Advice For First Time Transatlantic

[Jaddy]

We hadn't cruised for 15 years until we went aboard Equinox 3/3 (11 days; inside stateroom). We had such a good time we booked a TA (16 days) on Constellation leaving Rome on 11/5.

 

Do any of you experienced transatlantic cruisers have any advice for us concerning packing differently, tours, signing up for various Celebrity options, expectations or whatever? Yes, we know that our ship will be M-class and different than Equinox as a S-class ship. And BTW we have booked a balcony (6031-apparently a "sweet sixteen" stateroom).

 

Thanks for your help.

[helen haywood]

Be careful! Once you go transatlantic....its hard to do shorter cruises!

 

Only a couple of pieces of advice. Know the weight limit on whatever airline you fly so you know your luggage will be OK.

 

And check out Choice Air. They have great prices on one way fares across the pond for transatlantic cruises.

[tomcruiser1234]

Do the educational lectures on the Trans.

 

Read a book or 2

 

Play cards with the Mrs.

 

Go walk top deck

 

Do all the specialty resteraunts

 

Don't do the drink package till mid cruise.. To many days to drink otherwise

 

Make your port days a focal point sense not many on most Trans.

 

Relax relax relax..

[JanineM]

Plan to entertain yourself to a certain extent. There are loads of activities, but there is some downtime,

 

Check out the library as soon as you board. Take a paperback or two to share.

 

If you are interested in the art classes, go EARLY. There can be competition for seats!

 

I find that the days go too fast, and it's easy to lose track of time. I used a blog program last spring and wrote a bit & added pictures each day. I uploaded (from my iPad) when we had free wifi on shore.

 

Am so jealous of your cruise. I can't wait til we are able to do spring and fall TAs!

[iSailor]

Be careful! Once you go transatlantic....its hard to do shorter cruises!

 

Only a couple of pieces of advice. Know the weight limit on whatever airline you fly so you know your luggage will be OK.

 

And check out Choice Air. They have great prices on one way fares across the pond for transatlantic cruises.

Be careful! Once you go transatlantic....its hard to do shorter cruises!

Thats so true.

What a big mistake I made 3 years back.:D:D:D

[Swinden]

Be careful! Once you go transatlantic....its hard to do shorter cruises!

 

Only a couple of pieces of advice. Know the weight limit on whatever airline you fly so you know your luggage will be OK.

 

And check out Choice Air. They have great prices on one way fares across the pond for transatlantic cruises.

 

I cannot stress this enough -- for our first cruise ever, we did the QM2 TA from Southampton to NY. Now less than ten months we will be on the Equinox heading back to Europe. It is addicting! Enjoy the downtime....it is the best.

[Turtles06]

Lots of great advice above. I would add that you not over-schedule yourself, particularly on the sea days. Give yourselves time to really enjoy the crossing, and not feel like you have commitments, like daily team trivia. (Particularly so if you have late dining.) That said, of course enjoy all the things Celebrity has to offer on the ship.

 

In terms of packing, layers! Be ready for warm, cold, and wet.

 

Have a great time!

[CathyCruises]

Lots of great advice above. I would add that you not over-schedule yourself, particularly on the sea days. Give yourselves time to really enjoy the crossing, and not feel like you have commitments, like daily team trivia. (Particularly so if you have late dining.) That said, of course enjoy all the things Celebrity has to offer on the ship.

 

In terms of packing, layers! Be ready for warm, cold, and wet.

 

Have a great time!

 

:confused: we have late dining and always do team trivia? What's the problem with that?? We love both!

[BosoxI]

I don't want to encourage you too much. You might take MY cabin next trip :) We're doing two this year. Have a great trip and relax.

[Turtles06]

:confused: we have late dining and always do team trivia? What's the problem with that?? We love both!

 

I actually love playing trivia. But this was our first TA, it was eastbound (I think you were aboard too, on the Eclipse :) ), and the team trivia was in the morning. Which would not have been a big deal if we weren't getting out of dinner at 10:30pm, and of course you are up for a good while after that meal, plus we were losing an hour almost every night with the time changes. I think the almost daily time loss got to us after a while, more than anything. But it just felt too scheduled to have something every morning at 10am, and started interfering with working out, sleeping in (and I'm an early riser), or just being spontaneous.

