Trans Atlantic cruising

[Atlas12]

We're considering a Trans Atlantic cruise this Fall. There are 8 sea days. Normally, I enjoy days at sea. But I don't really have any hobbies and we don't play bridge. Is there enough on board to keep me occupied?

[LynnTTT]

We love it.  Read, play games, wander around, take a nap, go to an art auction, eat, go to a show.

Schedule; get up and go to breakfast.  Find a quiet place and read for an hour or so.  Or play trivia.  Meet for lunch.. Go to the rooms set up for games.  I've learned new games, other card games, played Mahjongg, etc.  Or go to the library and work on a puzzle. Or sign up with a Roll Call group to join a book club or learn a craft.  Go to the pool or just sit in the sun.  Nod off. Then go to the cabin and get cleaned up for dinner.  Go to a bar and have a cocktail and a bar snack.  Go to dinner.

After dinner, go to the show or movie or just chat  with people you met at at the bar.

Some people walk around the decks to get in three miles or go to the health clubs. Not us. 😉

WE really enjoy the trips back from Europe after we've spent several weeks traveling thru Europe. Then you relax, enjoy the time changes (gain back an hour a day during the crossing) and get back home rested and "on the same time".

My husband thought he would get bored also.  No problem.

[TheOldBear]

The classic remark about a crossing is “Days and days of nothing to do, and not enough time to do it”

 

There is a difference between a regular crossing (like my upcoming QM2 round trip), repositioning cruises and special event sailings (like HAL’s “Voyage of the Vikings”)

 

The repositioning cruises have been presented as a bargain in the past - but if demand rises, so do prices. There also have been some reports of ships either not offering all onboard facilities, or even having extensive interior work being performed during the cruise. 

 

Check reviews and and the discussion forums here for information and advice.

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, Atlas12 said:

We're considering a Trans Atlantic cruise this Fall. There are 8 sea days. Normally, I enjoy days at sea. But I don't really have any hobbies and we don't play bridge. Is there enough on board to keep me occupied?

Depends on the ship. We have done Mariner of the Seas and Independence of the seas, not much to do but not boring. We have now done 3 crossings on Oasis class and have another booked for 2020.  Absolutely fantastic, ship sails with all cabins booked but about 1500 fewer kids.  14 nights are about right for all the shows, activities  and specialty dining. 9 sea days which we love. You might check out Independence of the seas, 15 night TA which includes 5 Caribbean ports. Sailed from Southampton and it was shorts and T'S after day 1.  

[evandbob]

We stayed occupied on our recent 15 day eastbound TA with reading, exercising, sauna/spa and casino.  What we hadn't anticipated was the drag we felt from 6 quick forward time changes.

 

Our next cruise with multiple time changes will be west bound, where we gain and not lose the hour.

[flamomo]

I'm a Princess cruiser and have done a number of transatlantics; all but one of them was west-bound, and I decided I much prefer west-bound. It's much easier to adjust to all of the time changes than when going east. I have another Med and TA on the 670 passenger Pacific Princess booked for later this year. It's a total of 29 days, and there will be 8 sea days in a row coming to the US, as the itinerary includes a stop in the Canary Islands, before heading across to Ft Lauderdale.

Since I love to read and play word games on my kindle and do crosswords and talk with fellow passengers, I rarely rely on the cruise director for daytime entertainment, and am never bored. Not that there aren't plenty of activities of all sorts scheduled for those who need someone to help them find things to do.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Atlas12 said:

We're considering a Trans Atlantic cruise this Fall. There are 8 sea days. Normally, I enjoy days at sea. But I don't really have any hobbies and we don't play bridge. Is there enough on board to keep me occupied?

Last year, we did a 38 day transpacific that included 18 sea days. Never a dull moment. But, that was on Oceania. So, the food was stellar, the lectures were first class and there were special interest groups (e.g., ""stitch 'n' *****"), Trivia, Country Fair, demonstrations/tastings/et al., and a great library! Perhaps best of all- great conversations with generally well educated, professionally accomplished, cosmopolitan travelers.

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, Atlas12 said:

We're considering a Trans Atlantic cruise this Fall. There are 8 sea days. ...Is there enough on board to keep me occupied?

What particular crossing (line and ship) are you looking at? The answer might depend on that.

 

Of our three TAs, the one on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody OTS (not even one of their bigger ships) had a lot more going on during the days than we were aware of on the two Holland America ones.

 

Of course, we enjoy being forced to do nothing!

[Atlas12]

Thanks everyone. The cruise I'm eyeing is the Oceania Sirena on Nov. 2.

[mnocket]

It depends so much on your personality type.  If you like a lot of external stimuli to keep you entertained, a TA may not be the best choice.  If you really want to kick back and relax, and are able to keep yourself entertained then you'll likely enjoy a TA.  I like them, but I'm happy to spend my days reading and my nights in the casino.

[lynncarol]

Several years ago my husband and I did a 17 day TA westbound cruise out of Copenhagen to Boston on Royal Caribbean. It included 8 sea days.  Our stateroom was good, food was fine, we loved our table-mates and there was some great entertainment. That being said, this may be the only cruise out of many that we have taken where both of us were really ready to get off that ship. We  have since decided that a ten day cruise is probably our maximum.

[cruizergal70]

15 hours ago, mnocket said:

It depends so much on your personality type.  If you like a lot of external stimuli to keep you entertained, a TA may not be the best choice.  If you really want to kick back and relax, and are able to keep yourself entertained then you'll likely enjoy a TA.  I like them, but I'm happy to spend my days reading and my nights in the casino.

^^This exactly. Are you someone that can keep yourself occupied and entertained or do you need others to determine activities for you? Can you just enjoy relaxing? Do you have any person projects you can work on while on board? Writing, reading, photography,  planning, etc.