First Transatlantic Cruise - Help

[princesselite123]

Hi everyone - we will be sailing on the Sky for the third time on the Southhampton to Lauderdale cruise in November 2024. I'm having second thoughts because of weather. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Thanks in advance.

 

[Lady Arwen]

Southampton, England will be quite cool/cold rainy.  The closer you get to Portugal and Spain it will start to warm up considerably.  Crossing the Atlantic in November will most like be quite chilly until you get to Bermuda, where it will be mild to cool.  The rest of the trip to Ft. Lauderdale will really start to warm up nicely.  It could be a bumpy ride across the Atlantic or you may get lucky and experience calm seas.  Would I cross the Atlantic in November?  Probably not, but some people feel differently.  

[LACruiser88]

This past November, we were on the Regal's Med/TA.  The crossing occurred during the first week of December.  We had perfect warm weather for all 6 sea days to Ft Lauderdale.  We spent the whole time in the Sanctuary!

[EightFurryPaws]

There is no way to predict the weather a year in advance.

Example of one of my trans from Southampton to FLL.  16 days which we were only able to dock in Lisbon to pick up more crew and Bermuda.  We barley got into Bermuda do to winds.

There was a huge storm and we docked in Southampton for 3 days.  Couldn't get through the English Channel.  Missed Paris.

It is just a chance you have to take.  We were kept busy on the ship. The only food which they ran out of was lettuce.  They put cabbage out in its place.  Too funny.

Something Princess didn't have to do was give us a complete refund.  They had nothing to do with the weather, but a great move to its passengers.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

We are doing this exact cruise *this* year.  It will be our second TA.  Looking forward to it.  I doubt there will be any weather issues...and certainly no reason to worry about weather this far in advance.

[princesselite123]

18 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We are doing this exact cruise *this* year.  It will be our second TA.  Looking forward to it.  I doubt there will be any weather issues...and certainly no reason to worry about weather this far in advance.

Thanks for the reply - The only weather issue I'm concerned with is the cold. I love sitting most afternoons in the Sanctuary or on top decks reading and snoozing. Hopefully the 2 days after Bermuda will be warm enough to do so. Thanks again.

Edited August 18, 2023 by princesselite123

[chrysalis]

54 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

This past November, we were on the Regal's Med/TA.  The crossing occurred during the first week of December.  We had perfect warm weather for all 6 sea days to Ft Lauderdale.  We spent the whole time in the Sanctuary!

we were with you, too....and recall vividly the nightmare disembarkation in Ft Lauderdale....so suggesting to the OP to have your patience with you in your pocket.

[Lady Arwen]

50 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

we were with you, too....and recall vividly the nightmare disembarkation in Ft Lauderdale....so suggesting to the OP to have your patience with you in your pocket.

Good advice, because you just never know when crossing the Atlantic.  Be prepared for the best and the worst and don’t be disappointed, you are still on a cruise!

[SCX22]

Hard to predict.  November is still technically hurricane season.  

 

I've done 4 TA cruises.  One had great sunny weather all the way.  Two had OK weather, gloomy and windy for a few days.  One we had to sail through a gnarly tropical storm because per the captain, we didn't have enough fuel to go around it.  Everyone was clutching the walls as we walked because the ship's motion was so bad and lots of broken plates.

[Rick&Jeannie]

You know you might be in for some trouble if you see these:

 

[Knickearth]

3 hours ago, princesselite123 said:

Hi everyone - we will be sailing on the Sky for the third time on the Southhampton to Lauderdale cruise in November 2024. I'm having second thoughts because of weather. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Thanks in advance.

 

We have taken several transatlantic cruises in November to NY or Fla. and was thrilled all were smooth sailings with wonderful weather.  This was from 2000 to 2018.  We were on H-A and Princess.  We are look into 2024 now for a transatlantic.

[stevenr597]

We will be crossing from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale this October. 

[9tee2Sea]

19 hours ago, princesselite123 said:

Hi everyone - we will be sailing on the Sky for the third time on the Southhampton to Lauderdale cruise in November 2024. I'm having second thoughts because of weather. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Thanks in advance.

 

you booked your cruise for an adventure..right?  Just imagine all the other Sailors that made this journey without being on a plush and very sound luxury liner ( compared to what they had to sail in hundreds of years ago).  When cruising thru bad weather, I always try to  make it outside at least once ( if the doors are not locked) just so I can experience a little bit of what it would have been like to sail that route in " the olden days".  Then I rush back in, grab a hot toddy from the bar, and cherish the feeling of being safe and sound inside, sitting on a cushy piece of furniture.  Take lots of seasick meds just in case you need them. If one wants to see many sites without flying to each one, you have to take a gamble on the weather when cruising.  Just don't let any bad weather spoil your cruise...it will make for good dinnertime stories

[Kmkub]

We are doing our first TA in November, Rome to Ft Lauderdale. We are so excited and know going in that the weather is unpredictable. We are just going to pack layers. We live in Ft Lauderdale, so the colder weather is a welcome (extremely welcome,) change for us. It's been a brutal summer, so far.

