Which Transatlantic Do You Prefer?

[ARandomTraveler]

U.S to Europe, or Europe to U.S?
 

Is the weather better in spring vs fall? Are flight prices better in one direction vs the other? Is it more fun to tour Europe at the front end of your cruise vs the tail end? And any other things you can throw at me to consider would be appreciated. 

[Southern Dan]

I haven’t done one yet but when I do it will be a fall one that starts in Europe as you gain an hour each day vs lose an hour.  I’d also prefer to get the flight out of the way on the front end of the trip vs the back end.

[smokeybandit]

From people I've talked to who have done it, if you're just doing a TA (ie, not touring Europe before/after) it's better to do the west bound so you aren't faced with a long flight after the cruise.

[firefly333]

I'd rather have the long flight after my cruise so I dont have to worry about if the flight is late or gets cancelled. I'm leaving from PC my home port and calling uber, but flying home after. Next may on voyager. 

 

Some like the weather the other way around better. I'm more worried about my flight getting delayed or cancelled. 

Edited July 27 by firefly333

[Tolkmit]

Vastly prefer Europe to US. Weather during the cruise and flight costs are similar either way; but gaining an hour of sleep every other night rather than losing it makes a surprisingly large difference for enjoyment on board. Getting the long flight out of the way early. International flights luggage limit of 50 pounds first, then domestic limit of 70 pounds on the flight home means less stress buying souvenirs. Weather in Europe itself tends to be a little nicer in the fall, so if you B2B Med cruise then transatlantic home is better in my opinion.

[ARandomTraveler]

This is great insight, thanks everyone! I'd like to put a deposit on the Odyssey but I keep getting an error message (in fact I'm getting the error for every cruise I try to book, as soon as I select a room type). Must be an issue with my browser, unfortunately I'm not home so can't try a different device.

[Jetdriver787]

Much prefer Europe to US/Caribbean than the other way around. You get an extra hour in bed for 5 or 6 nights of the crossing. The other way, you lose an hour around midday for 5 or 6 days which does become a little disorienting. 

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, Jetdriver787 said:

Much prefer Europe to US/Caribbean than the other way around. You get an extra hour in bed for 5 or 6 nights of the crossing. The other way, you lose an hour around midday for 5 or 6 days which does become a little disorienting. 

On the other hand my flight home from rome leaves at 10:30 in the morning and arrives at 6:45 in the evening so I'm not losing 5 or 6 hours flying there and flying during the night. I get in call the hotel shuttle and find something to eat and go to bed until the next morning. 

[njkruzer]

I've done both.  Either is fine.  My only objection is when we're sailing east and they to change the clock 1 hr ahead at noon.  Lunch is too soon and short afternoon.   Doesn’t happen often but did happen on the QM2.  Not sure if any others.   

[shipgeeks]

The only way we do TAs is US to Europe, in the Spring.  Making sure we get to Florida a day or more before departure is stressful enough; making sure we get to Europe in time would be too much. And we are always totally wiped out after any long flight, so we know we wouldn't be able to enjoy our few days over there before a cruise, even though we'd be there. We would probably be sleeping and miserable the whole time, the same way we feel at home for a number of days after flying home.

On board, the 23- or 25-hour days have never affected us at all, so that has never been a consideration.

[RobInMN]

We have our first TA Fall of '25.

Our thinking is as @firefly333 said, we'd rather have the long haul flight at the beginning of our vacation and the shorter flight at the end. So for us, that's Europe to the US Westbound TA.

One the other end of the globe, after we rite, we want to fly down to Australia, tour around by land, then a bunch of B2B cruises doing Australia & New Zealand, then turning into an Eastbound TP from Australia back to the US (or Vancouver if that's what we have to do for the PSVA)

[taglovestocruise]

We have done both, Much prefer Westbound. Weather was much warmer , five 25 hours days were a benefit, Getting the long flight done before was better for us. 

[OldCaver]

We greatly prefer to fly to Europe, spend three days touring in Rome or London or whatever (as long as you had to pay for the flight anyway, am I right?), before sailing west. Also recommend taking a 4 hour nap upon arrival in Europe. Clears the time zone fatigue right up.

Going west gives you several 25 hour days, which are vastly superior to several 23 hour days. On my east bound cruises I was always off balance. It didn't help to either sleep late or go to bed early.

And as has been observed, you get that long flight out of the way. Having to fly back to the USA after the cruise sort of spoiled the memories.