 

On our second TA, last fall, we decided not to commit to anything, just go to what we felt like doing that day, and it was much more relaxed. It was also westbound, and I think that helped too.

 

I was just suggesting to the OP that she play it by ear, see how it's going, and not get overly-committed her first time out.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Have fun on your roll call

I have meet some great people there

[2theship]

Absolutely join your roll call! You can learn a lot about your ports from other people's homework:D and you can find some excursions to join.

 

Plan to relax - it's lovely to be in the middle of the ocean.

[LMKohler]

We did our first TA out of Rome at the end of November on Silhouette. We loved it. Dress in layers. I took a light weight jacket, long sleeve shirts, two sweaters, plus capris, tops etc. I wore everything I took. We used Choice Air to Rome and it was the best deal out there. Beware of weight limits with luggage. We went to almost every lecture on board as well as all the Apple classes. If you have a Kindle take it. We had the premium liquor package and like it for its versatility. I certainly wouldn't wait to sign up for it if that is something you want. We did do 4 specialty restaurants plus Bistro on 5 and we had Select Dining which we prefer.

 

 

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[FortyNinerLiz]

We love transAtlantic cruises and have done them both ways....There is so much to do and also there is "relaxation" time for reading, etc. Go to some of the lectures!!! On TAs they have the best guest speakers!! They have lots of culinary demos, etc. M Class ships have a much better walking track than S Class ships. Try to take advantage of that!! Also, the M Class have the heated T pool and the S Class do not!!

A prior responder said to go to the Library right away after boarding....Absolutely right on advice!!!! Then go to the dining room to check your table location. If you do not like it, get in line to get it changed. This can affect your whole cruise!

We love trans cruises so much that we are doing one on the Pacific from Hawaii to Vancouver next month on the Solstice!! We are hooked and hopefully you will be too!! Have a great cruise!!

[4774Papa]

Our first TA was last year on Infinity for 12 days. Read five books, did five wine tastings, went to the gym every day. Enjoyed our balcony watching the ocean. Went to a few lectures. It was great fun and cheap.

[Gracie115]

We will be doing our 1st TA too next April, any other advice for FIRST time cruisers period who chose a TA to be the first one? My sister and DH are joining us and while he spent 2 years on Naval ships she's never cruised before...any advice for her?

[cruisegoal100]

Relax and enjoy. If you are not traveling with others then choose a large table for dining and meet interesting people who are world travelers.

We did our 1st TA in April 2010 on the Equinox and will do doing our 9th TA on April 20th, this time on the Silhouette. It is addictive and if you are comfortable meeting people you will love it!

The first TA was during the Icelandic volcano eruptions when people couldn't fly to/from Europe. We had 500 Europeans cancel at the last minute because they couldn't get to Florida. Then another 500 Europeans stranded in the US booked at the last minute to get home to Europe! It was terrific.

We've met Germans and Brits who are also snowbirds in Florida and use TAs to get back and forth. People are really friendly.

Enjoy!

Best Regards,

[Jaddy]

Relax and enjoy. If you are not traveling with others then choose a large table for dining and meet interesting people who are world travelers.

We did our 1st TA in April 2010 on the Equinox and will do doing our 9th TA on April 20th, this time on the Silhouette. It is addictive and if you are comfortable meeting people you will love it!

The first TA was during the Icelandic volcano eruptions when people couldn't fly to/from Europe. We had 500 Europeans cancel at the last minute because they couldn't get to Florida. Then another 500 Europeans stranded in the US booked at the last minute to get home to Europe! It was terrific.

We've met Germans and Brits who are also snowbirds in Florida and use TAs to get back and forth. People are really friendly.

Enjoy!

Best Regards,

 

Wow! I'm impressed with your 9 TA's in 4 1/3 years. Do you go to Europe in the spring and stay there until you catch a return TA in the fall?

 

I think that the whole subject of transoceanic crossings is frightfully interesting. I'm new to all this chat board stuff, but I'm surprised that there isn't a separate board for that so that comments can come from a broad spectrum of cruisers and not just Celebrity loyalists. I don't have a clue as to how to set one up, and I wouldn't in any case presume to do so since I haven't done my first TA yet. How 'bout you?

