Cross Atlantic crossing

[Frankie Sue]

Cruises for 2009

Just received my Mariners Magazine and DH and I are very interested by the 17 days Noordam transatlantic crossing, N.Y to Rome itinerary, being featured for the Spring of 2008. However, we would probably look at booking this itinerary for 2009. (We will be going on the Noordam for the first time late this Fall, on their 10 days Carribean Route.

Has anyone done this 17 days Transatlantic crossing and if so, I would really appreciate your comments and views on it……… I am a little concerned that in the Spring, it would be a little rough crossing the Atlantic but it is a very interesting voyage and prices are extremely good value. A very similar itinerary is also offered on the Zuiderdam for March 2008, going to Rome from Fort Lauderdale. Your views on that one would also be more than welcome.

I look forward to hearing from you cruisecritic friends.

Your friend Frankie Sue

[Jemima]

Transatlantics can be anything from very calm to very rough seas. We haven't done NY to to Mediterranean, but have done two transatlantics. One was a July NY to Copenhagen and the other an April Tampa to Venice. Both were calm.

This year's Tampa to Venice was very calm all the way across. The captain commented on how unusally calm it was. We were followed clear across by a storm that didn't quite catch up. Had we sailed a day or so later, if would not have been calm.

We didn't expect calm on our northern t/a several years ago. We'd read postings by Ruth and others and knew what to expect. What we got was smooth sailing.

[Frankie Sue]

Thanks Jemima. That is helpful. By the way, how many days is the actual crossing? Was it too cold or too windy to spend any time outside? Did you get bored staying on board?

Again all the info we get is very helpful to help us decide on our next cruise.

Bye bye,

Frankie Sue

[grannynurse]

Frankie Sue,

We've been on several northern TAs but our first southern is coming up in October; Rome to Ft. Lauderdale. The first 6 days are med ports then 2 sea days, a stop in the Azores, then 6 days across. Yours could be a reverse of this as you're looking at an eastbound TA.

We've had some calm sailings, some foggy, some rough areas like the English Channel and North sea, but our actual crossings have been fairly calm, even in the North Atlantic.

I'm kind of spooked about the hurricane season they are predicting for this year as we'll be crossing in October. But I know captains steer away from storms and make nescessary adjustments in the ship's course.

Look at the Zuiderdam itinerary for the sailing you're considering. It's posted on the HAL website. You can even look at the ports.

Hope this helps,

GN

[RuthC]

I've had very rough seas on trans-At's in the very far north---primarily coming out of Greenland. I've also had much smoother rides in that area. Further south has just been the usual motion of the ocean. I've never done a trans-At that had the Med on one end; need to correct that little omission.

Do keep in mind on an east-bound trans-At that you will lose an hour of sleep on six nights. :rolleyes: West-bound gains them. :)

[Frankie Sue]

Thank you very much everyone for sharing your experiences.

We’ll keep that in mind when deciding what to do.

Frankie Sue

[cruiserfromohio]

We've done five Atlantic crossings. One (west to east) very rough, but tolerable on a 100,000+ ton ship. Three (east to west) on southerly routes that were smooth as glass and sunny and warm. One kinda of rough to start (the Bay of Biscayne) until we got to Lisbon, then smooth and warm the rest of the way to San Juan.

 

My experience is the weather is the big determinant. The more north you are the better the chances for bad weather -- but exactly how much more is difficult to quantify. I guess the chances are better in the spring that summer/late fall.

 

If you like the itinerary, just go for it. Its going to have to be really rough to detract of the overall experience.

[Jemima]

Having done 2 US to Europe transatlantics, if we do another one it will be east to west (Europe to US). That way we won't have the long flight home.

Transatlantics to the med are mostly in the spring and fall. It will be mostly cool, but not really cold on the crossing. I'm assuming those leaving from NYC and going to the Mediterranean will be cooler.

The summer transatlantics with stops at Greenland, Iceland, and then Europe will be colder.

The spring & fall t/as that go from Florida or New York to the Mediterranean or reverse have 6 to 8 sea days in the crossing. This means you have most of your sea days all together and then your ports or the reverse in the fall. So you get around an entire week of only sea days and the rest of the cruise is mostly port intensive.

[grannynurse]

Hi Jemima,

I hope you can help me with this. On an east to west TA from ROME with stops in Livorno, Monte Carlo, Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia and Almeria, all in a row....when is the first formal night? All the port departures are between 6 and 8 pm. I can't imagine having the first formal night on day 7, is this the way they do it. Usually there are 4 formal nights on a 16 day cruise.

Thanks,

GN

[LizB1]

Frankie Sue: I have sailed 14 times transatlantic both the Northern TA and the Southern area from NY/Med. Of all those crossings I have only encountered two very bad storms...one out of Greenland on the '03 Rotterdam sailing with Ruth and the other was part of a bad storm on the s.s. France going from NY/Southhampton back in 1966. It really is a toss-up with the weather and seas no matter where you sail but as said previously the northern Atlantic is probably the worst except during hurricane season.

 

By the way, we are doing the Noordam next April for 24-days from NYC/Rome and really looking forward to our five days at sea between Bermuda and Madeira.

[Jemima]

Hi Jemima,

I hope you can help me with this. On an east to west TA from ROME with stops in Livorno, Monte Carlo, Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia and Almeria, all in a row....when is the first formal night? All the port departures are between 6 and 8 pm. I can't imagine having the first formal night on day 7, is this the way they do it. Usually there are 4 formal nights on a 16 day cruise.

Thanks,

GN

 

I've only gone the other directions plus our Med part did have a couple of sea days in among the ports. You are going to need all those sea days after six straight days of ports!

[Cruise Fanatic]

Frankie Sue....

I was on the Noordam Sept'06 Rome/NYC...It was a fantastic cruise. The seas were calm, the weather beautiful. I can hardly wait to do it again.

[SabreSailor]

We did the cruise you are considering (NYC to Rome) on the Noordam last year and absolutely loved it. It was the favorite of our seven HAL cruises.

 

The passage from NYC to Bermuda was pretty calm and hot. The four days from Bermuda to the Azores were windy (30 knots or so) at the beam, but the Noordam handled it beautifully. Just some gentle rolling. We had dance lessons in the Crows Nest and sometimes we had to throw in a couple of extra steps to compensate for the ship's motion, but unless you are really hyper about a ship moving, it shouldn't bother you. We carry Meclizine for seasickness, but never used it.

 

The passage from the Azores to Cadiz was about the same.

 

The worst weather of the trip was as a result of a 60 knot squall in the Med between Monte Carlo and Livorno, which only lasted a few hours.

 

The only negative to the trip was the fact that the clock has to be turned ahead 6 times between NYC and Cadiz - three nights in a row between Bermuda and the Azores, and it takes its toll on your sleep. We slept in on that third morning until 11am - atypical for folks who get up at 6am every day! But I'd rather take the eastbound transatlantic and lose some sleep than opt for the westbound trips that always carry the risk of hurricanes in the fall....