Anyone done the April Transatlantic cruise?

[CarolR]

Just got an email from Royal about a sale on transatlantic cruises in April. It is something we're interested in except for the weather crossing the Atlantic in April. I keep thinking of the Titanic and how cold it was. I hesitate to spend 7 days sitting inside the ship because its too cold outside.

 

Has anyone sailed on one of these in past years and is it really cold while crossing.

[Tim,n,Sue]

We did an eastbound T/A this past April on the Serenade. We started in San Juan PR and our first stop was Tenerife. The weather was excellent. Just checked the Daily Compasses and the AT SEA days for the crossing were the low 80's. The seas were calm and on 2 days almost flat. The weather in Spain was cooler but still pleasant. We have booked a westbound T/A on the Serenade for November 2013.

[Alexat2]

I prefer Fall, westbound. The weather is much better, and warmer. When I did east bound in mid/late April - it was rainy and chilly (Ft. Lauderdale to Canaries, and up to England).

[PLEIKU68]

Smooth sailing and fine weather.:)

[English_in_Spain]

It depends where you are crossing from/to.

 

We have done a spring TA twice. The first time was Barbados to England. The second was Ft Lauderdale to Spain.

 

The further south your crossing the better the weather is likely to be.

 

On the more southerly crossing (FLL to Spain), we were able to sit on deck or on our balcony most days although it was not really pool or sunbathing weather. Evenings, however, were quite cool outside.

 

 

 

[librayacht]

We have done several East Bound transatlantics, the ones heading for Spain from Fort Lauderdale have taken the Southern route which is much warmer and the seas tend to be calm.

However the ones from New York tend to take the Great Circle route (similar to Titanic) and the seas are rougher and on several occasions the side decks have been roped off so you cannot go outside.

You should be fine on the Southern Ocean routes.

[ninnau]

Just got an email from Royal about a sale on transatlantic cruises in April. It is something we're interested in except for the weather crossing the Atlantic in April. I keep thinking of the Titanic and how cold it was. I hesitate to spend 7 days sitting inside the ship because its too cold outside.

 

Has anyone sailed on one of these in past years and is it really cold while crossing.

We have done two in April and the sea was like glass. If it goes up to Britain it may get alittle rougher going up near Portugal. If it goes into the Med. it will be great all the way. We went out of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.

[Motorman23]

I agree that a southern crossing is much more likely to have better weather. We have done both in the fall and the nice thing about a western TA vs eastern is you arrive in the US with no jet lag which is great for the trip home, plus you have at least 5-6 25 hour days so it is like a bonus!

 

Mike

[Mark_K]

I agree that a southern crossing is much more likely to have better weather. We have done both in the fall and the nice thing about a western TA vs eastern is you arrive in the US with no jet lag which is great for the trip home, plus you have at least 5-6 25 hour days so it is like a bonus!

 

Mike

On the other hand, I'd much rather do a TA flight going westbound. A long day, I can take much better than a short night. Particularly if I want to do a day or two of sightseeing in Europe before/after.

[adirondacksailor]

Adventure TA this past April, San Juan to Malaga, was the smoothest TA cruise the captain had seen. Like glass the whole way. We were amazed as we had expected sailing the Atlantic more challenging, not like a boat in a pond! Spent a lot of time enjoying balcony. And, as another poster mentioned, sunny and warm.

[mek]

We did a eastbound, FLL to Barcelona this April and had a great time with very nice weather. However, I didn't care for the time change, which took place at noon, so it was suddenly 1pm on the days with the change. I really made the day short, so I will do a westbound the next time.

[Cotswold Eagle]

We did a eastbound, FLL to Barcelona this April and had a great time with very nice weather. However, I didn't care for the time change, which took place at noon, so it was suddenly 1pm on the days with the change. I really made the day short, so I will do a westbound the next time.

 

That appears to be a Captain's choice. On my eastbound TA we changed clocks overnight.

[CarolR]

Thanks for everyone's comments. We are looking at Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona so that is a bit more southern. Now I just need to find a flight back from Barcelona that doesn't break the bank.

[Mark_K]

Thanks for everyone's comments. We are looking at Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona so that is a bit more southern. Now I just need to find a flight back from Barcelona that doesn't break the bank.

If you haven't yet, check Choiceair.com, RCI seems better than average at one way t/a flights.

[rubrrick]

We are looking forward to our 4th eastbound TA coming up next April, on the Vision of the Seas. We will wind up in Copenhagen, so we could see some weather in the English Channel, but the southern crossing has been a great ride, except for one year, where it was a great ride for me, but my poor DW...well, it was a patch behind the ear, ginger ale, and for a few days she did look pale!

 

We were on the Jewel of the Seas a few months ago, doing a westbound TA, on the northern route, and the only port that we missed, due to weather, was St. Johns.

 

Regarding your flight back, try Royal Caribbeans flight department, as they deal directly with certain consolidators, and can come up with incredible prices!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!;)

 

Rick

[hein]

hi,

we are going to be on vision on 17th april.

can you pl. guide me how to get to the place where we can talk to other cruisers on the same cruise.

thanks,

hein

[ssb]

Any cruises from southern US to Med taking The southern route is your best bet on calmer seas and warmer weather.

We love them.

But usually do Fall only because of our window for travel.

 

Consider out of Florida San Juan Texas Louisiana

Central and South America to Europe

[Cotswold Eagle]

hi,

we are going to be on vision on 17th april.

can you pl. guide me how to get to the place where we can talk to other cruisers on the same cruise.

thanks,

hein

 

Here's your Roll Call - looks pretty active (37 pages)!

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1547294