Transatlantic cruise - weather in November?

[barryn]

What is the weather pattern (temperature, winds, rough seas?) on the typical November transatlantic cruise? While the information on the weather in the U.S. and European ports is readily available, I don't know what to expect in the 5 (or more) days out on the ocean.

[FLACRUISER99]

What is the weather pattern (temperature, winds, rough seas?) on the typical November transatlantic cruise? While the information on the weather in the U.S. and European ports is readily available, I don't know what to expect in the 5 (or more) days out on the ocean.

Either does anyone else, I crossed last November but took the Southern route and it was fine.

[Gonzo70]

Very hard to predict. In general the southern route is smoother and warmer than the northern route. Also in general fall crossings are warmer because the ocean has been heating up all summer (whereas during spring crossings the ocean temperature is colder from the winter). That said on any given crossing you may experience smooth sailing, giant swells, warm weather, cold weather and more likely a mixture of all of this at different times during the crossing.

[Rickey 88]

Like me, I guess many others are reluctant to post "weather predictions" for any upcoming season. Sure, there are many who can tell you what sort of weather they encountered when they were on a TA crossing, but what guarantee is that? Does that insure that your weather will be they same?

 

If it will make you feel more comfortable, the weather on the "Southern" crossings is more amenable than that of a "Northern" crossing (i.e. New York to Southampton).

 

I, for one, am hesitant to give "weather predictions" even though we've crossed in both directions seven times. I would worry that someone would come after me with a sharp stick, if their crossing was less than pleasant! :D

[marco]

If the weather is "normal" and you are doing, say, Med to Florida, it should be fairly smooth, in the 70's and a good bit of sun. If you are doing say, Southampton to NYC, it will be a tad rougher, grey, lots of fog and on a good day, in the 50's and maybe maybe maybe maybe you'll see some sun.

[ILoveScotland]

Also remember that there are rarely hurricanes in November even though the hurricane season doesn't officially end until November 30th.

 

My one and only transatlantic was from the Med arriving in Miami on November 20th (I think, maybe the 21st). The weather was wonderful the entire way.

[hajekfam]

We have done 4 fall transatlantics Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale- one in Sept 2001, one in Oct 2003, one in Nov 2005, and one in Dec 2007. We have had great weather on all. In fact out of all of them, the one in Dec. 2007 was the warmest of all.

But weather is totally unpredictable this far in advance - and even a day can make the difference. We did one transatlantic and left one day later than another ship from the same cruiseline. We had great weather with rain only two nights (late at night) - the ship that left the day before us had rain.

On one of our transatlantics (the year that they ran out of hurricane names and had use the Greek alphabet), we had a smooth but slow sailing as the captain kept us between Delta and Epsilon. If he hadn't had said anything about why we were going so slow, we wouldn't have known that there were tropical storms and hurricanes happening out in the Atlantic.

Edited July 22, 2009 by hajekfam

[blackbess66@aol.com]

Hi thank you for allowing me to join :) I am cruising November 4th on the Tui discovery for the first time, i am a little apprehensive as to what to expect as previous cruises have been in the Indy. Anyone have any feedback about this Ship please? 😊

[Wayfairers]

Our transatlantic cruises have been fairly smooth, but as others have said there is no way to predict the weather.

 

 

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[Wayfairers]

Hi thank you for allowing me to join :) I am cruising November 4th on the Tui discovery for the first time, i am a little apprehensive as to what to expect as previous cruises have been in the Indy. Anyone have any feedback about this Ship please? [emoji4]

 

 

 

Not sure what you are talking about. I'm not familiar with these ships - this thread is about the weather on transatlantic cruises. You should find the thread for the cruise line you are sailing and post the question there.

 

 

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[crystalspin]

@blackbess

Here is where you need to read and then to ask:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=497

[Keith1010]

A northern route would likely be very windy and cold.

 

Southern Route can be a mixed bag but usually after a couple of days begins to get warmer but even then weather is weather and can vary.

 

Keith

[Markanddonna]

Our only Fall TA was after superstorm Sandy which affected the flights going to Europe. Yikes, I never want to do that again. We had reasonably good weather on the way to the US except it was rather rainy in the Western Med. The two Canary Islands were great as was the trip across the Atlantic.

[jamacka]

We're doing a Nov 3rd, 2018 trans-Atlantic sailing from Southampton to Boston. I have been a weather enthusiast for quite a few years and I live in Nova Scotia. I track Atlantic storms so I know the risks of traveling the North Atlantic this time of year. Although it is at the tail end of Hurricane Season, it is at the beginning of Atlantic Storm season. The water on the route from Southampton to Boston is probably cool enough that hurricanes would be unlikely anywhere much more northeast of the coast of Nova Scotia. However, hurricanes that are downgraded to tropical storms or post-tropical depressions can still pack a very powerful punch. And the risk of plain old Nor-easters is always a possibility. Quite often these storms will develop off the coast of the Carolinas and head up the coast. They can be very powerful and sometimes have wind gusts as strong as Cat 1 hurricanes. This summer has been a hot one all along the eastern seaboard of North America and as a result the water temperature is warmer further north which will fuel any potential storms. So far hurricane season has been quiet due in part to a giant dust cloud stretching across the mid-Atlantic from the Sahara. Its hot out but so far the dust has kept this relatively dry.

[taglovestocruise]

We did the Independence TA last OCT. A little chilly in Southampton, the next 8 days to our first port in the Caribbean was absolutely fantastic. Every day was smooth as glass with shorts and t shirts all day. Once we hit the Caribbean it got hot. All our other transatlantics coming out of the med all have been great whether. Knock on wood for this Oct. on Symphony.

[gubby]

Have done 3 TA's and enjoyed warm ( not hot) weather on all even in November. Lots of sun, little rain but a couple of days with gale force winds on each cruise. Two cruises were on the southern route, and one on the northern route. Worse weather even encountered was off the coast of Florida when we took Celebrity sailing out of port near St Augustine. Wind was wild and there was torrential rain. Lots of rocking and rolling that night- few people eating in the dining room and even fewer passengers walking about.

[flamomo]

Sometimes the tail end of the Atlantic hurricane season can be surprisingly active. I've had some very smooth crossings, and some bumpy ones. Now and then a port stop in the Azores before heading across to FLL has to be cancelled, and it changed to Madeira instead, due to the tail end of a hurricane or other significant storm affecting the area between your departure port in Europe and the Azores That has happened to me twice, but it was actually OK because Madeira is a really nice place to stop. Another plus is that the route to Madeira and the crossing route is more southerly, so warmer weather!