Cheap transatlantics

[GeorgiaGuys]

I have seen 14 day transatlantic cruises for as cheap as 449 for an interior cabin. This seems too good to be true. Is there just not much demand for these cruises, or the inside cabins due to length.

[FL_Cruiser64]

I have seen 14 day transatlantic cruises for as cheap as 449 for an interior cabin. This seems too good to be true. Is there just not much demand for these cruises, or the inside cabins due to length.

 

 

I think because of the length and the many sea days suites and balconies are in high demand and go rather quickly. OVs and IS are usually last to go.

[CavePearl]

My DH and I did a $499 inside on the Splendour last April. (We usually book insides because we are rarely in the cabin anyway.)

 

Everything was wonderful... except the return airfare back from Barcelona. That was pretty expensive. But, if you figure the average on the whole trip it turned out to be a good price over all. I would definitely do it again - and probably will! Well, except not on the Spendour, since she is not leaving from Galveston anymore.

[Host Kewlguy]

I have seen 14 day transatlantic cruises for as cheap as 449 for an interior cabin. This seems too good to be true. Is there just not much demand for these cruises, or the inside cabins due to length.

 

There's plenty of demand for transatlantics. But when you consider the amount of ships making the trip over the pond as well as the need for the cruise lines to fill these mega ships it shouldn't be surprising to see the prices being blown out a month or two before sailing date. Empty staterooms bring in no revenue.

[lysolqn]

Perhaps the especially great deals being hawked for transatlantics this spring are the manifestation of a sagging US economy, pitiful exchange rate of the US dollar and high cost of one-way airfare. If you factor in all of the aforementioned, those $499 fares which grab the cruising public's attention can increase rather significantly.

[Brandis]

A couple of years ago, thanks to transatlantic rates, I could cruise in a suite for the first (and until now only) time. The price was about the same as we usually pay for a regular outside cabin...

 

I think what makes them pretty cheap is that there are less ports, so less port fees.

 

Marc

[pmfan]

I day I would like to do a transatlantic. Is the seas ruffer in the spring or fall?

[Beyondships]

I day I would like to do a transatlantic. Is the seas ruffer in the spring or fall?

 

In the Spring, the Atlantic tends to be rough with all of the Spring storms. However, in the fall, there is turbulence due to hurricanes which can affect the seas quite far from the actual storm.

 

Due to the differences in design, cruise ships usually cross on a more southernly route than ocean liners. It takes longer but the weather is better and the seas calmer.

[Rivercat]

I'm dying to do a transatlantic after watching the Travel Channel show on the Queen Mary 2 (coming up again soon for anyone who missed it). Will have to wait 'til I can take longer than a week off work for it to be worthwhile, though.

[Sequim88]

We are doing one of these "cheap" TA's (our first TA) and will see. Yes, the one-way air home was a challenge but we eventually found decent fares out of London on Aer Lingus. Decent anyway compared to the thousands others wanted. And hotel for a few nights in London post-cruise at $170/nt for a room little bigger than a cruise cabin was a shocker. :eek: But when added up this was by far the best way for a first time visit to Europe. Also we are not put off by 5 sea days in a row...actually looking forward to them to relax.

 

Our inside was first books at $919 (specific cabin selected) then later dropped to $899 (Z gaurantee) and then $699 Z. Back up to $899 for a few weeks then down to $499 inside gaurantee where it has stayed. We spoke to our TA about switching to Z but she strongly urged not to due to not knowing where we would end up. But when balcony gaurantee (X) came up at $999 this was only $80/pp more than we had already paid and we jumped on it. I can't imagine any other way to get a balcony for 12 nights for under a grand. Got assigned to a deck 9 E1 stateroom might still get bumped to D1 or JS if lucky as both are available.

 

One lesson we have learned is to be flexibile and wait until fairly late and see if we can book a balcony gaurantee at a firesale rate. If this cruise is as nice as we expect it to be we may become confirmed TA cruisers.

[barbarah33]

I am going on my first TA this fall and can't wait! We booked on the Independence last June when RCCL offered one of their sales so we got what I think is a great deal on a suite. I have watched other categories on the same cruise drop in price but all suites are sold-out so I don't think we'll drop any. We did find out this week though that they have removed our fuel service charge as we booked before it was put into place. (And we get OBC for booking when we did as part of the 'sale' they were offering.) I am happy with the price we paid for two-weeks in a suite on a new ship.

For me the highlight; other than seeing their newest ship, is all those days at sea! We get 9 sea-days on this cruise and they are always my favorite so that was the clincher. I enjoy waking up whenever I am ready to get up; although I am not a late-sleeper, then having the whole day to make as busy as I want with activities or nothing at all. In a port I feel like I need to get out and see whatever country we are in.

[PSCruiser]

I have one of those $449 fares booked for a TA next month on the Jewel. After all the extras are added, the full price for the two of us is about $1200 for 14 days. That was a GTY booking, and we ended up on deck 3 in a good midship location, so I'm happy.

I think the main reasons that TAs are inexpensive are first, that not everyone wants such a long trip, but especially that people think that one-way airfares are expensive. This is true, but there is a solution - book two TAs, one in spring and one in the fall. Then book a RT airfare to take care of both voyages. They do not have to be to the same cities.

Example: We have Amsterdam to Fort Lauderdale booked for this spring, and Baltimore to London booked for next fall. Expedia sold this as a roundtrip for under $700!

