Caribbean Transatlantic

[cruisingiscool]

DH and I are looking to book Caribbean transatlantic March 2024. We have always flown both ways before but mobility needs force a gentler mode of transport at least one way so looking at Britannia ( our favourite P and O offering) in March. DH is a sun worshipper and is loath to give up actually being in the Caribbean for sailing home in less warm temperatures .I know this depends on many things but as a general rule of thumb how many days sunbathing would be available between leaving our last port and Ponte Delgada? Can anyone who has done this trip or similar advise please? Thanks

[david63]

15 minutes ago, cruisingiscool said:

as a general rule of thumb how many days sunbathing would be available between leaving our last port and Ponte Delgada?

Have done TA several times - last time was March 2020 (immediately prior to Covid) and I would say that you should have decent sun most days - but as you appreciate there are no guarantees.

 

Just a point that you may not be aware of is that Ponte Delgada is one of those notorious ports for not being able to get in - but if you do it is a lovely island. Also it is known for bad weather but having said that in 2020 it was full sun - just a pity that because of Covid they would not let us in!

[bee-ess]

We have only done the TA home once in 2017, we usually do it going out in October.

The time we did it home, it was v warm until the day before PD when it was overcast and a bit chilly on deck. PD day itself rained all day.

[Peanut006]

We are doing the Caribbean Transatlantic in March 24 but on Arvia. We too are hoping for good weather most of the way but going by the state of the weather in July this year when it should be warm anything is possible. 
We have done a TA going the other way and it was nice because it was getting warmer each day. 
I think the advantage of sailing back to the UK is no jet lag or night flights which I hate

 

Michelle

[cruisingiscool]

Thank you so much for all your helpful input. I'm now armed with enough positive indicators to get that cruise booked. Although I was looking at Arvia today and they have an offer of £720 OBC at moment. I love Britannia but double OBC could change my mind.

[Old_tilly_billy]

We did the trans Atlantic this year in March 22 days from Antiqua to Southampton on Arvia and it was excellent. You get a longer in the sun and Arvia takes a more southernly course so you might be lucky as we were and have a smooth crossing and sun each day. 

[Cruisemeister2002]

Obviously depends on the time of year. Travelled on Ventura to the Caribbean and USA this March/April, but wasn't actually on deck but below the domed area near the swimming pool and it was quite warm. Sadly our first Port was missed, due according to the Captain because of the weather. Think he had a better crystal ball than many of the passengers because it was announced four days before we reached Bermuda and P&O had already informed us a few months before we set sail that Key West was removed from the itinerary. Strange they still have it on next years  35 nighter. To be honest and I know I am viering away from the question. But why is it that you can now cover missed Ports on your insurance, but get no recompense from the cruise company who frankly get out of their responsibility by using terms and conditions to cover their backsides.

[Palaceman]

Simply because your insurance policy covers missed ports. If cruise companies offered recompense any insurance policy will not pay out. You can't have it both ways.

[Selbourne]

23 minutes ago, Palaceman said:

Simply because your insurance policy covers missed ports. If cruise companies offered recompense any insurance policy will not pay out. You can't have it both ways.

Only if you have a policy that includes missed port cover. Many don’t. 

[purplesea]

We have just booked today on Arvia's transatlantic in March. I have sailed transatlantic before, with a different cruise company, and sailed down from the Med and flew home. 

[Peanut006]

55 minutes ago, purplesea said:

We have just booked today on Arvia's transatlantic in March. I have sailed transatlantic before, with a different cruise company, and sailed down from the Med and flew home. 

Hopefully see you on board. Think there are a couple of CC members who post here on board too

 

Michelle

[purplesea]

9 hours ago, Peanut006 said:

Hopefully see you on board. Think there are a couple of CC members who post here on board too

 

Michelle

Perhaps we could arrange a meet up.

I should be easy to spot as I am Mum's wheelchair driver!

[True Devonian]

11 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Only if you have a policy that includes missed port cover. Many don’t. 

People have a choice. Why should P&O pay out when insurance policies will pay out for missed ports. If you don't take out cruise insurance which includes missed ports you have to accept the risk. 

