X transAtlantics

[TomTN]

We sailed on the Eclipse last October on a 14 night TA. The ship stopped at some great ports in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Then 7 consecutive sea days.

 

We discovered that we have no desire to be at sea for seven consecutive days, particularly at he end of a three week vacation. I think we tend to use the ship more as a hotel than a destination. It is a great place to relax for a day, and get ready for the next port.

 

I fully understand that many people love those sea days. We don't.

 

RCL, HAL, Princess and some others have Northbound TAs that only have 4 consecutive sea days? In addition some of them visit Iceland, and other areas in the North Atlantic that are interesting.

 

X has no northern route TAs. Oh well, wishful thinking.

 

FWIW, X is still our favorite cruise line.:)

[hcat]

We were impressed with Cunard's QM2 on a short cruise....we hope to take her across the ocean some day...it's a solid ocean liner...and we'd have fewer sea days with time to tour in London...this might work better for you,..

[Gracie115]

We sailed on the Eclipse last October on a 14 night TA. The ship stopped at some great ports in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Then 7 consecutive sea days.

 

We discovered that we have no desire to be at sea for seven consecutive days, particularly at he end of a three week vacation. I think we tend to use the ship more as a hotel than a destination. It is a great place to relax for a day, and get ready for the next port.

 

I fully understand that many people love those sea days. We don't.

 

RCL, HAL, Princess and some others have Northbound TAs that only have 4 consecutive sea days? In addition some of them visit Iceland, and other areas in the North Atlantic that are interesting.

 

X has no northern route TAs. Oh well, wishful thinking.

 

FWIW, X is still our favorite cruise line.:)

 

Well.....we just completed a TA on Eclipse last month.....had 2 sea days then Bermuda for 2 days then 4 sea days..then 4 more ports before the end....so it may not have been a "northern" route but it also didn't have 7 straight sea days....so if you look hard enough and wait even X may have what you want in a TA....

[ClaudiaB]

We took our first TA two and a half years ago. We loved the front end with the ports and we had a great time at sea but because there was a storm, the captain changed ports and we ended up with 8 nights at sea. We decided after that we wouldn't do it again. We had fun and it was a great cruise (well the 20 foot seas for over 24 hours was definitely interesting). We are not sit-at-the-pool people. As a matter of fact, on about 125 days at sea I have spent maybe 2 hours total at the pool and my husband 0. Pool people seem to LOVE TA's.

 

Then this past fall we took another TA and we had the 7 days at sea again. It was different this time and we enjoyed it so much we might take another. We got busy with some things like an art class every day, the Equinox passenger choir, some tournaments, great lecture series --- so the time flew by. But I agree, they aren't for everybody. We haven't seen nearly what we want to see in this beautiful world so most of our cruise time will be done on port-intensive itineraries.

[TravelerThom]

...RCL, HAL, Princess and some others have Northbound TAs that only have 4 consecutive sea days? In addition some of them visit Iceland, and other areas in the North Atlantic that are interesting...

Note that Northern TAs quite often have much rougher seas than more southerly crossings. I find the Northern ones interesting with more port stops, but I have also encountered 20 meter (70 foot) waves:eek: in the North Atlantic. I thought it was a fun ride, but some other people were not quite as happy.:rolleyes:

Well.....we just completed a TA on Eclipse last month.....had 2 sea days then Bermuda for 2 days then 4 sea days..then 4 more ports before the end....so it may not have been a "northern" route but it also didn't have 7 straight sea days....so if you look hard enough and wait even X may have what you want in a TA....

TAs to Europe (usually in the Spring) generally ride the Gulf Stream, and the Great Circle route from Fort Lauderdale to Lisbon goes quite close to Bermuda and the Azores, making those easy stops to break up the trip. TAs from Europe (usually in the Fall) avoid the Gulf Stream and return either more northerly (as discussed above, more ports, but because of weather usually not later than September) or more southerly with much fewer port opportunities in the mid-Atlantic.

 

Thom

[Project_gal]

We sailed on the Eclipse last October on a 14 night TA. The ship stopped at some great ports in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Then 7 consecutive sea days.

