Transatlantic musings..and concerns

[Ravenscroft]

We've had to rearrange our schedule for early January and cancel the cruise we had already booked.

 

Now looking at three alternates :

 

Whisper - Voyage #4203 - Rio to Cape Town. -

 

Wind - Voyage #2205- Cape Town to Las Palmas

 

Spirit -Voyage #5210- Barbados to Lisbon

 

 

My first cruise was a 7 day Mediterranean cruise on Silver Spirit, in May. The cruise was port intensive, no sea days. Having several sea days is important to me for the next cruise.

I was happy with the size of the Spirit, and also the size of the midship veranda suite, and the balcony, which is the cabin we're considering on all of the above.

 

I am wary about doing about the Atlantic, especially transatlantic as two of these cruises are, especially on a ship any smaller than Spirit.

That's my only concern about the Whisper voyage.

 

The Wind voyage, I'm very concerned about the size of the Wind on an Atlantic sailing, although the itinerary is fantastic. If this were on Spirit I'd have no qualms at all and would book it immediately. Also, the size of the suite and balcony on the Wind, I heard they are much smaller than on Spirit.

The Spirit voyage, well I know I really liked the ship, but the itinerary isn't really grabbing me, although I am looking for plenty of sea days. I'm just concerned that even around the equator, the Atlantic in mid April may not be good weather. And I'm also not certain that I want to wait until April ;)

 

Also, one last thing, on a west to east transatlantic, are all the time changes a killer or is it easier because it's only one hour every few days?

 

I'm sorry folks, I am just rambling on!

Basically, I have a few concerns about all of the cruises above, and am finding it difficult to make a decision, so I'd like very much to hear from some of the experienced SS cruisers who have any feedback or advice for me, especially on similar routes at similar times of year and can let me know what the weather and sea conditions were like when they cruised.

[dusababy]

We did Rio/Cape Town on the Shadow in March -- weather - seas - ports - PERFECT -- ranks as my 2nd all-time favorite cruise after Norwegian Fjords.

 

FWIW

[wripro]

I'd go for the Rio to Cape Town itinerary. The Whisper is my favorite SS ship. The suites are large and comfortable. You get two great cities on either end plus some interesting ports in between.

[lord of the seas]

Yes,the Whisper is the better vessel and with the better itinerary.

[Keith1010]

I too think the itinerary for the Rio to Cape Town Sailing is quite nice. Love Cape Town. Rio is interesting and the other couple of stops are interesting St. Helena (where Napoleon spent has last years and was initially buried and Walvis Bay is nice too).

 

You just never can be sure what the seas will be like so you just have to keep that in mind.

 

For what it is worth I have crossed twice from Rio to Cape Town (not on Silversea) and the seas were a delight.

 

With that said, it's always good to prepare for choppy seas.

 

I would not hesitate to book this itinerary.

 

Keith

[Saga Ruby]

We did Rio/Cape Town on the Shadow in March -- weather - seas - ports - PERFECT -- ranks as my 2nd all-time favorite cruise after Norwegian Fjords.FWIW

 

My first cruise was in 1957 as a child. My blue-riband favourite cruise was in 2005, sailing the western coast of Norway then on to Svalbard and the North Pole icepack. Longyearbyen and the research station of Ny Alesund were fascinating as were the polar bears wandering in Magdalenafjord and bay. And in Longyearbyen, riding the school bus into town, turning right at the Polar Radisson where the reindeer were grazing in the front yard - grand fun.

 

I have an open booking for the Rio/Cape Town crossing in Jan 2013 and look forward to enjoying your "2nd all-time favorite cruise." We have similar tastes in cruises - and cruise lines.

 

Ruby

[duct tape]

Have done Capetown to Las Palmas and will be doing it again this winter. The Atlantic can be a little rough on the west coast of Africa sometimes, but I like it that way for sleeping. Just did Barbados to Lisbon and it was a dream crossing. 6 days at sea, not a ripple in the water, sunny and low 70s. Just great. Anxious to do Rio to Capetown also. Remember it will be summer in the southern hemisphere. Going west to east does pose a bit of a time challenge but you can stay in bed later!

[CanadianKate]

The Wind voyage, I'm very concerned about the size of the Wind on an Atlantic sailing, although the itinerary is fantastic. If this were on Spirit I'd have no qualms at all and would book it immediately.

 

Me too. That being said, I took the plunge and am booked with a number of other terrific sounding CC members.

 

Come join us, you and I can be green together!

