How to make the most of a Transatlantic Cruise?

[the penguins]

15 hours ago, Aunt Tina said:

I love TA's. 

Before you go, think about activities you like.  Organize a group to meet on sea days for needlework or games.  It is so interesting to see what people are creating and you can learn from them too.  If you are going on a private tour with a group - organize a lunch with them before the tour to meet each other.  Organize a cabin crawl to see other's rooms - interesting to see all the different accommodations.  Organize a slot pull.  

 

If you like trivia there are lots of games each sea day.

 

Many people who take TA's are well travelled and have organized these activities before.  If you are not an organizer - offer to help if someone else does it.  

 

Many roll call groups meet at the sunset bars every night at 5 or 6.

 

We have really enjoyed the speakers on so many different topics.

 

And - you have all day on board every sea day to enjoy the free desserts at the coffee bar!

On our last one there were also book groups, a LCR group, and the Godiva Group - 40 people each brought their favourite local chocolate to share. Each person brought enough for 40 to share. After the event made up gift bags which were distributed to cabin stewards, guest relations and others who don't normally get anything e.g. the attendants in the theatre washrooms or, in our case the evening cleaner who did outside the shops on deck5.

Also usually a Guest Choir and a Flash Mob.

The Slot Pull had 80 participants. Depending on the time of year often a Halloween party. 

[Sascol]

The absolute BEST part of a west bound TA cruise is the bonus time you get.  Many of your days as you cross will be 25 hour days because you are gaining your time back.  Stay out late and get an extra hour of fun or sleep in later and get an extra hour of sleep.  

[Denny01]

Fully understand gaining 25hrs westbound gaining an hr and 23hrs eastbound, losing time. But to me the gain/loss gets ‘lost’ in sleeping in and lazing around and so on.

 

Not only Not a big deal to me, non-existent. I like westbound mainly because I like going early and enjoying some time in Europe prior, or even a Euro B2B, adding a cruise prior.

 

Did a week in Cornwall prior; an East Med cruise prior; 3-4 days in various ports such as Amsterdam and so on. Can do that after a east TA, but I guess I get itchy to get home After cruises. 

 

Just me.

 

den

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Sascol said:

The absolute BEST part of a west bound TA cruise is the bonus time you get.  Many of your days as you cross will be 25 hour days because you are gaining your time back.  Stay out late and get an extra hour of fun or sleep in later and get an extra hour of sleep.  

 

I am totally looking forward to that when we take our first TA this fall--six time changes as we sail from Civitavecchia to Tampa.  As a bonus, we also gain an hour during our last night aboard  Constellation because Daylight Savings Time ends (and then we gain another hour when we fly home to Chicago).  I should be well-rested when I get home which is a good thing since I go to work the next day.

[Sascol]

1 minute ago, mahdnc said:

 

I am totally looking forward to that when we take our first TA this fall--six time changes as we sail from Civitavecchia to Tampa.  As a bonus, we also gain an hour during our last night aboard  Constellation because Daylight Savings Time ends (and then we gain another hour when we fly home to Chicago).  I should be well-rested when I get home which is a good thing since I go to work the next day.

 

I am looking at your CC join date under your profile pic.  We both joined 22 years ago just days apart.  How about that!

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, the penguins said:

I believe the cruise lecturer may have been John Maxtone- Graham sadly now deceased. You can still get copies of his books online the best known being The Only Way to Cross but another is Liners to the Sun - probably the best all round speaker we have ever heard.

There are also usually extra shows in the theatre ( afternoon my matinees) the guest performers often give presentations on other aspects of their lives/careers, pre Covid Officers joined in a lot of events ( for example putting up quiz and sports teams).

Yes John Maxtone-Graham was my favorite speaker.   For the life of me I couldn't remember his name.  He was such a nice man and his wife complemented him so well.   A legend, I feel privileged to have seen him a number of times.  

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Denny01 said:

Fully understand gaining 25hrs westbound gaining an hr and 23hrs eastbound, losing time. But to me the gain/loss gets ‘lost’ in sleeping in and lazing around and so on.

 

Not only Not a big deal to me, non-existent. I like westbound mainly because I like going early and enjoying some time in Europe prior, or even a Euro B2B, adding a cruise prior.

 

Did a week in Cornwall prior; an East Med cruise prior; 3-4 days in various ports such as Amsterdam and so on. Can do that after a east TA, but I guess I get itchy to get home After cruises. 

 

Just me.

 

den

 

Agree with you Den.       We did over 10 Westbound  crossings before I was able to talk Iain into a our first Eastbound.   As you said -- at least for the passengers you really don't notice the times changes and so much easier than doing it on an airplane.

