weather experience trans atlantic.

[Hawaiidan]

Need personal experience for those who have done  either  Miami-Europe in april   Or Europe miami trips. november ot later.     I have done  October so have a good idea of that ( Malta-Miami)      Which experience overall  ( direction and time) did you find most enjoyable.      Thanks  ( looking at 2023) or later

    

[sitraveler]

I've done more crossings than I can count.   I find going west is superior,  the meals come too quickly going east.   Weather/seas have not been a problem.

[basor]

We just did Marina Trieste to Miami...left Trieste on 09NOV andf arrived Miami on 01DEC.....very little issues with weather or seas.  In fact, surprised how quickly the weather got warmer as we headed West!  Did not pack enough warm weather clothes.  Loved going East to West as we gained an hour every day for almost a week...25 hour days were glorious.

[cruisingxpert]

East to West for sure.  Gaining an hour was a lot nicer than losing an hour for several days in a row on the Montreal to Southampton cruise. Plus the weather was not great for the crossing part in May 2018. Weather was lovely on my Nov 2017 Rome to Miami cruise

[Hawaiidan]

Thank you all...for the insight.  I was looking at west to east  but it looked too early ,,,,  What do you think of  a mid November departure. with December arrival?        I am sticking with Marina or Riveria.   Did a one way from Malta in late October on Insignia and it was fine...  but want more creature comforts. then the R ships can provide.    Actually, need them for my Wife s health. I am not worried on the sea state..... after 6 years in the navy on a Destroyer.... you get immune.

 

[basor]

7 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

Thank you all...for the insight.  I was looking at west to east  but it looked too early ,,,,  What do you think of  a mid November departure. with December arrival?        I am sticking with Marina or Riveria.   Did a one way from Malta in late October on Insignia and it was fine...  but want more creature comforts. then the R ships can provide.    Actually, need them for my Wife s health. I am not worried on the sea state..... after 6 years in the navy on a Destroyer.... you get immune.

 

As I indicated, we just did the East to West on Marina this past November.....wonderful cruise, wonderful ship and great weather/sea

[PhD-iva]

Ditto wonderful experience this past November, 16-day sailing on Riviera from Rome to Miami. Departed Rome 17th of November and Arrived Miami 3 of December. Ten sea days in total, missed one port in Canaries due to volcano, and Cartagena was substituted for Casablanca. Great weather, great cruise! 
Fabulous cruise, enjoyed every day!

[RJB]

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

Need personal experience for those who have done  either  Miami-Europe in april   Or Europe miami trips. november ot later.     I have done  October so have a good idea of that ( Malta-Miami)      Which experience overall  ( direction and time) did you find most enjoyable.      Thanks  ( looking at 2023) or later

    

Barcelona/Miami was no problem a few years ago.  Very calm.  Home to do it again this Nov. if Covid does not get in the way.  

[flyboy3]

We have done 11 TAs from Fla to Europe and have had great weather. Sometimes the seas get choppy as we approach Europe. Of course these were southerly crossings enroute to the Med. 

On a Westerly crossing from Southampton to Fll in October, we had bad weather approaching Portsmouth and later in Maderia. Three port calls were cancelled.

 

[nursinadream]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

Ditto wonderful experience this past November, 16-day sailing on Riviera from Rome to Miami. Departed Rome 17th of November and Arrived Miami 3 of December. Ten sea days in total, missed one port in Canaries due to volcano, and Cartagena was substituted for Casablanca. Great weather, great cruise! 
Fabulous cruise, enjoyed every day!

Robin what was it like in Rome middles of November?  Were you finishing a land tour at that time?

Deb

[PhD-iva]

Rome is always fabulous! I was only there 2 days pre cruise, oh how I wish to spend more time in Italy! Weather wasn’t too bad, light rain drizzle one day, next day was fine. I probably wore sweater or light jacket. Not too cold. 
2 days is definitely not enuf time to cover everything that must be seen! At least I was able to throw a coin in the Trevi fountain, ensuring my return to Rome. 

[Mura]

We have done TAs in both directions, on Marina/Riviera and Regatta/Sirena, etc.  Quite frankly we didn't notice a difference in terms of east vs. west.  And we really didn't have problems on the smaller ships in either direction.  Sometimes there were rough seas, but we had rough seas going from the Canal to Aruba way back when (on Regatta), where our cabin stewardess as was as seasick as we were ... but she still had to work!  But that was very unusual.  If your wife is having problems, she'd probably be happier on the larger ship.

 

I find it difficult to recommend a time ...

 

Good luck!