But then I have heard that the east bound TAs are cheaper. I think that may no longer be the case. Mrs. Caver does all our cruise arrangements, and that's what she says. Me, I just follow her through the airports until I can plop down in the Schooner bar and make friends with the booze mongers.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, RobInMN said:

or Vancouver if that's what we have to do for the PSVA

The only PVSA issue is when someone embarks in Hawaii and tries to add an Alaska sailing that ends in Seattle. 

[LAKaye]

I'm planning on an East-bound trans Atlantic because I loathe flying east, usually on an overnight flight that I can't fall asleep on (even in lie flat business).  

 

After the cruise, I fly home without worry if there are delays and weather, and the recuperation from any jet lag is done at home after the trip.

 

Losing an hour each day going east is less than ideal, but for me it's lower down on the priority list.

 

Enjoy your trip, whatever you choose to do!

[vjmatty]

I like driving to my cruise and flying back to the US. I really don’t like overnight flights to Europe and the jet lag that comes with it, cutting into vacation time, and I hate trying to sleep on a plane, even in business class.  The flight home is a daytime flight and all in the same day. 

 

Touring Europe after the TA means we don’t have to rush off the ship right to the airport, and can choose any time of day. Sailing from home means we don’t need a hotel one night before the cruise.  Packing is simple, no worries about airport restrictions when setting out, and no worries if clothes are wrinkled with carefree packing for the flight home. As for the time changes, I only sleep 6 hours a night and I’m a morning person, so I don’t care about a missing an hour every other night.

 

All of that being said, I am nevertheless sailing both directions next year. 

[Another_Critic]

Do both!  That's my final answer.  🙂

 

I've done 4 eastbound and 8 westbound.

 

The past 3 years I've done a spring (eastbound) and fall (westbound) TA.

[Another_Critic]

9 hours ago, njkruzer said:

I've done both.  Either is fine.  My only objection is when we're sailing east and they to change the clock 1 hr ahead at noon.  Lunch is too soon and short afternoon.   Doesn’t happen often but did happen on the QM2.  Not sure if any others.   

They changed at 12 noon on Anthem spring 2023 TA; did not like that.  They changed at 2 pm on Oasis spring 2024 TA; that was okay.

[Badatz2]

I have done about 10 of them and my answer is unequivocally -  anyone that I can afford.

 

[vjmatty]

3 hours ago, Badatz2 said:

I have done about 10 of them and my answer is unequivocally -  anyone that I can afford.

 

This reminds me of another benefit with eastbound TA’s, the return westbound flights are a lot cheaper than the overnight eastbound. I can usually find westbound business class flights under $1k so I can save miles for more expensive flights. 

[lovesthebeach2]

We’ve don’t it both ways.

Cruising to Europe in May had nice weather for the cruise and we spent 2 weeks in Italy which was perfect weather. Flights back from Europe we stay awake and get back to our time quickly. One negative to me personally is you will lose the 6 hour time difference while on the ship.
 

Last year we did a B2B on Odyssey for 27 nights, first the “revised” Holy Land cruise, then The TA back to FLL. 
 

For us we like cruising home for various reasons. Usually we fly to Europe , spend time there to get acclimated to the time and enjoy the country. Cruising back we get to relax and gain back those 6 hours, and when we get back, its just a short trip home.

 

were doing the Odyssey TA again in November this year.

 

i haven’t paid attention to flight cost differences….. but one way is more expensive.

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, vjmatty said:

This reminds me of another benefit with eastbound TA’s, the return westbound flights are a lot cheaper than the overnight eastbound. I can usually find westbound business class flights under $1k so I can save miles for more expensive flights. 

Flights from US to UK (Heathrow) have lower taxes than flights from UK (Heathrow) to US.

[vjmatty]

4 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Flights from US to UK (Heathrow) have lower taxes than flights from UK (Heathrow) to US.

True, though most TA’s we take are either to/from Rome or Barcelona. I haven’t really compared the taxes in those airports. 

[Teeara]

We loved our WB TA on Wonder in 2022.  Loved those extra 25 hour days.  Since we flew in 3 days ahead we were able to get over the worst of the jet lag before boarding the ship.  We've booked the Allure WB TA for 2025.  The only change is that I booked a hotel for the night we are flying so that when we arrive in Barcelona we can check in right away and take a little nap before heading out for the day.  When we arrived in 2022 we weren't able to check in until after 3pm and we were exhausted by that point. 

[elcuchio24]

On 7/27/2024 at 1:19 PM, Jetdriver787 said:

Much prefer Europe to US/Caribbean than the other way around. You get an extra hour in bed for 5 or 6 nights of the crossing. The other way, you lose an hour around midday for 5 or 6 days which does become a little disorienting. 

 

I also like it EU--USA since you can go early and explore Europe, and then just be able to chill out with some extended days at sea