NCL Transatlantics

[bones774]

I noticed at the end of April several ships are doing the t/a going to euro, do these ships make the rounds and come back to the states and what season/month would that be? thanks

[Sauer-kraut]

9 minutes ago, bones774 said:

I noticed at the end of April several ships are doing the t/a going to euro, do these ships make the rounds and come back to the states and what season/month would that be? thanks

 

Usually Octoberish

[casofilia]

Late summer to early winter depending on where they have been cruising in Europe and where they are to cruise in America.  Log in to NCL.com and choose Destination  then Transatlantic

[myjillian]

If your thinking of a TA consider going from East to West in the Fall.  A spring TA has you changing times around 5 times or more and , as a result you arrive tired...then you go from port to port jump on a plane and arrive home needing a vacation🤗  If you do a spring TA try to stay in the destination area a couple of days before you fly home...it will help.

[4774Papa]

We have done three TransAtlantics, one East bound and two West bound.  You don't arrive tired on either, since the time changes are gradual.

Also, we did a 23 day TransPacific cruise from Sydney to Seattle, that was great.

 

TAs, TPs and Repos tend to be inexpensive and you save on airfare.

 

We prefer flying to Europe, doing our land tour then taking the TA home in late October or early November.  This way, the cruise gives you more a chance to relax after land touring.  Also, airfares oneway tend to be cheaper flying one-way to Europe than the other direction.  Sometimes we use miles for our one way.

[N6595L]

I’ve often thought of doing a TA but was concerned about the rocking over the ocean. Does it seem worse going west to east or visa versa?

thanks!

[Markanddonna]

I believe it matters little on the choice of fall or spring transatlantics.  I've been on both but prefer the spring: more daytime hours that have light for travel and a spring TA helps your body to shed off the physical problems with the time zone changes and you arrive ready to explore.

 

Others like 4774Papa want to relax on the way back home.  I'm not sure I've ever seen a price difference on flights either way.

 

 

[bones774]

Answered all my questions, great info. Thanks

[terry&mike]

I've been watching for the NCL transatlantics, Europe to US, to be posted for October/November 2020, as all the other cruise lines have posted theirs. We will be in Portugal and Spain for a month in October and plan to sail back. We're currently booked on RCCL for a November crossing, but I'd like to see what NCL comes out with.....

[kochleffel]

In the current NCL itineraries, the last westbound TA of the season leaves Barcelona around Thanksgiving, headed for Miami.

 

The later in the fall it is, the greater the reason to choose a southern route such as Spain to Florida over a northern route.

[spanishguy1970]

I am currently on two transtatlantics this year. One in about 50 days on the Epic and the other one on the Getaway in October. We have done a lot of these crossings and i have to admit i prefer the one coming back to the U.S. Transatlantics take place either March, April or May, going to Europe and September, October, and in some cases November coming back to the U.S.

[beaucajun]

3 hours ago, N6595L said:

I’ve often thought of doing a TA but was concerned about the rocking over the ocean. Does it seem worse going west to east or visa versa?

thanks!

The transatlantic we did a few years back was one of the smoothest sailings I've ever been on.  That was in October.

[wayneb1973]

2 hours ago, spanishguy1970 said:

I am currently on two transtatlantics this year. One in about 50 days on the Epic and the other one on the Getaway in October. We have done a lot of these crossings and i have to admit i prefer the one coming back to the U.S. Transatlantics take place either March, April or May, going to Europe and September, October, and in some cases November coming back to the U.S.

I'm doing to the same transatlantic on the Epic next month, so might see there! I've also done the Epic in November the last 2 years.

[sunshine3215]

I'm also doing the Oct cruise on the Getaway so....SPANISHGUY....I hope to see you and I'm also from Washington DC area....

[sunshine3215]

3 hours ago, spanishguy1970 said:

I am currently on two transtatlantics this year. One in about 50 days on the Epic and the other one on the Getaway in October. We have done a lot of these crossings and i have to admit i prefer the one coming back to the U.S. Transatlantics take place either March, April or May, going to Europe and September, October, and in some cases November coming back to the U.S.

I'm also doing the Oct cruise on the Getaway so....SPANISHGUY....I hope to see you and I'm also from Washington DC area....

[spanishguy1970]

6 hours ago, N6595L said:

I’ve often thought of doing a TA but was concerned about the rocking over the ocean. Does it seem worse going west to east or visa versa?

thanks!

is a gamble, we have been on smooth sailings and we have been on rocky ones. The rockiest of them all was the one we took back in 2010 from Venice to NYC on the Norwegian Gem. Two days before our NYC arrival, a 40 foot rogue wave hit the ship, i myself got hurt and had to wear a sling on my left arm, and it took 1 year for my shoulder to heal. It was pure chaos...