 

The Eclipse westbound TA in 2014 was in November and was diverted to Madeira before 7 consecutive sea-day due to a storm in the Atlantic. It was never scheduled to stop in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Have you got the wrong ship or wrong year?

[WestLakeGirl]

Must be a different ship. Eclipse went from Southampton, then the unscheduled stop in Madeira, then New York, missed the scheduled stop in Bermuda, on to port Canaveral and Miami

[TravelerThom]

The Eclipse westbound TA in 2014 was in November and was diverted to Madeira before 7 consecutive sea-day due to a storm in the Atlantic. It was never scheduled to stop in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Have you got the wrong ship or wrong year?

I think TomBeckCruise were on the Oct 2014 Equinox TA, as was I.

 

Thom

[QE2_Fan]

My wife and I did a TA aboard Cunard QE2 as part of our honeymoon some 22 years ago! I loved it - she hated it! The 5 days at sea were too much for her and she longed for land.

 

Fast forward 21 years and we finally decided to try cruising again and last October we did the 17 night transpacific cruise from Hawaii to Sydney. She chose the itinerary due to destination however I was concerned as we had two considerable sections of sea days, 1 of 5 days between Hawaii and Tahiti, then another 4 days before hitting NZ.

 

Well I needn't have worried, maybe with modern cruising there was more to do (and we don't mind lazing by the pool but didn't do much of it!!) and my wife ended that cruise saying that she LOVED the sea days and hoped all cruises had at least 4 or 5 day stretches at sea !!

 

Maybe we just enjoy using the ship as a resort and partly the destination itself. Not sure...but we are looking at doing some European cruises in the future and aware they will be quite different as much more port intensive. I think we would welcome a TA at the end to have some down time (ship time!) and relax!!

 

Just shows we're all different and it's great we can get so much out of cruising to suit all styles!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CathyCruises]

I'm not sure what the OP's point was. . .but there are many people who love TAs and the extended number of sea days.

 

The Northern routes are generally much cooler and the risk of bad weather is higher. In watching prices for the last few years, the cruises that took the most northerly routes had the lowest prices and the biggest bargains after final payment. We are not pool types but love sitting outside enjoying the views and breezes, not shivering under grey skies.

 

We have done four TAs and obviously love them, but I much prefer the southerly route which enters the Med at Gibraltar, weather wise anyway. We use them as transport to Europe and then do an extended land trip once we get there, usually by renting a car. It costs about the same as a plane ticket and is much more enjoyable!

 

The best part of TAs is the people you meet and seeing our cruise buddies each year is the highlight for us.

[TomTN]

The Eclipse westbound TA in 2014 was in November and was diverted to Madeira before 7 consecutive sea-day due to a storm in the Atlantic. It was never scheduled to stop in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Have you got the wrong ship or wrong year?

 

I think TomBeckCruise were on the Oct 2014 Equinox TA, as was I.

 

Thom

 

LOL, It was the Equinox.:o A beautiful ship.

 

We had planned to sail on the Eclipse this fall(2015) until we decided that there would be too many sea days.

[florisdekort]

Check out the August 8 northern transatlantic crossing on Seabourn Quest. (They do the same itinerary next summer.) There's never more than a single sea day. Copenhagen - Norway - Edinburgh - Faroer - Iceland (3 stops) - Greenland (multiple stops) - Newfoundland - Quebec - Montreal. Quite spectacular.

[ghstudio]

Check out the August 8 northern transatlantic crossing on Seabourn Quest. (They do the same itinerary next summer.) There's never more than a single sea day. Copenhagen - Norway - Edinburgh - Faroer - Iceland (3 stops) - Greenland (multiple stops) - Newfoundland - Quebec - Montreal. Quite spectacular.

