Transatlantic (and Transpacific) - What Do You Like?

[fac429]

Seems like quite a few people get very excited about the transpacific and transatlantic cruises.  And while I definitely enjoy being on a ship, the longest cruise I've been on was a week and its hard for me to picture ship life for days at a time without any port stops.  So I'm just curious- what do people like about these cruises?  Do they get boring?  What's the vibe like on that type of cruise?

 

Thanks!

[Another_Critic]

I like the relaxing sea days.

 

I've been on 10 transatlantics and have 2 more booked.  They've ranged from 8 nights to 16 nights.

 

2 were 8 nights with no stops

1 was 10 nights with no stops

My next one starts with 9 consecutive sea days

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, fac429 said:

what do people like about these cruises? 

It's an acquired taste.

[mugtech]

        I enjoy playing duplicate bridge, in 2023 we had a TA on the Explorer from Miami with 9 consecutive sea days because the weather did not allow stopping in the Azores on day 7.  It was a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, usually 10 or 12 teams.  Unfortunately it conflicted with the trivia competition, would do it again.  There was also bridge for beginners.

[sddsddean]

TransAtlantics are usually around 10 days with a day in port, usually at Funchal in Madeira, so that breaks it up a bit, but if you like sea days they are fine.

We have only done one transPacific from Sydney to LA. The first half was great, as apart from the first 2 days from Sydney to NZ, we more or less did a port day followed by a sea day. After we left Tahiti though we had 4 days up to Hawaii (and one of these we had twice as we crossed the international date line) and then 4 days from Hawaii to LA. As this was a 29 day cruise, the last 10 days definately made it a cruise 'of two halves'!

 

Simon

[cruiseboy89130]

5 hours ago, fac429 said:

Seems like quite a few people get very excited about the transpacific and transatlantic cruises.  And while I definitely enjoy being on a ship, the longest cruise I've been on was a week and its hard for me to picture ship life for days at a time without any port stops.  So I'm just curious- what do people like about these cruises?  Do they get boring?  What's the vibe like on that type of cruise?

 

Thanks!

Less kids!

[StanleyandGus]

My husband and I both enjoy them, but for different reasons. My husband enjoys not having a schedule- sleeping in, reading, going to movies in the afternoon etc. 

On the other hand, I like making myself a somewhat artificial schedule- exercise, trivia, lectures and shows. 

[cruisegirl1]

9 hours ago, fac429 said:

Seems like quite a few people get very excited about the transpacific and transatlantic cruises.  And while I definitely enjoy being on a ship, the longest cruise I've been on was a week and its hard for me to picture ship life for days at a time without any port stops.  So I'm just curious- what do people like about these cruises?  Do they get boring?  What's the vibe like on that type of cruise?

 

Thanks!

Here are some points, not in any order ------some positive and  some negative. 

 

East to west (Europe to US)  you gain an hour each on several days.   East to east (US to Europe) you lose an hour several days 

 

I was lucky in the last one as the TA included Iceland/Greenland/Canada so there were never more than 3 sea days in a row.  More port intensive  than other TA's.  That one was 17 nights with 7 ports and a day cruising the fjords in Greenland.  

 

Fewer kids

 

Older crowd

 

Lots of upper tier passengers

 

Different menus.  (a 14-night cruise will generally not repeat the standard 7-night menu) 

 

Have to able to relax or keep yourself occupied.  (ship organized activities or book, gym, games. naps etc.) 

 

The ship usually has cultural lectures about a port stop ( NOT a shopping talk) and other educational lectures.  Some interesting and some helpful for a nap.😀

 

Only need one oversees flight.  The domestic back home from the arrival port is generally less $$ than an overseas flight home.

 

Prices can be good if you book early. 

 

Not a party boat/booze cruise

 

If you are upper tier and get benefits, the benefits for along TA are the same as for a weeklong cruise.  nothing extra.   (some don't like this) 

 

Most have 5-7 sea days in a row.  That is great for some and horrible for others. 

 

Like other cruise's, ports can be missed for weather or other issues.  Flexibility is important. 

 

M

 

 

 

[fac429]

Thanks everyone!

[villageidit]

6 hours ago, mugtech said:

        I enjoy playing duplicate bridge, in 2023 we had a TA on the Explorer from Miami with 9 consecutive sea days because the weather did not allow stopping in the Azores on day 7.  It was a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, usually 10 or 12 teams.  Unfortunately it conflicted with the trivia competition, would do it again.  There was also bridge for beginners.

We were on the same cruise. Those extra sea days really got to my wife. Fortunately she really enjoyed the craft classes they ran on sea days. 

[fac429]

47 minutes ago, villageidit said:

Those extra sea days really got to my wife.

 

This is probably why I won't be able to do one of these.  I'm very intrigued by the idea, and love being on the ocean.  Her, not so much.  She thought the 2 1/2 sea days during our Alaska week were too much time at sea, and only agreed to the Western Med cruise we just booked because there's only 1 sea day.  She likes trivia, but not much else about sea days.

[steveru621]

Eastbound on either can be exhausting.  Losing an hour of what seems like (not actually!) every night.

 

On the positive side, all the sea days are very relaxing. 

[cruisegirl1]

A TA is not for everyone.  If you are not fond of sea days, I would hold off or try to find one that has relatively fewer sea days.   The Article Circle TA was the best of both worlds.  Our first TA had 5 sea days and it was fine.  Our upcoming one this Fall  has 7.  

