Transatlantic

[asnaleah]

14 hours ago, neeko said:

Have a 15 night transatlantic on hold right now. How boring would 7 days at sea be in April. Are there a lot of activities or should we bring plenty of books. 

Yes and yes!

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, b803040 said:

Doing my first TA on the Apex in April and this will be my longest cruise ever.  Very excited and surprised to see how popular this cruise is.  Looked into upgraded cabins and that’s not even an option at this point.  And I’ve signed up for everything- shore excursions, specialty dining, ship tours and even Deal or No Deal!   This will either be a transformative experience or a dud.  But I’m leaving myself open to everything!  Wish me luck!

 

My wife and I love TAs and I hope you will as well.  Regarding "signing up for everything"  -- one thing I would caution you, especially on an eastbound TA and your very first TA and your "longest cruise ever" -- is to get a feel for the pacing.  You probably think that losing only one hour on each of five or so days (I don't know your itinerary) won't be a big deal, but it surprised us on our first TA (also eastbound) how much it can affect you.  We'd signed up for 10am team trivia, which over the course of several days became, in terms of body time, nearly pre-dawn trivia.  🙃 

 

Don't feel as though you have to cram everything in or be overly scheduled.  One of the best things about a TA is being able to relax for days on end, uninterrupted by port calls.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Travelexpert35]

Loved our 15nt Transpacific cruise from Vancouver - Japan in Sept 2019. We had a lot of sea days and managed fine. We’re not the type to sign up for trivia games or contests. I was walking alot inside and outside when weather permitted. We had a few rough sea days but I would do this again in a heartbeat. Would love to do a TA next.

[Loracpin2]

We've done two westbound TA's two years in a row. Yes, the seas were a little rough on the first one but we met a lot of fantastic people and always managed to have great times together on the seven consecutive sea days. So much so, that 10 of us booked a transatlantic for the following year on a sister ship. Fifteen years later, we are still in touch with one of the couples!!

[TeaBag]

When COVID reared its ugly head, we were on Eclipse and not allowed to dock.  We were 17 days without getting off the ship and we definitely were not bored. They took really good care of us.

We have done maybe 11 TP's and TA's and the one thing that bothers me is that often, there are two activities I would like to attend, scheduled at the same time.  Go for it and enjoy a  relaxing cruise.

[Denny01]

I agree about watching out signing up for a lot each day. I’d get the Daily, and mark off all I wanted to do, filling the whole day up with all the stuff…..and then miss a good deal of it just sitting and enjoying. Watching the crowd go by; meeting new people and talking the time away; suddenly realizing I’m starving because I haven’t had a snack for 45min…….

 

We’ve done 4 TA’s and Love Them! We are not the ‘cruise ship is a hotel that gets us from one spot to another’, for us many times it’s the point of the vacation. Even on 7N Caribbean (maybe especially), the ship is important. I joke our beach town has better restaurants, better beaches and I can buy Chinese stuff just as well at home, hehe.

 

But TA’s. An experience that is unique. What I think is probably the best is the Beyond the Podium talks that are on most of the sea days that I find just so interesting. Excellent speakers and subjects that vary a good deal. And the other ‘best’ is a chance to meet others and with 7 or so days at sea, you get to meet up again and get to know the others beyond the classic: where you from/what cruises have you done/is your wife really 48hrs younger than you????…..oops never really asked that one!

 

den

[HappyCamper49]

On 2/12/2022 at 1:25 AM, neeko said:

Have a 15 night transatlantic on hold right now. How boring would 7 days at sea be in April. Are there a lot of activities or should we bring plenty of books. 

Eastbound TA from FLL to Southampton, UK in 2018 and the weather was fantastic!  Plenty of sun loungers too. Beyond the Podium Speakers, matinees, dancing lessons, ping pong competitions, nice equipped gym.  

[LGW59]

5 minutes ago, HappyCamper49 said:

Eastbound TA from FLL to Southampton, UK in 2018 and the weather was fantastic!  Plenty of sun loungers too. Beyond the Podium Speakers, matinees, dancing lessons, ping pong competitions, nice equipped gym.  

and sea days on the balcony

[cangelmd]

On 2/12/2022 at 8:16 AM, sippican said:

 

I was so surprised to read this. We did a November westbound TA and had nothing but calm seas, barely any wind and sun almost every single day.  We were on our balcony every single day. 

Sorry you had such cruddy conditions.

This was the northern route, Southampton to Boston, 2018. Kind of a notorious trip, every single port was had to be either noted a day or dropped. People missed all sorts of reservations, particularly in New York. But, seeing the faces of the crew taking selfies in front of the NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty was a once in a lifetime experience 

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, cangelmd said:

This was the northern route, Southampton to Boston, 2018. Kind of a notorious trip, every single port was had to be either noted a day or dropped. People missed all sorts of reservations, particularly in New York. But, seeing the faces of the crew taking selfies in front of the NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty was a once in a lifetime experience 

Was that on Silhouette - Beaches to Broadway?   We were on the same cruise and it was a rough one.   Due to a Hurricane we had to divert south of the Azores and everything shifted one day and we lost Broadway.   Furniture was tied down on our balconies until we got to Boston. 

 

New York was an incredible arrival.   We were on the Helipad and even though I grew up in New York loved the close in sail by the Statue of Liberty.

[spacetraveler]

We have been to several TA, sometimes with friends. My friend who is a nature photographer swears that he will not go TA again because he could not capture anything in the open sea. His wife and my wife spent many hours in the gym and were quite happy with that. I am the type of "a day at sea is better than a day at home" type person. We enjoyed TA but not with the photographer.

[JandCphil]

On 2/12/2022 at 1:09 PM, b803040 said:

Doing my first TA on the Apex in April and this will be my longest cruise ever.  Very excited and surprised to see how popular this cruise is.  Looked into upgraded cabins and that’s not even an option at this point.  And I’ve signed up for everything- shore excursions, specialty dining, ship tours and even Deal or No Deal!   This will either be a transformative experience or a dud.  But I’m leaving myself open to everything!  Wish me luck!

See you on board! Our first TA also!