Transatlantic cruise weather?

[JensJ]

How is the typical weather on a transatlantic cruise?

 

I like days at the sea on a Caribbean cruise. Will the many days at sea on a transatlantic cruise be the same as a sea day on a Caribbean cruise?

[Donray]

How is the typical weather on a transatlantic cruise?

 

I like days at the sea on a Caribbean cruise. Will the many days at sea on a transatlantic cruise be the same as a sea day on a Caribbean cruise?

 

What month are you considering. Most TAs are spring or fall during cool weather.

[JensJ]

I do not know witch month jet, so I just want to know how the weather typical is on a transatlantic cruise. But I know that all most all transatlantic cruises is in april/may and october/november

[NMLady]

I do not know witch month jet, so I just want to know how the weather typical is on a transatlantic cruise. But I know that all most all transatlantic cruises is in april/may and october/november

 

Besides weather depending on what month, it also depends on whether the route is the northern route or the more southern one.

 

The basic answer is that one never knows since weather changes. There is no 'typical' weather.

 

We've made several ta's, some in April and some in October. We've always had pleasant weather although a few times the sea was a bit choppy. There are others though who have experienced high waves, so one never knows.

[JanineM]

We've only been on one transAtlantic - an early spring sailing - and when we were off the coast of France - heading to Southampton - it was snowing in Paris.

 

Check seasonal averages for the months and areas the ship will be sailing and you'll have a general idea of what to expect.

[RoofingPrincess]

No transatlantic cruise is going to be like sea days in the Caribbean. No matter which route you take, you're further north than the Caribbean, and much less sheltered.

 

My transatlantic was England to Boston in early September; the ship summered in the Baltics, did about 6 weeks of Canada/New England cruises, then repo'd again to the Caribbean for the winter.

And our captain had to re-route us to avoid a massive Arctic storm that was between Iceland (where we had just finished port calls) and our next port of call in Newfoundland. We had to skip the Newfoundland port call completely and got to Nova Scotia about half a day early.

[kitty9]

A lot depends on if you cruise a more southern or northern route. I did a crossing from London to NYC in September and we hit a hurricane----it was the cruise from hell with 35 to 40 ft seas, shattered windows and sea water flooding certain floors. Doing crossings in Sept and Oct using the northern route can be dicey. I've also done crossings in April from Miami to London or Lisbon and they were fine, but chilly. Finally, I've done a couple of November crossings to Florida and they were fine, but again, the first few days were quite chilly

[dsrdsrdsr]

There is no typical weather on an ocean that size, except that by and large, summer is warmer than winter and near the equator is warmer than near the pole. It's unlikely to be like the Caribbean.

[alexspepa]

I only have one experience - last October from Rome to FLL. Other than one day when we hit remnants of Sandy - the weather and seas were very moderate. The captain did turn towards Africa for a day or so to avoid some rough seas I believe.

 

The one day we did have rain and 30' swells...

 

All other days were sunny with occasional clouds.

[navybankerteacher]

The Atlantic retains summer warmth for months, so a fall crossing - particularly one from the Mediterranean to a Florida port - will give you a more "Caribbean" sort of experience. Sea water temperatures in the 70's means comfortable open decks. Similarly, a spring crossing will be a lot cooler especially one to a Northern European port, due to retained sea water temperatures. Of course, local weather conditions can vary widely -- seas can be much higher than what you can expect in the Caribbean --- but you can experience mill pond-like flat calms in the Atlantic at any season. One thing you can control, especially if you book verandahs, is the sun's warmth: book port side westbound and starboard eastbound, and your verandah will be a lot more comfortable.

[mosbill]

We are on Transatlantic 4/27 FLL to London? Would appreciate any advice

we have never done this cruise. Confused about to pack coats or not?:confused:

[bigtaz105]

We have taken a transatlantic cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona in April. We had a veranda and for the most part we used sweaters, but a coat would not be unappreciated. It can get cool. The seas were like a mill pond, maybe 3-5 feet, almost the entire time. We spent alot of time out on the balcony, sea life was incredible, dolphins, sea turtles, whales, flying fish, etc. Would do another transatlantic crossing in a heartbeat!:)

[Hlitner]

We have done more then a dozen crossings and about the only thing that is predictable about the weather is that its unpredictable. Of course a lot depends on the time of year and route (i.e. a crossing from Florida to Dakar will usually be warm). Sea conditions and weather really does vary from perfect to awful and everything in between. We once had a very warm weather crossing in early December that went from Barcelona to Miami and once had a stormy cool crossing in late April. One year we did a Queen Mary 2 crossing from Southampton to New York in July....and it was dense fog for the entire cruise. You just never know.

