Transatlantic Cruises - Info and Opinions Please

[Run14]

Hello CruiseCritic!

 

Apologies in advance for the long post. I'm looking intently at a Nov 2018 TA cruise on the Epic (westward). I've got a few questions and I'm hoping some veterans can help me out. I've searched a fair amount but couldn't find some answers at all, and I'd love some fresh answers to others. Without further ado, here goes:

• I've heard that TA cruises are generally less densely populated - true?
  
• I've read there are generally few children - true?
  
• I'd assume the crowd is older (mainly because it's a 2 week cruise) - true?
  
• Are the on-board activities any different than other cruises due to so many sea days?
  
• What else should I know about a TA?
  

A little about me might be helpful. DW and I were married on an NCL cruise ~3 years ago. We've cruised the Jewel/Jade/Epic(2)/Escape and have another Escape booked next Spring. We've cruised in different types of rooms but got hooked on the Haven and would do this one in a Haven if we book it. We make platinum on our next cruise. I love the idea of a lot of sea days and 25 hour days sound delightful, but DW prefers port days but is pretty sure she'd enjoy the relaxation. We'd likely use the gym repeatedly, and while we are not super late night people, we really enjoy a cocktail or 4 and great food. Thanks in advance!

 

 

TL;DR - what can you tell me about transatlantic cruises? Why do/did you enjoy it?

[cocod08]

You can check out the roll call for this years TA very active group. This is my first TA and very excited. This years appears to be sold out, and there are some kids sailing not sure how many. The age is really varied 20 something’s and upward. The roll call has lots of stuff planned not sure what the ship does for activities. Many on this years seem to make this an annual trip. We leave this Sunday the 5th can’t believe it’s here.

 

 

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[Nebr.cruiser]

We've done three TA's, one on the Jewel. You can't count on there being fewer people on board than normal, although it's possible; probably more rooms with only two in the cabin. Our TA cruises seemed to have a normal complement of passengers.

 

Normally very few kids on board and generally an older crowd due to the length of the cruise and the time of year of most Transatlantics. I think one we were on had 8 kids total, mostly below school age.

 

We have not been on the Epic, but the cruises we were on seemed to have more than average activities and lectures and really good nightly entertainment.

 

We love all the sea days--almost sad when we finally hit port, and never felt bored but just relaxing is fun for us. Sadly, we have never taken a fall TA--would love the 25 hour days rather than losing an hour for days in a row, but my husband is still working as a building contractor and fall is busy.

[xriva]

The crowds may not be that much smaller, but it will be older. I’m 57, and I was below the average age last year! There will not be many children.

 

The activities are similar to any other cruise - there will be random things during the day, since there are a multitude of sea days (I love sea days.)

 

The 25-hour days are great! We have done three eastbound crossings on the Epic, and I would much rather be going the other direction. She’s a great ship for sea days.

 

The roll calls will be active. There will be a lot of repeat people. That was my only issue, and it was minor - there are a lot of people who think they’re pretty much crew. If they get too annoying on the roll call, just skip the Meet & Greet!

 

 

 

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[sverigecruiser]

We did a transatlantic cruise on the Jewel in September 2008.

 

There were 7 children on our cruise.

 

It was very windy but not as windy as on our cruise from New York in February. I guess that November can be VERY windy.

[garycarla]

We tend to do longer cruises to start with and have done 2 TA on NCL and 1 on QueenMary.

 

Yes, older passengers, but not a sr citizens home at all.

Way less kids due to "boring" cruise and length of cruise.

 

Normal activities.

 

Casino and bars open way more.

 

Lots of reading and relaxing time.

 

We enjoy them.

[OceanDreaming2]

We've gone on 2 westbound transAtlantic cruises, one from Venice and the other from Copenhagen. I haven't looked at your itinerary, but I'd warn anyone doing a TA in the northern Atlantic due to the threat of a Nor'Easter. Done that and don't want to do it again! We were on the Gem during a horrible storm, coming in to NYC in November.

 

We loved the long sea days. Never a dull moment. Lots of reading, playing trivia, arts and crafts (I think all ships are doing a painting class which is loads of fun), casino, etc. We enjoyed lunches in the dining room; it's way too easy to overeat when there is a buffet. The gym will be busy but no busier than any other day/evening.

 

Spa might offer a special or two during the crossing.

 

You'll be platinum after your crossing. If you talk to the Cruise Next person, they might give you some of the platinum perks, otherwise you'll get them on the next cruise.

 

Oh, we like the westbound cruises; much less jet lag coming back home! Enjoy!

[skeetns]

We are booked on the sailing you are looking at ( Epic TA - Nov 2018).

