Transatlantic

[CQG67]

Am looking for some input on repositioning transatlantic crossings - have looked at the Celebrity itinerary and it isn't bad (although I just finished a cruise to Bermuda and hate to repeat a port) - price is reasonable also - although when you check online they indicate that all their veranda staterooms are booked - on all ships. I doubt this. Has anyone out there done this in the spring? I think late fall/early winter would be way too cold - spring would be more to our liking. Royal and Princess have nice itineraries also but Princess is over $1000 more for a veranda for one day more on the crossing than Royal and Celebrity. Unfortunately I have a deposit on hand at Princess as well as many dollars in credit toward a cruise plus shipboard credit. I really can't understand the the reasoning on their pricing. Costa had a nice one this year but has changed the crossings next year to Spain and Italy - no Copenhagen - we are interested only in the ones that end up in Amsterdam or Copenhagen. So, if anyone out there has done or is doing the Celebrity(I believe it is on the Century - a ship I really like) - or any others for that matter please let me know the good or bad or whatever. Thanks :)

[ocngypz]

I don't know where you are looking for cabins, but Century's spring 08 transat is wide open in both 2a and CC balconies.

[leoandhugh]

first, you are wrong in presuming that spring is better/warmer weatherwise - not necessarily so because the ocean has not had enough chance to warm up from winter. late fall, particularly on a westbound southern route - say Barcelona/Miami - tends to be better/ warmer weather. Plus you have the advantage of 5 sea days of 25hours. And there are only so many islands in the Atlantic where a ship can call, so don't put emphasis on not repeating ports because you will box yourself in.

We have done 8 TAs and we go for the sea days - always westbound so we get the long flight to Europe over up front and have the slow journey back to relax, and we always add a couple of days at the port of embarkation, to catch up on jet lag from the Left coast to Europe.

[atb]

Leoandhugh - I agree with you. We have done the late fall east bound twice now. Last year we left Barcelona the day after Thanksgiving - and had a 16-day back to Ft Lauderdale. No days were too cold. In fact, I was hoping for the weather to cool off :o

We go early - have a great time in the embarkation city - Barcelona was beautiful - and Rome was a wonderful embarkation cite.

Port heavy at the front of the cruise - and then those wonderful days at sea on the way home.

It doesn't get any better than that.

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

Have now done 14 TA's with 4 more booked and have always enjoyed the Westbound in the Fall much better and definately have had better weather going Westbound. As previous posters have said you get the extra hours and also the weather gets warmer the nearer you get to the Caribbean/Florida:cool: :) .

Incidently, we are on the Century in April 08, hopefully should be a little better weather than we had on the Navigator last month(where we had to miss out Bermuda) as it doesn't leave until the end of April.

[rebeccalouise]

I did a spring ( May 2005) crossing from Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona on the Millenium.

 

It was the voyage of a lifetime. I loved every single minute of it. The weather was ideal (May1-15th). There was very little movement. I expected the 6 days at sea to be rough but the seas were calm. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed that cruise.

 

If I were to do another on Celebrity- I would do the Summit out of San Juan and dispense with the Caribbean and Bermuda stops. I have been there and would rather have more time in Europe. The 12 night on Summit ends in England I believe.

 

But I highly recommend the Spring TA- it felt like an adventure. Going Westbound- I don't think I would feel that. Everyday would remind me that I was getting closer and closer to work and housekeeping.

[honeyclair]

cruisequeengoddess67, i also am interested in a t/a for 2008. i checked out all the lines and was also surprised by the higher costs for princess and hal. i currently have money down on x century eastbound from mia to ams in april '08 and jewel of the sea from ffl to ams in late march. i probably will pick the jos even though i'd rather do the century. we don't return until 14 may on the later and that may cause a problem (though i'd rather sail a month later on the atlantic) oh well, i have 2 weeks to decide (when i will try to get my free f. flier tickets....

have a great time on whichever you choose.

[c-legs]

:) Hi,

Maybe a bit off topic....but generally and statistically, the further south you cross, the calmer the seas.

A southerly crossing between Portugal and SanJuan for example would be near ideal; as well, the fall crossing, westbound, have an history of being ''calmer'' on this route than the already smooth spring eastbound crossing.

Just an opinion.

