Is a 14-day Transatlantic too long?

[GUT2407]

As many of you know, I am a newbie when it comes to cruising. Would a 14 day TA be too long to begin with? I have seen many experienced cruisers point out that they get fed up after about 7-10 days. Will 2 weeks be overwhelming?

 

In my opinion not for me.

 

But for a first cruise I'd suggest something shorter and with more ports, ones you like.

[Katgoesonholiday]

We love sea days! One of our favourite cruises was the 7 night transatlantic from NY to Southampton. We followed it with a 14 night Baltic cruise from Southampton and whilst we enjoyed the port we all really loved it when it was a sea day - me, hubby, and three boys aged 14, 10 and 8.

 

Our next cruise is a wee 4 nighter with just one port stop - and we may not even get off! Then we are doing a 21 night South East Asia cruise and already the kids are bemoaning the small number of sea days (only 9 I believe).

[donaldsc]

As many of you know, I am a newbie when it comes to cruising. Would a 14 day TA be too long to begin with? I have seen many experienced cruisers point out that they get fed up after about 7-10 days. Will 2 weeks be overwhelming?

 

How many consecutive sea days will you have. I can take maybe 2 or 3 consecutive sea days until I get bored out of my skull and am ready to jump overboard and swim to the nearest land. To make it even worse, on my last cruise with sea days, my Kindle died. Sea days w/o a Kindle is a fate worse than death.

 

That said, we know people who absolutely love sea days and the more the merrier. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

DON

[BoiiMcFly]

How many consecutive sea days will you have. I can take maybe 2 or 3 consecutive sea days until I get bored out of my skull and am ready to jump overboard and swim to the nearest land. To make it even worse, on my last cruise with sea days, my Kindle died. Sea days w/o a Kindle is a fate worse than death.

 

That said, we know people who absolutely love sea days and the more the merrier. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

DON

 

We would have 8 consecutive sea days. I would prefer to start off with like 3-4 sea days, but who knows, maybe we will love them. I do enjoy days of doing nothing every once in a while.

[davekathy]

We would have 8 consecutive sea days. I would prefer to start off with like 3-4 sea days, but who knows, maybe we will love them. I do enjoy days of doing nothing every once in a while.

 

We love long Cruise but have never taken a TA Cruise. Eight consecutive sea days would be way too many for us. We like to chill but that's borders on stir crazy for us. Speaking only for ourselves of course.

[Sequim88]

For 1st cruise we intentionally opted for Alaska inside passage - very calm water, lots of scenery close by - but it had a stretch too across the Gulf of Alaska where we could "try out" some ship motion. Did not affect either of us at all so the next cruise we jumped in with both feet and did a 12nt TA, Miami to London (Southampton). It was great and had a few interesting stops towards the end. Loved the sea days and spent a lot of time reading.

 

So wanted another TA and did a 15nt Miami to Rome with a couple sea days between stops but the end was port-port-port-port and pretty exhausting. That's the thing about eastbound TAs so next time we want to try a Fall westbound where we do the ports first and "recover" on the way home. Now that we are on West Coast again it has opened up option for Vancouver to Hawaii. We're hooked on sea days - only problem is new job so bottom of the rung for vacation time - going from four weeks to one week discretionary PTO bites into the cruising time and TAs (or TPs) really need at least three weeks off for pre/post touristing.

 

One other thought on TAs - they tend to have pretty active Roll Call threads and a lot of interaction - especially on RCCL cruises. You might have hundreds (our last was over 300 participants) sharing info and combining for private excursions as well as setting up Sea Day activities like cabin crawls, slot pulls, bar hops, group "no host" lunches in MDR and other activities. Sea days don't have to be boring.

[wassup4565]

My daughter and I sailed on the Brilliance two autumns ago, 18 nights total on the ship. We stopped at some ports early in the cruise (France, England and Ireland). The ship then turned north and we went to the Faroe Islands and Iceland. After Iceland, the ship took a straight line from Reykjavik to Halifax. All told, there were 12 sea days, four of them on that last leg from Iceland to Halifax.

 

We knew in advance that the northern parts of this trip would be cold (it was 12 C, mid-50's F), often rainy, and windy. So, we had plenty of warm, rain-proof gear. We also brought lots of novels, puzzles, knitting projects, music, maps and guide books. We're also pretty sociable and (so far) immune to seasickness. We had a fine time on the cruise, met lots of nice, interesting people, loved the ports, and were rarely bored, so I'm glad we did it. However, I would not do that route again.

