Is a 14-day Transatlantic too long?

[lamchops]

I've done a 19 day Panama Canal cruise from Vancouver to Miami on NCL Pearl and loved every moment of it. Lots of activities and no more than 2 sea days in a row.

We did a 14 day Trans Atlantic on Princess Grand from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale and it was painful. 4 sea days with an unmotivated crew was not pleasant as many were going home stateside. Activity staff not showing up on time and twice not at all was not acceptable.

[navybankerteacher]

We pull into San Diego tomorrow at the end of our 18 day Hawaii cruise - with five sea days at each end. There was one couple who decided to fly home from Hawaii (at substantial cost) rather than have those five returning sea days: I suppose there are just some who really should think more carefully about what they are buying before committing themselves.

[GottaKnowWhen]

...Would a 14 day TA be too long to begin with? ... Will 2 weeks be overwhelming?

 

 

Maybe. It really depends on what your needs are. If you are happy curling up with a good book, going to an occasional lecture or show, indulging in an interesting variety and unlimited quantity of food, watching (and meeting) interesting people, watching the wake behind the ship and thinking about Life or your ToDo list or nothing at all, then a TA is fine. If you need other people to arrange things for you, to entertain you, to help keep you busy, then maybe not. Do you play cards? Mah Jong? Do you paint? Knit? A TA gives you lots of time for those pursuits and Roll Calls on CC can help you find kindred spirits to share those activities. (However, on our 2nd TA, last fall, there were too many interesting things going on and I felt that I didn't get enough time to myself. It really all just depends on you and the ship and the crew and your fellow passengers.)

 

For background on my comments, my history in brief. I had traveled by ship as a child and youth. No big deal. My wife wanted a Caribbean cruise like everyone talks about so we went to San Juan and did 7 days aboard Adventure of the Seas. Before that I had no (adult) conception of what a sea day was! Loved it. Eighteen months later we did a 14-day TA on the same ship from Southampton back to San Juan. A few ports, 6 days straight at sea. Wonderful relaxing time. We have a 10-day scheduled in the Med this summer, and 7 days in Galapagos next year but otherwise everything else we have done or booked has been at least 14 days. In the fall next year we will do 13 nights in the Med from Barcelona followed by a 16 night TA from Barcelona to Buenos Aires. Really really looking forward to that b2b! I am definitely now an advocate of cruising as often for as long as you can arrange. But I recognize that not everyone would agree.

 

The conventional wisdom is to start with a 4-day or 7-day cruise to find how you will adapt. The problem is that a 4-day or 7-day cruise is way different from a TA with six or seven consecutive days at sea. You really won't know until you try it. I hope it works out for you!

Stan

[bamelin]

Maybe. It really depends on what your needs are. If you are happy curling up with a good book, going to an occasional lecture or show, indulging in an interesting variety and unlimited quantity of food, watching (and meeting) interesting people, watching the wake behind the ship and thinking about Life or your ToDo list or nothing at all, then a TA is fine. If you need other people to arrange things for you, to entertain you, to help keep you busy, then maybe not. Do you play cards? Mah Jong? Do you paint? Knit? A TA gives you lots of time for those pursuits and Roll Calls on CC can help you find kindred spirits to share those activities. (However, on our 2nd TA, last fall, there were too many interesting things going on and I felt that I didn't get enough time to myself. It really all just depends on you and the ship and the crew and your fellow passengers.)

 

For background on my comments, my history in brief. I had traveled by ship as a child and youth. No big deal. My wife wanted a Caribbean cruise like everyone talks about so we went to San Juan and did 7 days aboard Adventure of the Seas. Before that I had no (adult) conception of what a sea day was! Loved it. Eighteen months later we did a 14-day TA on the same ship from Southampton back to San Juan. A few ports, 6 days straight at sea. Wonderful relaxing time. We have a 10-day scheduled in the Med this summer, and 7 days in Galapagos next year but otherwise everything else we have done or booked has been at least 14 days. In the fall next year we will do 13 nights in the Med from Barcelona followed by a 16 night TA from Barcelona to Buenos Aires. Really really looking forward to that b2b! I am definitely now an advocate of cruising as often for as long as you can arrange. But I recognize that not everyone would agree.

 

The conventional wisdom is to start with a 4-day or 7-day cruise to find how you will adapt. The problem is that a 4-day or 7-day cruise is way different from a TA with six or seven consecutive days at sea. You really won't know until you try it. I hope it works out for you!

Stan

 

I've always felt a 9 or 10 day Caribbean cruise is more optimal for figuring out if you will enjoy multiple sea days since these type of cruises usually offer 2 days in a row at sea, and feel longer than a busy 7 day filled with ports.

 

My first cruise was a 9 day Bermuda/Bahamas out of NYC. I loved the sea days.

 

My last 10 day cruise we felt ready to go home by the end. It will be interesting to see how we feel on our upcoming 17 day transatlantic. I'm banking we will love it since we purposely wanted the sea days at the start with port action starting day 8 - 17.