Transatlantic Cruise Questions

[mjwcruising]

We have never done a transatlantic but are seriously considering doing one.

1. Is spring or fall best & why?

2. Southampton Route (Northern Atlantic) or Spain Route (Southern Atlantic) & why?

 

TIA for any input

[vulcan1971]

Have you read any of the threads that cruisers create to talk about their transatlantic cruise experiences? They can be very helpful.

 

I’m partial to westbound crossings due to the longer days. Those cruises are always in the Fall.

 

As far as the embarkation port goes, my choice is ALWAYS based on itinerary.

 

I’ve done 3 westbound transatlantics and happy to answer any questions, here or you can send private email (use link in signature).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gerelmx]

Never done a TA, I 'm planning one from Europe to Florida. Why? 1) at the start of the vacation Air to Europe is at night time, you can sleep in the plane, so less jet lag. 2) If you plan to be in Europe some days October/November is less crowded and less hot.

[smtcan]

This year's eastbound TA was our eighth. We have done several in each direction and each has benefits. If you are spending time in Europe after your cruise, you arrive rested and not jet lagged, so you can begin sightseeing immediately. The disadvantage to eastbound is that you have some shorter nights to accommodate the time changes.

 

After a westbound cruise you arrive home without jet lag which can be an advantage if you have to go right back to work. You also have several longer nights.

 

Our favourite thing to do, since we are retired, is to visit family in UK, then take the last Mediterranean cruise before the TA and stay on the ship for the crossing. A relaxing cruise after a month of socializing and sightseeing is bliss.

 

Our usual choice is into Southampton for convenience, but we have also gone out of Barcelona and 'Rome'. We don’t see much difference, although occasionally the Bay of Biscay can be rough.

 

Sheila

[cruzzzinma]

My favorite is Fall and a southern route. We are on the Oceania Riviera this Fall.

[TeaBag]

We like the westbound ones because of the extra hours you get for the time change. We are doing the Southampton one again. Love the ports on the northern route and we are not bothered by rough seas should we experience any. We have done 4 TA's and have not had any rough seas to speak of but we know there are no guarantees.

[Turtles06]

We like the westbound ones because of the extra hours you get for the time change. We are doing the Southampton one again. Love the ports on the northern route and we are not bothered by rough seas should we experience any. We have done 4 TA's and have not had any rough seas to speak of but we know there are no guarantees.

 

Hi TeaBag, I hope you haven't just jinxed our TA! ;p

[ClaudiaB]

And on the westbound you get that long overseas flight over with ahead of time.

[GottaKnowWhen]

And on the westbound you get that long overseas flight over with ahead of time.

 

 

 

Well, maybe. Depends on where you disembark and where your home or other final destination is.

This November we’ll do a transatlantic from Barcelona to Buenos Aires. Which is a long flight home to Michigan!

But your point is valid for the typical standard transatlantic to Miami or Lauderdale, close to home for Floridians.

Stan

[gold1953]

Do you need at arrive home rested? Then start in Europe. We do a land tour in Europe with each TA. So if we start there, we spend a week usually walking like we did in Rome and London, then we board, have ports and rest for the week of the crossing. and arrive home rested.

On the most recent we spent 11 days after the cruise self touring Ireland and walked miles every day, then had the long flight and a 4 hour time change to deal with the minute we got home.

[4774Papa]

Do you need at arrive home rested? Then start in Europe. We do a land tour in Europe with each TA. So if we start there, we spend a week usually walking like we did in Rome and London, then we board, have ports and rest for the week of the crossing. and arrive home rested.

On the most recent we spent 11 days after the cruise self touring Ireland and walked miles every day, then had the long flight and a 4 hour time change to deal with the minute we got home.

We have done 2 West bound and 1 East bound TA. Also, 1 East bound TP.

 

We like taking the TA home after our land tour in Europe or in the case of the TP, Australia and NZ.

 

The best TA we have done was from Southampton to Miami, via Boston, NYC, Bermuda and Nassau. We had two days in NYC. That was on Celebrity Eclipse.

 

The more southernly route from the MED will provide you with warmer weather, but we have never done one from the MED. We are planning to do one from Rome in the next 3 years, after touring Umbria and Rome.

 

Benefits of a TA:

Cheaper than other cruises, especially since there is no price bundling.

You save on airfare, which makes the cruise even cheaper.

[gold1953]

We have done 2 West bound and 1 East bound TA. Also, 1 East bound TP.

Rome.

 

Benefits of a TA:

Cheaper than other cruises, especially since there is no price bundling.

You save on airfare, which makes the cruise even cheaper.

 

Most of us still need to fly to Florida and stay a night ,which was no saving in May as it cost the same as our flight home from Ireland

[CrossBluePerchance]

Are you using the ship to get to where you want to be? Are you using it to get back from where you've been? Or is the ship the vacation?

