Back from TA, lessons learned

[cangelmd]

8 hours ago, Tedw said:

I found this whole discussion very helpful.  We hope to take a TA cruise one day.

I hope you take this discussion in the spirit that was intended,despite the weather we had a great time. Would we do some things differently, definitely, that’s why I started this.

 

In regards to cost, westbound was important to us, and we could not make the timing of the other westbound cruise in October. I assumed that the north route was a little cheaper because the weather was chancier.

[CruiseGal999]

I'm looking at a TA end of April to about Mid-May.  I hope the waters are calmer ... but I know there are no guarantees.  It will be my first TA.  It's from NY to Amsterdam on NCL Pearl  April 28 - May 11.  

 

 

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, CruiseGal999 said:

I'm looking at a TA end of April to about Mid-May.  I hope the waters are calmer ... but I know there are no guarantees.  It will be my first TA.  It's from NY to Amsterdam on NCL Pearl  April 28 - May 11.  

 

 

IMO I would steer clear of a Northern crossing in Spring if you don’t handle strong seas well.  My first of 7 Transatlantics was on Constellation in 2006 from NYC to London in late April. We bounced all the way across, as well as had cool, rainy, blustery weather.

 

Weather-wise, I’ve had the most enjoyable Transatlantics in Fall (westbound) on more southerly crossings. 

 

I also agree from experience with the OP that cooler crossings keeping a larger percentage indoors makes for a more crowded feel onboard. 

Edited November 22, 2018 by BEAV

[crazyman3]

I've never tried a TA but my DW is keen to do one in a few years. This thread has been extremely interesting. Sadly, it has made me think that we'll sail on the OM2 when we do take a TA.

 

What I haven't picked up from this thread is the itinery. Please fill me in.

 

Question: why do non-US citizens get such a bad deal at US immigration? We're on a cruise! Even the Russian immigration gates are faster and an occasional smile offered!

 

 

[mrsgoggins]

Thank you OP for your insights.  I also followed Jim's blog, so your slightly different take is a good read.  I am pleased that you are ignoring the 'snarky' know-it-all comments!  We have only done one TA on the Disney Magic, northerly route and it was just fine - despite my anxiety as I am not a good sailor - and therefore your comments were very useful in reminding me not to 'chance it' a second time.

[mickey89]

2 hours ago, crazyman3 said:

I've never tried a TA but my DW is keen to do one in a few years. This thread has been extremely interesting. Sadly, it has made me think that we'll sail on the OM2 when we do take a TA.

 

 The chance of a rough crossing which ever route is too great. I can remember the Biscay when I was a lot younger and said never again.  Those that have experienced real rough seas would definitely think twice, TA are cheap for reason.

 

[crazyman3]

4 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

 

 The chance of a rough crossing which ever route is too great. I can remember the Biscay when I was a lot younger and said never again.  Those that have experienced real rough seas would definitely think twice, TA are cheap for reason.

 

 

Thanks for the advice, Mickey89.

 

I've been around Cape Horn once ---a millpond!

 

Bay of Biscay: three crossings with to of them very calm. However, on the last occasion we hit bad weather, to say the least. Our ship missed out Coruna. We escorted a RCL ship across part of the Bay and into St Peter Port : all her forward windows were blown out!

 

The Atlantic Crossing... we'll give a go!

[mickey89]

27 minutes ago, crazyman3 said:

The Atlantic Crossing... we'll give a go!

 

Cruising suppose to be a holiday not an endurance............... hope you don't regret, hoping for a calm trip...?

[Gracie115]

We've been on 4 TA's, one northern route and 3 south and are booked on a northern route next April.  We've been very lucky that weather has been good on all of them.  Sure a couple of rainy days on the northern route but other than that we've made all of our ports.  Hopefully that will continue for the next one.  Sorry the OP had a bad experience.  I agree with another poster who said that private shore excursions should be booked only with tour groups that do not charge you if the ship can't dock, too risky otherwise.  

 

Someone commented about how inexpensive TA's are compared to other sailings.  That may have been true at one time, certainly not anymore.  Our stateroom has almost tripled in price over the last 3 1/2 years.

[mrsgoggins]

2 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

Someone commented about how inexpensive TA's are compared to other sailings.  That may have been true at one time, certainly not anymore.  Our stateroom has almost tripled in price over the last 3 1/2 years.

 

I definitely agree with this!

[yoj13]

1 hour ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

I definitely agree with this!

 

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.  Remember, they have got to get across the pond for the Carribbean season.  Far better to sail with a full ship than an empty one. 

[upwarduk]

On 11/21/2018 at 3:45 PM, cangelmd said:

) Don't plan any shore excursions or port activities that you cannot financially or emotionally absorb the cost of. Every port on our trip was changed. At first that seems OK, and we did come to terms with it, but let it sink in for a moment

I reiterate this advice.

