Transatlantic Pros and Cons

[kittylikeswater]

Please, please, please go on the Transatlantic. Hubby and I just completed our first TA from Tampa to Barcelona beginning April 26 on the Brilliance. The seas were very calm and the weather was fantastic. As we neared Gibraltar we did encounter some light rain but no enough to care. Malaga was the same weather but we still ventured out. We are spending 4 days in Barcelona and will reboard on May 14 to visit France , Rome, Montenegro and Croatia. There were nightly events for solo travelers to meet and network. The evenings cocktail hours were fantastic with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails to coincide with European countries. Hardly any kids and there was something to do all hours of day, evening and night. There were pool deck movies, cinema movies, line dancing, trivia or you could no nothing but relax at the solarium or pool. One highlight for us was the cruise critic meet and mingle. We just happened to ask to share a table with another couple. They agreed and the conversation was delightful.. Upon trading backgrounds, our new friends were classmates of hubby that he had not seen in almost 40 years. Of course we/they spent the remainder of the cruise catching up. We have scheduled to sail again together in Oct 2016. We exchanged email addresses, phone numbers etch. This was our first TA but will not be our last!

Edited May 13, 2016 by kittylikeswater
chage date

[Tommy3putts]

My wife and I are DINKS in mid 40s and 50s respectively. We are set for our first TA this Fall on the Reflection from Rome to Miami. We loved the Reflection in 2014 on our Med cruise so felt the time was right for us to try a TA.

 

Thanks for all the previous helpful posts We are really looking forward to the long stretch of sea days, especially at the Sunset Bar!

[KelJ]

DH and I just booked our first TA for October 2017 from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale.

 

Thank you for all of the suggestions to use Air2Sea. Hopefully we can find a good price on our one-way flight to Barcelona.

 

I had not even thought about the fact that we are sailing over Halloween, so now I'm even more excited because of the Halloween parties!

 

I am a little concerned about packing and luggage restrictions. We always fly Southwest in the U.S. and don't have baggage restrictions.

 

I'm so happy that I found this thread. There are great comments and suggestions here! :)

[mirp]

Trolleydolly what sailing are you on? I have a child in the UK school system, but most transatlantics have not tied up to school holidays.

[trolleydolly]

Trolleydolly what sailing are you on? I have a child in the UK school system, but most transatlantics have not tied up to school holidays.

 

 

Hi.

 

13th April 2017 from FLL to Southampton. It will mean a week out of school or maybe 4 days as they often have an inset day after the Easter break but we are prepared to take him out of school even if unauthorised for 4 or 5 days. He can make it up. I know not everyone will agree with taking kids out of school but a few days he can easily catch up.

[trolleydolly]

Trolleydolly what sailing are you on? I have a child in the UK school system, but most transatlantics have not tied up to school holidays.

 

 

Here are the school holidays for 2017 in West Sussex over Easter. Our cruise goes 13th to 28th April

 

Spring term 2017Starts: Tuesday 3 January

Half term: Monday 20 February to Friday 24 February

Ends: Friday 7 April

Easter break 2017Monday 10 April to Friday 21 April

Summer term 2017Starts: Monday 24 April

Half term: Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June

Ends: Tuesday 25 July

[swsf99a]

Tommy3putts, I am not sure of all the lingo but what is a DINKS ?

On a TA cruise are there a ton of Diamonds / D+'s and what does the ship usually do, open a lounge ? Do they still have the "Top Tier" events?

Thanks for any replies, especially from the DINKS !!!

[Turtles06]

DINKS= double income no kids

[ThirstyCruiser]

DINKS= double income no kids

Another good one I just learned: HENRYs = High Earners, Not Rich Yet

[emeraldcity]

Looking for info on Transatlantic sailings. This will be my first TA and I'll be traveling solo.

 

I'm currently working and this will utilize a large portion of my vacation. I'll also need to obtain approval although I don't foresee any concerns.

 

What are the pros and cons of a TA sailing?

In your opinion is it a better option to take 2 separate vacations as opposed to one long vacation?