 

The crew experience it differently -  On a Westbound they get an extra hour each night to party  while on an Eastbound they loose an hour each night and can't sleep in,  so by the end they really are feeling the loss.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Please tell the OP. The truth 

TAs are the worst , the fresh food is gone in 2 days , Spam is on the Menu after three days, it is amazing what the kitchen staff can do with Spam 😁

All the passengers are alway grumpy

There is no entertainment! And no wifi 

The oceans are alway like the link 

We done over 10 TAs so I know what I am writing about

After I done my next 3 Transatlantic booking , that’s it 🤬

maybe 😁

https://youtu.be/j2sxfx3SSCQ

 

 

[Denny01]

51 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Please tell the OP. The truth 

TAs are the worst , the fresh food is gone in 2 days , Spam is on the Menu after three days, it is amazing what the kitchen staff can do with Spam 😁

All the passengers are alway grumpy

There is no entertainment! And no wifi 

The oceans are alway like the link 

We done over 10 TAs so I know what I am writing about

After I done my next 3 Transatlantic booking , that’s it 🤬

maybe 😁

https://youtu.be/j2sxfx3SSCQ

 

 

The OP is asking about TA’s On A Cruise Ship, Not one on a Navy ship!!!

 

And no, we didnt get Spam, but they put Lima Beans with Everything they served! I wanted to do a bombing raid on the Navy Lima Bean Farm!!!

 

And don’t forget about going on water hours after leaving the sight of land.

 

den

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

The OP is asking about TA’s On A Cruise Ship, Not one on a Navy ship!!!

 

And no, we didnt get Spam, but they put Lima Beans with Everything they served! I wanted to do a bombing raid on the Navy Lima Bean Farm!!!

 

And don’t forget about going on water hours after leaving the sight of land.

 

den

On the 2012 Equinox November TA , our first TA ,we did go though a Hurricane from Toulon to Barcelona , 15m waves , family cabins on the bow of deck 8 had water come in the cabins though the balcony doors ( if it was an Infinity Balcony would water still get in 🤔) 

A lot balcony dividers broke , they lost a Cannister life raft, a number of people left the ship in Barcelona 😁

Than heading to Madera the ship was hit by a Rogue wind , that listed the ship  for about 15 minutes, that was different 

on our April Apex TA , after the first night out of FLL the seas were almost like glass 😁

 

[canderson]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yes John Maxtone-Graham was my favorite speaker.   For the life of me I couldn't remember his name.  He was such a nice man and his wife complemented him so well.   A legend, I feel privileged to have seen him a number of times.  

He was our #2 favorite ONLY behind David McCollough for his incredible Panama presentations.  We consider ourselves fortunate to have heard both.

[mahdnc]

3 hours ago, Sascol said:

 

I am looking at your CC join date under your profile pic.  We both joined 22 years ago just days apart.  How about that!

 

I saw that, too.  As you probably know, that date itself is misleading for you and I as it doesn't represent a true joining date.  Cruise Critic migrated to a new community platform in Apr/May 2000.  Our "join dates" and post counts in the old platform did not transfer over. I think many of us that were active on the old platform have different joining dates in today's system because you had to manually re-register (it wasn't automatic when the new system went live).

 

If you were a Cruise Critic member in the old platform and had a minimum of 5,000 credited posts , you were given the member title of "Charter Member - 5,000+ Club" in the new platform.  But I think that is the extent of the recognition for having participated in the old Cruise Critic system.

 

Unfortunately this is where the late @dkjretired would normally chime in and add more information to this story.

[Lastdance]

TBH, I never thought about asking what to do on a TA...I just get so darn excited before it that I cannot contain myself.  You have so many options, but you also can just do and be you!  From cabin crawls to parties onboard, you meet so many fun people on the roll call and have unlimited options.  I love walking the ship...each deck and as far as you can go, not to mention the gym.  Also, please allow me to stare at the wake and possible nap on my veranda...oh my, I cannot wait until October with a b2b/TA and spending additional pre-cruise time in beautiful Italy.  

Edited August 4, 2022 by Lastdance

[Sascol]

39 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

I saw that, too.  As you probably know, that date itself is misleading for you and I as it doesn't represent a true joining date.  Cruise Critic migrated to a new community platform in Apr/May 2000.  Our "join dates" and post counts in the old platform did not transfer over. I think many of us that were active on the old platform have different joining dates in today's system because you had to manually re-register (it wasn't automatic when the new system went live).

 

If you were a Cruise Critic member in the old platform and had a minimum of 5,000 credited posts , you were given the member title of "Charter Member - 5,000+ Club" in the new platform.  But I think that is the extent of the recognition for having participated in the old Cruise Critic system.

 

Unfortunately this is where the late @dkjretired would normally chime in and add more information to this story.

I’d guess maybe late 1998 for me?  Just a guess though. 

