Lifetime ambition

[Florriegirl]

Hello Everyone

 

Feel a bit of a fraud because I have not even been on one tiny cruise yet. However we are planning to go to Norway next year with P&O. Lifetime ambition though is to go to New York by sea from UK, spend about three weeks in America and come back by sea. I cannot find any travel agent whatsover that does this. I do not want to fly at all. In fact when I get to USA I want to travel by train to see more of the country. Wanted to do this for years and now I am over 60 it is now or never. Help please. Thank you for your warm welcome.

[NauticalMom]

Hi FlorrieGirl,

 

Google Transatlantic cruises and you should find what you want. Try travel weekly.com.

Hope this helps!

Nautical Mom

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Essiesmom]

This is going to take a lot of research on your part. Your best bet is the Queen Mary 2, a westbound crossing, then travel Amtrak around the US, and return a few weeks later on QM2. This would be from maybe late April to early Dec. In early Dec. or late Nov., she comes to the US and does some Caribbean cruises. Then after the holidays, she embarks on a World Cruise. You could search for westbound transatlantic repo cruises on other lines in the fall, but most will be too late for you to spend three or four weeks in the US and catch QM2 back.

For the train travel part of your trip, I suggest you study the Amtrak website, then go to a rail fan forum here:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/

This forum is full of experts on traveling Amtrak, and they can help you get the most out of your trip. You don't have to join to ask questions, but membership is free. EM

[John Bull]

Everything I suggest here can be done either way round.

 

Cunard offer trans-Atlantic crossings from Southampton to New York.

For many folk that's the simplest. They then fly back - or take a Cunard ship back though it's not too often that there's a return crossing a convenient 3 weeks later.

 

But you're happy to travel around the US. :)

Which opens up more options

 

A repo (repositioning) cruise happens with many ships a couple of times a year, as they change their base for a season.

In the autumn, after a summer season based in Europe, many ships go to Florida or the Caribbean for the winter season there. That trans-Atlantic crossing usually includes a few ports at one end or the other or both. And those repo cruises are very good value.

Likewise, in the Spring many return from the US to Europe for the summer season. Same things apply.

British ships are based for the season on a Caribbean island, usually Barbados or Jamaica. So a repo cruise with P&O, Thomson etc will involve travel between one of those islands & the US mainland - if you're not keen on flying that's problematic. But many US ships are based at Florida ports for the season, so using Amtrak you can explore the US between New York & Florida.

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Norwegian & others have ships based in Southampton or Dover or Harwich, and switch from Florida in the spring & back to Florida in the autumn.

 

Repo cruises don't happen both ways at the same time, there's a difference measured in months.

So you'd need to look at one way with Cunard.

Or one leg of a round-the-world cruise. Although a world cruise circumnavigates the globe, takes 3 - 4 months & costs mega-bucks, a lot of folk join the ship for just one or two sectors. So you'd be looking for a sector between the UK or mainland Europe & the US.

 

Your best bet is to contact a cruise specialist travel agent.

Although repo cruises, sectors of a world cruise, etc are advertised they're comparatively unusual and using the web to find two one-way cruises that slot together would be very hard work for you. So don't waste your time hunting cruises on the web or visiting the High Street, instead phone a cruise travel agent. We can't name travel agents on Cruise Critic, but there are several - and they know cruising way better than any high street T/A.

 

Don't commit to anything before your cruise to the fjords.

You'll probably love cruising.

But it's not for everyone.

 

BTW train travel in the US isn't as frequent or as fast as train travel in Europe.

It's cheap & easy to hire a car in the US & travel by road, other than in places like New York. Would give you a great deal more flexibility.

 

Happy huntin'

 

JB :)

Edited June 15, 2014 by John Bull

[calliopecruiser]

Hello Everyone

 

Feel a bit of a fraud because I have not even been on one tiny cruise yet. However we are planning to go to Norway next year with P&O. Lifetime ambition though is to go to New York by sea from UK, spend about three weeks in America and come back by sea. I cannot find any travel agent whatsover that does this. I do not want to fly at all. In fact when I get to USA I want to travel by train to see more of the country. Wanted to do this for years and now I am over 60 it is now or never. Help please. Thank you for your warm welcome.

