Transatlantic, did you enjoy it?

[MarkandStacie]

We have not had problems with motion sickness in the past, but a transatlantic in April concerns me. Thoughts?

[debby21]

We have done TAs the last two springs. We loved them! There was some rough weather on one, but we didn't have problems. The other one was exceptionally smooth. Crossing the ocean is a wonderful way to relax and just do whatever you want. You will also get to some ports that you might not otherwise get to see.

 

Enjoy!

 

Debby

[tuggers]

Get a script for the patch and take it with you. It could be a little rough. In any case, TA's are for TRUE cruisers. I love 'em but some would be bored to tears.

[Jim_Iain]

It is always unpredictable as to what the weather will be like on any cruise. We have sailed the Northern Transatlantic which was not bad with the exception of 2 days which we experienced some pretty heavy seas. I hear the southern route can be much calmer.

 

Suggestions I have heard is to get as close to the center of the ship as possible and also the lower floors are less problematic.

 

I am very prone to motion sickness on small boats but for some reason I am not bothered by motion on large ships. I usually take a motion sickness pill the night before I sail and the day we go aboard. After that I usually don't take anymore. When we hit the 20 ft waves I decided I better take one just in case.

[Gusti]

I been on the southern and on the northern transatlantic, also in the Pacific to Hawaii and that one was bad the first day.

I will not get sea sick, but like the others say, take something.

 

I love them , booked another one this fall

[idssms]

We have done 4 transatlantics and the seas have been mostly smooth with a few bad days. We have never been sick and I did not notice a lot of empty seats at dinner time.

 

I have been on Caribbean Cruises where 50% of the guests are sick from rough seas.

 

Maybe its the time of the year that the ships do the transatlantics.

 

 

Don

[MarkandStacie]

Is there a special board that discusses crossings?

[Druke I]

We've done some half-dozen trans-Atlantics, various lines, seasons, and routings, and enjoyed them all. Some of have been fairly rough, but sea state is a crap-shoot.

 

Gross generalization of course, but usually smoother in the spring and rougher in the fall.

 

We do prefer the Westbound crossings, as you gain time, rather than Eastbound, where you lose time.

[kitty9]

If you stay away from anything that's in the far North Atlantic, you should be fine. I did a crossing that went from London to NY, in September, and we had 50ft seas, and that was really, really a terrible crossing. But I've done other crossings from Lisbon to FLL and FLL to Barcelona, and those were pretty even crossings, with maybe one or two days of seas in the 30ft range, but believe it or not, it wasn't bumpy at all.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

TNA is always a crap shoot no matter what the month is. Your best bet is to take the southern route as most repositionings do. The Transatlantic Crossing is for the pax who love ships and love to sail. For those pax...getting there isn't half the fun...IT IS ALL THE FUN!!!

 

ROSS

[RickandAnne]

We have done 4 transatlantics and the seas have been mostly smooth with a few bad days. We have never been sick and I did not notice a lot of empty seats at dinner time.

 

I have been on Caribbean Cruises where 50% of the guests are sick from rough seas.

 

Maybe its the time of the year that the ships do the transatlantics.

 

 

Don

 

Don,

 

DW and I are looking at the 11/24 Millie TA that you seem to be booked on. We've never done the Med before and wonder if our first cruise over there should be earlier to enjoy better weather in the ports than I'd expect to see in November. Since you did the TA on Millie last year, how much did the weather (temps/rain) impact your enjoyment of the cruise. We may just tour the Med earlier and do a TA some other time. (I want to do that, too, because we like cruising for the sake of cruising.)

 

Thanks,

Rick

[Sahaj]

We were on the Galaxy in May for a Trans-Atlantic to Rome.. It was great! There are usually a few days that are a bit rocky...come prepared if this bothers you... (a patch, ginger pills, the wrist band, bonine...whatever works for you)! All in all is was a great trip. One nice thing about a "crossing" is your body has time to adjust to the time zones you are passing through..... I Love arriving feeling "normal" (whatever that is!).

 

Enjoy!

[negc]

We were on the Galaxy in May for a Trans-Atlantic to Rome.. It was great! There are usually a few days that are a bit rocky...come prepared if this bothers you... (a patch, ginger pills, the wrist band, bonine...whatever works for you)! All in all is was a great trip. One nice thing about a "crossing" is your body has time to adjust to the time zones you are passing through..... I Love arriving feeling "normal" (whatever that is!).

 

Enjoy!

If you don't normally have problems with motion sickness, it is very likely that you won't have any on a transatlantic, but the weather is always unpredictable and no matter how large the ship is, it is still an infinitesimal speck in comparison to the vast Atlantic Ocean. Be prepared and if you think you will have a problem, begin using whatever preventative measures as early as possible to head off any unpleasant effects. If you wait until you feel discomfort, it may be too late.

That said, we have crossed from England to Boston twice and encountered totally different weather conditions. In September, 2002, the Captain altered his course northward to avoid the worst effects of Hurrican Gustave. Even then we encountered about a day and a half of 40 to 60 foot swells, but few passengers complained about feeling seasick.

Last Fall, the weather and the seas were fine for the entire crossing. In that case, had we taken a southerly route, we would have had problems with one of the hurricanes that was working its way up the coast of the US.

In both instances the captain kept everyone well informed of the conditions and made everyone feel secure.