The cruise price is good. Any idea about one way airfare? I tried to do a fake reservation and the one way fare was $2500.:eek:

 

Sailing - Brillance 2017 Westbound. Also the sailing coincides with my birthday.:)

 

Thanks

 

I just returned from the Brilliance TA and I traveled solo. There were a large number of solos travelers on the crossing. It was my first ... but it won't be my last. I had such a good time.

 

One of the solos on our roll call created an email address we could use to sign up for the "Solo and Friends" table. We linked reservations and had enough people for 2 tables in the second seating. It was so much fun. There were 2 couples and the rest were solos. Although we were quite a diverse groups, we really gelled together so much that most of us booked on board for another cruise together so we can do it again (although this time we are planning Transpacific).

 

I booked Air-to-sea and the $1200-2000 price I was getting when I was hunting myself came down to $560 when I called Air-to-Sea. Frankly, I tried the Air-to-sea website first and the price was just as bad as booking myself, so I called them and said I was going to have to cancel if I couldn't find better airfare. She said she ran it as two separate bookings to get the better price.

[emeraldcity]

Thanks for the info re kids on board. We have booked a TA and taking our 14 year old. I was hoping as it covers 2 weeks of the Easter holidays here in the uk that there may be a few more kids (not loads!!) but just a few for him to mingle with. Otherwise he'll be stuck with us for a very long 15 nights!! It also has 6 stops in Caribbean before crossing which might encourage a few!!

 

I was told there was a grand total of 17 kids on the Brilliance TA that I just got home from a few days ago.

[emeraldcity]

This was a great read through as I'm planning to do my first TA solo in fall 2018. I'd like to find one that ends in SJ or Miami so I know I'll have a few port stops.

 

I'm a big reader so the luxury of being able to get through books uninterrupted is a dream and I'd definitely get an OV or Balcony stateroom; don't know if I could do an inside.

 

If you get in with a fun crowd, your books will gather dust. There was one guy at our dinner table that only got through one of the 6 books he brought on board. He was having too much fun to go read.

[fredflint]

I have been on 2 TAs so far and they are about the only cruises we look at now, great prices more seasoned cruisers, fewer children all are positives. Last one we did not have much time so we flew into Barcelona (we had been there the year before) the morning of the cruise I think it was 350PP from Denver and sailed back to Ft Lauderdale then spent the night and flew back to Denver. The Allure was a good size ship with plenty of places to go, and VOOM internet for an IT person like me was great I was able to make VOIP calls using wifi on my cell phone that sounded better than a regular cell in town. Netflix and other streaming all worked fine.

 

I would not consider a TA without a balcony as we spend more than 75% of our time relaxing on the balcony get a cabin on the port side so you will have more sun.

[trolleydolly]

I was told there was a grand total of 17 kids on the Brilliance TA that I just got home from a few days ago.

 

 

Is that all!! Gosh. Though of course doesn't cover any school holidays at the moment. Ours is on Indy and covers 2 weeks and also a bigger ship. Appreciate of course that many people do transatlantics because there are sooo few. Which I totally understand.

[Bobal]

 

I would not consider a TA without a balcony as we spend more than 75% of our time relaxing on the balcony get a cabin on the port side so you will have more sun.

 

Unless you're sailing west to east, in which case get a cabin on the starboard side ;)

[HS2BS]

We started to do transatlantics a few years back and have done nine since then both east and west. First every cruise was almost childless, usually only small grandchildren, less than 30 total.

Always try to sail the southern route as it is warmer and much smoother with port stops in the Caribbean (sometimes), but east bound are in the spring when the waters are cooler.

Most posters are correct about the demographics as a much older and experienced cruising group which means less crowding in the pool area, but more crowded inside public areas.

We enjoy the west bound TA more for the longer days and more sea days, but be careful in choosing a northern cruise as it is rougher and much colder with the possibility of storms and fog. Ports leaving out of Europe also make an interesting itinerary for pre cruise exploring the local culture and history. We have departed from Southampton, Rome, Barcelona and the best was Venice.