 

Cunard has ships going back and forth between the US and England all year 'round, whereas the other cruise lines only do one direction or the other seasonally.......so Cunard is your best bet for your plan if you want to cruise both ways. The catch is that they go back and forth approximately every 2 weeks or less - so your choices using Cunard would be to stay a couple of weeks in the US, or stay longer. Check out the Cunard schedule near the dates you want.

 

Another option is less glamourous, but might fit your sense of adventure if you have the time to be flexible -- consider a freighter cruise for one of the directions. I haven't ever done one, but it's on my bucket list if I can find the right travel companion (I won't do one solo). They're schedules are a lot less rigid and you might find yourself waiting an extra day or so if the weather is wonky, but what an adventure!!

[Keith1010]

Certain times of the year Cunard has trans-atlantic cruises on the QM2 between Southampton and NYC.

 

You can either time this where you could take the QM2 both ways getting off in NYC and then returning to the QM2 a few weeks later or you could time this with another cruise ship that is repositioning and going from the East Coast back to Europe.

 

Keith

[NMLady]

Hello Everyone

 

Feel a bit of a fraud because I have not even been on one tiny cruise yet. However we are planning to go to Norway next year with P&O. Lifetime ambition though is to go to New York by sea from UK, spend about three weeks in America and come back by sea. I cannot find any travel agent whatsover that does this. I do not want to fly at all. In fact when I get to USA I want to travel by train to see more of the country. Wanted to do this for years and now I am over 60 it is now or never. Help please. Thank you for your warm welcome.

 

Others have given you good advice about transatlantic crossings.

I just want to stress that train travel across US does not have daily trains, and does not run on a dependable time table. Also, some stops do not have a station. I think eastern corridor is more dependable. I would not recommend it for east to west coast travel though.

[maryann ns]

You would want at least a month to even consider taking trains around the US, and then there is Canada. Even with a month you would not get to see all areas. We are way bigger than Europe.

 

A great website for train travel is the Man in Seat 61: http://www.seat61.com/

[JustinPlusLauren]

You can definitely take a cruise across the Atlantic - there are so many cruise lines that do "repositioning" cruises. You'll be able to find one for sure! If you decide to travel by train in Canada at all, there are VIA Rail train trips that go from coast to coast that I hear are lovely, going through the Rocky mountains and all! Good luck with all of your travel plans and I'm sure you will be able to find a TA to help you, or just do lots of research online and book things on your own!

[cruiserking]

Hello Everyone

 

Feel a bit of a fraud because I have not even been on one tiny cruise yet. However we are planning to go to Norway next year with P&O. Lifetime ambition though is to go to New York by sea from UK, spend about three weeks in America and come back by sea. I cannot find any travel agent whatsover that does this. I do not want to fly at all. In fact when I get to USA I want to travel by train to see more of the country. Wanted to do this for years and now I am over 60 it is now or never. Help please. Thank you for your warm welcome.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic Florriegirl,

 

You can travel by ocean liner round trip from England to New York via the Queen Mary 2 which features transatlantic journeys from Southampton, England to Brooklyn, New York.

 

Stay in New York City for a few days and see the sights. Traveling by train across country can be wonderfully scenic but, also pricey. An Amtrak train with a bedroom going from New York Pennsylvania Station to Los Angeles, California runs around $1,936 for a three day journey.

 

The best thing to do is to find a deluxe escorted tour company that specializes in rail journeys of the USA. I would recommend visiting a travel agent in your hometown and inquiring about specific tour companies that feature rail trips of the US. The most classic are the Western routes featuring the Grand Canyon, the National Parks.

 

Take a look at this site:

 

http://www.vacationsbyrail.com/vacation-type/escorted-tours

 

It will give you an idea.

 

Good Luck.

Jonathan

[Wayfairers]

I have done the extensive research and done similar trips. I love to do the research and hope you do too since it can be overwhelming and time consuming. I would suggest checking with the airlines to see if anyone offers a special in country rate for non US citizens when the tickets are purchased while you are in your home country. Quantas offered a great airfare program for foreigners when we visited Australia in 2000. I think Amtrak does offer a special multi ticket rate for foreigners...again check the website. VIA is the Canadian rail. I would also suggest picking your top places to see and plan from there.

 

 

Done..

7d Royal Caribbean

7d Celebrity

10d Princess

21d Carnival

75d Holland America

 

Next..