 

Of course the scheduling question is whether it's worth taking a ship out of Europe in August/Sept to do this cruise (otherwise it's too cold). They would then have a ship in perhaps Bayonne in September which would be a great time to do some East Coast/Canada/foliage tours in Sept/Oct and then an east coast trip including Bermuda down to Florida for the Caribbean Season. It's doable if they can fill the ship at at least what they would net for additional European cruise. After this year, which seems to be a disaster in getting Bookings in Europe (all the deals), maybe they'll look at this. Certainly a Northern crossing would be very welcome vs booking another crossing stopping in the Azores which aren't worth even one stop. Maybe it's something that can be added when the two new ships arrive.

Edited June 26, 2015 by ghstudio

[grandgeezer]

LOL, It was the Equinox.:o A beautiful ship.

 

We had planned to sail on the Eclipse this fall(2015) until we decided that there would be too many sea days.

 

We quit doing the San Diego/L.A. to Hawaii cruise because of the sea days, 4-5 each way. Several years ago we did our first transatlantic because I promised to take my wife to Europe and we'd only have to fly one way. Long flights are as bad as many sea days. To make a long story short, we are doing our sixth ta in October, the first five on Celebrity and this one on RCL. If there was a ta coming back, we'd do that also. There is extra activities added so you can do as much, or as little as you want. This might not work for everybody, but it did for us.

[TomTN]

Check out the August 8 northern transatlantic crossing on Seabourn Quest. (They do the same itinerary next summer.) There's never more than a single sea day. Copenhagen - Norway - Edinburgh - Faroer - Iceland (3 stops) - Greenland (multiple stops) - Newfoundland - Quebec - Montreal. Quite spectacular.

 

Yes, that is a nice one. I like that the cruise ends at Montreal. I also like the early departure date.

 

We will not be sailing this fall. We have two weeks in England scheduled for September, and another cruise just doesn't fit.

 

So we are looking at 2016 or 2017. I can follow pricing this year though.

[kborth]

We sailed on the Eclipse last October on a 14 night TA. The ship stopped at some great ports in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Then 7 consecutive sea days.

 

We discovered that we have no desire to be at sea for seven consecutive days, particularly at he end of a three week vacation. I think we tend to use the ship more as a hotel than a destination. It is a great place to relax for a day, and get ready for the next port.

 

I fully understand that many people love those sea days. We don't.

 

RCL, HAL, Princess and some others have Northbound TAs that only have 4 consecutive sea days? In addition some of them visit Iceland, and other areas in the North Atlantic that are interesting.

 

X has no northern route TAs. Oh well, wishful thinking.

 

FWIW, X is still our favorite cruise line.:)

 

Went on Constellation spring one and almost lost my mind. Too many sea days, never again

[ghstudio]

Transatlantics aren't for everyone...in fact they have traditionally been less expensive than "normal" cruises. There are a number of Europeans, especially those in the UK who winter in Florida. They take the ship to Florida in the fall and then return home in the spring. Much easier to bring more clothes/etc on a ship than pay the excess baggage charges....and the ship isn't really much more expensive than just taking a plane...and you get 14 days of food, you arrive awake and alert and so on.

 

Others like the peacefulness....just sit and read...and, yes, eat. This is not for the type who have to have something to do every minute. On Transatlantics, you have to drive yourself to do things. It's a great way to read, to learn (study something on your ipad or laptop), etc.

 

Some go nuts with nothing to do...and that's OK, this just isn't the type of cruise for you.

 

And some hate flying so this is just a way to get home without being subject to today's planes.

 

My DW goes crazy when there's a stop a day and she has no time to just veg out. I prefer some stops and then maybe 2-3 days at sea. We have family in the UK, so we get a one way ticket on air miles to London and after our visit, we take a TA home....that works for us. Different strokes for different folks.

[Gracie115]

Transatlantics aren't for everyone...in fact they have traditionally been less expensive than "normal" cruises. There are a number of Europeans, especially those in the UK who winter in Florida. They take the ship to Florida in the fall and then return home in the spring. Much easier to bring more clothes/etc on a ship than pay the excess baggage charges....and the ship isn't really much more expensive than just taking a plane...and you get 14 days of food, you arrive awake and alert and so on.

