Tell me about Transatlantic cruises...

[graceinga]

I retired 3 months ago, hubby retires in 15 days...the countdown is real!  We've been on 24 cruises but always the Caribbean or Alaska.  It's time for us to branch out.  

 

• Is there a time of year that typically has better weather on a TA?  We are concerned with boredom on the sea days if we are needing to stay inside more due to the weather.   
• Is there additional entertainment, more than what is typically on a 7 night cruise?  
• Are there additional menu offerings in the MDR, more than what is typically on a 7 night cruise? 

 

Thanks for your help. 

 

[amygutman]

@graceinga We're going on our first TA in November 2024 hopefully on the Epic unless it's repositioned, and if so then one of the Celebrity ships as a (way more expensive) alternative. Following along your post eagerly to gather information from more experienced cruisers. By the way, Mazel Tov on your retirement! I hear the Villages is a rocking place!

Warmest, Amy

 

[RB9643]

 

We've never done a TA or TP, but want to. I think it's really an entirely different breed of cat. This is a good place to start, but there are also some great YouTube videos on this subject that give the good, bad, and ugly.

 

Good luck researching, we're doing the same.

 

 

[FLAHAM]

1.  Bring a Kindle loaded with books.

 

2.  Take the beginners (or intermediate) bridge lesson offered each sea day.

[mapleleaves]

I used to wonder about a TA.   

Then on my Med cruise last Sept we had horrible weather;  our port on Day 1  was cancelled so it became a sea day. Day 2 was already a scheduled sea day.  Stuck on the ship 2 days in a row.  I couldn't stand it.   So I wonder no more.

[cruiseny4life]

If I'm ever able to do a Trans-Atlantic, I'll be ensuring I have a thermal suite pass...I'll be a lazy, lazy hippo in that warm, lovely environment. Lots of water and bubbles and saunas....so, get that spa room or a spa pass! I can't imagine you'd regret it for fourteen days. 

 

And yep, I'll be in Teppanyaki for Hungry, Hungry Hippo! *I might not be right in the head, but that's ok*

 

Source: https://d23.com/a-true-life-jungle-cruise-with-national-geographic-the-congo-river/

[Fifi1910]

Just got off of the Getaway 12 day Port Canaveral to Lisbon TA. Fantastic trip. Calm seas. Sun everyday except Great Stirrup Cay where we had torrential rain. Loved all the sea days. 

[TrumpyNor]

I have done a Transatlantic cruise from Miami to Southampton (UK) in April, and the weather was nice and sunny most of the cruise (only some rain and stormy weather in the beginning of the cruise when close to Bermuda).  I believe the weather can be more unstable when going the other way (westwards from Europe) in October or November, as those months often can be both windy and rainy. April/May is a time that is more likely to bring a "hint of spring and summer" during the cruise.

 

Personally I found all those seadays to be boring, as one of my favorite parts of cruising is to arrive at a new port every morning... ☺️

Edited June 16, 2023 by TrumpyNor
Editing time periods for TA

[Sundiego]

We've done three transatlantics, always headed west. We visit the embarkation city for about 5 days (we've done Barcelona, Copenhagen and Rome). Then we board the ship. I enjoy sea days and the casino. DH takes his Kindle fully loaded. I am easily entertained and like all the shows.

 

Perhaps a small thing to some, but one of the reasons we prefer the west bound transatlantics is you clear customs at the U.S. cruise terminal instead of a U.S. airport. It feels so much easier to me! Then we are treated as domestic passengers at the airport when we fly home. 

 

Denise

[eileeshb]

My uncle and aunt want me to talk my mother into doing a transatlantic with them, she keeps saying the only cruise she’s interested in is Norwegian Fjords. She and my father cruised from Ireland to Australia when they immigrated in the early 70s and I think that is what has put her off the idea. (They moved back to Ireland after I was born and that trip was by air) so if anyone has tips to help persuade her… 

[RB9643]

33 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

Stuck on the ship 2 days in a row.  I couldn't stand it.  