21d Carnival Triumph

[SPacificbound]

Hello Everyone

 

Feel a bit of a fraud because I have not even been on one tiny cruise yet. However we are planning to go to Norway next year with P&O. Lifetime ambition though is to go to New York by sea from UK, spend about three weeks in America and come back by sea. I cannot find any travel agent whatsover that does this. I do not want to fly at all. In fact when I get to USA I want to travel by train to see more of the country. Wanted to do this for years and now I am over 60 it is now or never. Help please. Thank you for your warm welcome.

 

A great ambition and one that can certainly be done, however as others have said, you need to take some time and figure out exactly where all you want to go and your budget for that trip. :)

 

If nothing else start out with paper and pen and pull up maps online of the US, then start making notes of the places that interest you. That done you can pull up websites of each of those places and read about them and make notes. Some places you may eliminate after reading about them, and then there will be others you will add.

 

I have traveled by rail in the UK and Europe and sadly, rail is not the same in the US. In certain areas of more highly congested like the Eastern seaboard yes, but rail isn't as widespread here. It used to be, back in my grandmother's day. Most travel is either driving or by air.

 

My dream trip was to travel Australia and in 2013 we made that happen.

Like you I had originally thought about travel by rail since I enjoy it in Europe and the UK. I soon found out that like the US, rail travel is not that widespread in Australia. That said, we just made another plan. We spent seven weeks and six days in Australia and it was wonderful. We planned that trip for over two years.

 

So start planning, it's really fun, and once you get started more and more options will open up for you. :)

[donaldsc]

I would not suggest trying to see the US by train. US train travel is nothing like European train travel. There are many places that you can not get to by train. They tend to run late as freight trains have priority on the tracks. They are very expensive.

 

Also remember that the US is a very big country w very long driving distances. There is no way that you can see a significant part of the US in 3 weeks. What I would do is to pick a part of the US that you are most interested in and then rent a car.

 

DON

[John Bull]

A couple of posters have commented that three weeks isn't enough time to see the US.

I'm sure the OP is aware of that, in the same way that a north American is aware that they'll only see a part of Europe in 3 weeks.

 

But three weeks is long enough to be worth the cost & effort of travel, and even retired folk are rarely able to spend longer on one vacation, especially since there's also the time spent cruising at each end.

So I'm sure that the OP will aim to see just a corner of the US.

 

Yes, travel by train - especially in the US - has its limitations, which is why a car is a better bet if the OP is willing & able to rent a car.

But visiting US cities, rather than scenery, is perfectly possible by train. Mebbe 4 or 5 days in New York, the same in Washington, the same in Orlando if that's their scene, and the same in Miami, plus perhaps a couple or three days in places like Boston or Philly or Richmond. And include a few coach excursions from those places for the surrounding area.

 

BYW, a few years back we researched travel by freighter, as mentioned by calliopecruiser. The notion sounds great, but the time-scale is awful - it's a remarkably slow way to travel. And surprisingly expensive.

 

JB :)

Edited June 16, 2014 by John Bull

[Stratheden]

We visited Boston, New York and Washington by Amtrak last year. We loved it. Much better trains than home here.

 

We are going to Europe this year and travelling by train a couple of times. Really looking forward to it if it is better than Amtrak. :)

[dorisis]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. And congratulations on your Lifetime Ambition. Your plan is certainly doable with lots of patience and research. i do hope you can find a really good travel agent to give you some help. It will be a big project. I had an uncle and aunt in England who did the same thing every other year or so using ships trains buses and even planes. Sometimes they came to the Stater thru Canada. And the sometimes used freighters to get to Canada. They are gone now or I would ask them how they did it. I know it took a lot of planning. GOOD LUCK!

[blackpool belle]

I did exactly what you are planning in 2009.

We sailed from Southampton to New York on QM2 then stayed in the US for 2 weeks waiting for the QM2 to return to NY so we could sail back to Southampton. We used the trains to take us to Washington DC and Boston but didn't go any further afield than that. Go for it you will have a ball!!!!

[cruiseapril]

If you have 2 people going on the Amtrak train, the prices are better, of course. There are also discounts for seniors.

 

We have traveled Amtrak for 20 years with great satisfaction. There are different plans available for long distance travel. Check out the Amtrak website for information.