transatlantic

[maxy35]

We are thinking about giving a transatlantic sailing a try in November this year. Has anyone done one? Looking for thoughts, particularly about the weather!? :confused:

[sjb317]

We've done 3 TA's, 2 in November. We have had very good weather with mostly smooth sailing on all three. We love doing TA's, I think it's the most relaxed I've ever been. Hoping to do another one in 2013.

 

Sherri:)

[Clarea]

We've done one TA last November, and the weather did play a part. There were storms around the Atlantic that caused us to miss the Azores, but they substituted Tenerife. While there was pretty constant motion the entire cruise, it was never severe enough for us to feel uncomfortable.

[macruisefan]

I did a westbound TA, Southampton to NY on the QM2 in October 2010.

 

It was a fantastic way to relax, and we had a great time. However, the weather was a definite factor. Six days on board, and never were we able to sit on deck. Three of the days the upper decks were actually closed due to high winds. The others, it was still rainy or too cold.

 

I would do it again, although I would be inclined to shoot for mid-summer if I could. But I enjoyed it enough to go any time. Just don't plan on being able to sit outside. If you can, great! But if not, make sure there are enough other diversions to keep you happy.

[Markanddonna]

I have done lots of reseach and am going in Nov. It seems that the more southern routes tend to have better weather experiences. Those from Southhampton seem to report more gloomy days. Just an observation.

 

BTW- the final payment for many of these cruises is due soon so you may find some bargains.

[peteukmcr]

We did a westbound TA from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale on Liberty last Oct/Nov and visited 5 ports in the first week and then a full 7 nights of sea days across from the Canary Islands. very relaxing.

 

A link to my review / journal is here

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1528584

 

and the link to the photos are below my signature.

 

We will definitely do another one when the time is right.

[welshrich]

We've done two, one eastbound and one westbound, weather was mostly OK but the one sailing from Southampton has a couple of gloomy days until we got into warmer climes....

 

We are doing Mariner from Rome this November, 16 nights of bliss, sea days are wonderful, always something to do (or not if thats your thing).

[jarz85]

All I can say is I hope you like trivia!

[Galveston Cruiser]

All I can say is I hope you like trivia!

 

????

We have completed 5 TA's and have 2 more booked.

One can do as much or as little as one wants.

BTW - have never had the time to play trivia - too busy doing other things on the ship.

[mjldvlks]

I have done lots of reseach and am going in Nov. It seems that the more southern routes tend to have better weather experiences. Those from Southhampton seem to report more gloomy days. Just an observation.

 

BTW- the final payment for many of these cruises is due soon so you may find some bargains.

Most of the cruise line TAs follow a more southerly route. Even our TA that ended up in Southampton crossed the Atlantic from Ft. Laudersale to the Azores, Madeira, and Vigo Spain before heading north to Southampton. The only exception I am aware of is the Jewel TA that follows a more northerly route from England to Boston, but it also travels later in the spring and returns to Europe earlier in the fall when the weather is typically better. It is also one of the most popular as witnessed by the prices it is typically able to command.

 

As a child, I crossed the Atlantic as an Army dependent on a troop ship [pictured below] that had been converted to have some cabins for families.

 

 

That crossing was shortly before Christmas 1963. Let's just say when I hear the Four Seasons singing about "Late December back in '63" it evokes memories that have nothing to do with the intent of the song. I remember waves as high as the ship. I remember the ship rising up on the crest of one wave and falling [literally into the next trough]. I was hesitant to cruise until fairly recently because of that experience.

 

I say all this to make the point that a TA on a modern cruise ship is not like that. Except for Cunard, the cruise lines use TAs to reposition ships from the US to Europe to take advantage of the best seasons. For that reason, the TAs are in times of generally better weather [spring and Fall] and the Captains are pretty good at watching the weather and avoiding the worst of it. Modern cruise ships are much larger and more stable than the ship I corssed on in 1963. We have done one TA [independence in April 2009] and would love to do more. Weather can never be guaranteed, but I would not avoid a TA because of the weather.

[daleb85]

I think if you enjoy sea days TA is wonderful. Those who only enjoy days in port will not enjoy the trip as much. My wife and I really enjoyed the TA this spring and plan to do another in 2014

[Motorman23]

We (my DW and I) have done two over the past two years. The first was Navigator from Rome to Ft Lauderdale via the med sea. It was the last week of Oct and first week of Nov and the weather was great (70's and clear) except for one day. We were traveling from Marsailles to Barcelona and hit a surprise storm around midnight which was rated a force 12 on the Beaufort scale. If we were in the atlantic instead of the Med it would have been classified as a hurricane. We had fifty foot waves and 80 mph winds. The ship handled it fine and no one was injured because we were mostly in our rooms. The second TA was last year and was on the Jewel from Harwick UK to Boston via France, Ireland, Iceland and St Johns CA. It was in early Sept and was warm (France) then cold (Iceland) but no bad weather. It was a great trip and visited areas we wanted to see. The Jewel was an expensive trip and the Navigator was quite inexpensive. If you want a low priced TA with chances for warm weather the southern ones are your best pick.

 

Mike

[smoosh21]

We are thinking about giving a transatlantic sailing a try in November this year. Has anyone done one? Looking for thoughts, particularly about the weather!? :confused:

 

I did an Eastbound in 2011 and I am booked on another in 2013. I enjoyed it immensely. I was worried that I might be bored, but there is a lot going on during the day. They really go the extra step with activities.

 

My partner loves the days at sea, so going a week without stopping at a port was heaven to him.

 

I might have to look at something transpacific next, say from Australia to Hawaii.