Florida to Azores: First transatlantic... questions....

[Blue and Green]

Taking our first transatlantic in April on Regal Princess. Seems like it will be an excellent way to get to Europe!  Questions though---

Will Wifi be available the entire cruise, or is it spotty?

What about in-cabin TV...can we access news channels, etc?

Our longest cruise so far has been 12 days total...with only 2 consecutive sea days. I think we will be fine, but am also a little anxious about being so isolated (from land access) for such a long period of time (6 consecutive days). Any words of advice? Anything you would recommend specific to a cruise this length? Maybe something you found helpful to have packed that you would not normally bring on a shorter cruise? 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

“A little anxious about being so isolated “?  The best part about taking a transatlantic cruise is the feeling of being as one with the sea…totally unhooked from land.  Sure the Wi-Fi might be spotty…so what.  Cut your shore lines and revel in that rare feeling of being totally out of sight from any land.  The feeling is like climbing to the top of a mountain and communing with God.

[Markanddonna]

It is an excellent way to travel to Europe. Some people prefer fall TAs, but I like ones in the spring. You have more daylight which is a BIG deal. 

 

We just returned from a 23 trip that included a 12 day cruise from Rome to Haifa. When the sunsets around 4:45, that really cuts into safe touring!

[BAYA]

14 hours ago, Blue and Green said:

What about in-cabin TV...can we access news channels, etc?

[snip]

Any words of advice? Anything you would recommend specific to a cruise this length? Maybe something you found helpful to have packed that you would not normally bring on a shorter cruise? 

In cabin TV will be pretty useless for news based on my experience. Pretty useless in general for entertainment unless you want to spend money renting movies.

I always load up my phone and tablet with audiobooks and podcasts that I want to listen to. I also bring some liquid laundry detergent for light in-cabin washing. I've never been on a ship with guest laundry facilities but if your has it then that's an option for you.

Your roll call will show you various activities that your fellow cruisers have organized. Can be slot pulls, cabin crawls, board games, etc. I love the camaraderie one gets on longer cruises by participating in the roll call.

[Markanddonna]

I've noticed a trend toward Fox news on cruises. You also often have others channels like the BBC International news. Those ars always available. We have T-Mobile which is great while at ports. We get 4g and can text and use the internet as part of their service.

 

We bring easy to pack games for sea days. There are usually a lot of things to do during the day.

[Hlitner]

Done over 2 dozen TAs and somehow survived (truth is that we love all those sea days).  Internet on Princess is hit/miss.  Most of the time it will work, but Princess Internet is generally slow.  We have also had days when there was no Internet.  Bottom line is that if the Internet is very important than stay on land.

 

As to TV you will usually have a few news networks such as CNN International, BBC, Foxnews, etc.  

 

As to advice, I can only offer that there are many cruisers (including us) who love lots of lazy sea days.  And we have met others who hate any sea days.  We recently did another TA cruise (different cruise line) where we had 9 straight sea days and we were actually disappointed when we finally reached a port and had our relaxing routine interrupted by a port.

 

Hank

[RedgeToo]

On 12/2/2022 at 3:26 AM, CGTNORMANDIE said:

“A little anxious about being so isolated “?  The best part about taking a transatlantic cruise is the feeling of being as one with the sea…totally unhooked from land.  Sure the Wi-Fi might be spotty…so what.  Cut your shore lines and revel in that rare feeling of being totally out of sight from any land.  The feeling is like climbing to the top of a mountain and communing with God.

I'm with you.

 

I did my first transatlantic (solo) last March from Rio to Marseilles. The moment I boarded, I turned off my phone and locked it in the safe.

 

My time was spent reading and meeting new people.

 

The highlights for me were crossing the Equator, crossing the Atlantic, crossing the Prime Meridian, standing on deck at 6 am seeing the twinkly lights of Africa, Spain and Gibraltar all at the same time, seeing dolphins an a large whale around 1 km (0.5 mile) away.

 

I do my next transatlantic from Barbados to Southampton in March 2023.

