I always wondered why..

[Lady Hudson]

3 hours ago, Lbicklel said:

If I could do a TA (US to Europe) then a week or two later do another TA home after touring, I would be thrilled!

Check out the itineraries during the summer (though probably not this summer).   It is certainly possible to sail eastbound to Southampton, spend some time in Europe, and then take a westbound voyage home to NY.  Many transatlantics each year from approximately May to December.

[ZiggaZagga17]

8 hours ago, Lbicklel said:

If I could do a TA (US to Europe) then a week or two later do another TA home after touring, I would be thrilled!

That's kind of what I was suggesting a few post up 

[alfaeric]

10 hours ago, zekekelso said:

Just a WAG, but fuel cost? 

I bet if you did the math, the actual fuel costs for taking a ship across the ocean is less than the same per-capita vs airplanes.  A few years go, we did a back of the napkin estimate for the Harmony, and if it did wide open speed for the entire cruise, the per-person fuel economy was in the ~60mpg range.  So at actual speeds it would be well above that.  And that's just counting for paying passengers.

 

To me, the big reason that there's not much demand for this product, though, is air travel.  Instead of taking a week to cross, it's 6-8 hours.  So there's not nearly enough demand to make it cost worthy, even if it ends up being less expensive per person to move them from A to B, and you can charge more for the better experience.

[ZiggaZagga17]

On 5/5/2020 at 12:47 PM, alfaeric said:

To me, the big reason that there's not much demand for this product, though, is air travel.  Instead of taking a week to cross, it's 6-8 hours.  So there's not nearly enough demand to make it cost worthy, even if it ends up being less expensive per person to move them from A to B, and you can charge more for the better experience.

This is why I believe it would only work for most people if they did a B2B, which ever side of the pond was their starting point! A day overnight to slake the thirst for shopping or whatever and then back on for another 6/7/8 nights - sounds like bliss to me!

[Book bug]

On 5/4/2020 at 5:58 PM, Snit13 said:

Doesn't Cunard just sail from GB to NY?  Have been trying for years to figure out a way to sail rt/TA without a flight.  Would be great for those of us who want to get a rail pass and travel around Europe but who aren't excited about flying.

QM2 also sails onto/from  Hamburg Germany pre and post some of its transatlantics so that might work for you

[drrich2]

Interesting; the question got me thinking what you make one want to do a transatlantic, since you'd need a ship full of them very regularly. On further thought, I see potential issues:

1.) It's a longer round trip for vacation than a week, which puts off a lot of working people and families.

2.) If you just want to enjoy the ship, you can do a 'closer to home' cruise and not get off at the islands. Have more of the ship to yourself when others disembark. 

3.) If you're in the U.S. and want to go see some of Europe, may make more sense to fly there faster, so to spend more of your vacation time in Europe touring historic sites.

4.) To do a transatlantic cruise and a substantial European land vacation would be more serious commitment in time and money. 

I'm not saying it can't be done, just that there are logistical issues. 

Edited May 22, 2020 by drrich2