April Atlantic Crossing

I am considering an April Atlantic crossing, and although I have sailed with Seabourn many times, I have not spent that long of a stretch at sea. I was interested in knowing what the sea conditions and weather might be like in April, and what to expect in terms of activity and entertainment on board . Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

We were on Quest this past April on a TA. Having done many TA's in the past, you never know what the weather or seas will be like. This last cruise was perfect. The captain said it was the calmest crossing he had ever done. The weather was warm and mild for most of the cruise (we did have some very windy days for the last 4 days). We had a rear facing penthouse spa suite and were able to spend lots of time on our verandah and ate many meals either on our verandah or outdoors in The Colonnade or Patio Grill. However, we were on other TA's where we bounced around for the entire time with 9 to 12 foot seas and high winds. It is totally unpredictable. As far as activities, there is plenty to do if you are so inclined, or you can do nothing but enjoy the sea and a good book. Enjoy!

I was also n the Quest this April. I've done six repositioning transatlantic cruises on Celebrity, and recently Seabourn.

The seas are generally calm along the southern route. The weather starts out warm, but can get somewhat cooler half way thru. The pool days ended by day six.

There isn't a whole lot of activities other than trivia and a guest speaker. Most passengers bide their time reading and hanging out in Seabourn square waiting for the next meal.

Personally, I like transatlantics. I've got three more booked

Thank you very much for the info!

On the 'edge' of this topic - several passengers who were either staying on after Europe or getting off for Europe (US citizens obviously) told us that a 12 to 14 day cruise on Seabourn to or from home was cheaper than the 8 hours in a plane, business class! No comparison I would have thought, especially if you lived in Florida.

They might have been taking half of a round trip biz class fare to use for comparison,. Unfortunately most U.S. Airlines charge almost as much for a one way ticket as they do for a round trip .so In most cases their cost for airfare would be almost the same whether RT or one way. But either way for people who enjoy sea days the transatlantics are a good value as the cost PP per day is usually low relative to port intensive cruises.

Chairsin - I admit I do not know much about your air fares. This was told to us by two New Yorkers, probably about 4 years ago, who definitely said that their days on Seabourn crossing the pond back in the autumn cost less than business class flights would have.

Obviously you need the time to do it as well!

We did a crossing from South Hampton to New York in April 2008 on the Queen Mary II. It was the roughest sailing that we have ever experienced. There were several sleepless nights because of the movement. After the first day, the decks were closed most of the cruise. At his noon report on the fifth day, the captain said that the sea conditions the previous evening were slightly worse than those depicted in the film "Perfect Storm." As previously mention, it is weather dependent. As I learned growing grapes, Mother Nature always bats last.

The QM2 crosses the North Atlantic which is far more active than the Southern Atlantic which cruise ships take.

The QM2 crosses the North Atlantic which is far more active than the Southern Atlantic which cruise ships take.

Hate to correct an elder statesman, however the Southern Atlantic is the ocean between South America and Africa. I think you may have meant the southern part of the North Atlantic when you're referring to cruise liners operating between the Caribbean/Florida and Europe?

QM2 does cross the northern part of the North Atlantic between New York and Southampton.

I stand corrected and thank you for illumination.