Advice on Transatlantic Cruise

[Jo]

We're interested in booking either a Spring or Fall Transatlantic Cruise.

When is the best time to get the best deal on the either cruise?

 

Also, thoughts on Spring or Fall. Has anyone done both?

 

Looking at either Holland Eurodam or Celebrity Constellation. Thoughts on those also.

 

We sailed with Holland many times but never Celebrity.

[Druke I]

One consideration - eastbound you loose an hour most nights.

 

Westbound, you gain an hour most nights.

 

For me, those 25hr days are easier on my body clock than the 23hr days.

[ISABELLA]

We've sailed 36 times in different part of the world, but never TA. And from everyone who has been taking TA every year - they loved it, so we booked one for next year - Constellation 4/17/09. Seems that Spring ones are priced better than the fall. Unless TA is in late fall.

[Karynanne]

We've sailed, both eastbound and westbound, and the best time to obtain the best price, is right when the itinerary opens up. The prices are the lowest...and the choice of cabins the best.

[slim24usus]

;) In 07 We did TA both ways. TO Europe in April-May on the NCL Jewel, FROM on the Costa Mediterannea in Noverber-Dec. Both were great trips!. The Atlantic was smooth as glass both ways. 2-4 ft seas were the highest!!!!! I remember on the way over we took "the sunshine route" whatever that is. The Mediterannian sea was by far the roughest part on both trips. 7-14 ft seas were common. One day we had 20 ft waves with 60kph winds. You could tell that both ships took on balast and put the stabelizers on in the Med.

 

As far as price, we got great deals on a suite. Wtach the prices on vacations to go .com (one word). They list prices for all catagories and many ship lines. You can search by destination, length etc. Great site! No I don't work for them.

[dmk]

We've sailed, both eastbound and westbound, and the best time to obtain the best price, is right when the itinerary opens up. The prices are the lowest...and the choice of cabins the best.

 

Exactly correct.

We booked the Solstice April 2009 TA when it came out in March. Since then, the category that we booked has gone up $600 p.p.

It's a win win situation. If the prices go down, I only have to call X and ask for the new lower rate.:)

[halbfl2]

Isabella, we will be on the Constellation with you next spring. Someone on this board is doing the crossing this spring and promised to write something when they return, so I'm looking forward to that. However, if you looked at the '08 itinerary, it's completely different than next yr. This will be our first TA also, so am hoping it won't be too rough. Where are you coming (what city) from? We live in FL so can drive to FLL.

[PurpleCow]

halbfl2 and ISABELLA, There is already a roll call for the 4/17/09 TA on the Constellation. If you haven't already signed in there . . . please do. If you have, well, glad to see you over here! This will be our second TA and we loved the first one. I think it's a great way to get to Europe, less costly than flying first class and definitely more fun!

[Canuker]

One consideration - eastbound you loose an hour most nights.

 

Westbound, you gain an hour most nights.

 

For me, those 25hr days are easier on my body clock than the 23hr days.

 

This chestnut keeps coming up.

 

The ship, eastbound or westbound travels at the same speed both ways (currents and weather notwithstanding), so the actual amount of time the cruise takes, from start to finish, is the same, either way.

If a day is longer or shorter, so be it, but the cruise takes just the same amount of time.

 

Time is a constant for all of us; we can't change it just by altering a clock.

[PurpleCow]

Actually, one of the benefits of a TA is that you arrive without jet lag. It doesn't matter whether you have to turn your clocks forward, you've got no place to go and can sleep in. And vice versa.

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

We will be onboard the Celebrity Century next Monday which will be our 15th TA as we use the crossings as our form of transport and we love both the East and Westbound, but I suppose if we only had ONE choice it would be the WESTBOUND, normally as we usually start the cruise in the UK and the weather gets much warmer the further south/southwest and nearer to the Caribbean and Florida you get.

Contrary to one of the other posters, whether it is in your mind or not, the 25 hour days seem much better and also they DONT take the SAME TIME, they NORMALLY take between 12 to 14 nights depending on which course they take and what ports they visit.

[pris993]

We have done 2 TAs previously. One we booked after the final payment when cabins opened up with folks cancelling got a very good deal on a westbound that way. The second we book early, again a very good price and got a good price on eastbound.

 

We have booked in advance for TAs in April and November 2009. This time we decided to book in advance, with the lower US dollar value against the euro many more folks seem interested in TAs, so think this is best strategy presently for the best deal. We did find prices higher in general but think they will go up even more. We will see.

 

Enjoyed previously TA either direction. Current TAs seem to offer some interesting ports along with a crossing which is also pushing up the prices.

[rolfecms]

We just did our first TA on the Summit at the end of March. We had C Class cabin which was beautiful but the weather turned cold on the third day - so we were disappointed that we could not make more use of the balcony. From what I've read the Nov TA's may be better weatherwise.

 

I also think I would prefer gaining an hour going westbound rather than losing it like we did.

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

Exactly correct.

 

We booked the Solstice April 2009 TA when it came out in March. Since then, the category that we booked has gone up $600 p.p.

 

It's a win win situation. If the prices go down, I only have to call X and ask for the new lower rate.:)

 

 

We booked the same sailing. The prices have gone up substantially since we booked on April 14. We're looking forward to enjoying the first transatlantic on Solstice with paying passengers. The five days at sea will allow a lot of time to explore this wonderful new ship.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Book early to get a midships cabin on a lower deck, a real benefit if you have a rough crossing. Have your TA double check the price when you make the final payment to see if there has been a reduction and get it applied to your booking.