While some believe that the eastbound transatlantics are less likely to encounter bad weather, that was apparently not the case last Spring when ships heading to Europe encountered extremely high seas and less than ideal conditions. There are no guarantees but if you are prepared you should be able to have a very enjoyable crossing. One nice advantage of the westbound itineraries is the extra hour you receive on five nights of the crossing as you traverse the time zones.:)

[Blazerboy]

Mark and Stacie, since you know me as a devotee of Transatlantics, I know you'll think I'm biased.:)

 

But I would sum up everyone's comments by saying the weather is likely not to be the issue for you. One of the biggest complaints that people have about TA's is not the weather, but the lack of ports. I love sea day after sea day, so certainly not an issue for me. If you're into relaxing, spa treatments, exercise, good meals, etc., and don't mind that you aren't checking off a must-see port every day or every other day, you'll love it.

 

As far as a Northern crossing vs. a Southern crossing, with the longer trip time, there's plenty of leeway for the captain to follow the good weather. In the old days it was a five day trip, so there was very little lattitude about the course. With seven days to make the crossing, there's plenty of wiggle room. Also, don't forget that when the ship gets off the coast far enough, we enter the jet stream from the South, so that, while due East of cold parts of the US, we might be in warmer weather just by being at sea.

 

Hope that helps,

Andrew

[RickandAnne]

Follow up question....if the cold weather in late November is expected to be around, is there any reason to worry about how big a balcony may be. You'd never use it I presume.

[julieanne]

We are on the 4/30/06 TA on the Millie. We also did the Galaxy to Rome from Baltimore around the same time last year . Weather was great when we arrived, cooler on the crossing. Yes, it was a bit rocky, but not anything that was bothersome. If you can't get the patch, try bonine or you can always get it at the purser's office for free....... You'll be fine!

 

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[Blazerboy]

Rick and Anne,

 

One of the warmest crossings I've ever had was in the middle of November! It was more Southerly, but still- 80 degress and flat, flat ocean from Lisbon to Barbados! We didn't have a verandah, and I missed it! But even on Northern routes, I've always enjoyed being able to step out from the stateroom onto a verandah, for fresh air, to watch the ocean roll by, or to watch another ship far out at sea....

 

Andrew

[RickandAnne]

Rick and Anne,

 

One of the warmest crossings I've ever had was in the middle of November! It was more Southerly, but still- 80 degress and flat, flat ocean from Lisbon to Barbados! We didn't have a verandah, and I missed it! But even on Northern routes, I've always enjoyed being able to step out from the stateroom onto a verandah, for fresh air, to watch the ocean roll by, or to watch another ship far out at sea....

 

Andrew

 

I gotta admit, that sounds like my idea of cruising. And believe it or not, we LIKE it when the ship's moving around (although we've never seen 50 ft seas, much less 70 ft rogue waves.):eek:

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

 

Rick

[RickandAnne]

Rick and Anne,

 

One of the warmest crossings I've ever had was in the middle of November! It was more Southerly, but still- 80 degress and flat, flat ocean from Lisbon to Barbados! We didn't have a verandah, and I missed it! But even on Northern routes, I've always enjoyed being able to step out from the stateroom onto a verandah, for fresh air, to watch the ocean roll by, or to watch another ship far out at sea....

 

Andrew

 

I gotta admit, that sounds like my idea of cruising. And believe it or not, we LIKE it when the ship's moving around (although we've never seen 50 ft seas, much less 70 ft rogue waves.):eek:

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

 

Rick

[idssms]

Don,

 

DW and I are looking at the 11/24 Millie TA that you seem to be booked on. We've never done the Med before and wonder if our first cruise over there should be earlier to enjoy better weather in the ports than I'd expect to see in November. Since you did the TA on Millie last year, how much did the weather (temps/rain) impact your enjoyment of the cruise. We may just tour the Med earlier and do a TA some other time. (I want to do that, too, because we like cruising for the sake of cruising.)

 

Thanks,

Rick

 

 

Hi Rick:

 

We did the May 05 east t/a and the Nov 05 west t/a. Of course the weather in May 05 was warmer and the balcony was great, it was like summer the entire way and europe was warm. The negative was we lost 6 hours going there and we were always tired. I go to bed late and some night had little sleep esp port days.

 

Come back to FLL we gain an hour a night for 6 nights and thats a great feeling. The weather in Europe in Nov was in the mid 50s, some mornings in the 40s (early tho around 7 am) but the sun warmed things up to at least the mid 60s each sea day.

 

I had a balcony cabin last Nov 05. I was upgraded to a Celebrity Suite and at the time was excited and didnt think abt the cabin not having a balcony. In retrospect, for my piece of mind,, i have to have a balcony. I love fresh air and even with a leather jacket on, i like sitting on the chair at night and breathing the fresh air or letting the air in our cabin. It can get stuffy in a cabin real quick, esp a smaller one and it can drive me nuts.

 

Dont get me wrong, the CS was great, big and had a private bedroom area but if it only had a window to open for air,, or a small balcony.

 

My review of the Millie was posted yesterday and here is the link to it..

 

Check out my pics too,, the site is posted in the review...

 

Come join up with us on the roll call here,, you will love the Nov 06 Ports, nothing beats the bang for the buck like a transatlantic!!!

 

See you on the Roll Call

 

Don

 

 

my review:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=14681