November Transatlantic - Rough Seas? Temperatures?

[jasm8449]

Finally convinced DH to go for a Transatlantic this November 1st on Silhouette. Can experienced Transatlantic cruisers give me an indication of roughness of seas and outside temps for the crossing from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale? Will we be able to use the balcony on all those sea days?

[jerseygirl3]

Finally convinced DH to go for a Transatlantic this November 1st on Silhouette. Can experienced Transatlantic cruisers give me an indication of roughness of seas and outside temps for the crossing from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale? Will we be able to use the balcony on all those sea days?

 

 

Weather and seas can never be predicted. But having said that we did a TA from Barcelona in November 2011 and we used our balcony all the time and the seas were very calm except for the evening we passed thru the strait if Gibraltar. We had several 80 degree days. And our ship didn't have a solarium. At least with silhouette u can always use the solarium if u run into inclement weather. We're doing the Nov 1 TA also so see u onboard.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[swifs]

Glad to hear the weather news. We are also in a balcony for the Nov 1 transatlantic- our first. Let us know if you have any other transatlantic trips.

 

Sally and Stefan

[FortyNinerLiz]

Weather and seas can never be predicted. But having said that we did a TA from Barcelona in November 2011 and we used our balcony all the time and the seas were very calm except for the evening we passed thru the strait if Gibraltar. We had several 80 degree days. And our ship didn't have a solarium. At least with silhouette u can always use the solarium if u run into inclement weather. We're doing the Nov 1 TA also so see u onboard.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

We have also had favorable experiences on the Nov TA. Please consider where you are traveling from and the route to select a stateroom. Think about where the sun is for your balcony! Just a consideration...............

[Wine-O]

Those of you on the 1 November Silhouette Transatlantic, stop over on the Roll Call and introduce yourselves.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1813154&page=125

[jerseygirl3]

Finally convinced DH to go for a Transatlantic this November 1st on Silhouette. Can experienced Transatlantic cruisers give me an indication of roughness of seas and outside temps for the crossing from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale? Will we be able to use the balcony on all those sea days?

 

 

Weather and seas can never be predicted. But having said that we did a TA from Barcelona in November 2011 and we used our balcony all the time and the seas were very calm except for the evening we passed thru the strait if Gibraltar. We had several 80 degree days. And our ship didn't have a solarium. At least with silhouette u can always use the solarium if u run into inclement weather. We're doing the Nov 1 TA also so see u onboard.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Turtles06]

Those of you on the 1 November Silhouette Transatlantic, stop over on the Roll Call and introduce yourselves.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1813154&page=125

 

I'll second that! :)

 

As for weather and seas, very unpredictable as others have said. I like having a balcony regardless; there's something very special about being able to walk out on your balcony early in the morning and at night before going to bed, even if you aren't sitting out there all day. Just speaking for myself, of course.

[Dick in Falls Church]

We did a late TA from Rome last year, and it was very cold. Spent little time on the balcony. Probably the coldest of our 16 or so TAs. Miised the first port of call because a high wind kept us from leaving Civitaveccia until something like 6 am (while we slept)

 

It's like shooting craps. Win some, lose some. Just no way of forecasting the Atlantic weather 6 months in advance (unless you believe the specialized version of the Farmer's Almanac.

 

However, there is usually plenty to do--and often you'll have to select which of several things to go to (or ignore).

[jelayne]

Have done 2 TA's in Nov- one warm (68-78) and sunny most days. The other cold, storms, very rough seas for 6 days- all exterior areas were closed. There is no way to know.

[TeaBag]

We have done 2 transatlantics, end of Oct and end of Nov. and one in April. Both the westbound ones were relatively smooth and a bit cool at the start. then things warmed up considerably. However, the weather is never guaranteed. You will enjoy the 25 hour days.

[GaryfmCol]

When we did our westbound trans-Atlantic, the

Mediterranean weather was terrible, but, soon as we passed Gibraltar, the weather cleared up, and, it was crystal clear all the way to Fort Lauderdale.

 

B-T-W, when we went across the Sargasso Sea, the wind was

non-exisitant. The sea was totally "glassy" like a lake....

 

Altogether the crossing was wonderful entering the Atlantic.

Alot of nice sunny warm days, the farther south-west we cruised.

[beentothere]

Finally convinced DH to go for a Transatlantic this November 1st on Silhouette. Can experienced Transatlantic cruisers give me an indication of roughness of seas and outside temps for the crossing from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale? Will we be able to use the balcony on all those sea days?

 

On the average, the weather is beautiful once you reach the Canary Islands.