[Peanut006]

32 minutes ago, purplesea said:

Perhaps we could arrange a meet up.

I should be easy to spot as I am Mum's wheelchair driver!

I will be easy to spot too, I am on a mobility scooter. We are in cabin 4528. A meet up for definite 

 

Michelle

[purplesea]

4 minutes ago, Peanut006 said:

I will be easy to spot too, I am on a mobility scooter. We are in cabin 4528. A meet up for definite 

 

Michelle

Absolutely

Pam

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, True Devonian said:

People have a choice. Why should P&O pay out when insurance policies will pay out for missed ports. If you don't take out cruise insurance which includes missed ports you have to accept the risk. 

Those of us who have done multiple cruises will be aware that cruise ships can miss ports for various reasons. We then make a calculated decision whether to potentially pay extra for an insurance policy that includes missed port cover.
 

P&O are very much targeting the ‘new to cruising market, with some cruises now having as many as two-thirds of the passengers on their first cruise. I wonder what proportion of those people book a cruise in the full knowledge that they may not even get to the location(s) that might have been the catalyst for booking that particular cruise and therefore ensure that they buy an insurance policy with missed port cover? Obviously it’s a peculiarity of cruising, and not an issue that’s unique to P&O, but if you book a trip to a location by any other form of transportation you will end up there and, if you don’t, the operator has an obligation to compensate you.
 

Years ago, we were on a short cruise on Aurora that was advertised as a cruise to Bruges (via Zeebrugge). Due to wind we never got there (ironically another ship did manage to dock in Zeebrugge that day) and there was no replacement port, so we just spent the entire cruise at sea before returning to Southampton. It wasn’t a show stopper for us as we had booked the cruise as a back to back with the following cruise and had been to Bruges before, but there were a lot of very unhappy people who had specifically booked that cruise as they wanted to go to Bruges and were staggered that there wasn’t even a goodwill gesture from P&O, who simply referred people to their insurers. I wonder how many of those people who were on their first cruise, and when they got home found that they were unable to claim anything, rushed to book a second cruise?

[gsmt47471015]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Those of us who have done multiple cruises will be aware that cruise ships can miss ports for various reasons. We then make a calculated decision whether to potentially pay extra for an insurance policy that includes missed port cover.
 

P&O are very much targeting the ‘new to cruising market, with some cruises now having as many as two-thirds of the passengers on their first cruise. I wonder what proportion of those people book a cruise in the full knowledge that they may not even get to the location(s) that might have been the catalyst for booking that particular cruise and therefore ensure that they buy an insurance policy with missed port cover? Obviously it’s a peculiarity of cruising, and not an issue that’s unique to P&O, but if you book a trip to a location by any other form of transportation you will end up there and, if you don’t, the operator has an obligation to compensate you.
 

Years ago, we were on a short cruise on Aurora that was advertised as a cruise to Bruges (via Zeebrugge). Due to wind we never got there (ironically another ship did manage to dock in Zeebrugge that day) and there was no replacement port, so we just spent the entire cruise at sea before returning to Southampton. It wasn’t a show stopper for us as we had booked the cruise as a back to back with the following cruise and had been to Bruges before, but there were a lot of very unhappy people who had specifically booked that cruise as they wanted to go to Bruges and were staggered that there wasn’t even a goodwill gesture from P&O, who simply referred people to their insurers. I wonder how many of those people who were on their first cruise, and when they got home found that they were unable to claim anything, rushed to book a second cruise?

From recent first hand observations P and O appear to be leading the field in cancelling ports , either before sailing or during a cruise , all the more frustrating when other ships manage to dock with no apparent problem on a regular basis 😠

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, gsmt47471015 said:

From recent first hand observations P and O appear to be leading the field in cancelling ports , either before sailing or during a cruise , all the more frustrating when other ships manage to dock with no apparent problem on a regular basis 😠

The azipod driven excel class should be far more manoeverable than the older twin propeller ones, which is standard on all other P&O ships, except for Arcadia.