 

 

[gaeltrav]

We have now done 10 transatlantic crossings. Weather has varied from very calm on our recent Riviera crossing to 60foot swells on Insignia 5years ago while trying to avoid a hurricane.  The weather seemed more unsettled in the Spring.I also prefer east to west as you get extra sleep!! The size of the ship didn’t seem to matter.The smallest was Royal Olympic the largest the Grand Princess

[iowananny]

Nurseinadream we also were on the same ship as Robin.  We even spent a morning exploring Barcelona with her.  Like her we spend two days in Rome pre cruise which isn't much time considering we'd never been there before.  But I think we made the most of it.  The first day we went on an evening food tour.  There was a lot of walking but we needed it because there was a lot of food.  The food was good and we learned a lot and had so much fun.  The next day we took a private full day golf cart tour.  We were able to see many things up close as a golf cart can go down narrow streets and get closer to the attractions we wanted to see.  We were very pleased with our experiences.

[vlthom]

We did a crossing on Riviera a few years back - Miami to Athens.  Weather was good and sailing was smooth throughout.  It was cool in some ports but definitely warm in others.  Worst weather was wind in Nice.

[PhD-iva]

1 hour ago, iowananny said:

Nurseinadream we also were on the same ship as Robin.  We even spent a morning exploring Barcelona with her.  Like her we spend two days in Rome pre cruise which isn't much time considering we'd never been there before.  But I think we made the most of it.  The first day we went on an evening food tour.  There was a lot of walking but we needed it because there was a lot of food.  The food was good and we learned a lot and had so much fun.  The next day we took a private full day golf cart tour.  We were able to see many things up close as a golf cart can go down narrow streets and get closer to the attractions we wanted to see.  We were very pleased with our experiences.

Hi! I sent you guys a text message after our return home. Check to see if you got it. If not, send me an email so we can stay in touch! DrRLK at outlook dot com. 

[Hawaiidan]

one more question..... if on Marina or Riviera   did they have art classes????

 

 

[PhD-iva]

The art classes on Riviera for the TA were very popular.!

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

The art classes on Riviera for the TA were very popular.!

Ya...I got into acrylic wit Graham Dennison..  Great guy... I have been  getting into it deeply, wit some professional artist friends in Santa Fe  ( Douglas Magnus)....   Love sea day cruises to paint on the Balcony or Loft...    I come for the ship rather than the ports and to  do art on board where there is no distraction  except the cuisine......

    

[PhD-iva]

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

Ya...I got into acrylic wit Graham Dennison..  Great guy... I have been  getting into it deeply, wit some professional artist friends in Santa Fe  ( Douglas Magnus)....   Love sea day cruises to paint on the Balcony or Loft...    I come for the ship rather than the ports and to  do art on board where there is no distraction  except the cuisine......

    

I love sea days more than anything! So much time to enjoy and savor everything. Nov 2021 was my first transatlantic cruise, and I hope not my last!

[Pizzasteve]

On 1/10/2022 at 10:14 AM, Hawaiidan said:

Need personal experience for those who have done  either  Miami-Europe in april   Or Europe miami trips. november ot later.     I have done  October so have a good idea of that ( Malta-Miami)      Which experience overall  ( direction and time) did you find most enjoyable.      Thanks  ( looking at 2023) or later

    

Just did a late Nov / early Dec Spain to Florida.  Weather was suprisingly warm due to southern loop route used to take advantage of winds and currents.  South of Tropic Line meant plenty of Sun and pool weather, though occasional showers, mostly followed by more sun.  

 

My unterstanding is that ships head north for the Florida to Europe routes, so the weather is colder for the spring trips.  We will be on one (hopefully) in laste March, so will report after.

[Hawaiidan]

3 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

I love sea days more than anything! So much time to enjoy and savor everything. Nov 2021 was my first transatlantic cruise, and I hope not my last!

Yup....after a while ports all seem a blur of pretty much the same thing.   AND  when you might have visited them before , it all , to  me , gets lost in a mundane  repetition of sorts  .   Some I guess like that.  There is comfort , like an old shoe of familiarity.    Not exciting  but comfortable fit, a visit without risk and no  surprises.. a safe  adventure.   Nor risk.

  Whereas, being at sea is a magical detachment from the land and all the stress, problems  it holds.    Sea  days are "FREE" days...    The day is unknown  and open to what YOU make of it.

[Silver Sweethearts]

7 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

Yup....after a while ports all seem a blur of pretty much the same thing....Not exciting  but comfortable fit, a visit without risk and no  surprises.. a safe  adventure.   Nor risk.

We must disagree, as we wouldn't describe cruise ports and ships in these terms in today's world.

[KatieBelle]

I am going to put in our vote  for a TA from west to east.  It seems that the overnight flight across the pond kicks our tails a little harder with every passing year.  We love gliding across the time zones and gracefully endure the "cramped" meal times.  That's our personal preference.  

 

No charge and your welcome!

 

Katie

[PhD-iva]

First time I’ve heard it described like that! That resonates w me! I have a reservation on Sirena in March 2023 Aruba to Lisbon. We’ll see whether I prefer West/East or East/West!