We were on Silhouette 1/2nd July, when we were not allowed into St Petersburg in Russia, due to our size; the pilot would not let us in due to the high winds, we were too big to turn in the narrow entrance channel to the harbour.

Celebrity refunded our excursion money back on to our OBA the same evening that the excursion was cancelled.

We met people who had booked their excursion via a TA, they were still hoping they might get their money back.

[lisiamc]

It’s interesting to hear from others who’ve been on the same cruise.  Sometimes it’s sounds like we were on a totally different ship!  A revised initerary is always a possibility with a repositioning cruise, especially one with a northerly route.  WIth that in mind, we made an exception from our usual types of excursions and booked ship’s excursions for New York, and planned to wing it on the other ports, which turned out to be a fortunate choice.  

 

We were in group 13 for immigration in Boston.  I’m a dual citizen with a US passport and a UK one, with a British spouse.  We went through the queue for overseas passports and found it pretty painless.  The remaining US passengers had just been called, independently of their group numbers, when we were nearly at the top of the stairs.  It sounded like there was some confusion resulting from this, with newly arriving people unsure if they were being told to jump ahead of others already waiting.  Before they called all the remaining USA passengers, it had been going quite smoothly, I think.

 

I think Celebrity did a great job handling the unexpected weather, the change of itinerary and the extra sea day.  The lack of useable indoor space on S Class ships is noticeable in bad weather.  The other northerly routes we’ve done with Celebrity have been on M Class ships, and it seems like there are more places to go for indoor activities, or a quiet place to relax.

 

We missed all the evening shows, so can’t comment, but enjoyed the lounge entertainment much more than we have on recent cruises.  It seemed like there was music for every taste, and DJ Yuli did a great job of playing music at the right volume for conversation at the Martini Bar.  My only mild complaint about entertainment is that the morning lectures interfered with morning trivia.  I know it’s impossible to get everything scheduled without conflicts, but the lectures, particularly Jim Kennedy’s and Dr Sherry Hutt’s, were excellent and not to be missed.  

[cangelmd]

9 hours ago, crazyman3 said:

I've never tried a TA but my DW is keen to do one in a few years. This thread has been extremely interesting. Sadly, it has made me think that we'll sail on the OM2 when we do take a TA.

 

What I haven't picked up from this thread is the itinery. Please fill me in.

 

Question: why do non-US citizens get such a bad deal at US immigration? We're on a cruise! Even the Russian immigration gates are faster and an occasional smile offered!

 

 

 

9 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

Thank you OP for your insights.  I also followed Jim's blog, so your slightly different take is a good read.  I am pleased that you are ignoring the 'snarky' know-it-all comments!  We have only done one TA on the Disney Magic, northerly route and it was just fine - despite my anxiety as I am not a good sailor - and therefore your comments were very useful in reminding me not to 'chance it' a second time.

Original itinerary was crossing, Boston, New York, Bermuda, Nassau, with a few sea days sprinkled in between the ports. Nassau was dropped completely, and we spent an extra day at sea on the crossing which meant that all the ports got moved - boston from Saturday to Sunday, etc. The time in Bermuda was cut shorter, but that wasn’t particularly significant IMO.

 

I don’t know for sure why it was changed so late, but we watched conditions closely. We flew to London on Tuesday night, at that point Hurricane Oscar was headed out over the UK to the North Sea, to be gone by sailing on Saturday. Something changed between Tuesday and Friday evening when the email was sent to passengers. Oscar left some sort of gyre pattern behind in the central North Atlantic, you can see the charts on Jim’s live blog.

 

The odd thing to me, and I have lived on the coast in hurricane country most of my adult life, was how strong the winds stayed, even after the seas calmed. I’m used to sticking my head out at the beach, checking weather - if it is noticeably windy, especially onshore breeze, the surf will be up. I think the difference is that we were 11 to 15 stories above the water surface, so the winds we were feeling weren’t affecting the waves?

 

Anyway, we did have an excellent time, and likely will do another TA, just make different preparations.

 

Also, for those worried about seasickness, after the first day and a half, I did not think it was all that rough. Captain obviously was moving faster or through rougher seas during the night when most were asleep. Many people wore patches, and I’m sure some were ill, but it was not bad enough to realize notice people missing in their cabins. Personally, I took a Bonnie on the first and second full days at sea and wore sebands, and I was fine - occasional slight queasiness, didn’t miss a meal - but I have a fairly strong stomach, and don’t get seasick - merry-go-rounds are another thing

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, yoj13 said:

 

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.  Remember, they have got to get across the pond for the Carribbean season.  Far better to sail with a full ship than an empty one. 

I think you missed the point … that poster was agreeing with me that TA's are NOT inexpensive anymore regardless of them having to get across the ocean for the Summer or Winter season.  FAR more expensive than just a few years ago.... 3 times as expensive for us since 2014

[mrsgoggins]

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

I think you missed the point … that poster was agreeing with me that TA's are NOT inexpensive anymore regardless of them having to get across the ocean for the Summer or Winter season.  FAR more expensive than just a few years ago.... 3 times as expensive for us since 2014

 

You are quite correct, I was agreeing with you.  I follow a few cruise lines’ prices and they have all put up their TA prices substantially.  I also check the dollar prices so I am largely dismissing the Brexit effect on sterling in my assertion.