 

Can't wait :)

[RedgeToo]

On 12/2/2022 at 4:22 PM, BAYA said:

In cabin TV will be pretty useless for news based on my experience. Pretty useless in general for entertainment unless you want to spend money renting movies.

I always load up my phone and tablet with audiobooks and podcasts that I want to listen to. I also bring some liquid laundry detergent for light in-cabin washing. I've never been on a ship with guest laundry facilities but if your has it then that's an option for you.

Your roll call will show you various activities that your fellow cruisers have organized. Can be slot pulls, cabin crawls, board games, etc. I love the camaraderie one gets on longer cruises by participating in the roll call.

There's an in-cabin TV? 🤣🤣🤣

[CGTNORMANDIE]

10 hours ago, RedgeToo said:

I'm with you.

 

I did my first transatlantic (solo) last March from Rio to Marseilles. The moment I boarded, I turned off my phone and locked it in the safe.

 

My time was spent reading and meeting new people.

 

The highlights for me were crossing the Equator, crossing the Atlantic, crossing the Prime Meridian, standing on deck at 6 am seeing the twinkly lights of Africa, Spain and Gibraltar all at the same time, seeing dolphins an a large whale around 1 km (0.5 mile) away.

 

I do my next transatlantic from Barbados to Southampton in March 2023.

 

Can't wait 🙂

Thanks Redge, 

 

I made my first Atlantic crossing when I was 16 years old and I never got over the feeling of being far out in the Atlantic with no land in sight.  When I’m mid ocean I am at peace.

[Cruise Kay]

My advice is above all, buy travel insurance! You probably won't need it, but I've seen people evacuated by helicopter at sea, and also had my own medical emergency while on a Transatlantic, so make sure you have that medical stuff covered.

Beyond that, load up your Ipad with books and downloaded movies (internet will not be reliable), and if you are into knitting or crocheting, bring some yarn! I would find a "meet and greet" roll call here and go to it. Also, find your Facebook group for your cruise. It's a great way to meet folks before you even board the ship, and lots of times, people arrange get togethers, or book tours together at port stops, or arrange gift exchanges, slot pulls, things like that. That can make things a lot more fun and kickstart the process of making a few cruise friends that you can spot throughout the ship and hang with, if you want.

 

Plan to enjoy the changes in weather, catch the sunsets, take walks on deck in nice weather, things like that.  The time can pass by remarkably quickly!

Edited December 30, 2022 by Cruise Kay

[SPacificbound]

We have done many ocean crossings and they are my favorite, I love being at sea, pure peace.

 

If you enjoy reading there are always places onboard to enjoy the sea and read, great combination.

[Blue and Green]

Thank you all for your replies. We do seek out and enjoy the quiet spaces on a cruise.

[FlaMariner]

On 12/1/2022 at 8:16 PM, Blue and Green said:

Will Wifi be available the entire cruise, or is it spotty?

On our Princess Sky crossing last March ('22) internet access was non-existent.  Get your head around the fact that there may be no internet and you will be fine.  Many passengers were falling out in the hallways (not literally) over no internet.  YMMV.

 

On 12/1/2022 at 8:16 PM, Blue and Green said:

What about in-cabin TV...can we access news channels, etc?

 

Yes, and Fox News is available (a requirement for us). 

 

On 12/1/2022 at 8:16 PM, Blue and Green said:

Any words of advice?

 

Relax and enjoy each day....they do go by quickly.  Rest up because busy Europe touring is coming.  Also, heading to Europe you will be loosing an hour each day for several days (but a non issue compared to jet lag). 

 

On 12/1/2022 at 8:16 PM, Blue and Green said:

Anything you would recommend specific to a cruise this length?

 

Sign up for the spa retreat area and get a balcony.  We enjoy both on TA's. 

 

On 12/1/2022 at 8:16 PM, Blue and Green said:

Anything you would recommend specific to a cruise this length?

 

Take real paper books.  Maybe buy from used book store before and just toss.  Or have e-reader loaded.  On Princess Sky, there was no library and with no internet, fellow passengers would see us with real books and kept asking "where onboard did we get them". 

 

Enjoy the TA....as far as we are concerned, it's the only way to fly!

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by FlaMariner