Most crossings from Barcelona // Lisbon heading towards Miami ( without Bermuda calls ) in late November are reputed to be on near-flat seas.

Again, just an opinion.

I'd stay away from ''Northern '' crossings to/from Amsterdam ,SouthAmpton or Copenhagen...there are historical statistics there which points to rougher seas, specially midway accross....

IMO

 

Cheers

;)

[momofmeg]

Have now done 14 TA's with 4 more booked and have always enjoyed the Westbound in the Fall much better and definately have had better weather going Westbound. As previous posters have said you get the extra hours and also the weather gets warmer the nearer you get to the Caribbean/Florida:cool: :) .

Incidently, we are on the Century in April 08, hopefully should be a little better weather than we had on the Navigator last month(where we had to miss out Bermuda) as it doesn't leave until the end of April.

 

Wow! You are living my dream life! You live in the US and the UK?

[ILoveScotland]

Have only done one transatlantic but can't wait to do another although who knows when it will be. The one transatlantic was last fall Barcelona to Miami, and I loved the 25 hour sea days and arriving in the US with no jet lag. The weather was gorgeous as well, and the seas were just right.

[CQG67]

Honeyclair - you are on the same wavelength as I am regarding the ta next year - I am favoring Jewel for several reasons - I like the size of the ship - I like the fact it leaves out of Lauderdale (I live in Gainesville, Fla and my kids live down in Lauderdale area - and it beats the heck out of Miami) and I like the itinerary. I know that traveling to the North Sea area is usually a little rougher than the Atlantic and Caribbean but I don't want to cross to Spain or Italy as I have already visited those ports several times and am looking for the Scandanavian area - and my husband wants to visit Normandy when we stop in LeHavre. I've been and it is awesome - he hasn't. So who knows - we may get a chance to meet on this cruise. We are in our mid 60s and love cruising - prefer to go when there aren't a million kids onboard (like kids - don't like them much on cruises). Let me know if you get more info on the Celebrity and Royal tas. I am still investigating prices, rooms, etc. You can contact me at my email address brantb65@cox.net - like did you use a travel agent or book on your own - get any special deals, etc.??? Thanks

[lucky white heather]

Have only done one transatlantic but can't wait to do another although who knows when it will be. The one transatlantic was last fall Barcelona to Miami, and I loved the 25 hour sea days and arriving in the US with no jet lag. The weather was gorgeous as well, and the seas were just right.

 

Just curious about your tartan...IlLoveScotland...what clan tartan is it...Robertson?

 

T/A's are all about sea days...depends on the ship and the expected weather to some extent ! We love T/A's and did all of ours on ML.... all spring crossings for the same reason (in reverse) that we don't have to do the long flight back to the UK overnight in an economy seat and then still have a further flight to take us all the way home!

 

Our X previous T/ A's have all finished in Barcelona, but this spring the ML cruise finished in Southampton..so an even shorter flight home.

We've also done the double crossing on QM2, Southampton /NY / Southampton at a different time of year and on a different route.

 

The weather was significantly different but did not affect our enjoyment.

[ISABELLA]

Out our 32 cruises, we never done TA before, so I booked Connie for next April from FLL to Harwich. What you your opinion on TA from US to England in the the spring? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks

[ILoveScotland]

Just curious about your tartan...IlLoveScotland...what clan tartan is it...Robertson?

 

T/A's are all about sea days...depends on the ship and the expected weather to some extent ! We love T/A's and did all of ours on ML.... all spring crossings for the same reason (in reverse) that we don't have to do the long flight back to the UK overnight in an economy seat and then still have a further flight to take us all the way home!

 

Our X previous T/ A's have all finished in Barcelona, but this spring the ML cruise finished in Southampton..so an even shorter flight home.

We've also done the double crossing on QM2, Southampton /NY / Southampton at a different time of year and on a different route.

 

The weather was significantly different but did not affect our enjoyment.

 

The tartan is the Stewart of Bute tartan. I claim it as mine although I can't prove that it is. My acestors left Scotland in late 1600s or early 1700s, and I have reason to believe they were from Bute and hope one day to prove that they were. They were not Stewarts but were a sept of the Stewart of Bute Clan.

[ILoveScotland]

Lucky White Heather, I should have added that I do indeed love Scotland and have a keen sense of being at home when I'm there which I was a year ago. I've been a total of 6 times and can hardly wait to return.

