Transatlantic in April NY to Rome

[mismal]

First time on a transatlantic, I am sure someone has some tips, tricks, must do, stay away from kind or fun stories to share.  15D NY to Rome with 8 ports.  I have only sailed to a tropical destination and spent most sea days on deck, basking in the sunshine with a book, this trip is in April, what to do to pass the time as I do not expect 80 degree pool weather?

[Catchum]

This is from the review I posed after our Transatlantic last year on the Jade. Obviously if you are on a bigger ship things will be a little different. The main thing is to relax into what ever routine you choose.

 

 

"Doing a Transatlantic - this may obvious, though apparently it took some passengers by surprise, you spend a lot of time at sea and the point of the cruise is to cross the Atlantic Ocean not see fabulous sights on land. There was plenty to do but you need to check your Freestyle Daily carefully to get the most out of your day. We are not into blood sports so did not participate in the trivia but there were numerous opportunities to do so. We enjoyed a number of afternoon movies in the stardust theatre, walked five or six miles on the promenade deck lost a little in the casino and spent happy hours tucked away in a quite spot with a book. We generally caught the show and toddled off to bed early because the elephant in the room on a transatlantic is not a cute towelling animal but the the dreaded time change cards. Five nights during the trip you lose an hours sleep, I think it is better than a doing the whole thing in one go but it means that early mornings were something which happened to other people. Nothing new there My DH would point out! If you are happy to entertain yourself or seek out activities you will be fine. Some passengers had a UDP themed cruise - mimosas at breakfast, followed by beer at lunch, and afternoon nap and then cocktails for the rest of the day. We looked on with admiration at their stamina and recalled occasions in the past when we had done the same, but multiple time changes, rough seas and a hangover is not a combination I want to repeat. Yes we did have some choppy seas and it was fun watching the audience  in the theatre swaying in time with the waves rather than the music, nothing too dramatic, but I did skip dinner one night. A transatlantic is  not a good cruise if you need medical attention. One passenger didn’t make it out of US waters as almost as soon as we left the coast we turned round and they were taken off the ship by the coastguard, A second was put ashore during an unscheduled late night pause near Bermuda, after this the captain respectfully asked that all remaining passengers to stay fit and well as there were no other opportunities to leave the vessel until the Azores! However we did gain some passengers the captain announced in his daily update that we picked up seven stranded fishermen off the coast of Ponta Delgada at 2am and delivered them safely to their home port.

Immigration is never a happy time and US passport holders did have a long wait to clear immigration on the ship when we were at our first UK port.  In fact the ship docked at 8am in torrential rain and it was about 10.30 before it was fit enough to step outside by which time I believe most passengers had been processed."

[4774Papa]

We have done three TransAtlantic cruises and one TransPacific cruises.   They were all good.  

The Azores are beautiful.  We liked them better than Hawaii.

 

Bermuda is great if you go there.

 

We prefer TA cruises that go from Europe to the USA, but the east bound ones are good.

 

We never had bad seas on a TA.

 

I always take books to read and sometimes find more reading in the library.  We go to some of the programs with speakers and do trivia.  Also, we find time to take a nice long walk on deck.  A TA is best done with friends, but if not, you can make friends on cruise critic roll call and meet at elite happy hour.

[tomservo]

Great thread. I have lots of TA questions too!

 

Which direction do you prefer and why?

 

Has anyone done a TA with young kids? How did they fare? I know TA’s don’t usually have a lot of kids, is the kids club a ghost town? Any tips and tricks?

 

Has anyone done it in the Haven? Is it worth it? 

[Turtles06]

32 minutes ago, tomservo said:

Which direction do you prefer and why?

 

Has anyone done a TA with young kids? How did they fare? I know TA’s don’t usually have a lot of kids, is the kids club a ghost town? Any tips and tricks?

 

We have taken six TAs.  We prefer westbound for two reasons. First, we like to spend time before the cruise touring in Europe, followed by a relaxing cruise home.  Second, we prefer 25-hour days to 23-hour days. 🙂

 

You are correct — very, very few kids on TAs. I hope you will get your questions answered. 

 

 

[All-ready2cruise]

I love TAs. So relaxing and the length of the cruise really lends itself to getting to know your fellow pax and crew, as well.  

I've done 3 TAs and enjoyed each one, however, I've tended to get involved with the trivia and the fun activities NCL offers.

