Thinking About A Transalantic Cruise. What have been your experiences?

[Happy2Crews]

Thinking about a BIG CRUISE from Italy to Florida. What has been your experiences? Any recommendations or words of advice. Our interest is to spend a few days in Italy....at least a trip back to Venice. Previous cruises we've been on we have always had a balcony or mini-suite. Since it may be cooler, would we be wise to take those extra $$$ and use elsewhere with a less expensive room? Looking forward to reading your comments. Thanks! :)

[Wj420]

A west ward trans from Italy to florida. The time change works for you, like getting an additional 1/2 day. The first part is touring. The sea days are for relaxing and taking advantage of whatever you choose to on the ship. You should really treasure sea days. We have always had a grand time doing this.

Check the silhoutee 10/15 or 11/16. We just did that exact itinerary and the trip was perfect.

 

I would highly recommend spending the extra money, if you can, for a balcony or higher. Depending on your cruising style though. If you enjoy priivacy outdoors with the view it's more than worth it. Coffee on the balcony is always a special treat!

 

Enjoy!

[seaproponent]

We did a Florida to Italy earlier this year -- had no problem with weather that was serious enough to render the balcony unusable. In fact, with so many sea days, it becomes even more enjoyable.

[upwarduk]

If you take a cruise that takes the southerly route ( via Madeira) you should avoid the worst of the stormy weather.

The more northerly route that Eclipse will be taking next year( Boston , New York) this year encountered bad storms. In fact they took a detour via Madeira and were 2 days late getting into New York, so missed Bermuda completely, so the cruise which was billed as 'Broadway and Beaches, wasn't.

[gordylad]

we did our first one this October from Rome. Was very apprehensive about the weather but it turned out a smashing trip and confirmed that we don't need many port days.

 

we have booked again for 2015 and 2016 as travelling from the UK we also like the fact that we get to stay in Europe and spend time inn Florida before we return home.

[Caribbean Chris]

TAs are the essence of enjoyable cruising to me. We've done several in both directions and loved them all.

 

One of my favorites was a Rome/Florida cruise that sailed in late October. We spent a couple of weeks beforehand in Tuscany with a rental car ending up in Rome for a few days. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, and probably will.

[ECCruise]

Have done 12 TAs, both east- and west-bound.

The time changes mean nothing to us...we are not late sleepers and don't need a lot of sleep so actually the EB is our preference.

 

Weather can and will be variable. We've had trips that have been like glass (and warm) from pole to pole. Enjoyed the balcony every day. And others that have been nasty. And spent maybe 2 hours on the balcony in 2 weeks.

 

We just disembarked Eclipse on the WB last week. Yes, we were diverted: Madeira was added but the crossing was smooth (not glass, but smooth) and warm, so for us, it was advantage. Missed Bermuda but been there 8 times so no biggie but was a real disappointment for many.

 

Southern crossing: Get a balcony. (If you are considering Italy to FL would probably be that)

Northern crossing: Unless you get a deal (we did) we would pass on a balcony.

[NOSaints1]

Is TA more for older people, or is TA for younger crowd as well?

 

 

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[Hlitner]

We have done more then 15 crossings (both ways) on several cruise lines and continue to do repositioning cruises every year. So here is a little advice for the OP. Think about how much you will love (or hate) lots of days at sea. For DW and I, those sea days are the best part of cruising and we recently did a Transpacific cruise that had 12 of the first 14 days as sea days. If you do enjoy the slower pace of all those sea days then you would probably love any transatlantic. Coupling it with some time in Europe is a perfect trip (for us) and the West bound crossing is extra nice because you get a lot of 25 hour days. Even on the crossings we love to have a balcony since we spend our share of time gazing out at the sea (weather permitting) and love the sea views through the large doors. Since you are cruising back to FL there is a good chance to have warmer weather....especially the 2nd half of the crossing. If you are lucky it will be warn all the way (this has even happened to us in November).

 

There is some other good news. When you cruise Westbound you are going against the prevailing weather patterns. This means that if you do run into some lousy weather the odds are good that you will soon be into better weather (but this can work both ways). You also should be aware that the repositioning cruises tend to attract an older (very experienced) group of cruisers who love to be on ships, enjoy the lazy sea days, and have the time.

 

Hank

[4774Papa]

Is TA more for older people, or is TA for younger crowd as well?

 

 

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Both TAs that we did were 14 days and it seems to me that 2 week cruises attract an older age group.

 

TAs are great if you have the time. We are retired and it beats jet lag.

 

We take plenty of books. I go to the fitness center every morning and we do a lot of wine tastings.

 

 

Also, on our last TA, or cc roll call organized a cabin crawl, gift exchange and a murder mystery.

 

X TA seem to be going up in cost, but have more ports. Still, they are a relative bargain.

[Hapytocruise]

We have done 3 fall west bound TA's - all provided warm to hot weather conditions during the sea days. Bring T shirts, shorts and a bathing suit.

[Christine Frances]

We did a Florida to Italy earlier this year -- had no problem with weather that was serious enough to render the balcony unusable. In fact, with so many sea days, it becomes even more enjoyable.