 

Heh. That's just hilarious to a guy who looks forward to sea days. 😆

 

A trans-Atlantic is definitely not for you.

 

 

[Cruisewilm]

We love TA and TP cruises. Have been on many.  We exercise, eat, attend lectures, eat, play beginner bridge, eat, explore the ship or read, eat, play trivia, eat, clean up for the evening, see the show, eat, read and go to sleep.  Repeat next sea day.  Maybe a snack here or there. Did I mention food?  We stay active enough that we aren't packing on the pounds when we travel.   We no longer use the spas or casino.  Too much to do in other places.  We prefer going east to west as we gain the hours back instead of loosing an hour several times.  It's challenging to fit 36 hours of activities into a single day.  We are never bored.  Have rarely experienced bad weather as we usually have been steered around it if it was imminent.  I prefer not to travel late in November or December as the weather is cooler - same for the earliest dates going west to east.  But in retirement, if a great deal pops up in either direction, we would do it in a heartbeat.

So while not for everyone, we love it!

[Russiamomm]

We did our first TA on the Breakaway in April.  Absolutely loved it!  In fact we loved it so much we booked the new Epic TA in December.  It really depends on what you want in a cruise.  We love sea days.  And being in the Haven definitely helped.  I can spend my life being pampered.  😂. We got very lucky with the weather.  We only had one rough night leaving Bermuda.  Other than that, weather was perfect.  The ports were fantastic - especially Portugal and Spain.  The sea days were relaxing.  Lots of deck time, lots of food and drink and more than a few hands of Blackjack.  😂. But I can see how all those sea days are not for everyone.  We also said repeatedly that we wanted to do the reverse.  Gain an hour a day instead of losing it and have the restful part of the trip at the end (the ports are great, but exhausting.  Long days with lots of walking.). Hence we booked the Epic when the trio popped up and the price was right. We’ll see how it goes.

 

As I said, the weather was great on our April trip.  It may not be so good in December, but we’ll see.  And there’s no guarantee for the spring crossings either.  The spa is always an option.  We had booked it on the April trip, but honestly only used it once or twice because the weather was so good.  Still debating that for the December trip.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Russiamomm
Typo

[RosieRoo]

We did our first TA last December from Lisbon to NYC. It was nine days of rain, wind and rough seas. All the outside decks were closed and both ports were cancelled due to bad weather. It won’t stop me from doing another TA, but I think I’d do it in the spring, and never again in December. 

[Russiamomm]

3 minutes ago, RosieRoo said:

We did our first TA last December from Lisbon to NYC. It was nine days of rain, wind and rough seas. All the outside decks were closed and both ports were cancelled due to bad weather. It won’t stop me from doing another TA, but I think I’d do it in the spring, and never again in December. 

Yikes.  I hope our weather is better.  We leave from Rome and end in Port Canaveral.  Hopefully the weather will be better with the more Southern route.

[RosieRoo]

2 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

Yikes.  I hope our weather is better.  We leave from Rome and end in Port Canaveral.  Hopefully the weather will be better with the more Southern route.

We were told by the crew that it was very unusual to have nine straight days of bad weather. I’ve heard the southern routes are more likely to be calm. Safe travels. 

[Russiamomm]

2 minutes ago, RosieRoo said:

We were told by the crew that it was very unusual to have nine straight days of bad weather. I’ve heard the southern routes are more likely to be calm. Safe travels. 

Thanks!  We’re really looking forward to it.

[graceinga]

4 hours ago, amygutman said:

@graceinga We're going on our first TA in November 2024 hopefully on the Epic unless it's repositioned, and if so then one of the Celebrity ships as a (way more expensive) alternative. Following along your post eagerly to gather information from more experienced cruisers. By the way, Mazel Tov on your retirement! I hear the Villages is a rocking place!