Also booked the 7 day round trip Barcelona cruise the week before the TA.

 

A couple years ago we did a back to back ( Med. / TA ) on NCL Spirit that had the first sailing start in Venice and the second sailing was from Barcelona to Port Canaveral. Total of 28 days.

 

Really enjoyed the sea days.

The CC roll call for the Spirit cruise was a very active group and we had a lot of planned activities to supplement NCL's daily activities.

 

I know the Spirit is much smaller than Epic but I seem to remember hearing that we only had maybe 12 children onboard for the TA portion.

 

All of the cabins were sold for the TA sailing but the ship did not feel crowded. I am thinking that there were not many cabins with more than 2 passengers and know that there were several solo passengers on the sailing.

 

Never had a problem finding seats for any of the evening entertainment.

The passenger mix seemed to be a little older crowd than we found on shorter 7 and 10 sailings . Seemed like by 10 pm most lounges were half empty.

 

Looking forward to the cruise. We have sailed on the Epic three times previously and like the ship .

[Run14]

Thanks everyone for the great responses so far. It looks like most of my suspicions are confirmed, though not all of them. Just to clarify, we'd be platinum before the TA (we level after our spring cruise), but I don't think that it will make much, if any, difference if we sail in the Haven. The behind the scenes tour is something I'm really looking forward to though!

We've never actually made it to a M&G on any of our past cruises, but I can't see us missing that one unless the boards get crazy. It also looks like the southern crossing is a bigger positive than I'd thought. It looks like TA's have a bit of a cult following - the more I look into it the more I notice that the people who enjoy TA's do them repeatedly. That's a good sign!

[ja2nowak]

I've done 2 TA's and have another in April. I love them. Both of the cruises I've done there were far less people than there was capacity due to a lot of solo cruisers, myself included. Kids? I saw a couple of them. Not nearly as many as normal. The age? No lies, on my last TA the host was talking with us and said that the average age on that particular cruise was 57. So yeah, it skews older since it's hard to get that much time off of work.

 

As far as sea days go, they schedule more activities. Sometimes you'll see some repeats, but there are some new things too. I didn't mind having two 80's nights at all.

 

The people on TA's tend to be veteran cruisers. They cruise because they love it and many times the social aspect of things. So you end up talking to a lot more people than your average 7 day cruise. I've met people I still regularly talk to.

 

My Southern crossing on the Jade was a much better ride with better weather. The Getaway had crappy weather but more ports. I have a hard time not thinking about doing a TA at least once a year.

[BAMA_BOY]

Just finished the 14 day westbound from Copenhagen on the Getaway. It was our first transatlantic and we liked the cruise. There were more children than I would have expected, but they were not in great numbers. Cruisers were pretty typical, all ages, all nationalities. We had a Spa Balcony cabin on Deck 14 forward and were never bothered by the rolling of the ship. It was, at times, pretty rough with high winds due to various storms and some passengers were bothered. The lack of warm sunny weather on the first few days of the cruise kept people from utilizing the many pool decks on the Getaway so the common areas felt crowded at times. The pools had to be emptied for a few days due to the rocking/rolling of the ship. The Thermal Spa was also heavily used the first week but the second week it was pretty normal. Exercise equipment was heavily used every day the entire cruise until afternoons. Entertainment on the Getaway was spectacular, the best I've experienced. Food, especially the specialty dining rooms was excellent. Garden Cafe (buffet) was also way above average in my opinion. Lots of sea days, lots of relaxation, easy body clock adjustment. We wouldn't hesitate to do another TA.

[wrmiles]

We've gone on 2 westbound transAtlantic cruises, one from Venice and the other from Copenhagen. I haven't looked at your itinerary, but I'd warn anyone doing a TA in the northern Atlantic due to the threat of a Nor'Easter. Done that and don't want to do it again! We were on the Gem during a horrible storm, coming in to NYC in November.

 

We loved the long sea days. Never a dull moment. Lots of reading, playing trivia, arts and crafts (I think all ships are doing a painting class which is loads of fun), casino, etc. We enjoyed lunches in the dining room; it's way too easy to overeat when there is a buffet. The gym will be busy but no busier than any other day/evening.

 

Spa might offer a special or two during the crossing.

 

You'll be platinum after your crossing. If you talk to the Cruise Next person, they might give you some of the platinum perks, otherwise you'll get them on the next cruise.

 

Oh, we like the westbound cruises; much less jet lag coming back home! Enjoy!

 

I was going to mention the possibility of poor weather/rough seas, but you beat me to it. As a matter of fact, I think we were on the same cruise, Gem from Venice to NYC. It was quite an adventure (once),