 

Hank

[deckhead]

We are doing the 4/27 TA also, we did May 1st 2011 TA on the Ruby Princess to Barcelona and it was smooth all the way and it was 25c most days, my husband was very tanned. We are just taking light jackets plus some sweat pants and hoodies for watching the movie under the stars as it can get a little cool some nights. We luved doing the TA different crowd of people all very laid back and relaxed. Have fun

[Gunner22aa]

The North Atlantic can be very unpredictable. On our last TA in Aug we had wonderful weather and made great use of the balcony. Several years ago at the same time of year we hit a gale day two and had 30 foot seas and the ship had a permanent list of 3 degrees for almost 24 hours as the wind was directly out of the north. It certainly is no where near as predictable as the Caribbean. 9 times out of 10 you will have good weather. It's the one to watch for.

[mosbill]

Thanks guys for the info...we have a balcony.Yay! I'm cold natured so I think I will pack my jacket...:)

[dsrdsrdsr]

We are on Transatlantic 4/27 FLL to London? Would appreciate any advice

we have never done this cruise. Confused about to pack coats or not?:confused:

Average daytime temperature in early May in London is 60F, average nighttime temperature is 45F. It may be cooler. It rains about 1 day in 3. If you're coming from Texas, you might find it cool enough for a coat.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We are on Transatlantic 4/27 FLL to London? Would appreciate any advice

we have never done this cruise. Confused about to pack coats or not?:confused:

 

We've done 3 TA's, all starting around April 15, from Florida. We have had decent weather on all three cruises, but fairly cool after the first day while on the ship. Mostly 60's, some 50's, very windy (partly because the ship is moving faster than you might be used to in the Caribbean) and we luckily have never had rough seas--some swells and moderate waves.

 

Of course, there are no guarantees, weather and seas are variable. Most ports have been 60-70, a few cooler, a few warmer, one downright hot (Rome). We had rain one day.

 

I would take a light 3/4 length water resistant jacket with a hood and some other layers, like a sweater or sweatshirt, so you can peel off layers as needed. I usually wear a smaller jacket and cardigan on the plane anyway. I also take a pair of those stretchy little gloves and was glad of it once.

[candoez]

We are on Transatlantic 4/27 FLL to London? Would appreciate any advice

we have never done this cruise. Confused about to pack coats or not?:confused:

A light weight rain coat with a hood will take care of you in any London weather. It will be chilly, not cold, and most likly it will be damp. Layers will help. We will be a week ahead of you in London.

[JanineM]

We were in London last April/May and it was cold & wet. I wore a proper raincoat with sweaters every day. In fact, I wore sweaters so many times I got sick of the ones I brought & went shopping.

 

The advice to bring layers is a good one. Bring enough to keep you warm. Spring seems to be late everywhere this year.

[Bankshot]

We've done four T/A's all on the Southern route and never had bad weather or angry seas. Our most recent one, last Sept. from Southampton to Ft. Lauderdale, was the most calm ever. The sea was calm like glass, something we had not seen before. The Temp. is always moderate to warm and we have not encountered any surprises. The direction you take is more important than the weather. If you unfortunately choose an Eastern route in the Spring you will encounter six days in a row, at sea, where you must advance your clock one hour. You will end up going to dinner with your "Body Clock" set on one o'clock in the afternoon. Try going West in the Fall and you have an extra hour to drink each day before dinner. Bon App!

[dsrdsrdsr]

The direction you take is more important than the weather. If you unfortunately choose an Eastern route in the Spring you will encounter six days in a row, at sea, where you must advance your clock one hour. You will end up going to dinner with your "Body Clock" set on one o'clock in the afternoon. Try going West in the Fall and you have an extra hour to drink each day before dinner. Bon App!

Only four hours different at the moment, since the USA has already put its clocks forward and we don't until next weekend. Normally there's 5 hours between USA East coast and the UK. 6 to most of Europe, apart from Ireland and Portugal (5).

Edited March 24, 2013 by dsrdsrdsr

[FawnRiver]

We did our first TA last November going from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale. Leaving from home, I wore my heavy leather jacket which I needed in Southampton and France and again in Spain and Portugal (without the liner). It did get progressively warmer, but nothing like going on a Caribbean cruise. The last stop was in Bermuda and it was quite nice (no jacket).

 

We did use our balcony, although it was in slacks and sweaters and, we quickly figured out which pools on board had their heaters on.

 

We only had one night where the seas were rough coming out of Vigo Spain and the rest was so smooth it was really amazing.

 

We're looking forward to the next, Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale next November.:)

[METD]

We are taking our first Transatlantic cruise on Celebrity in late October from Spain to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. What weather temperatures should we expect while on the water as we would like to be outside as much as possible? How rough do the seas typically get? Really looking forward to the trip.

[SPacificbound]

Thanks guys for the info...we have a balcony.Yay! I'm cold natured so I think I will pack my jacket...:)

 

I'm with you, definitely need a jacket or more. :)