I've noticed a big improvement on the ports of call on TAs. Our first TA, there was 1 stop, more recently, there can be 4-5 or more stops.  

As far as the seas go, it's tough to say what you might encounter. On my first TA, Dover UK to Tampa FL, in October, it was quite rough for a few days after leaving the English Channel, and the only reason I mention it is so that you prepare for it. 

 

Hopefully, you'll have a wonderful, fun-filled crossing... if so, you'll be hooked. LOL

Cheers

 

[mismal]

thanks all!  Continue the conversation!

[casofilia]

Europe to USA as you get 25 hour days not 23; the latter means loss of an hour sleep on a number of nights.

 

Any sea can be rough so cannot generalize about what you might get.  We did one in April this year and the Officers said it was the smoothest crossing ever.

 

You need to take something to occupy you on the 5 days "at sea" unless you can fill every day with bingo, trivia, talks and drinking!!

[CarrieAP]

Just took our 1st TA last year and loved it! We got hooked and decided this is our now favorite way to cruise. But as others have said it is a different experience from our previous Caribbean cruises. Ours was from Copenhagen to NYC in Sept. Our 1st time to Europe so spent 5 nights there prior to the cruise. Loved all our port stops, mostly touring with groups arranged here on CC. So much more to see and experience in these ports than the islands. 

 

We did end up having rough seas and windy weather once we left the Azores, which continued through our multi-sea day stretch. Fascinating to learn that sea spray can reach all the way to the pool deck and beyond! Most days the upper decks were closed due to wind. The spa thalassotherapy pool was eventually drained when it kept flooding the spa as it sloshed side to side. While we had a balcony cabin I'm not sure I sat out there once due to the weather. Even got a bit queasy when I looked out at the choppy waves lol. Over all, despite the weather, we really did enjoy the cruise!

 

Our main form of entertainment during the day was reading books on our Kindles. Others played cards, games, puzzles etc. As stated above, one does have to have the ability to self-entertain during the long stretch of sea days. Coming west we did gain sleep rather than lose it, a big plus. It did feel luxurious being well rested and spoiled with 3 sit down meals a day. The beverage package is another huge perk. Mimosas with breakfast, wine with lunch and cocktails at leisure throughout the afternoon and evening are not my norm at home! The waitstaff were very generous, especially at lunch, refilling our glasses before they were even half empty. 

 

There was one significant downside to our cruise. The weather pretty much kept everyone inside. Here and there were moments of warmer weather when we could sit in a lounge chair near the pool and some folks did use the hot tubs, but much less than I anticipated. We were on the Breakaway which really lacked inside seating. Would have been a different experience if the water front decks could have been utilized. The atrium was predictably full and there really aren't many other places to even sit and read. Gradually they opened up some of the specialty restaurants during the daytime for table games and such but other than that, very few cozy comfortable areas to just sit and chill. 

 

One other note on TA's- lots of folks from lots of areas carry their local viruses with them, plus they pick up more from their flights and other sites they visit. Time spent inside means there's more chance for these germs to get shared. Mostly common colds, but for some reason on cruises these seem to be the coughing type. Day by day I could hear more folks getting sick, and we did too, though luckily just basic cold symptoms for us. Most of this is inevitable, but it is frustrating when fellow travelers don't sneeze/cough into their arm or tissues. My advise is pack some cold medicine with you because it's pricey on the ship.

 

Great topic that's not discussed a lot on these boards, so thank you and I look forward to hearing others' experiences too. 

[mismal]

thanks for your insight!  Yes my concern is temperature, space to hang out and assume a cool passage and the never ending thought of what to pack!

Cold virus and cold meds a great tip!  Probably will remember some sort of immunity booster as well.

 

Agree, I had a hard time finding a lot of TA info but I know those that have done it either love it or hate it so hoping folks continue to chime it.

[texasgirl29]

Booked on the November 2020 Epic TA Barcelona to San Juan so loving this thread. Please keep the tips and memories coming.

[Newleno]

We have done several of them, we have had seas like glass and we have had rough seas.  Took one from Southhampton we saw London and did not have to pay the insane airfare taxes ($200 per person)  flying  back.