 

It was often bitterly cold, windy and rainy. We did get out on deck every day, sometimes in winds so strong we had to lean into them to walk. As well, we were blasted by rain drops (I joked I didn't need a facial in the spa because I was getting a free face peel every day). The leg from Iceland to Halifax was really, really rough, and many people were sick. As well, the ship lost satellite (as my daughter said, who would aim their satellite at a place where there is nothing?) so there was no TV, no news, no internet, no cellphone. Just vast miles of huge, grey waves. And some whiteish seabirds that I tentatively identified as gannets - whatever they were, I have great respect for their ability to survive. On the last day or so before Halifax, we saw many, many whale blow-spouts. And btw, to echo a previous poster, I got darned tired of the dining room and WJ food after a couple of weeks. There's nothing like home-made!

 

We would never have gone to the Faroe Islands except this way, so that's a big plus. We had an overnight and two days in Iceland, rented a car, went around as much as we could, and absolutely loved that place. Again, not sure if we'd ever have gone there otherwise, but now I know for sure I will go back.

 

We handled the isolation well, - the ship became a community, and it was fun getting to know folks. The passengers were very international. Although neither of us got sick, we did find the four straight days of rocking made us sleepy. It was kind of like the ship was a cradle and we kept nodding off. Before I was a cruiser, I was a wilderness canoeist. It seems to me that the trips you remember most (and maybe most fondly) are those that are a real challenge. I don't remember all the sunny days, but I sure remember the ones when the tent leaked, the canoe hit a rock, the fire wouldn't start, and so on. I remember them with pride, because I managed, I made it, I got there. That's how I feel about our 18-day northern autumn TA.

[Goingagin]

As many of you know, I am a newbie when it comes to cruising. Would a 14 day TA be too long to begin with? I have seen many experienced cruisers point out that they get fed up after about 7-10 days. Will 2 weeks be overwhelming?

I too am not keen on flying anymore - and when you live 'downunder' that can be a problem. But ... I love a long cruise - and the smaller the ship the better.

I have only done two trips of less than 10 days- Sydney to New guinea return loop and Black Sea - and while they were interesting the long cruises are best. (longest cruise 85 days- rome to singapore via Cape Town South africa)

You really become at home on your ship, you know everybody (or it feels like it) there is a communiy spirit, insider jokes, just a wonderful feel. As a previous reply said - view it as your floating resort, as part of your vacation - and the added bonus - NO JET LAG

[Markanddonna]

I have been on four wonderful cruises for 14-19 days each sailing, three TAs and one Panama Canal Cruise. The roll call friends and activities help us spend our sea days in a pleasant manner. I don't do roll calls on a sailing less than two weeks.

 

Here is how I view a TA. There are four components:

 

1. the at sea days which are usually a combination of leisure, dancing, reading, cards, and lectures.

 

2. Port days which are of course busy with tours or just walking around town.

 

3. A few days at the port of embark/disembarkation- Rome?, Barcelona, Copenhagen, etc.

 

4. A short flight to a city or region I really want to visit (usually related to family history and visiting newly found cousins.) Flights inside Europe are quite inexpensive so I don't obsess about where the ship embarks/disembarks. It cost just $65 to fly from Barcelona to Warsaw this past May.

 

So, I manage to get four vacations in one.

[BoiiMcFly]

Some great responses so far, thanks for all the info. It always interesting to hear stories from fellow cruisers.

[SPacificbound]

Our first cruise was 18 nights. Neither of us had any idea if we would like it or not.

 

Apparently we did. :)

[MicCanberra]

As many of you know, I am a newbie when it comes to cruising. Would a 14 day TA be too long to begin with? I have seen many experienced cruisers point out that they get fed up after about 7-10 days. Will 2 weeks be overwhelming?

 

I think it depends on the itinerary, what is the longest stretch of sea days.

I have been on cruises that were much longer and still only had a maximum of 4 days at sea in one go. While a TA from Southampton to NYC has 6 sea days straight.

[BoiiMcFly]

I think it depends on the itinerary, what is the longest stretch of sea days.

