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Crossing the Atlantic


glo3479
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Has anyone done an Atlantic crossing in either Azamara, Sea dream, Windstar, Silverseas, Seabourn or Viking Ocean. We love the smaller ships, but I was wondering how they handle out on the ocean.

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We’ve done the Eastbound on Quest twice. Yes, the movement is a little more noticeable than on much larger ships but the Captain is able to change the route to avoid the worst of a storm, as is happening right now on her.

 

If you do suffer with feeling a bit ‘unwell from the swell’ the Guest Relations desk readily hand out Bonine/Meclazine which I take at night and it really helps.

 

 

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Right now on the Quest TA

Captain is bringing us to Madeira instead of theAzores .

Last two days were very Choppy but it is much better now.

Captain is announcing smoother route for the rest of the cruise.

We are kept informed regularly by announcement and flyers in stateroom.

Azamara missed excursions in the Azores are refunded and new excursions are available in Madeira.

Azamara is quick and well organized to answer difficult situations and always prioritize safety of passengers,crew and ship.

 

Micheline

 

 

 

 

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Has anyone done an Atlantic crossing in either Azamara, Sea dream, Windstar, Silverseas, Seabourn or Viking Ocean. We love the smaller ships, but I was wondering how they handle out on the ocean.

 

We have done east and west bound both a number of times on AZ and the only rough ride we had was once when we had one of the suites in the very front of the ship...1st night out of MIA and 1 night in the western Med. Personally I would not pick a cabin there again...but mid ship or aft has never been a problem. LuAnn

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You’re comparing premium lines to luxury lines. Azamara and Viking provide a very different product/service than Seabourn and Silversea. If it fits your budget, definitely go for Seabourn or Silversea, especially on cruises with lots of sea days. Much better cabins (especially bathrooms), better food, inclusive premium wines and spirits, better enrichment programs and more live music all around the ship (esp. vs Azamara after the recent changes). You’ll pay more however - unless you find a good promotion [emoji846] I’ve found Seabourn’s ships (both O class and E class) to handle motion slightly better than Azamara’s R class (having experienced the infamous Drake’s Passage on both lines).

 

Floris

Edited by florisdekort
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Has anyone done an Atlantic crossing in either Azamara, Sea dream, Windstar, Silverseas, Seabourn or Viking Ocean. We love the smaller ships, but I was wondering how they handle out on the ocean.

I’ve done a crossing three times on Azamara. Bottom line if the sea is rough you’ll feel it on any ship and probably just a likely to get seasick on big v small. However the smaller ships, no matter what the officers tell you, move more when it’s rough. The Azamara ships ride well and as was said in another post, the Captain will do his best to steer as comfortable a course as possible.

 

I remember doing a crossing on Allure of the Seas one September and we rocked a lot. Three weeks later I did it on Journey and it was much better.

 

I’ve only been sea sick once on a cruise and that was the same one LuAnn was on. I made the mistake of eating breakfast right at the back of the ship overlooking the wake first morning out of Miami and had to leave the table. I wouldn’t have sat there, but got distracted and a friend went ahead and got a table there. Location, location, location makes a big difference. Once I’ve got my sea legs I’m fine. It doesn’t put me off the smaller ships. Others say they’d never do a crossing in a small ship. I like the adventure, but if there is days of it, it gets wearing.

 

Phil

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Hi LuAnn & Phil! We've crossed on AZ 4 times, 3 times headed to or from Florida, and once from New York. The weather you'll encounter is a luck thing; it can be very smooth, or it can get rough. If the seas are rough, the captain will do his best to go around the rough seas, but sometimes, not much can be done. The AZ ships handle rough seas adequately, but not as well as the Queen Mary 2, which we've crossed on many times. I don't get sea sick, but the noise and movement in rough seas keeps me awake. Once in very rough seas on AZ (lasted about 8 hours) the movement was very abrupt and dangerous. One needs to hold on when walking about. One woman fell and broke her leg. Ouch!

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Oh, and I should have added that we crossed the Pacific on the Seabourn Sojourn. We were very lucky during our 68 days on board as we encountered very smooth seas, except between New Zealand and Australia. The ship is the same size as the AZ ships, so not built to handle high seas. On that particular day, we rocked and rolled. Not too bad for me, although I didn't sleep well. No one got hurt, and I don't remember much sickness.

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Seabourn Sojourn.... ......The ship is the same size as the AZ ships, so not built to handle high seas.

 

 

Sojourn carries 450 passengers, Azamara’s R class 686 - not the same size at all.

 

Sojourn has the advantage of newer technology and better stabilisers - and rides the waves noticeably better in identical seas, unless of course the swell come directly from the front, in which case stabilisers are rendered useless.

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Look at the size stats. They may carry a different number of passengers, but are much the same size.

 

 

 

Phil

 

 

In terms of tonnage? Yes that’s correct and you’re right, for this subject that’s clearly the better metric.

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In terms of tonnage? Yes that’s correct and you’re right, for this subject that’s clearly the better metric.

Yes, tonnage and I looked at length, beam, draft and they are all pretty similar, but of course Sojourn is a bit newer and as you say with better technology. Having sailed on two of the R ships I’m not scared to go on them. The Drake Passage next year may provide a test for me.

 

Phil

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The OP posted the same question on numerous other threads. I have also been looking at the other helpful answers posted on the Viking where there is a very recent Live from a TA thread.

Be Interested to know if it really helped in decision making. He did say he was only considering 'small' ships.

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Sojourn carries 450 passengers, Azamara’s R class 686 - not the same size at all.

