Transatlantic Crossing

[Baz-t]

In short, which is best, March/April or October/November. Best weather, best seas, etc?

[dalliowner]

Having done both a few times the weather is difficult to predict  but all i would say is East to West you are going into the good weather and obviously  west to East the reverse . so I like east to west so the end is good weather at the end of your cruise. The other thing that most people forget is the clocks, when you go east to west you have 5 days of an extra hour in bed. the reverse loosing an hour a day for 5 days gets very  problematic

 

John

 

 

[Kaz52]

If summer is possible for you, Seabourn Quest has a 24 day voyage from Dover to Montreal via the Hebrides, Iceland and Greenland in August, 2022. The weather should be perfect. I'm thinking of booking that one this week!

Edited August 30, 2021 by Kaz52

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, Baz-t said:

In short, which is best, March/April or October/November. Best weather, best seas, etc?

 

March/April ought to provide better weather than October/November.  Spring weather is more likely in March/April; Fall weather would be expected in October/November.  But, one never knows how King Neptune will be feeling when we cruise.  

[brittany12]

unless its late October, I'd avoid the hurricane season.

[RetiredandTravel]

 

 

6 minutes ago, brittany12 said:

unless its late October, I'd avoid the hurricane season.

 

Agreed.

 

October/November (less so) are hurricane season in the Atlantic.   Obviously more dramatic the further south you are.

 

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/

 

 

[fudgbug]

1 hour ago, Kaz52 said:

If summer is possible for you, Seabourn Quest has a 24 day voyage from Dover to Montreal via the Hebrides, Iceland and Greenland in August, 2022. The weather should be perfect. I'm thinking of booking that one this week!

Did that itinerary in August 2017 and it was great!

[Baz-t]

Many thanks to all for your useful input

[mcshane]

Slight hijack - any experiences of expected temperatures on a November southern TA crossing? Summer dresses with a jacket, or winter outfits? Thanks! 

[Hlitner]

We have done many TAs (including in Nov) although none with SB.  You are not going to like my answer but you must simply be prepared for any kind of weather.   The usual answer is have the ability to wear layers.  On a southern route we certainly would not take winter outfits but would be prepared if we got a few chilly days.

 

Hank

[mcshane]

45 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have done many TAs (including in Nov) although none with SB.  You are not going to like my answer but you must simply be prepared for any kind of weather.   The usual answer is have the ability to wear layers.  On a southern route we certainly would not take winter outfits but would be prepared if we got a few chilly days.

 

Hank

Thanks, Hank - even the knowledge that full winter garb isn’t necessary is great! 

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, mcshane said:

Thanks, Hank - even the knowledge that full winter garb isn’t necessary is great! 

Ok, I should have posed another issue.  Southern crossings are desirable but the embarkation port might mean some cold weather clothes are necessary.  We once wondered this when we did a November crossing from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale that actually went via the Canary Islands.   Since we were spending some pre cruise time in Spain and France we brought along some cold weather clothes.  The European weather was unusually warm (70s f) and we never used our cold weather clothes.  I even took a pretty warm winter jacket (DW told me I was crazy to pack that item) which never saw the light of day :).

 

This is not relevant but I will add that DW and I love any transatlantic or transpacific cruise since we just adore all those lazy sea days :).  Even when we have had awful weather (it has happened on 2 out of more then 20 crossings) we loved every minute of every day.

 

Hank

[mcshane]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

Ok, I should have posed another issue.  Southern crossings are desirable but the embarkation port might mean some cold weather clothes are necessary.  We once wondered this when we did a November crossing from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale that actually went via the Canary Islands.   Since we were spending some pre cruise time in Spain and France we brought along some cold weather clothes.  The European weather was unusually warm (70s f) and we never used our cold weather clothes.  I even took a pretty warm winter jacket (DW told me I was crazy to pack that item) which never saw the light of day :).

 

This is not relevant but I will add that DW and I love any transatlantic or transpacific cruise since we just adore all those lazy sea days :).  Even when we have had awful weather (it has happened on 2 out of more then 20 crossings) we loved every minute of every day.

 

Hank

You’ve made me even more excited. Great to hear about the limited bad weather - but even if it happens, with the past year and a half’s events, we’ll take it! 

[Hlitner]

15 minutes ago, mcshane said:

You’ve made me even more excited. Great to hear about the limited bad weather - but even if it happens, with the past year and a half’s events, we’ll take it! 

There is more good news.  Our two awful weather crossings were both East bound in the Spring :). 

 

Hank