[Brandis]

Or just book a round-trip and don't use the return flight. As some airlines will cancel all your flights in a ticket if you don't show up, it's saver to make sure that you won't use the return trip. Or just make sure that your airline doesn't have such a rule.

 

Marc

[RetireeWannabee]

I have one of those $449 fares booked for a TA next month on the Jewel. After all the extras are added, the full price for the two of us is about $1200 for 14 days. That was a GTY booking, and we ended up on deck 3 in a good midship location, so I'm happy.

I think the main reasons that TAs are inexpensive are first, that not everyone wants such a long trip, but especially that people think that one-way airfares are expensive. This is true, but there is a solution - book two TAs, one in spring and one in the fall. Then book a RT airfare to take care of both voyages. They do not have to be to the same cities.

Example: We have Amsterdam to Fort Lauderdale booked for this spring, and Baltimore to London booked for next fall. Expedia sold this as a roundtrip for under $700!

AWESOME TIP!!!!!!

 

I soooo want to do a TA but not sure I could get hubby to agree. I could maybe talk a girlfriend into it.

 

The pricing is sooo attractive! But, alas, this year, most of my paid time off is spoken for. I like to believe that there are good deals every year and when the time is right, the good deal will show up and I'll get to do one.

[CavePearl]

If we could do it, we would make all of our cruises TAs. We love sea days more than port days, and feel soooo relaxed that it makes it really difficult to go home! Plus, if you enjoy getting to know fellow cruisers (and bartenders! ;)) you have lots of time to do so.

[OldCaver]

Bartenders, yes - you should always make good friends with your bartender!

[ortrud]

We have done three TA's and enjoyed all of them. For us a balcony is a must since most days it is too cold to sit on deck by the pool.

 

If you get an aft cabin, you can sit outside if it's sunny since there is no wind in the back.

 

We spent a lot of days in the Viking Crown during the day reading.

 

Also we booked package deals with the air-fare included.

[hazeleyez3]

The TAs seem to be a lot cheaper than others.

 

The E2 cabin we have booked on the Freedom for 7 nights is only $100 cheaper than the D2 we had on the 13night Independance TA.

[mjldvlks]

Like other repos, TA's are primarily to get the ship from where it cruises in one season to where it cruises in another. Most TA's are moving ships from the Caribbean where they spend the Winter to Europe [mostly the Med] where they spend the summer. I suspect the cruise lines look at any revenue they can derive from the move as icing on the cake of getting the ship where they want it. On the April TA aboard Independence of the Seas, we gave up our assigned D1 hump balcony when the Balcony guarantee dropped to 699 pp. We ended up with a D2 about 6 doors aft of the mid point of the hump. We were more than happy.

 

I understand from others who have more TA experience that we were really lucky, but for the most part, the seas were very calm during our transit. The Captain did a great job of keeping the ship in a high pressure zone. Several days we couldn't even see white caps on the waves.

 

My only other TA experience was in December 1963 when, as an 8 year old Army dependent, I crossed from NY to Bremerhaven on the USS Darby. My memory [filtered through my then 8 year old eyes] is that, after a day or two out from NY, the waves were bigger than the 17,000 ton ship (roughly 10% of the 160,000 Independence). The TA on Indy was much calmer.

[Brandis]

I noticed that recently, they start to add more ports at the beginning or the end of TAs, and the rates rise accordingly.

[phoenix1181]

We did the Navigator TA last November and wouldn't hesitate to do it again and again and again. The rates were great so we went with a JS for the first time and loved it. Bad weather kept us from using the balcony much but the extra space was just fantastic.

 

I think anyone who enjoys sea days and doesn't care all that much about ports will enjoy a TA.

[Tucker in Texas]

The way to do it is bird-dog the TA rates. When you see one you like, put a courtesy hold on it and immediately try to get airfare nailed down.

 

1) Don't book cruise line air fare unless you "custom" it because

a) it may be more expensive than what you can get it on your own

b) they have very innovatative routing: i.e., we were sent from Houston to Salt Lake City to JFK to Barcelona

c) whoever works in the air/sea office has no clue about amount of time needed to change planes at various airports. We were given 45 minutes to change planes and terminals in Paris. 2) If you can get a decent air fare, then pick up the courtesy hold. If you can't, then keep watching the fares and try again.

d) Look at buying airfare from the airlines if at all possible rather than a bucket shop. I have heard (but don't know for sure) that if your flight is canceled for some reason, the airline has no obligation to get you to where you need to be if you have an "O" fare ticket--deeply discounted tickets.

e) Sometimes a round trip ticket is cheaper than one-way so buy the rt ticket and trash the other half. Or, use the other half for another TA going the opposite direction (lol)

 

3) Look at the "big" picture. Maybe the air fare is sky high (pun intended) but when you combine the cost with el cheapo cruise fare and average it out, you can usually get the cruise for around $100 pp. per night. Where else can you go and get transportation, entertainment, and three hots and a cot for $200 per couple without pitching a tent and eating out of bags with arches on them?

 

4) Downsides

 

a) Your tips are $10 a day, $20 per couple, so this adds $300 to the tab. Also, you can pretty much count on fuel adjustment coming back and that would be $10 a day pp.

 

b) It is always prudent to go into the embarkation location a day early requiring you to get a hotel room and cab fares although some hotels have free shuttles. This is particularly important if you have bought your air ticket from a consolidator.

 

Tucker in Texas (who is going on her 6th TA in November)