Seas also usually very calm. But No guarantees...this will be our 4th trans on the Sil...

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

So excited to read of others' experiences. We are on this cruise too. I also have joined the roll call and find everyone to be lovely. Definitely recommend you saying hello jasm!

[ECCruise]

We've done 12 TAs, probably 6 west- and 6 east-bound. Like the other posters have said, the only constant is that there is none. No way to predict weather patterns a few weeks in advance let alone 6 months. We've had TAs where we have had some balcony time nearly every day (smart choice for a balcony) and others where we have spent, literally, minutes in 2 weeks due to cold temps, high winds and seas (dumb choice). Odds are probably 50/50 in November, the earlier, like yours, the better.

[Jack Horner]

Finally convinced DH to go for a Transatlantic this November 1st on Silhouette. Can experienced Transatlantic cruisers give me an indication of roughness of seas and outside temps for the crossing from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale? Will we be able to use the balcony on all those sea days?

 

This attached PDF doc might give some idea of what you could expect:

North Atlantic Repositioning Trip Weather.pdf

[jasm8449]

Thanks everyone, for your helpful responses. We just got off the Reflection on Saturday, and while on board booked one of the last two 1A's on the Silhouette TA. (1B + upgrade) and were very lucky that it was one of the large angled balconies on the mid-hump. (I'll deal with the bed being on the balcony side of the room rather than my preferred bathroom side!).

 

So there wasn't a choice of side of the ship, but given one poster's comment about the sunny side, is there a significantly sunnier side on the Transatlantic?

[ozark74]

We did a T/A on the Equinox November 2013. The seas were very calm. Did not have any rough days. The temperature keep getting warmer as we headed

west. Spend every sea day by the pool it was great.

[ghstudio]

The port (left) side is sunnier coming from Europe to the US....and of course the reverse is true the other way.

 

Just for completeness, we encountered 27-40' seas and 60 mph winds coming around the NW corner of Spain on the infinity transatlantic this past Oct/Nov. Our other TA's have been so smooth you could have canoed along side comfortably.

[phnett]

We went on our first TA in Nov 12

We had some very nice days, and were out by the pool to get sun, AND we had some cool days with high rough seas.

By the time we got to Nassau we had several walking injured from falls in the hallways. :eek: many arms in slings cruches about too. :confused:

There were even a few who got off at hospitals in Nassau and did not make it all the way to NO with us.

Keep in mind there are always more elderly on a TA too. I would say make sure you get the Travel inssurance. Those who got off in Nassau that had it were covered to fly back so their post cruise reports showed.

We are in our early 50's and it was an adventure for us. I slept in on those cool days and let the ship rock us back to sleep. The further away we got from the Canary Islands the warmer it got for us going the southern loop around. We loved the rest and took an inside cabin so that we could sleep in when we wanted and saved our money for the private tours we did at ports. Have fun!

When we are able to stop the rat race I plan many more of these longer TA.

Edited March 11, 2014 by phnett

[gordylad]

we are also on our first transatlantic in October on the Reflection. Very apprehensive but at the same time need to get it out the system as its something I've wanted to do for years.

[ischeer]

We have done Fall TA's for the last 5 years; 4 from Med to Florida, one from Southampton to Florida, at times ranging from Oct to Dec. Temps were always cool at first, but gradually warming as we proceeded further to the South and West. The only rough seas we ever encountered were at the (infamous) Bay of Biscay crossing.

[Hollywood Traveler]

We did a T/A on the Equinox November 2013. The seas were very calm. Did not have any rough days. The temperature keep getting warmer as we headed

west. Spend every sea day by the pool it was great.

 

We were on the same Equinox TA and Ozark74 has described it perfectly. Started out cool but refreshing and just kept getting warmer. Calms seas and smooth sailing the whole way. We had a balcony on the port side and loved the sun. Also beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We were on the same Equinox TA and Ozark74 has described it perfectly. Started out cool but refreshing and just kept getting warmer. Calms seas and smooth sailing the whole way. We had a balcony on the port side and loved the sun. Also beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

 

What about those last couple of days when we had a tailwind and there was no breeze to be found on the ship , it was really hot on deck

[lawra09]

We were on the T/A of Silhouette end of November and had smooth sailing and warm weather the whole way with the exception of one day with a short shower. Beautiful cruise.

[Honeybearhollow]

We are on this same TA on the Silhouette. Since we have to fly this time, I know I will have to be very careful packing. For those of you who have made this trip before, what would you plan to take? Will it be chilly on our tours? Do we need a jacket or a coat? I'm assuming Caribbean clothes for later in the trip. Thanks for posting this. It is very helpful.