[cangelmd]

Heard from the tour in Nassau, they sent us a certificate for the tour, which is what I requested, I think we will be in the Bahamas in a few months and will use certificate then

[british betty]

We have been on two TA crossings, both  from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona, one on Celebrity Reflection and one on Oceania Riviera which is a smaller ship. Our crossing on the Reflection was bordering on amazing. The Captain would do his midday announcement and said that he basically had nothing to say, continuous glass-like seas, beautiful blue sky, warm temperatures. Not even a ripple to report let alone waves. The following year, at exactly the same time of year it was a completely different story. We had to skirt the storm in the Atlantic and had to miss the stop in the Azores. The ship was rocking and rolling and although only has approximately 1200 pax, handled the seas well. It certainly made for some interesting video shots. 

 

Anyway, I suppose the message in this is that, as others have said before, you can never be certain of what Mother Nature has in store, so be prepared to be “flexible” 

[jody75]

1 hour ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

You are quite correct, I was agreeing with you.  I follow a few cruise lines’ prices and they have all put up their TA prices substantially.  I also check the dollar prices so I am largely dismissing the Brexit effect on sterling in my assertion.

Brexit has had no effect on the U.K. cruise price. Take any cruise and compare the US price to the U.K. price, even with the exchange rate of $1.28 to £, the current U.K. price of a TA is still about £550 cheaper than the US price for the April 2019 crossing.

[tartantiara]

On 11/21/2018 at 8:25 PM, jody75 said:

TA are the cheapest cruises for a good reason especially the western crossing. It surely wasn’t a surprise sailing the Atlantic in winter, doing a little research always pays dividends.  Last year Eclipse was diverted south, Beaches and Broadway Cruise it was called, it ended as a nightmare for most. 

We were on the Eclipse last year TA , I think you must have your dates mixed up as we had the calmest crossing ever ( according to the captain ) 

[CruisinNole]

2 hours ago, tartantiara said:

We were on the Eclipse last year TA , I think you must have your dates mixed up as we had the calmest crossing ever ( according to the captain ) 

You are correct. Last year's Eclipse TA was very calm, however, the 2014 Eclipse TA was quite rough due to the polar vortex and resulted in us being diverted to a more southerly route, cancellation of our stop in Bermuda and arrival in NYC two days late.

[UKPete71]

2 hours ago, CruisinNole said:

You are correct. Last year's Eclipse TA was very calm, however, the 2014 Eclipse TA was quite rough due to the polar vortex and resulted in us being diverted to a more southerly route, cancellation of our stop in Bermuda and arrival in NYC two days late.

Prior to this cruise 2014 was the last time the itinerary was changed. We sailed it in 2015 with no issues. I think this will be our last northern route TA, at least for a while.

 

We did both ways on the southern route last year and will go for that when we do our next one.

[villauk]

On 11/21/2018 at 10:09 PM, excitedofharpenden said:

To the OP, disregard any know all comments. It was your first TA and it can be dodgy at any time of year on the more northerly North Atlantic route. You offer some good information. My first ever transatlantic was from Dover to New York in early September. It was so rough on Constellation that by the time we got to our first stop in St John's the sea had  blasted many letters off the name of the ship. 

 

I totally agree about the S-Class ships feeling crowded if the weather is poor. I did a Norwegian Fjords cruise on Eclipse and it was chilly outside so very crowded inside. It was also impossible to get away from muzak or music around the ship. 

 

Give another ta a go, but choose more southerly. The ones that head towards Tenerife give you more chance, but even then late in the season it can catch you out. 

 

Phil

 

 

I dread to think what Reflection is like if the other S class ships feel crowded on TAs.

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, villauk said:

 

 

I dread to think what Reflection is like if the other S class ships feel crowded on TAs.

I didn't actually say they feel crowded all the time, but rather if the weather is poor and guests have to spend time inside the ship. And of course the weather isn't necessarily bad on a ta. I've probably done 10 or so of them and I had one really bad cruise weatherwise described above and one which was iffy some of the time. To be honest you stand more of a chance of poor weather on a Fjords cruise, but there aren't all those sea days. 

 

Phil 

[mrsgoggins]

12 hours ago, jody75 said:

Brexit has had no effect on the U.K. cruise price. Take any cruise and compare the US price to the U.K. price, even with the exchange rate of $1.28 to £, the current U.K. price of a TA is still about £550 cheaper than the US price for the April 2019 crossing.

 

And you may be correct, but neither of us has any idea if the difference would be even larger had the pound not taken such a hit! It is a brave person who maintains that Brexit has had NO effect on prices of goods and services purchased in dollars.  There may be other commercial decisions at play here.