 

Sojourn has the advantage of newer technology and better stabilisers - and rides the waves noticeably better in identical seas, unless of course the swell come directly from the front, in which case stabilisers are rendered useless.

 

Hi Floris: You are certainly right that the Seabourn ships carry fewer passengers than AZ. I believe that's because the Seabourn ships' standard staterooms are somewhat larger than those on AZ, because Seabourn has more public spaces, and because the Seabourn design is less boxy and therefore contains less rentable space.

 

However I do believe that all are "R" ships, and therefore the same size overall.

 

Thanks, and happy sailing!

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Hi Floris: You are certainly right that the Seabourn ships carry fewer passengers than AZ. I believe that's because the Seabourn ships' standard staterooms are somewhat larger than those on AZ, because Seabourn has more public spaces, and because the Seabourn design is less boxy and therefore contains less rentable space.

 

However I do believe that all are "R" ships, and therefore the same size overall.

 

Thanks, and happy sailing!

 

The Seabourn ships are definitely NOT R ships. Have been on both and significant differences. The Seabourn ships were built in the last 11 years specially for Seabourn while the R ships were built for Renaissance in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 or so years ago depending on which ship. Different interior and exterior designs and while perhaps the same length and width, nothing close to the same.

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The Seabourn ships are definitely NOT R ships. Have been on both and significant differences. The Seabourn ships were built in the last 11 years specially for Seabourn while the R ships were built for Renaissance in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 or so years ago depending on which ship. Different interior and exterior designs and while perhaps the same length and width, nothing close to the same.

 

Dave: Thanks for the correction!

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Hi Floris: You are certainly right that the Seabourn ships carry fewer passengers than AZ. I believe that's because the Seabourn ships' standard staterooms are somewhat larger than those on AZ, because Seabourn has more public spaces, and because the Seabourn design is less boxy and therefore contains less rentable space.

 

 

 

However I do believe that all are "R" ships, and therefore the same size overall.

 

 

 

Thanks, and happy sailing!

 

 

As per my above reply to Phil, you are 100% correct, Seabourn’s O class ships are roughly the same size as Azamara’s R class ships (length, width, tonnage, etc.) but carry less passengers (450 vs 686) because of the reasons you mention. They are however not R class but a class of their own, designed and build for Seabourn approx. 2010-2012 and refurbished in 2017.

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There are only 8 ‘R’ class ships. They are called that because they were built for a company called Renaissance. Of the 8 Azamara has 3, Oceania has 4 (Insignia, Regatta, Nautica & Sirena) & Princess has 1 (Pacific Princess). This Wikipedia has information about them https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Cruises

 

 

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Yeah, yeah. I also have cruised frequently on Seabourn and Silversea. This is an Azamara thread, so I think it would be polite not to keep banging the ‘ other lines are sooo much better’ drum. Pick a product, a price point and go with it. My point being that this is a very informative thread about Transatlantics. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to be getting the gist that they are a well kept secret for those in the know? So, those of you in the know spill the beans! Information is everything!

 

 

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Yeah, yeah. I also have cruised frequently on Seabourn and Silversea. This is an Azamara thread, so I think it would be polite not to keep banging the ‘ other lines are sooo much better’ drum. Pick a product, a price point and go with it.

 

 

First, the Op specifically asked about Azamara, Seabourn, Silversea, Windstar, Seadream and Viking in their post.

 

Second, this is a public forum.

 

No need for censorship.

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To the OP, I know you have asked specifically about crossing the Atlantic on a small ship. We have not done it and would not do it if we can take a larger ship.

We have just finished a crossing on the MSC Preziosa, which is a large vessel. Choppy seas between Tenerife, the Azores and Portugal. We would not have liked to be on a smaller ship. We have crossed hhe Atlantic several times and made up our mind. At least a 1000 passenger ship and a midship cabin for us for such a crossing.

Ivi

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To the OP, I know you have asked specifically about crossing the Atlantic on a small ship. We have not done it and would not do it if we can take a larger ship.

We have just finished a crossing on the MSC Preziosa, which is a large vessel. Choppy seas between Tenerife, the Azores and Portugal. We would not have liked to be on a smaller ship. We have crossed hhe Atlantic several times and made up our mind. At least a 1000 passenger ship and a midship cabin for us for such a crossing.

Ivi

 

Ditto. I really enjoy the R ships, but would not even consider crossing the Atlantic in one. We did it once and chose Princess from Ft. Lauderdale as it is warmer.

 

Also, enrichment is something to think about because those days can become very long and don't forget about the many time changes involved. The larger ships have much more to do on them which helps eat up the time.

 

Bottom line for us...Larger ship for a crossing

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We have crossed the Atlantic three times on Azamara and have never experienced a problem. Two crossings were in March/April and one in November. The roughest seas were encountered in the Northern Med on Quest in the area between Monaco and Barcelona were lots of plates fell and smashed in Windows.

 

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We have crossed the Atlantic three times on Azamara and have never experienced a problem. Two crossings were in March/April and one in November. The roughest seas were encountered in the Northern Med on Quest in the area between Monaco and Barcelona were lots of plates fell and smashed in Windows.

Just finished our fourth crossing on Azamara. Huge storm in the Atlantic. Captain changed itinerary from the Azores to Madeira to keep Quest south of the storm and it was a non-issue. Two excellent enrichment speakers. Q&A with a senior officer every sea day. Several afternoon shows. Plenty to do. Don't understand the negativity at all.

 

Roughest crossing was westbound out of Madeira ten years sgo on a 2300 passenger ship. I suppose if you like rock-climbing...

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