Enjoy the longer cruises that are your TA and combine it with a pre or post additional cruise which most cruise lines will offer great deals. Air fares are competive when booked with the cruise lines air sites or buy a round trip and plan you spring and fall trips to use both halves such a TA to Southampton fly home and fly to Europe in the fall for the return TA. We did the Ruby from FLL to Europe (b2b), flew home from Heathrow in May and flew back in October for a November TA aboard Adventure - it's great to be retired!

 

Hal

[mirp]

Hi.

 

13th April 2017 from FLL to Southampton. It will mean a week out of school or maybe 4 days as they often have an inset day after the Easter break but we are prepared to take him out of school even if unauthorised for 4 or 5 days. He can make it up. I know not everyone will agree with taking kids out of school but a few days he can easily catch up.

 

 

Thanks.. I will look into it.

[hun]

we've just started exploring TAs so also appreciate the posts!

[Virtopia]

If you get in with a fun crowd, your books will gather dust. There was one guy at our dinner table that only got through one of the 6 books he brought on board. He was having too much fun to go read.

 

Yea I could easily see that happening LOL

[LisaAtlCruiser]

I went solo on a TA on Indy and it was good. We had a very active roll call and a huge solo traveler crowd. In fact, I think we may have outnumbered the couples on our roll call to the point some were feeling left out....

 

I went from Florida to England. Took 8 days to cross the Atlantic and 8 hours to come home. Had three stops in the Caribbean before heading out.

 

The seas were very smooth for our crossing - in fact in the very middle of the Atlantic the seas were like glass! And we saw quite a few whales that day.

 

Indy has a lot to do - but I did still find 8 straight sea days was a bit much for me. I read though the entire Dean Koontz Frankenstein series! I did enjoy myself and it was extremely relaxing. But for me, I think 2 shorter cruises vs 1 longer cruise is the way to go with vacation. I think a week off will help you relax - 2 would be good - however having to wait an entire year before your next vacation may be difficult to bear.

[MommaMickey]

Transatlantics are my favorite cruise. Lots of sea days to relax and unwind. Do at least one a year. Have met wonderful people and prices are very reasonable.

We book a one way flight from/to Europe home thru. Royal Caribbean....the price has always been cheaper than other sites. We fly a discount airline from/to Florida

[colerosebud]

Looking for info on Transatlantic sailings. This will be my first TA and I'll be traveling solo.

 

I'm currently working and this will utilize a large portion of my vacation. I'll also need to obtain approval although I don't foresee any concerns.

 

What are the pros and cons of a TA sailing?

In your opinion is it a better option to take 2 separate vacations as opposed to one long vacation?

The cruise price is good. Any idea about one way airfare? I tried to do a fake reservation and the one way fare was $2500.:eek:

 

Sailing - Brillance 2017 Westbound. Also the sailing coincides with my birthday.:)

 

Thanks

I did the transatlantic Tampa to Barcelona last April as a solo traveler had such a good time, many of the passengers were cruise critic so there were some activities set up to meet others. I had such a good time will do again next April. Someone on cruise critic set up a dinner table with 10 people from cruise critic so that is a start not to mention we met up at the pool bar prior to sailing. Was on the Vision which is a fairly small ship so since we were at sea for about 10 days straight you got to know a lot of people on the ship.

[Freedom55]

Well we have taken the plunge and booked our very first TA and our first RCI cruise too. (although we are Diamond because of our Celebrity cruises)

WE are on the Rhapsody - Tampa to Barcelona April 2017

I am glad I found this thread! Thanks for all the input on here and keep it up.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Freedom55

[Desert Cruizers]

My husband was actually excited when I booked our 2nd TA for next August, Copenhagen to Boston, after seeing 5-6 ports the sea days are a great way to relax the rest of the way home and they line up all kinds of activities you can choose from. As someone mentioned, sitting out on your balcony or even going to the upper pool deck to see the Sunsets is great.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

When I read the title I thought to my self, "what are the cons to a TA?" There are only pros. :D

 

the northern route is cooler and it is not really conducive to pool time. But, the ports are so unique and very interesting. LOVED that TA. DH did not like the cool weather.

 

Going to do a southern TA on the Harmony this fall. We had good weather last time on this route. [1-2 rainy days]. We get that many rainy days at home. It was pool weather by the time we passed Gibraltar.