 

In any event, thanks to you, and everyone else, for your helpful and encouraging responses to my OP.

[4774Papa]

On our Infinity TA last year, when we had the cruise critic meet and greet, there were about 250 people there. The roll call was over 300+.

 

We discovered that people that take TAs sometimes fall into one of these categories:

1) Retired people with plenty of time;

2) People taking a B2b with another cruise either before or after the TA;

3) TAs are inexpensive and some people manage the cheap one-way return air tickets and their vacations are dirt cheap;

4) People that don't fly, sometimes arrange TAs in both directions. Cunard has NY-London and return all season.

[cruiser now]

We hadn't cruised for 15 years until we went aboard Equinox 3/3 (11 days; inside stateroom). We had such a good time we booked a TA (16 days) on Constellation leaving Rome on 11/5.

 

Do any of you experienced transatlantic cruisers have any advice for us concerning packing differently, tours, signing up for various Celebrity options, expectations or whatever? Yes, we know that our ship will be M-class and different than Equinox as a S-class ship. And BTW we have booked a balcony (6031-apparently a "sweet sixteen" stateroom).

 

Thanks for your help.

 

We are also booked on the Connie.on 11/5 this will be our 4th. T.A. We enjoy the down time and finding others on c.c. who like the same games we like .Cribbag,Mah Jongg,and other games.Stay on the C.C. Roll Call and find folks you can enjoy being with.

[Swinden]

On our Infinity TA last year, when we had the cruise critic meet and greet, there were about 250 people there. The roll call was over 300+.

 

We discovered that people that take TAs sometimes fall into one of these categories:

1) Retired people with plenty of time;

2) People taking a B2b with another cruise either before or after the TA;

3) TAs are inexpensive and some people manage the cheap one-way return air tickets and their vacations are dirt cheap;

4) People that don't fly, sometimes arrange TAs in both directions. Cunard has NY-London and return all season.

 

With regards to #3, I would love to find a cheap one-way return from Europe to the U.S. Even though Choice Air has "reasonable" one-way business fares, I was not going to pay the price of the cruise to fly back.

 

As to #4, we did the QM2 (WB TA) last June as our first ever cruise and it would seem that we are now addicted.

 

"Hello my name is Bob and I am a TA addict."

[Hapytocruise]

On any cruise I always bring a clock radio as the only way to know the correct time is either the phone display or TV. With so many time changes on a TA - it is particularly helpful. As long as you update the clock on the night of the change:).

[Aunt Tina]

I have done 4 TA's and will be going on my 5th Easter weekend. We have joined or organized private tours in the ports with other roll call members. Many TA roll call members have traveled extensively and know great tour guides and companies. Traveling with 4 to12 people is much nicer than tour buses with 40 passengers and a very scripted tour. I have done a walking tour in Lisbon with a great tour guide, and toured Monet's house and garden with a guide who also does great Normandy beach tours ( he was a child in WW11 there). Our tour guide in Dublin took us to his home at lunch time. The best whale watch I have done was on a private tour in the Canary Islands. On a recent Caribbean tour we did a private 6 hour "wet" tour in Dominica that was the best tour in the Caribbean I have ever done.

 

Join your roll call and watch for the invitations to join groups. Use the port threads to check out info on the ports and tour companies to guide your decisions.

[CathyCruises]

With regards to #3, I would love to find a cheap one-way return from Europe to the U.S. Even though Choice Air has "reasonable" one-way business fares, I was not going to pay the price of the cruise to fly back.

 

 

 

As to #4, we did the QM2 (WB TA) last June as our first ever cruise and it would seem that we are now addicted.

 

 

 

"Hello my name is Bob and I am a TA addict."

 

 

We paid $599 for our 15 night Silhouette TA (plus $250 obc) and $535 for return from Venice to San Francisco. I don't know how you can travel any cheaper than that

 

 

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[Ex-Airbalancer]

We paid $599 for our 15 night Silhouette TA (plus $250 obc) and $535 for return from Venice to San Francisco. I don't know how you can travel any cheaper than that

 

 

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I do i do

:p