[TeaBag]

Hi TeaBag, I hope you haven't just jinxed our TA! ;p

Me too, because we're high up on the back of the ship. Rock a bye baby.....................:D

[lisiamc]

Twice now, we’ve done eastbound and westbound in the same year, to make it easy and relatively cheap to book air fare. :D Ok, maybe not entirely to save money. Maybe we just like transatlantics. If you like sea days, they’re addictive. We like doing transpacifics, too.

[cruisegoal100]

We have done 14 TAs, about half in each direction. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. While gaining the hours back on the westbound is certainly an advantage our experience has been that the weather in the fall is more variable as well as cooler. The eastbound TA in the spring always seems to have the smoother seas and nicer weather and we enjoy spending time on the veranda when the weather is nice. Also on the eastbound TAs, even though you've lost 5 or 6 hours it was gradually, not all at once and you arrive at Europe more rested.

We love to meet people and have found TAs to be a great vehicle (pun intended) to meet world travelers and other interesting people. Have even met Europeans who are snowbirds in Florida and use the TAs to get back and forth.

The only caution would be that if you do not like at sea days then think twice before doing a TA!

That having been said, do it and you'll have a great time.

[Duanerice1]

Twice now, we’ve done eastbound and westbound in the same year, to make it easy and relatively cheap to book air fare. :D Ok, maybe not entirely to save money. Maybe we just like transatlantics. If you like sea days, they’re addictive. We like doing transpacifics, too.

 

Now I like that! Just one round trip ticket covers two vacations. Smart.

 

We can't wait to do a TA, preferably from Rome to Miami as we live close. We've never been to Italy so would like to spend a week ahead of time. We are retired so time isn't an issue (money is to a certain degree) but holding off because we have an elderly dog and don't want to leave her for 3+ weeks at a time. Can't wait though!

[UKPete71]

Also on the eastbound TAs, even though you've lost 5 or 6 hours it was gradually, not all at once and you arrive at Europe more rested.

We had 5 changes in 6 days on our eastbound last year. I'd say successive 23 hour days were more tiring than if we'd done them all in one go. Whether having a 5 hour change the day before the cruise and then a run of shorter days had anything to do with it I don't know? Possibly.

 

We've done 2 westbound and 1 eastbound so far, with another westbound booked for November. The longer days have worked better for us and we then deal with the time difference flying back to the UK.

[cruise kitty]

Fall, Westbound, hopefully out of Rome, as late in the season as possible.

 

Why?

-You get to spend your pre cruise time in Rome

-If you can get a late November, early December itinerary Christmas decorations & Markets are up in Europe & it's gorgeous

-Less Crowds

-25 hour days on your crossing to the states

-you return with much less jet lag, even if you have to fly back to W.Coast from FL

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I have done 5 Transatlantic cruises - several in each direction - 2 beginning in Barcelona going West (fall), 1 ending in Barcelona going East (Spring), 1 beginning in Southampton going West (fall) and 1 ending in Amsterdam going East (spring). I have come to several conclusions from these five experiences

 

1) The more Southerly crossing has generally better (warmer) weather and calmer seas

2) I prefer the longer days on the Westbound crossing

3) I prefer Barcelona as start/end port due to the large number of things to see and do, ease of access to the port, competitive hotel pricing and proximity of the airport to the city/port

4) I like the hustle and bustle of sightseeing in Europe first followed by the relaxed shipboard life of the Westward crossing. It allows me to return to work feeling fully recharged

[wrk2cruise]

Now I like that! Just one round trip ticket covers two vacations. Smart.

 

We can't wait to do a TA, preferably from Rome to Miami as we live close. We've never been to Italy so would like to spend a week ahead of time. We are retired so time isn't an issue (money is to a certain degree) but holding off because we have an elderly dog and don't want to leave her for 3+ weeks at a time. Can't wait though!

 

We did this a few years back and ran into some trouble with our travel insurance. We wanted to cover everything on one policy due to the round trip air tickets we bought. The only problem is the start to end date ended up being 185 days. The policy limit was 180 days. Luckily our TA was able to get a supervisor to give a written approval for the 185 day duration. Just something to think about.

[Duanerice1]

We did this a few years back and ran into some trouble with our travel insurance. We wanted to cover everything on one policy due to the round trip air tickets we bought. The only problem is the start to end date ended up being 185 days. The policy limit was 180 days. Luckily our TA was able to get a supervisor to give a written approval for the 185 day duration. Just something to think about.

 

Thanks, good point but we've never bought travel insurance. I get medical evacuation but not regular travel insurance. Many, many cruises, safari, around the work travel, etc. Just never felt the need as I knew what the fixed cost was.

 

On the medical side you never know and that could be crazy costs so that's why I get the evacuation insurance when traveling out of the country.