 

We did our first TA in Oct on the Equinox and I did a lot of research. Consensus was to book a port cabin on a westbound TA to get the sun so that is what I did as DH loves his balcony for reading/napping. Wouldn't you know it, it was so hot he could not use it:eek: First thing in the morning maybe but the rest of the day our balcony was ripping hot! From inside the cabin it was lovely as we got sunrise and sunset. We definitely were not expecting that so next WB TA we will be on the starboard side lol

[pieter&sharon]

The best!:):):)

[sunnygidget]

We've done both ways. One with a balcony, one without. Found it warm enough to use the balcony, but that it was rather sticky from salt spray. They can't clean them very easy as sea, it's more of a, in port chore. We always had to wipe it down to use it. The cruise without, was just as enjoyable and we used the saved money for other splurges, another cruise comes to mind. There are so many places to enjoy the "outside" on a ship, does't have to my cabin.

[chloe kitty]

We have also done many TA and Transpacific cruises. Because most of them are during the school term, you do tend to get a slightly older crowd. We love the sea days, and if going WB, it is nice to have the 25 hr days. Going EB is also great, even though you just lose a few hours here and there. We have always had a balcony on these cruises, and most of the time we have been able to use it. Our last cruise was a little chilly, but we were able to use the balcony at times.

Going from a southern European port, I would opt for a balcony, as the chances are you will be able to use it quite a bit.

Edited November 28, 2014 by chloe kitty

[Host Anne]

We have done two TAs, both coming from Europe back to Florida in the Fall. LOVED both of them. Weather was great both times and we definitely prefer a balcony on the southern route ... used it all the time. We love the sea days and find TAs to be relaxing and a lot of fun. Enjoy if you decide to go!

[cl.klink]

Thinking about a BIG CRUISE from Italy to Florida. What has been your experiences? Any recommendations or words of advice. Our interest is to spend a few days in Italy....at least a trip back to Venice. Previous cruises we've been on we have always had a balcony or mini-suite. Since it may be cooler, would we be wise to take those extra $$$ and use elsewhere with a less expensive room? Looking forward to reading your comments. Thanks! :)

 

Just finished an extensive review of my TA from Barcelona to FL last month (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2118870). We also took a port side balcony, and did Aqua class. Wonderful time. One Missourian to another --- you'll have a great time.

 

- Joel

[Ex-Airbalancer]

TAs are awful, people should stop sailing on them ! :mad:

[MR_T]

TAs are wonderful and they should offer more! 😎

[cruisestitch]

The OP wants to go from Florida to Italy. The pros/cons of the northern route and westbound TA's won't apply.

 

You will arrive in Italy before the big tourist seasons, which is a plus. It might still be chilly, however, which creates some packing challenges.

[Wj420]

Op actually asked about itlay to florida. Our favorite, west and south. Best of everything to our liking.

[Hlitner]

TAs are awful, people should stop sailing on them ! :mad:

 

ROFL! You have a good point. We remember when we could get the TA repositioning cruises for amazing prices (less then $60 per passenger day for a balcony). But alas, these cruises have now been "discovered" by too many cruise lovers. We wish they would all take land trips and forget the cruises :)

 

Hank

[Ex-Airbalancer]

ROFL! You have a good point. We remember when we could get the TA repositioning cruises for amazing prices (less then $60 per passenger day for a balcony). But alas, these cruises have now been "discovered" by too many cruise lovers. We wish they would all take land trips and forget the cruises :)

 

Hank

 

They getting sold out months before the ship has sailed , they are not even showing on exciting deals

We did an A1 for $66.65 Canadian, per day on the Silhouette you cannot do that anymore :(

[cruise kitty]

ROFL! You have a good point. We remember when we could get the TA repositioning cruises for amazing prices (less then $60 per passenger day for a balcony). But alas, these cruises have now been "discovered" by too many cruise lovers. We wish they would all take land trips and forget the cruises :)

 

Hank

 

They getting sold out months before the ship has sailed , they are not even showing on exciting deals

We did an A1 for $66.65 Canadian, per day on the Silhouette you cannot do that anymore :(

 

LOL, yes we just decided to cancel our TA & book the Eq. Cannes cruise instead, when I added up what our AQ cabin for the TA would cost, plus gratuities, plus premium drink pkgs. ( we won't sail without one) & then the OBC we'd get from our open passage & the all inclusive offer, it was a no brainer for us to switch....

 

I think TA's can still be an amazing value, if you're not choosy about cabin, & don't care about the drink pkg. Also, for us West Coasters, we're still paying airfare from FLL to LAX, which further cuts down on the value... gotta love those 25 hour sea days though!

[TeaBag]

We have done 4TA's and 4TP's and loved them all. However, our favorite is the WB TA. Love those 25 hr days.

 

We were on the same wonderful cruise as wj420.

 

We experimented this time with a guarantee booked just 2 months before sailing and we were very pleased with the price and the cabin allotted to us. The only downside to this was the camaraderie on the roll call that was so evident and which we mostly missed by joining late. The private excursions were nearly all fully booked also.

 

If you can, OP, book a cabin on the port side so you get the sun while crossing. Ours was a bit dark on the starboard side.