Edited March 7, 2019 by spanishguy1970

[myjillian]

On 3/7/2019 at 1:40 PM, spanishguy1970 said:

is a gamble, we have been on smooth sailings and we have been on rocky ones. The rockiest of them all was the one we took back in 2010 from Venice to NYC on the Norwegian Gem. Two days before our NYC arrival, a 40 foot rogue wave hit the ship, i myself got hurt and had to wear a sling on my left arm, and it took 1 year for my shoulder to heal. It was pure chaos...

We were on that one too!!! It was sorta cool but we were hit by more than one rough wave🤗 remember the wave coming into the main area  breaking class and bottles in the gift shops...that floor was still soaked when we docked. We missed our flight and was lucky to take a train home.  The Captain was young and looked totally out of his element.  All of the furniture on our balcony was taken inside the cabin and it was in the rear and it looked like the parting of the seas... The captain kept saying to stay in our rooms but refused to give us free movies !!  There were 8 of us couples.  We did the 21 day.  Royal Caribbean was in it also ...it was Noreastern Thomas.  Royal Caribbean passengers got some money for a future sailing...NCL didn't even give us a "sorry you missed your flight"  That was before passengers took phone videos and sent them to the TV stations for money !Eating in the dining room was a hoot...every few seconds the entire back windows went black because of being under water.  

Sorry you got hurt.....we met a young man at the train station with his arm also in a sling.

Once my husband and I fell off of mountain bikes in Jamicia because they fell apart  and we had dr apts for almost a year.  Our cruise insurance covered everything

[Paul Bogle]

We like sailing east to west because changing time zones means 25 hour days instead of 23 hour days. 

 

The open ocean can get rough anywhere and anytime but some places and times are more likely to be bad. As a general rule sailing from Northern Europe  and/or to New York or Boston will most likely experience rough seas. Southern Europe (Med) to southern USA ports via Madeira and the Caribbean will least likely experience rough seas. 

[Budget Queen]

You are on water.  :)   Expect a wide range of possibility.    I've certainly experienced it with around 20+  TA's   that I have been on.  

[BDevilCruiser]

I’m thinking about taking an April TA cruise out of NYC.  Could one of you experienced TA cruisers tell me what weather to expect?  I’ve taken four Caribbean Cruises, so I’m more used to warm temps.  What should I pack? (solo AARP eligible male.)

[myjillian]

You never know what to expect....we've been on some with rough cloudy weather and a couple in which the ocean is so calm it's like a floor of glass.....either way it's a delight.🤗  we've only been on about 10 crossings...the ones to and from Fla. are by far the calmest...but not always the ones you remember the most !😃  We once was using the back adult  pool on a Princess ship coming from Rome in the Fall and was swimming almost every day.  When you do Europe you will just need a sweater, a good jacket and a pair of jeans ....comfortable shoes.  If your just doing a TA and not a B2B look into airbnbs at your destination port.  There is a great Pub in Southamption that we have stayed in a few times.  Have fun......

[CruisingNole]

We almost did the Epic TA next month but ended up cancelling before final payment. After all of the nightmares I've read about that ship, I just wasn't willing to gamble 15 days on her. It seems like it's probably the worse ship doing TAs among all of the major cruiselines. 

[spanishguy1970]

22 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

We almost did the Epic TA next month but ended up cancelling before final payment. After all of the nightmares I've read about that ship, I just wasn't willing to gamble 15 days on her. It seems like it's probably the worse ship doing TAs among all of the major cruiselines. 

nope, have done 2 transatlantics on her never had a problem. There is a first time for everything, the NCL star has had problems, so has the Pearl, they fix them and you move on...We are on that TA and i am sure it will be ok and if not you live with it.

Edited March 14, 2019 by spanishguy1970

[Zippeedee]

If anyone is considering the Getaway TA next month from NYC, there was a big price drop yesterday. The ship still looks to be barely half full. 

[FLAHAM]

1 hour ago, CruisingNole said:

We almost did the Epic TA next month but ended up cancelling before final payment. After all of the nightmares I've read about that ship, I just wasn't willing to gamble 15 days on her. It seems like it's probably the worse ship doing TAs among all of the major cruiselines. 

Greatly enjoyed my two TAs on the Epic.