I have been on cruises that were much longer and still only had a maximum of 4 days at sea in one go. While a TA from Southampton to NYC has 6 sea days straight.

 

This would have 6-8 sea days straight. We haven't decided on the ship yet.

Edited January 20, 2017 by BoiiMcFly

[MicCanberra]

This would have 6-8 sea days straight. We haven't decided on the ship yet.

 

Perhaps as a first time cruise a different Itinerary may be required, I know a lot of people who have done plenty of cruises and love sea days but still think that more than 4 in a row is too much. Personally, I am fine with it but I have had several cruises under my belt to become accustomed to sea days.:D

[kazu]

This would have 6-8 sea days straight. We haven't decided on the ship yet.

 

 

I understand your concern. We were worried with our first TA too. What would we do on all those sea days? The next thing I knew, they had flown by.

 

That was long ago and we are looking forward to our upcoming cruise and, yes, we have 8 days at sea. We'll need them to rest up. Once we get to Europe, it's very port intensive ;).

 

Sea days aren't for everyone, but for us, we get into "cruise mode" and enjoy them. I'll take a TA over flying any day ;)

[BoiiMcFly]

I understand your concern. We were worried with our first TA too. What would we do on all those sea days? The next thing I knew, they had flown by.

 

That was long ago and we are looking forward to our upcoming cruise and, yes, we have 8 days at sea. We'll need them to rest up. Once we get to Europe, it's very port intensive ;).

 

Sea days aren't for everyone, but for us, we get into "cruise mode" and enjoy them. I'll take a TA over flying any day ;)

 

I think we will enjoy them very much as well. We need some time to just do nothing and relax from work. It will be a nice detox.

[MicCanberra]

I think we will enjoy them very much as well. We need some time to just do nothing and relax from work. It will be a nice detox.

 

Well in that case, go or it. I love sea days especially after visiting many ports or doing tours.:D

[SmoothFlying]

Looking forward to some delicious burgers in the middle of the ocean! I was kinda hoping it'd be free, but $4.98 for all you can eat isn't a bad deal. :D

 

A few years back. :) Best bet is to check on a website here for RCL and check and see if anybody's been on RCL ship lately and see what the price is. The price is for burgers, fries and soft drink. Milkshakes were extra. The double burgers are HUGH. If memory serves me correctly, if someone plays a Beach boys song on the rockola jukebox all the wait staff come out and dance 'sufferstyle' to the music. So, regardless of what the price is (within reason of course)enjoy a delicious burger. JR, I've read here is supposily open for breakfast, but don't hold me too that. Either way, have a FANTASTIC cruise.

 

Mac

[CptSticky]

On our longest cruise the DW and I both looked at each other on day 70 and said maybe it was time to go home. 5 days later we did (but only for 5 days then we flew to a 20 day). However we started years ago with 3 day cruises so I can't really say if you should start with a TA. I can only say that there is plenty to do onboard. You will never know until you try and no one here can give you an answer to a question like that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[bamelin]

I'm a little late to the thread but want to comment.

 

Before cruising my vacations were 7 day all Inclusives at resorts in Mexico, Cuba, and Dominican Republic and it always seemed like enough.

 

My first cruise we went out of NYC, a 9 day cruise to Bermuda then down to Bahamas. 3 ports with a 2 day stop in Bermuda ... I really enjoyed the days at sea but regretted not having more ports. That trip taught me though that with cruising 9 or 10 days is a real sweet spot ... 7 days is not enough especially if you are having to fly to and from the embarkation and debarkation ports.

 

A cruise is totally different from an All Inclusive beach holiday ... 7 days baking on a beach is enough for me, whereas on a cruise ship I can spend endless time relaxing, participating in activities, plus eating endless amounts of great food.

 

I've done one 9 day, one 10 day (southern itinerary) and one 7 day cruise. The 7 day was way too short, the 9 and 10 day were perfect.

 

With that said, I think my wife and I will enjoy even longer so we are doing our first Transatlantic cruise -- 17 days! We think it will be great - 7 sea days to unwind and relax then 10 days hitting fascinating European ports. If anything I'm going to be jealous of those that are "continuing on" past Barcelona to Italy and Greece.

 

So I'm in "the longer the better camp". In my case it's only because I'm between work contracts that I can do this, we probably won't have another chance like this for years.