[cruisegirl1]

Just now, steveru621 said:

Eastbound on either can be exhausting.  Losing an hour of what seems like (not actually!) every night.

 

On the positive side, all the sea days are very relaxing. 

I know I wrote east to east, but I meant west to east ( US to Europe)  on the above post.    Yes - that lost hour (which indeed does seem like every night) is hard.  I've heard that some ships have the time change at noon, so the hour is lost during the day.  Not sure which is better when an hour is lost, but we've always had the nighttime switch. 

M

 

[steveru621]

1 minute ago, cruisegirl1 said:

I know I wrote east to east, but I meant west to east ( US to Europe)  on the above post.    Yes - that lost hour (which indeed does seem like every night) is hard.  I've heard that some ships have the time change at noon, so the hour is lost during the day.  Not sure which is better when an hour is lost, but we've always had the nighttime switch. 

M

 

 

We had one cruise with the noontime change and I thought, and felt, it was beneficial.  Odyssey from Port Everglades to Rome seemed to be exhausting due to the constant overnight time changes. 

[fac429]

18 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

A TA is not for everyone.  If you are not fond of sea days, I would hold off or try to find one that has relatively fewer sea days.   The Article Circle TA was the best of both worlds.  Our first TA had 5 sea days and it was fine.  Our upcoming one this Fall  has 7.  

 

Yes, if we ever do one I think it would probably be something like this.

[SoloAlaska]

I loved my TA. Made great friends. We even started a knitting group and met on every sea day. I think the trick with a TA is to be able to entertain yourself and not bring a partner who can’t self entertain.

[OldCaver]

We loved trans-Atlantic/Pacific. Plenty of time to relax. I loved the lectures, but I hear they don't do that anymore. Saving some bucks for the cruise line, I suppose.
Definitely prefer Europe to USA, because of the extra hour on many days. Going east I was tired most days. A 25 hour day is much better than a 23 hour day.
We made a point of arriving in Europe 3 days early, so we could enjoy things before the cruise.
As long as you have to fly, might as well make the most of it!

Agree with Cruisegirl1 - fewer kiddies underfoot. If you just skimmed her post, go back and read it.

So far, we're just now slowly getting back into cruising. It's more expensive than before Covid, but boarding is far easier than then, and there are other improvements. For now, we'll settle for 3-7 night Caribe cruises.We've been to all the ports, and we skip many of them and pretend that it's a sea day. This works for us.

[cruisegirl1]

6 minutes ago, OldCaver said:

We loved trans-Atlantic/Pacific. Plenty of time to relax. I loved the lectures, but I hear they don't do that anymore. Saving some bucks for the cruise line, I suppose.
 

Our most recent TA was just in September 2023.  We had a lecture for ports, one for the Prins Christain Sound portion (likely my favorite cruise day of all time) and an enrichment lecturer as well.   I hope they continue the practice.    If I recall, they ran the  port lectures on the TV too.  

 

M

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, steveru621 said:

 

We had one cruise with the noontime change and I thought, and felt, it was beneficial.  Odyssey from Port Everglades to Rome seemed to be exhausting due to the constant overnight time changes. 

I've done 3 eastbound and 7 west bound TAs

 

My Anthem May 2023 eastbound was the only one that changed at Noon.  That is the only one I had trouble sleeping.  I did the exact same ship/itinerary in May 2022; the time change was at 2 AM and it didn't affect me.  I have no clue why it made a difference or if it was just a coincidence.

 

BTW, our waiter did not like the Noon time change.

[njkruzer]

The noon time change drove me crazy on the QM2.  By the time we had lunch, 1:30, it was time for Tea!  Thankfully we had 2nd seating for dinner.   Afternoon was too short.

[LucasLounger1]

11 hours ago, Biker19 said:

It's an acquired taste.

I acquired it very quickly.  I love sea days on the balcony, and I also like joining different activities onboard.  We've only done eastbound.  Yes, the time changes can be tiring, but at least you avoid an overnight flight to Europe. 

 

That said, we've only done them with friends/family.  Will be a totally different experience when we do one just the two of us. 

[goldfish65]

Sister and I were on Spain-Florida in '22. The big thing for me was being far away and undisturbed for a long time. It was easy to carry our purchases onto the ship instead of wrestling to pack them for an airplane ride home, and more relaxing. I brought some good books to read. The two ports were fun. Ship tour was a highlight. Chef's table was not. Officers were seen often and very cordial to talk with. We were in a suite and it was worth it. 

[SoloAlaska]

12 minutes ago, LucasLounger1 said:

I acquired it very quickly.  I love sea days on the balcony, and I also like joining different activities onboard.  We've only done eastbound.  Yes, the time changes can be tiring, but at least you avoid an overnight flight to Europe. 

 

That said, we've only done them with friends/family.  Will be a totally different experience when we do one just the two of us. 

Flight to Europe I find easier than a flight home. If you can get a direct flight and sleep on the plane it is pretty good. Plus if I need a little extra sleep on vacation it isn’t so bad compared to when I’m home and have to catch up on work upon my return. So happy both options are available depending on what works for each individual.

[Bateau_de_croisiere]

Really debating on doing Ovation this April from Hawaii to Vancouver. I figure Ovation is a bigger ship with plenty to do and different dining experiences. Anyone have experience with this reposition?