Warmest, Amy

 

thank you so much Amy.   Yes, we moved to The Villages in October 2022 and we love it.  

[luv2kroooz]

4 hours ago, graceinga said:

I retired 3 months ago, hubby retires in 15 days...the countdown is real!  We've been on 24 cruises but always the Caribbean or Alaska.  It's time for us to branch out.  

 

• Is there a time of year that typically has better weather on a TA?  We are concerned with boredom on the sea days if we are needing to stay inside more due to the weather.   
• Is there additional entertainment, more than what is typically on a 7 night cruise?  
• Are there additional menu offerings in the MDR, more than what is typically on a 7 night cruise? 

 

Thanks for your help. 

 

TAs will happen April/May Eastbound and then again Oct/Nov Westbound. Weather is a crapshoot. If you enjoy typical ship activities you will be fine.

 

No additional entertainment.

 

The menus rotate out just like on a seven day cruise, so you will have a new menu each day. We saw the same basic entrees, a steak entree, lots of mahi mahi, hake, flounder etc.

 

We love transatlantic cruises.

[mugtech]

           I agree that the April and May TA's have potentially the best weather.  I liked to play bridge every day, and the progressive trivia is fun to join if you have a compatible team. I have also found that the best 12 step meetings occur on the longer cruises, especially the TA's.

[smillerholmes]

Love, Love, Love transatlantic cruises and longer cruises in general.  I am a SEA DAY lover, so the crossings are great for me.  I was a little nervous after booking my first one, so I started here:  

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2474-transatlantic-transpacific-repositioning-trans-ocean-cruises/

 

A wealth of information to be had.

 

Happy Sailing!

[2bc cruisers]

I’ve done one. I’d go again tomorrow.  ✌️  November from Copenhagen, several stops, then headed across from Ireland, missed Azores due to winds, made our crossing to Bermuda 7 sea days. 5 was the plan if we’d been able to make azores.  Point being… it might be more sea days in a row than you think. November northern crossing was cold, windy, rainy until about Bermuda, then it was nice weather the rest of the journey to New Orleans.  
My take away… northern route is chilly.  We had wind, waves and rain several days.  Buy the spa pass!  I’d like to try a Mediterranean to Florida crossing.  I’d think the southern route would be warmer, if not dryer and smoother.  

[Raleigh Traveler]

We have done two TAs, one each way. Tampa to Southampton was in the Spring and weather was great for the entire trip. End of April.

Our Copenhagen to Miami was early Oct. Weather was a bit wet and rough until we got out of the Channel then clear the rest of the way. Both had plenty of on board activities and often had to make choices as two things we wanted to do were happening at the same time. 

We love the longer TAs and all the sea days. 

[fredflint]

My wife and i have done a total of 5 TAs most going  East to West in the Winter, great weather almost  all of the time, usually not bored except on NCL ships due to lack of increased activities and really poor guest lecturers.  The other TAs have been on Celebrity and RCCL, my wife and I enjoy down time and like having the days at sea to just relax.  The food menus can be boring but with the different places to eat you can mix it up.  We did find breakfast to be the most boring meal but I think that would happen anywhere.  Weather has always been good and we always get a port side balcony so we can have the sun.  There are basically 2 different TAs those that go to the Azores and those that go to the Canary islands.  The Canary Islands are further south so you usually have better weather.  If you look at the Azores you will find that there are lost of stories about the port being missed due to weather.

 

Do no do a East to West TA unless you have to, losing and hour of  sleep over and over was hard to adjust to and the weather was cooler than cruising in the November-December timeframe.   Also if you are living in the US flying back from Florida or some other port is easy and you can fly back on your own if you want. 

[Mississippian]

I've taken three transatlantics over the past 15 months and have another booked for December. I travel solo and these tend to offer good value. Some have a lot more port calls than others, and I try to go on those with a lot of stops, because there are still plenty of sea days. I enjoy them, but I also enjoy lying in bed reading a book or taking a nap!