 

We love the rocking of the ship, especially while sleeping. 

[1965]

2 hours ago, Kmkub said:

We are doing our first TA in November, Rome to Ft Lauderdale. We are so excited and know going in that the weather is unpredictable. We are just going to pack layers. We live in Ft Lauderdale, so the colder weather is a welcome (extremely welcome,) change for us. It's been a brutal summer, so far.

 

We love the rocking of the ship, especially while sleeping. 

Will you be on the Enchanted?  

[princesselite123]

1 hour ago, 1965 said:

Will you be on the Enchanted?  

no, we will be sailing the Sky once again.

[beg3yrs]

3 hours ago, Kmkub said:

We are doing our first TA in November, Rome to Ft Lauderdale. We are so excited and know going in that the weather is unpredictable. We are just going to pack layers. We live in Ft Lauderdale, so the colder weather is a welcome (extremely welcome,) change for us. It's been a brutal summer, so far.

 

We love the rocking of the ship, especially while sleeping. 

We did that TA in December 2019 on the Pacific Princess. We ended going further south across the Atlantic to avoid a storm and we thought it would be the worst. Oh no ... it was calm, sunny and warm. People were out on the Lido deck all day. And, after it was all over the captain reported they had actually saved fuel because of more favorable currents.

[Coral]

We were on the Emerald Princess last November 7th. We had rainy weather in London before (pre-cruise) and the ship was really rocky until Lisbon. The TA was incredibly smooth after we left the Azores. The TA was actually pretty warm.

 

We had 2 French ports, 2 Spain ports and 2 Portugal ports and had pretty good weather through out those ports. It was foggy in Azores. 

 

My favorite was Cherbourg where I did a D-Day excursion privately through my roll call: https://alliedvictorytours.com

 

I also loved Lisbon and did a tour through Spain Day tours that included Sintra and Lisbon.

Edited August 19, 2023 by Coral

[Jilliebean28]

On 8/18/2023 at 3:39 PM, LACruiser88 said:

This past November, we were on the Regal's Med/TA.  The crossing occurred during the first week of December.  We had perfect warm weather for all 6 sea days to Ft Lauderdale.  We spent the whole time in the Sanctuary!

We were also on this cruise and the weather was perfect for the crossing.  Like LACruiser88, we spent all 6 days in Sanctuary and it was wonderful!

[Catchum]

We have done many winter TAs some had wonderful weather and calm seas, some our deck 4 porthole was frequently underwater. Last time we had beautiful weather on the cruise and it was freezing in Orlando. All of them have been great cruises.

[xamsx]

Make sure you pack Dramamine as you never know…

 

 

 

[Bedruthen]

We are also on this cruise. We have done one previous transatlantic at this time of year and from leaving the Azores, we had lovely warm weather. So we've ordered the same again for this year!

[john watson]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:15 PM, princesselite123 said:

Hi everyone - we will be sailing on the Sky for the third time on the Southhampton to Lauderdale cruise in November 2024. I'm having second thoughts because of weather. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Thanks in advance.

 

 

You cannot be completely certain about weather or sea conditions.  The most likely scenario is crossing the Bay of Biscay between Cherbourg and Vigo could have a bumpy bit.  I would say 50% chance of that but not silly rough. Lisbon and beyond is going to probably a warmer part of the voyage as you are further South.  It is not like a Cunard Transatlantic heading for New York direct from Southampton on a much more northerly route. Captains adjust speed of ship consistent with the wind and direction to control breeze across decks as far as this is possible and speed up at night in smooth seas. Sailing Westbound the preferred side of ship is Port side (even cabin numbers) if you have a balcony as it is going to be sunnier that side.

 

Regards John. 

[Anubi]

On 8/18/2023 at 3:39 PM, LACruiser88 said:

This past November, we were on the Regal's Med/TA.  The crossing occurred during the first week of December.  We had perfect warm weather for all 6 sea days to Ft Lauderdale.  We spent the whole time in the Sanctuary!

We were also on that amazing cruise.  But being prone to seasickness I always go prepared and on one day the ship was pitching front and back and I took to my cabin for the day.  I am fine when its side to side because the ship can use the stabilizers but front to back there is nothing they can do so not good for me.  So I went to my cabin, settled in for the afternoon, got some room service and watched a couple of movies...for me it was still a great day!!!  Other than that one day, I had no problems.  It was such a good cruise that we are doing it again in 2024 for 21 days.  You should definitely go but take something with you...just in case.  🙂