 

We've done two eastbound and two westbound and we love the extra hour sleep most nights on the westbound.

[jerseygirl3]

We're doing the Westbound Equinox Nov. 2009. Not only will it be our first TA, but it will be our first trip to Europe. Can't wait.

[Parrot Mom]

JERSEYGIRL..we are on the equinox too in 2009.. but we are doing our fourth t/A on the CONNIE..FROM EUROPE this September.. the benefit from going west is that you gain an hour and have the last few days after tours and sightseeing to lay around the deck..

[scottishman]

We're on the November 2009 Equinox TA as well. Has a roll call started?

[Parrot Mom]

ARE YOU SERIOUS??? It is the busiest roll call have ever seen..pages and pages..there are even t-shirts that have been designed... come on over..lo;

[judy&steve]

Never again for us. We have been on two -- One from Harwich to Boston (Grandeur of the Seas) and San Juan to Southampton (Summit, earlier this month.) The price, which was inside the penalty period, was too good to pass up. I had trepidations about it, but we decided, how bad can it be?

The seas were rough, the ship was headed to dry dock, and we were both sick which ruined our time on the ship, especially since we were "isolated" by the medical department for the end of the cruise.

Beside the low, low price (which included air and CC level cabin,) the itinerary was pretty bad. The port calls averaged four hours per and, although, I was only well enough to see the final port, they didn't have adequate amounts of excursions or shuttle tickets (which cost $8 for every port, except one.)

Relaxing, no. I had even considered a crossing on the QM2, which I love (the ship, not a TA,) but I don't think I could do it again.

--Judy

[dmk]

Never again for us. We have been on two -- One from Harwich to Boston (Grandeur of the Seas) and San Juan to Southampton (Summit, earlier this month.) The price, which was inside the penalty period, was too good to pass up. I had trepidations about it, but we decided, how bad can it be?

The seas were rough, the ship was headed to dry dock, and we were both sick which ruined our time on the ship, especially since we were "isolated" by the medical department for the end of the cruise.

Beside the low, low price (which included air and CC level cabin,) the itinerary was pretty bad. The port calls averaged four hours per and, although, I was only well enough to see the final port, they didn't have adequate amounts of excursions or shuttle tickets (which cost $8 for every port, except one.)

Relaxing, no. I had even considered a crossing on the QM2, which I love (the ship, not a TA,) but I don't think I could do it again.

--Judy

 

What a pity! I think you might find the crossing much more enjoyable if you did a southerly crossing in November. We have done 3 and have been lucky with smooth seas and great weather.

The Atlantic was like glass. I exaggerate not. But we could have just been lucky!

[babylene]

Never again for us. We have been on two -- One from Harwich to Boston (Grandeur of the Seas) and San Juan to Southampton (Summit, earlier this month.) The price, which was inside the penalty period, was too good to pass up. I had trepidations about it, but we decided, how bad can it be?

The seas were rough, the ship was headed to dry dock, and we were both sick which ruined our time on the ship, especially since we were "isolated" by the medical department for the end of the cruise.

Beside the low, low price (which included air and CC level cabin,) the itinerary was pretty bad. The port calls averaged four hours per and, although, I was only well enough to see the final port, they didn't have adequate amounts of excursions or shuttle tickets (which cost $8 for every port, except one.)

Relaxing, no. I had even considered a crossing on the QM2, which I love (the ship, not a TA,) but I don't think I could do it again.

 

 

--Judy

 

 

OMG! We booked inside,midship, cat.9. I prefer Cat 8 (one floor lower) but was too late to get it. My bonine is ready! I have been on cruises with bad weather, been forced to spend most of the time indoors. Hope not this time. After our LONG winter, I am ready for sunshine! And...I so want to swim!

[alfiemom]

Just completed the Connie EB TA. It was the best! Some bouncing as we neared Europe, but nothing 98% of the pax couldn't handle. Food was wonderful, much improved. Service was super. We had 6048 which is a balcony with a large, triangle shaped balcony. Very little spray, no wind, sat out there quite a bit.

 

We also did Connie's WB TA last September. Northern route and a tad rougher, but, again, nothing we couldn't or didn't handle. No seasickness for us. Connie seemed to be in better shape this time. Crew smile more and the new menus are great.

 

Either way, EB or WB, we LOVE the sea days. Never enough.

 

Bobbie

[sasset]

We've done four, two in each direction. They seem to be pushing the eastbound departures earlier and earlier and the westbounds later and later...our first westbound was in 2003 and it left Barcelona around October 25. Our westbound 2006 left Barcelona around December 4. This makes the cruise more likely to be in cooler weather. That said, our December 2006 had unbelievably nice weather.

 

We find that the westbounds are more relaxing, not for the "extra" hour, but because the eastbound itineraries usually have several ports in a row at the end, whereas the westbound's are all sea days at the end, occasionally with one caribbean call.

 

Regards

[DeepWaterMariner]

I think that's another nice feature of a westbound crossing...a shorter flight home. The long TA flight is done at the start of the trip. It's even better if the cruise ends close to home with no flight. Two of our TA's ended in Galveston which is only a half hour from home for us.