What would be interesting is to compare missed ports due to high winds on all the excel class ships, Aida, Costa and Carnival, with P&O, to see if they all suffer from the same problem, or are P&O deck officers more cautious when playing with their new toys?

[Jennizor]

18 hours ago, purplesea said:

We have just booked today on Arvia's transatlantic in March. I have sailed transatlantic before, with a different cruise company, and sailed down from the Med and flew home. 

We are on this cruise too, arriving in Barbados on the 15th of March. We have only done flying both ways previously but wanted to give sailing back a go. There seems to be quite a few CC members on this cruise. 

[purplesea]

1 hour ago, Jennizor said:

We are on this cruise too, arriving in Barbados on the 15th of March. We have only done flying both ways previously but wanted to give sailing back a go. There seems to be quite a few CC members on this cruise. 

I have flown both ways, several time as well.

[purplesea]

Does anyone know which terminal at Gatwick we are likely to fly out from to Barbados in March as I am trying to arrange hotels. 

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, purplesea said:

Does anyone know which terminal at Gatwick we are likely to fly out from to Barbados in March as I am trying to arrange hotels. 

North.

[Palaceman]

8 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Those of us who have done multiple cruises will be aware that cruise ships can miss ports for various reasons. We then make a calculated decision whether to potentially pay extra for an insurance policy that includes missed port cover.
 

P&O are very much targeting the ‘new to cruising market, with some cruises now having as many as two-thirds of the passengers on their first cruise. I wonder what proportion of those people book a cruise in the full knowledge that they may not even get to the location(s) that might have been the catalyst for booking that particular cruise and therefore ensure that they buy an insurance policy with missed port cover? Obviously it’s a peculiarity of cruising, and not an issue that’s unique to P&O, but if you book a trip to a location by any other form of transportation you will end up there and, if you don’t, the operator has an obligation to compensate you.
 

Years ago, we were on a short cruise on Aurora that was advertised as a cruise to Bruges (via Zeebrugge). Due to wind we never got there (ironically another ship did manage to dock in Zeebrugge that day) and there was no replacement port, so we just spent the entire cruise at sea before returning to Southampton. It wasn’t a show stopper for us as we had booked the cruise as a back to back with the following cruise and had been to Bruges before, but there were a lot of very unhappy people who had specifically booked that cruise as they wanted to go to Bruges and were staggered that there wasn’t even a goodwill gesture from P&O, who simply referred people to their insurers. I wonder how many of those people who were on their first cruise, and when they got home found that they were unable to claim anything, rushed to book a second cruise?

As for "new to cruising market", before booking our first cruise we did our own research and on the basis that all travel insurers provided Cruise Cover as an add-on we made the informed decision to have this cover as it was clearly a possibility that a port could be missed. It is not any cruise company's fault if people do not do their research and purchase adequate insurance cover. If getting to a port is that important on short cruises, ie Bruges, then I would suggest that cruising is  not the best travel option. Maybe flying would be preferable. 

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, Palaceman said:

As for "new to cruising market", before booking our first cruise we did our own research and on the basis that all travel insurers provided Cruise Cover as an add-on we made the informed decision to have this cover as it was clearly a possibility that a port could be missed. It is not any cruise company's fault if people do not do their research and purchase adequate insurance cover. If getting to a port is that important on short cruises, ie Bruges, then I would suggest that cruising is  not the best travel option. Maybe flying would be preferable. 

I still maintain that cruise companies get away with things that no other travel operator could, and a lot of cruisers defend them to the hilt for it, but I take your point. In fact, a family member told me that they wanted to book their first cruise, as they had always wanted to go to Amsterdam. I have strongly advised them not to and to book a city break by plane instead. At least that way they know that they will end up in the place that they would be paying to go to!

[Palaceman]

Decisions not to dock in a port due to weather conditions are not taken lightly. Much information is gathered including weather forecast, port authorities, knowledge of local pilots and individual ship's handling capabilities. The fact that one ship has docked does not mean that all ships can dock. During a presentation on a recent cruise the Deputy Captain on Ventura advised that the protruding balconies can impact on the ship's manoeuvrability in certain weather conditions.