Eastbound/Westbound Transatlantic on Jewel

[luvscruising2007]

We are considering a transatlantic in 2008 and wondering pros and cons of east or west bound? Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks, Jane

[Sue L]

I am going on Sept 8, 2008 from Harwich to Boston. The itinerary is wonderful. We have a wonderful roll call already and one of the posters (hi tiffany) already made us a great website for our sailing.

[rednancy1]

We are also on this sailing and can't wait. We have a D1 hump balcony reserved.

 

East to west sailings are nicer because you gain 5-6 hours on them. There are many people on the Roll Call thread and I look forward to meeting them. They feel like family now.

 

P.S. Book a port room for this sailing as the sun will be to the south.

[gaileeh]

Check out the "cruise video" forum. Here is a link for a video from a Jewel T/A crossing. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=469041

[Sue L]

We are also on this sailing and can't wait. We have a D1 hump balcony reserved.

 

East to west sailings are nicer because you gain 5-6 hours on them. There are many people on the Roll Call thread and I look forward to meeting them. They feel like family now.

 

P.S. Book a port room for this sailing as the sun will be to the south.

 

 

I didn't realize that with the port side, I am so glad I got one now. We didn't have much choice with D1's because when we booked two weeks ago there were not that many left. Now there are none

[negc]

We are also on the September, 2008 westbound TA on Jewel of the Seas.

(We would have been on it this year but the scheduled dry dock caused RCI to extend the ship's time in Europe and when it comes back to the states it will sail directly to Ft. Lauderdale. We are going on the Constellation TA instead.

Among our reasons for preferring the westbound TAs are:

1.five 25 hour days as we sail from England to the US

2. a nice mix of ports and a number of sea days in a row to allow us to rest and relax before we get back to the US.

3. The cruise ends up in Boston and we live just 20 miles south of there.

4. We get the long flight over with at the start of our vacation instead of at the end. There is a morning flight from Boston that gets us into London at 8:30 at night, so by the time we collect our luggage, pass through immigration, locate our car and driver and arrive at our hotel, there is just time to grab a drink or quick bite to eat, before going to bed. The next morning we arise, rested, adjusted to the local time and ready to do some serious sightseeing before the cruise- we usually arrive in London at least four days in advance of the cruise so that we can see the sights. After two times(10 days) there before our last two TAs, we still have a number of "must-sees" to do.:D

Weather doesn't seem to differentiate that much between the springtime crossings and those in the fall. We encountered high seas for a day and a half on our first TA, and this year folks that we know who were on spring TAs encountered similar conditions during their crossings. (At least one ship was unable to stop in Bermuda because of the weather conditions).

The ships generally ride the high seas quite well and I know that even when we experienced 60 foot swells on the Brilliance in September, 2002, there were very few complaints about seasick crew or passengers.

Whichever direction you travel, a transatlantic is a special and wonderful experience. Choose whichever one best fits your schedule and don't worry.:)

[gaunerdog]

We were on the JOS 2 years ago. Great cruise. I'm not sure if your itinerary is the same. We boarded in Harich and onto Paris actually LeHarve. After a long bus ride to Paris we did the Seine River lunch cruise. It was outstanding and the wine flowed freely. I believe Plymouth was next. Beautiful countryside. Cork(Cobh),Ireland was next and we traveled to the Blarney Castle. Next was 5 days across the Atlantic to Halifax. It was cool and foggy much of the way. From Halifax we stopped in Portland,then on to Boston. It was a wonderful trip for us. We also enjoyed the Jewel very much.

[Host Kewlguy]

In terms of weather I would prefer a Westbound transatlantic. Our last two Eastbounds we've experienced terrible weather and bad storms. Of course if the price and itinerary are right I'd book an Eastbound in a second. I also agree about the benefits of gaining an hour everyday on the Westbound verses losing one everyday on the Eastbound. I would also recommend choosing a transatlantic doing a Southern route verses a Northern one. Warmer weather and calmer seas.