 

Others like the peacefulness....just sit and read...and, yes, eat. This is not for the type who have to have something to do every minute. On Transatlantics, you have to drive yourself to do things. It's a great way to read, to learn (study something on your ipad or laptop), etc.

 

Some go nuts with nothing to do...and that's OK, this just isn't the type of cruise for you.

 

And some hate flying so this is just a way to get home without being subject to today's planes.

 

My DW goes crazy when there's a stop a day and she has no time to just veg out. I prefer some stops and then maybe 2-3 days at sea. We have family in the UK, so we get a one way ticket on air miles to London and after our visit, we take a TA home....that works for us. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Agree....and then there's also what was once something that seemed awful(many sea days in a row, for me) becomes more and more appealing as one get older and learn to enjoy the moment and relax and NOT have something to do constantly....I was so concerned about having many sea days on our 1st TA this spring and discovered that I loved every one and wanted more!!!:D

[bEwAbG]

...and then there's also what was once something that seemed awful(many sea days in a row, for me) becomes more and more appealing as one get older and learn to enjoy the moment and relax and NOT have something to do constantly....

 

This is the way I feel about constant internet access, too. I understand that some people feel they really are so indispensable that they must be able to be contacted 24/7, but I purposely have been choosing vacations lately in which that is just not an option. It's nice to unplug from the world and not care, and I find myself talking to people rather than having my head buried in a device. Part of me will miss that as the ships upgrade their technology.

[Gracie115]

This is the way I feel about constant internet access, too. I understand that some people feel they really are so indispensable that they must be able to be contacted 24/7, but I purposely have been choosing vacations lately in which that is just not an option. It's nice to unplug from the world and not care, and I find myself talking to people rather than having my head buried in a device. Part of me will miss that as the ships upgrade their technology.

 

I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY!!!!!:D:D Didn't bother me a bit that internet access was pretty limited in the middle of the ocean...... I LOVE that my phone doesn't work on the ship(and will do nothing-pay nothing-to change that!)....so nice to NOT be in touch 24/7!!!!:D

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Certainly a Northern crossing would be very welcome vs booking another crossing stopping in the Azores which aren't worth even one stop. Maybe it's something that can be added when the two new ships arrive.

 

I thought the Azores was one of the highlights of my last TA. We took a wonderful private tour and learned a lot about the island. My next TA is stopping twice in the Canaries. Expect to enjoy that as well. And then all those glorious sea days in which to relax after our previous port-intensive cruise!

 

[jsf]

We did our first T/A this past spring and we found it very relaxing with not many stops the first week. We had plenty to do on board and never felt board with out stopping. We enjoyed the first week so much that we booked a 16 day T/A for next year on a different ship. We also enjoyed the second week with stops in the Azores, Lisbon and 4 stops in Spain. If we would have gotten tired of the ship the first week we sure made up for it the second week with all the wonderful ports and things to see and do.

I agree this might not be for everyone, maybe not for kids, but we are looking forward to our next one.

A sign that these type of cruises are gaining popularity is they used to be cheaper but know they sail almost full.

J.

[TravelerThom]

...A sign that these type of cruises are gaining popularity is they used to be cheaper but now they sail almost full.

I think TAs are miserable:mad:.

Too many sea days. Nothing to do. BORING:(

Nothing worse than being stuck in the middle of the ocean in a storm where the first day you are afraid you are going to die, and by the second day you are so sick you fear that you are not going to die:eek:.

I don't think anyone should sign up for a TA so that I can get a good price on my tenth TA.:rolleyes:

 

Thom

[nikel]

I think TAs are miserable:mad:.

Too many sea days. Nothing to do. BORING:(

Nothing worse than being stuck in the middle of the ocean in a storm where the first day you are afraid you are going to die, and by the second day you are so sick you fear that you are not going to die:eek:.

I don't think anyone should sign up for a TA so that I can get a good price on my tenth TA.:rolleyes:

 

Thom

 

LOL...love it !!!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

by the second day you are so sick you fear that you are not going to die:eek:.

 

 

Thom

 

Been there, done that in the North Atlantic. I'll stick to the southern route, thanks.