Barcelona on the Mariner. Any comments would be helpful particularly the suitability of the Mariner for such a cruise. I should mention that the Mariner goes into dry dock immediately after this cruise.

We are considering a transatlantic cruise next February from Rio to Barcelona on the Mariner. Any comments would be helpful particularly the suitability of the Mariner for such a cruise. I should mention that the Mariner goes into dry dock immediately after this cruise.

We did a version of this itinerary in 2014, with Senegal and Tangier added as ports but no stop in Cape Verde. It was also immediately before the last refurbishment. We loved the cruise . . . but then we love sea days. Relaxing on the balcony watching the wake recede over the horizon is our thing. The Mariner has a relaxed vibe, especially on relocation voyages with many sea days, and that suits us just fine. I am sure you will enjoy it!

We're booked Cape Town to Rio in Jan '19 - it will be our first TA. I always booked port-intensive cruises and after the last few, my wife and I decided it would be nice to be on board just actually having a relaxing vacation, and what better place to relax than on Explorer (or any Regent ship, really).

I honestly believe there will be enough going on to keep most anyone happy for a week or two - and no guilt about skipping any excursions. :D

We are considering a transatlantic cruise next February from Rio to Barcelona on the Mariner. Any comments would be helpful particularly the suitability of the Mariner for such a cruise. I should mention that the Mariner goes into dry dock immediately after this cruise.

We did the reverse of this itinerary a few years back on the Mariner; wonderful cruise. Of course, Mariner is my favorite ship ao how could it not be a wonderful cruise.

Marc

We have done transatlantic cruises, as I mentioned, on Explorer twice but have also done the Voyager (and are booked on a transatlantic on her next year) While the Mariner has fabulous public spaces, if one tends to spend time in their suite, it is a bit small (my DH won't sail on the Mariner in a regular "deluxe" suite due to the size of the suite - especially the closet and bathroom). I know that she is the favorite for many but the small suites do not work well for us.

We have done 12 T/As so far, 1 on Oceania, 2 on Azamara and 9 on NCL - all in an aft-facing balcony / cabin. Have had only 2 rough (enjoyable) days.

I highly recommend the aft cabins for a T/A. With the ship cruising 24/7 that aft balcony in the lee of the ship is a great place to sit and daydream. Things to do? No prob: we each have an iPhone and iPad mini with Kindle, our favorite music and a good selection of audio books. We don't do shows because we miss too much because of our diminished hearing.

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We are considering a transatlantic cruise next February from Rio to Barcelona on the Mariner. Any comments would be helpful particularly the suitability of the Mariner for such a cruise. I should mention that the Mariner goes into dry dock immediately after this cruise.

Mariner is our favourite ship and will be ideal for the TransAtlantic cruise you are considering. Although she will be overdue for her refurbishment, most guests seem to be reporting that Mariner is still in good shape

She is a very stable ship in case you hit any rough conditions, but you should have excellent weather at least until you are past the Canary Islands.

Recommend a Penthouse Suite (larger and better configured than on Voyager) or even better an Horizon Suite (significantly larger than the equivalently located Suites on Voyager). Unless you yearn for a tub go for one of the suites marked on the plan as 'shower only'

As Marc said you will 'lose" some time as you are travelling West to East but you have plenty of lazy sea days to recuperate

The entertainment team usually put on some excellent events on the sea days and you will have the unique ceremony of Neptune's Court when crossing the Equator

The main 'issues' we have had during TransAtlantics have been related to medical emergencies. Being out of range of helicopter rescue the Captain has to decide whether to return to nearest landfall or make all speed to the next significant port. We had to skip Cape Verde on one TA and Ascension Island on another due to medical emergencies; not to worry, the important thing was that the patients got to a good hospital as quickly as possible

Hope you have a fabulous cruise :D

The main 'issues' we have had during TransAtlantics have been related to medical emergencies. Being out of range of helicopter rescue the Captain has to decide whether to return to nearest landfall or make all speed to the next significant port. We had to skip Cape Verde on one TA and Ascension Island on another due to medical emergencies; not to worry, the important thing was that the patients got to a good hospital as quickly as possible

We have been on 4 Regent cruises. The last 3 have included medical evacuations, 2 of them multiple evacuations. We missed Saint Helena as a result on the Cape Town to Rio crossing in 2015. We have come to expect it as part of Regent's all-inclusive offering.

We were on the cruise when the ship could not in St. Helena. As I recall, there were three people that needed medical attention. When the urgent health issues occurred, the ship had a choice of going backwards 2 days or "flooring it" and going on to Rio (which is what we did - there were issues with the ship's engines that slowed us down but not dramatically). I guess that cruise ships are not used to going at top speed for 2+ days.

Most transatlantic cruises are not that far away from land - Rio to Cape Town is definitely an exception. Although we have done that itinerary twice, I would hope that a TA would not recommend it for people with medical issues. OTOH, a younger person could suffer a heart attack with no previous health issues. Also, if health is a concern, sailing in waters around third world countries could be concerning as their health care may not be what one would hope for.

People with health concerns are likely aware of whether or not they or their doctor feels that it is safe for them to travel. We all take some risks when we travel but most of us do not let that stop us. When I had a major health issue (severe bleeding ulcer that had not been diagnosed), fortunately we were in Australia and I had disembarked the ship. The hospital/medical care there was top notch (better than in the U.S.) but one cannot depend upon that when they travel.

So, my advice is not to let a transatlantic cruise sway you unless your doctor feels that it is not advisable.

We have been on 4 Regent cruises. The last 3 have included medical evacuations, 2 of them multiple evacuations. We missed Saint Helena as a result on the Cape Town to Rio crossing in 2015. We have come to expect it as part of Regent's all-inclusive offering.

Yes, sorry I meant St Helena rather than Ascension; we were on the same cruise