Transatlantic - spring or fall??

[italyforme]

We love the prospect of uninterrupted days at sea on our new favorite line but, for one who loves the sun, is it safer to book the spring or fall crossing for the most time in a chair by the pool?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I can only speak for myself but we did the May crossing from Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona and it was fantastic- sunny, warm and smooth sailing. To me it was such an adventure. Now returning on QM2 in August was in the North Atlantic from Southampton- New York and it was warm but very windy. QM2 cut the waves like butter but I don't know if I'd want to be on any other ship in the North Atlantic. It was neat sailing into NYC and seeing the Statue of Liberty.

 

I have to say the 14 day May crossing on Millenium was the best!

[Gonzo70]

On average fall crossings are warmer (as the ocean has been heating all summer rather than cooling all winter), but the temperature on any given crossing is impossible to predict. Another factor is the route the ship takes - the more southerly the route, the warmer on average (i.e. a Miami to Barcelona crossing will generally be warmer than a New York to Southhampton crossing). Also the later in the season for a spring crossing and the earlier in the season for a fall crossing, the warmer (on average) the weather.

 

Another bonus of fall crossings (assuming you are going from Europe to U.S. as most fall crossings do) is you have 25 hour days versus 23 hour days for a U.S. to Europe crossing.

 

For best chance at sun on your balcony, book a starboard side balcony if going from U.S. to Europe and port side balcony if crossing from Europe to U.S.

[BBsails]

We've done it both eastbound and westbound. We sailed from Ft. Lauderdale to Hamburg in late April 2010 on the Constellation then sailed from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale on the newly refurbished Constellation in October 2010. The westbound direction was much warmer than the eastbound. I'm not sure if this is always true, but it was true for us.

 

Other than time in a chair by the pool, one of the reasons we prefer the westbound direction is that the clocks are turned back on five nights of the crossing, giving you, in effect, longer evenings. On eastbound cruises, the clocks are turned forward on five nights, making the time between the late seating for dinner and bedtime way to short.

 

BTW, we're booked on the Equinox westbound TA in November, 2011.

 

Bon voyage,

Betsy

[lovespositano]

Loved eastbound in May. November in Europe - ports are cold

[DocJohnB]

Loved eastbound in May. November in Europe - ports are cold

 

As Gonzo implied, weather is always a crapshoot.

 

Last year on the Equinox (Rome 10/31) is a great example. The 3 days spent in Rome prior to cruising were gorgeous, sunny, warm during the day, cooler in the evenings. The day we left was rainy, cool and miserable. Same the next day in Livorno. The following day in Nice was nice (:) ), a little cool but sunny. The rest of the ports were sunny and increasingly warm as we progressed south. Across the Atlantic was gorgeous and warm. The captain swung the ship a bit south a couple of days out of Florida to avoid the rough seas spawned by a tropical storm.

 

I am amongst those that love the 25 hour days.

 

We have another westerly transatlantic scheduled for this fall.

[cruisin4kicks]

We love TA cruises. We've done 3 westbounds and 1 eastbound... doing our 2nd eastbound next week. As others have mentioned, weather is impossible to predict.

 

Our first westbound was across the North Atlantic and we had to go about 100 miles out of our way to avoid a hurricane that went up the eastern coast of the U.S. before it went out to sea. We had about 4 days of very rough seas where some days they wouln't even let anyone outside and they boarded up balconies... roughest cruise we were ever on.

 

Did the same route a year later and the sun was out every day and the weather was warm and sunny.

 

Our 3rd westbound TA last October was much further south and had excellent weather until the day before we arrived in FLL.

 

The eastbound TA we were on a couple years ago was very comfortable as well.

 

As others mentioned, you get the 25 hour days going westbound. On our last westbound TA, at 3:00pm, they turned the clock back to 2:00pm. The other westbounds, the clock got turned back in the evening.

 

Tim

[wg6530]

I love transatlantic cruises and will be leaving on my 5th one soon:D.

I enjoy the sea days, and sometimes it is warm outside. Sometimes cooler. I have had sun and rain. Smooth seas and very rough ones. those all vary. the most consistent thing has been: the sea days are usually windy. Between the wind on the open ocean and the effective wind effect as the ship cranks across the Atlantic, count on windy decks. So, does your vision of spending hours by the pool Potentially include wearing slacks and perhaps a jacket or blanket? I have seen more people dressed like that than in swimwear. X has passed out nice plaid deck blankets if that will help.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I guess losing a few hours on a 14 day cruise really didn't impact my TA. I looked at the whole thing as an adventure and remember waking myself up to see us arrive in our first port- Lisbon. It was wonderful. Plus I never had any of that jetlag that you get when you fly over. For me its torture the first day after a TA flight.

 

Return flights home you are wide awake and don't feel like you have to force yourself to sleep. Its long and boring but once you get home you are getting acclimated to the time difference in your own home- and I like that better. I like feeling blah at home not on vacation.

 

I would do either one but would prefer the Eastbound.

[bellybutton530]

Westbound ocean crossings are my absolute favorites. I've done 6 westbound Atlantic crossings; 2 eastbound Indian Ocean crossings; and 1 eastbound Pacific Ocean crossing.

 

You lose hours on eastbounds; you gain hours on westbounds.

 

I take a couple jigsaw puzzles to work on in my suite; and I just enjoy looking at where the sky and water converge. I call watching that my partial lobotomy....

 

All of my ocean crossings have been smooth.

 

Good luck deciding....

[sasset]

It's a crap shoot. We did a late November westbound Barcelona/Fort Lauderdale. Best weather we've ever had.

 

We did a late March eastbound San Juan/Southampton. Worst weather we've ever had.

[baldercash]

We have done 3 East bound and last November we did our first West bound. We preferred the west bound for all the reasons stated.

We are booked on a 16 day Royal Caribbean from New Orleans May 14 2012 to Barcelona. We haven't been to N'Orleans for about 6 years so we will spend 3 or 4 days in the French Quarter pre-boarding. Our plan is to do the trans Atlantic cruise instead of a flight to get to Spain to begin a 2 month or so land tour. I retire this fall so we have the time now. We may tag on a Med and or Baltic cruise while staying in Europe. We are planning to return on a Cunard ship as we have never cruised with them and sailing into New York would be a grand finale to our first retirement tour.

[alfiemom]

Westbound, eastbound, northbound, southbound - anywhere on a ship is OK with me. I can add clothes or subtract them. Any TA - count me in.

 

Bobbie

[jcrandle]

Best is to do an Eastbound in the spring, spend the summer in Europe, then do a Westbound back home. Mind you, I didn't say I could afford it, just that it would be best.:D

[John73]

Best is to do an Eastbound in the spring, spend the summer in Europe, then do a Westbound back home. Mind you, I didn't say I could afford it, just that it would be best.:D

 

Sounds like a nice way to go for those that can afford it :D

[Irishwhiskey]

You can"t go wrong either way as far as i'm concerned.You may want to do some homework with regards to the itinerary or locations you'll be traveling ,but you will have everything going for you as far as less crowds,great weather,and in some places for example;Italy,the musieums are open on weekends as opposed to the summer month's when they are closed on Sunday and Monday's.I would prefer the east to west itinerary only to take advantage of the time changes