[jerryd1]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We did over 10 Westbound  crossings before I was able to talk Iain into a our first Eastbound.   As you said -- at least for the passengers you really don't notice the times changes and so much easier than doing it on an airplane.

 

The crew experience it differently -  On a Westbound they get an extra hour each night to party  while on an Eastbound they loose an hour each night and can't sleep in,  so by the end they really are feeling the loss.

We did one eastbound TA on RC and the captain decided to do the time changes at noon instead of the middle of the night.   Didn't matter much to the passengers but the crew sure preferred this policy because they worked an hour less each day instead of sleeping an hour less at night.    

[jerryd1]

2 hours ago, Lastdance said:

TBH, I never thought about asking what to do on a TA...I just get so darn excited before it that I cannot contain myself.  You have so many options, but you also can just do and be you!  From cabin crawls to parties onboard, you meet so many fun people on the roll call and have unlimited options.  I love walking the ship...each deck and as far as you can go, not to mention the gym.  Also, please allow me to stare at the wake and possible nap on my veranda...oh my, I cannot wait until October with a b2b/TA and spending additional pre-cruise time in beautiful Italy.  

I believe we had  fun doing small group dinners, LCR games, a scavenger hunt, looking for the best Tapas in Barcelona,  and other fun and games with you guys and the CC group on the Reflection in the spring of  2017.   That was our first TA and we've done 4 more since then.   

 

Might that be you somewhere in this picture?   😉

[Hlitner]

We have done over 40 TA cruises (both directions) so obviously we hate the things :).  My only advice to the OP is do what you like to best!   For DW and I all those lazy sea days are just that....lazy sea days.  We do a lot of reading (always have our KIndles loaded with lots of books) and socializing with new found friends.  Sometimes we go to a lecture or wine tasting but our own preference is to very little and we are professionals at doing less.   Other friends really get into the daily activities (on X there will always be lots on the schedule) be it dance lessons. Bingo, trivia, etc.  The only thing we do not like about TAs (or longer transpacifics) is when an infrequent port day ruins the lazy atmosphere.

 

Hank

[JuliaMS]

Can I upgrade my drink package in the middle of my TA? I may be worth upgrading after the port days and once we know if the good choices are even on board.

[mahdnc]

10 minutes ago, JuliaMS said:

Can I upgrade my drink package in the middle of my TA? I may be worth upgrading after the port days and once we know if the good choices are even on board.

 

Yes, you can.

Edited August 5, 2022 by mahdnc

[Ex-Airbalancer]

4 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, you can.

Isn’t up to 3 days before the end of the cruise 

[JuliaMS]

10 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Isn’t up to 3 days before the end of the cruise 

That works we have 6 sea days, Nassau, sea day at the end.

[motherchic]

As others have said, join the Roll Call. WE always start a list of people who want to play cards and games. Its a great way to make friends and have allot of fun.

We have made lasting friendships on our previous TA's.

[doug52]

On 8/4/2022 at 3:34 PM, jerryd1 said:

I believe we had  fun doing small group dinners, LCR games, a scavenger hunt, looking for the best Tapas in Barcelona,  and other fun and games with you guys and the CC group on the Reflection in the spring of  2017.   That was our first TA and we've done 4 more since then.   

 

Might that be you somewhere in this picture?   😉

Thanks for the memories. I see Mark and Connie and Linda and me at the back end of this table. We are going on another TA next spring on the Silhouette. We love TA's as well, looking forward to our second one.

 

Doug

[hmorrow]

I've lost track of how many TA's we've done.  But I can tell you this.  It's our favorite cruise. Soooo relaxing. As much to do, or as little to do as you wish. I do prefer the westbound, as you gain an hour most days. Games, sleep, long leisurely lunches, as well as dinners, etc, etc. Never in a hurry.

Enjoy!

[Jim_Iain]

On 8/4/2022 at 10:34 AM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Please tell the OP. The truth 

TAs are the worst , the fresh food is gone in 2 days , Spam is on the Menu after three days, it is amazing what the kitchen staff can do with Spam 😁

All the passengers are alway grumpy

There is no entertainment! And no wifi 

The oceans are alway like the link 

We done over 10 TAs so I know what I am writing about

After I done my next 3 Transatlantic booking , that’s it 🤬

maybe 😁

https://youtu.be/j2sxfx3SSCQ

 

 

 

I guess we all have different opinions and expectation.  Definitely not a criticism as I respect your opinion.   

 

While I don't partake in the ship's sponsored activities I've never been bored, find their food to be much the same as most cruises with multiple stops.    They ships do re-provision at each stop and I've seen plenty of fresh salads and vegs.    I will agree with you that sometimes the Berries are in short supply and occasionally they run short of popular items before re-provisioning. 

 

We have been doing at least 1 TA or TP a year for the past 20 years and have a number of them planned.   Obviously I love them and they have a huge following.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by Jim_Iain