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

Wow! You are living my dream life! You live in the US and the UK?

 

Yes, as my signature suggests, 6 months in each,:cool: :) give or take the travelling and love every minute of the completely different lifestyles.

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

Wow! You are living my dream life! You live in the US and the UK?

 

OOppps Duplicate posting.

[tally10]

We have done 2 eastbound T/A's on the Constellation. We had a good time on both. We just got back a little over a week ago, and now we will only do westbounds. He went up from FL and east from Nova Scotia dodging weather systems. The seas weren't too bad-there was some major rolling and our DD was seasick and in the infirmary (the patch did not work for her) getting IV's two days in a row. Then, she came down with an upper respiratory infection and a bilateral ear infection that 2 rounds of antibiotics have not cleared. My DH got a noro-like virus after the last formal night. This was my DD's first and last cruise. The flight back on British Air was the flight from hell due to a large group of drunken British men that the flight attendents just kept fueling with more beer and booze and did not try to calm them down. We have decided to do the westbounds and get the bad part (the flight) over with first and then we can enjoy ourselves and our cruise. We have two booked for '07 and '08, both this time on RCCL, even though we love X. Hopefully, these will be better.:o

[lucky white heather]

Lucky White Heather, I should have added that I do indeed love Scotland and have a keen sense of being at home when I'm there which I was a year ago. I've been a total of 6 times and can hardly wait to return.

 

 

You are obviously someone of good taste! welcome back any time!

 

Presumably your ancestors were cleared out during the highland clearances ?

Yvonne

[nu2sea]

We did the eastbound Connie in 2006, and loved it. It was a North Atlantic crossing so we got some high seas as we left NJ. Losing an hour almost every day is harder than it sounds though and an eight day cruise was just too short.

 

We have booked two westbound TAs on the Connie and are looking forward to the extra hours.

 

Susan

[cinnamon]

c-legs,

If you are interested in crossing westbound by the southern route, don't discount Southampton as a port of departure. We are booked on the Navigator this November. She sails south to Lisbon, the Canaries and Madeira before crossing the Atlantic. Just beware of those itineraries that end up in the north of America. Those are more likely to be cold.

 

Cinnamon

 

Cinnamon

[rebeccalouise]

I think it is important for people to know that the southern Atlantic route is going to be the smoothest. Anything sailing in the North Atlantic is going to be rough.

 

I was going to cruise Cunard back from England this summer but I just think it is going to be too rough for me an my son. Both of us got a little quesy just sailing from NYC to the Caribbean. So, I would hate to get seasick or be stuck in the cabin with a seasick kid. Just not worth it to me. Too risky to be at sea for six days is questionable conditions.

 

I did do the May 2005 TA on Millenium from Ft. Laud- Barcelona and it was FANTASTIC! Best trip of my life. And I have been on quite a few. Felt like Christina Columbus discovering Europe!

[goofysmom99]

Out our 32 cruises, we never done TA before, so I booked Connie for next April from FLL to Harwich. What you your opinion on TA from US to England in the the spring? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks

Isabella, we have a small but active roll call for the Eastbound Connie TA in April 08 (your cruise) and would love to have you join us.

 

Eastbound TAs are tough when you lose an hour everyday, so in that respect, I like Westbound better. But East or West bound, I love TAs!

[cechase]

For you TA fans, you might give a look at Celebrity's Millie out of Barcelona for a 14 night cruise on Dec. 2, 2007 and ending up in Fort Lauderdale.

 

The price is really right for this cruise, and there are a number of lesser cabins available, even though all of the higher end cabins have been taken quite awhile ago.

[c-legs]

For you TA fans, you might give a look at Celebrity's Millie out of Barcelona for a 14 night cruise on Dec. 2, 2007 and ending up in Fort Lauderdale.

 

The price is really right for this cruise, and there are a number of lesser cabins available, even though all of the higher end cabins have been taken quite awhile ago.

 

:) Good evening,

She's a good exemple of what would be my favourite TA...Westbound, southern route, late fall....odds of a smooth crossing are enhenced quite a bit here....Century crosses from BCN the next day...

Next year, I beleive GST SUMMIT crosses back in December as well,and to SanJuan...just about ideal.

Cheers

;)