[duct tape]

See you there!

[CASHIPman]

We're on the Rio - Cape Town sailing and are very much looking forward to it. I'm a big fan of sea days of which this has many. Plus, St. Helena? It's only reached by ship so you'll probably be the only person you know who has been there. :)

A number of folks have commented on how spectacular the Silversea experience is in Namibia so we're looking forward to that.

 

But in fact...you can't really go wrong!

[dougburns]

We've done numerous TA crossings. The Spring crossings are by far the best and we've never had bad weather on them. In the south Atlantic the Jan crossing from Rio-CPT is normally very calm. This Fall we're doing the Spirit crossing from Lisbon-Barbados-FLL and we expect some moderate seas during the trip. However, it's been a light year for hurricanes so far and we might luck out. Late Oct is the tail end of the hurricane season and the major frontal weather won't have started yet. I wouldn't be concerned about the ship size. If cost is a concern the Silver Spirit cruise will be the least expensive and the Whisper cruise will be the most expensive. Additionally, you may not even be able to get a stateroom on the Whisper cruise.

[brimary]

We did Rio/Cape Town on the Shadow in March -- weather - seas - ports - PERFECT -- ranks as my 2nd all-time favorite cruise after Norwegian Fjords.

 

FWIW

Delighted to hear of your No 1 as we join the Cloud tomorrow for 6 weeks which includes the Fjords,Cant wait.In our experience Southern hemisphere ocean crossings are the smoothest and warmest apart from the infamous Tasman Sea!

[Bon.Vivant]

Has anyone done the Southampton to New York crossing? Am considering the September sailing on the Whisper, but am wondering if the north Atlantic can be rough at that time of year. Are you more likely to get choppy seas on the north Atlantic than on the the other routes described here.

[Ravenscroft]

We have a cabin held on the Whisper, no deposit paid as yet but on hold until Thursday evening. As DougBurns pointed out, this sailing is almost full, so anyone else considering it may be well to make a decision quickly. I think we are definitely leaning towards this one, I'd like to thank you all, the input has been very helpful indeed.

[Emtbsam]

Has anyone done the Southampton to New York crossing? Am considering the September sailing on the Whisper, but am wondering if the north Atlantic can be rough at that time of year. Are you more likely to get choppy seas on the north Atlantic than on the the other routes described here.

 

I have done this crossing many times on "ocean liners" much larger than Silversea ships. Some of the time it was smooth sailing, and then there were hurricanes. Sorry to give you reason for concern. Of course, you never know what the weather will be on any specific crossing.

[dougburns]

Sep shouldn't be too bad in the north Atlantic unless there is a hurricane in the area. The major frontal weather won't have started yet.

[Silver Spectre]

Has anyone done the Southampton to New York crossing? Am considering the September sailing on the Whisper, but am wondering if the north Atlantic can be rough at that time of year. Are you more likely to get choppy seas on the north Atlantic than on the the other routes described here.

 

Did last years crossing on the Whisper, same dates and almost the same ports. Hit some rough weather coming out of Cork which lasted overnight and made the sea pretty rough and then hit another storm after leaving St John's. The two storm nights were bad enough to have the shows cancelled. The actual crossing was fairly calm, although most days were not sunny enough to sunbathe. If I remember correctly the hot rocks was not very popular (closed for bad weather) and most evenings on the crossing one needed at least a couple of blankets to cope outside.

[Bon.Vivant]

Did last years crossing on the Whisper, same dates and almost the same ports. Hit some rough weather coming out of Cork which lasted overnight and made the sea pretty rough and then hit another storm after leaving St John's. The two storm nights were bad enough to have the shows cancelled. The actual crossing was fairly calm, although most days were not sunny enough to sunbathe. If I remember correctly the hot rocks was not very popular (closed for bad weather) and most evenings on the crossing one needed at least a couple of blankets to cope outside.

 

Thank you Silver Spectre, dougburns, emtbsam for the very helpful information. :)

[lord of the seas]

Did last years crossing on the Whisper, same dates and almost the same ports. Hit some rough weather coming out of Cork which lasted overnight and made the sea pretty rough and then hit another storm after leaving St John's. The two storm nights were bad enough to have the shows cancelled. The actual crossing was fairly calm, although most days were not sunny enough to sunbathe. If I remember correctly the hot rocks was not very popular (closed for bad weather) and most evenings on the crossing one needed at least a couple of blankets to cope outside.

 

And to think,you had to pay for the pleasure of this. :)