 

Very grateful for this opportunity :)

[Floridiana]

If you need to get across the Atlantic without flying, bite the bullet of a cruise ship with lots of sea days. No way around it. Most ships provide some sort of day time entertainment like bingo, dance classes, lectures, a gym, a library, trivia contests, activities that break up the long days.

Personally, I don't like sea days in a row. We had plenty on our last cruise. Luckily I had my kindle and the ship library was very good.

[notentirelynormal]

When we took a 12 day cruise from Tahiti to Hawaii I thought the 6 straight day might make me crazy but that I'd give it a try. Technically we had a "stop" in between but it was on Christmas Island and it was only for about 4 hours including tender time. I found that after 4 days we started to really relax. You could almost feel the stress leave your body.

 

I also think your traveling companion makes a big difference too. If you aren't really especially fond of that person it is going to really affect your experience. I have been happily married for 42 years plus that 2 years we were together before getting married. We can sit in the same room or car for hours on end without saying a word. It is a peaceful time. Some of our most important discussions have been under a few minutes. For example, my niece had to be removed from her home because her step mother was becoming verbally and physically abusive to her so rather then her go into the foster care system we had this conversation: You know I have to do it right? Yup. That was our entire conversation about bringing another child into our home to live.

 

We are more then happy to just be sitting in the cabin and every once in a while getting off our butts and walking outside to stand on the balcony just staring at the ocean. We are just as happy to be sitting in our cabin playing scrabble or dominoes. Not on a computer but an actual board game. It might be the perfect time to invest in a couple of puzzles too.

 

If you are not getting along with your cabin mate then 6 sea days in a row can be total h*ll. And the anger will continue to grow until you just want to get off the ship and away from that person.

[John Bull]

I've found each individual person has a preference for port days or sea days. I have found that I love sea days.

 

And that kinda demonstrates different personal preferences, cos I get seriously bored if there's more than a couple of sea days in a 14-day cruise. :p

(that said, bigger ships have a lot more to offer on sea days)

 

'er-indoors bullied me into taking my first cruise. A 14-day Caribbean cruise, first day at sea (an opportunity for us to explore the ship & for the crew to promote their over-priced excursions), another sea day a week later (I actually looked forward to it as a "day off"). Since then we've taken numerous cruises of up to 30 days but we do look for itineraries with few sea days, and certainly cruises that don't have a string of consecutive sea days like a trans-Atlantic.

 

I don't see a problem with 14 days as a first cruise.

But I would counsel against a trans-Atlantic - if you don't like shipboard life you're stuck with it for days on end.

On a port-intensive cruise, even if it turns out that cruising's not for you there's a new place to explore each day. And because you're not likely to be cruising the oceans the seas are much more likely to be calm.

 

Places like the Caribbean for an easy and lazy cruise, places the Med or Baltic are a little more challenging & the ports need a fair a degree more research but are more worldly.

 

But, like all responses, that's all just personal opinion.

 

JB :)

[BoiiMcFly]

These are all great stories and I appreciate you sharing them with me. I know we are all different, but it is still nice to hear from people all over the world since everyone has a unique story to share.

[jocap]

This January we had 10 consecutive sea days between A Coruna in NW Spain, and Barbados. (Southampton to A Coruna = 1 sea day and one day in port ).

Because the weather in Jan is cold in that area of the Atlantic, there had to be constant entertainment and activities to keep passengers happy; an indoor pool is a must. The cold weather was not as noticeable for some because of the excitement of a long cruise.

As soon as the weather warmed, after around 3 days, people spilled outside and the sun beds filled. Activities continued at the same pitch.

Yes, some people disliked being at sea for all that time, and one commented on how empty the sea was... the officers were betting on the number of ships we'd see, at around 12 or 13... so it can feel that you're back in the days of the early explorers.:D

The return journey was split; from the Eastern Carib to the Azores was only 5 days, and still warm; the remaining 3 days were cold and filled with the gloom of knowing that we'd be leaving a cosy ship for the February cold of the UK, so I think most people just wanted the final days to be over.

Having done this journey before, I made sure of a full Kindle, puzzle books and other occupations- many took knitting, sewing, colouring books and artist's materials... there are times when you just need to sit in your cabin and have quiet activities.