[mking8288]

Enjoy your T/A out of NY next year ... please consider & include a good cruise insurance package as part of your plan & expenses, just in case - given NCL's recent history of making last minute changes (2019 and 2019) - especially if the ship(s) are scheduled for dry dock immediately after the crossing.   While the cruiseline might reimburse, partially, airline flight changes & lodging - extra meals, transfer costs & other incidents might not.   

[FLAHAM]

On each of my prior Norwegian transatlantic cruises, Norwegian has furnished a bridge instructor/game director (usually a married couple) who, each sea day, conduct a beginner lesson, an intermediate lesson, and a duplicate (competitive) bridge game.  Between the daily intermediate lesson and the game, the days sped by.  If you have never played before, the beginner lessons will have you playing by the end of the cruise. You will meet other players and learn a new game to the point where you can continue in    newcomer games at your home duplicate bridge club.  The lessons and games tended to draw 50-75 people and were held in one of the specialty restaurants.

[ddlb]

On 7/26/2019 at 10:08 PM, mismal said:

First time on a transatlantic, I am sure someone has some tips, tricks, must do, stay away from kind or fun stories to share.  15D NY to Rome with 8 ports.  I have only sailed to a tropical destination and spent most sea days on deck, basking in the sunshine with a book, this trip is in April, what to do to pass the time as I do not expect 80 degree pool weather?

 

 If you are doing the epic I highly recommend getting the spa passes online discount and best money I ever spent.  and for a transatlantic you would love it!

 

 

 

 

 

[pcrum]

We just did our first TA this past spring, taking the Epic from Port Canaveral to Barcelona.  We had downloaded several books and movies on a tablet prior to the cruise, but never had the chance to use them.  There were so many activities that we literally could not fit everything in.  There was a lovely British lady who gave a talk each day about an upcoming port, there were other cruise talks, bands playing all over the ship, and on the pool deck during the day.  As others mentioned, you do lose an hour each day (in our case for 6 days), but we enjoyed sleeping in and having a relaxing day.  We also enjoyed the UBP and tried many different wines and cocktails.  The days passed quickly and we are looking forward to our next TA.  We sailed the end of April, arriving in Barcelona on May 12 and the weather was gorgeous.  Very smooth seas the entire cruise.  I think we had rain perhaps half of one day.  It was a perfect cruise and we are so looking forward to our second TA.

 

I would like to do a westward TA due to gaining all of those hours, but I worry the time of the sailings might lead to rougher seas.

[xbatt8]

Well, if you are sailing in 2020 you’re either on the Getaway or the Escape, and those ships are more similar than different. We are on the Escape. There are roll calls for both in the roll call section, as well as other social media groups. I’m in both, and there is a lot of info to be gleaned from other experienced TA travelers. We’ve only done two TAs so far, and both were excellent. One was warm and afforded many opportunities for laying out by the pool (that one was mid April - Florida to Barcelona) and one was much cooler (early June - Barcelona to New York). 

 

Enjoy your TA.

 

Bob

[tomservo]

If you could do a TA on any NCL ship, which would you pick and why? For those who have sailed on Royal, what would you pick?

 

Is the weather nicer or warmer on a transpacific?

[Cb2534]

Thanks for posting this question.  I love all of the information and perspectives from past cruisers.   I just booked our first TA and we are also sailing in April  (on the Getaway).   Based on some quick research,  I did book a spa balcony for the first time so we have access to the thermal suite area.   Considering the number of days at sea and the potential  for limited outdoor time secondary to the weather, I believe it will be a good investment.  I am hopeful the ship will not be at full capacity and therefore the frequent complaints about the crowded conditions on this ship scattered through many of the reviews will not be an issue.  

 

Really looking forward to this trip and our first transatlantic crossing!!  I hope the advice, experiences and tips from past cruisers keep on coming.       

[Markanddonna]

I'm in the minority as I prefer springtime or eastbound TAs.   Here are my reasons:

 

- More daylight in the springtime for excursions at ports or in Europe. I like mid-April TAs  because you arrive in May.  Europe is so beautiful at that time, fewer tourists, and usually comfortable weather.

- As far as the 23 or 25 hour days: you are going to have this jet lag issue somewhere in your travel- on the front end or on the back end.

- With eastbound TAs, you have a gradual chance to reset your internal clock and are ready to "hit the ground running" when you disembark in Europe.

- I don't have to deal with the possible interruption of hurricane issues.  I went on a Fall TA in 2012 and had to deal with flights being cancelled due to SuperStorm Sandy.