Transatlantic Cruise--for 1st time cruisers?

[Lilac Wine]

Hi -

 

We're considering taking a transatlantic cruise (NCL New York-Barcelona cruise departing in April) to celebrate our 40th birthdays. We have a four year old daughter, and we would be first-time cruisers. The reasons why we're thinking of this cruise are:

 

1) We really want to go to Europe, but don't know how our daughter will adjust to the time change, and a transatlantic cruise will allow her time to adjust so that we can enjoy a few days in Barcelona afterwards.

2) We would like the predictability of the same room/some semblance of a routine for her while also having the ability to sightsee in different locations.

3) There are kids' activities to keep her happy on days at sea, and to allow my husband and I some downtime, too.

 

These reasons lead us to believe that taking a cruise would be a good balance for us, but having never done so before, we'd like some more feedback before booking the trip. Any feedback greatly appreciated!

 

TIA!

[rebeccalouise]

Do it! You are going to have the time of your life.

 

I did the same thing for my 40th birthday in 2005. My son was 4 at the time and in preschool. Since the TAs are long and one doesn't want to take a child out of school for that amount of time... it was then or never.

 

I still look back on that experience as one of the best in my life. I did the Celebrity Millenium 14 night out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

It is a great way to get to Europe and there will be other pre-school age kids onboard. There were 30 kids (ages 1-18) on my TA in 2005. My son had enough playmates to make him happy.

 

Loved the sea days. Never got bored. The passengers were a nice mix of American, South American and European.

 

Don't think twice about booking it!

 

P.S: You may also want to consider the QM2 which does a 6 night TA from NYC-Southampton. I have done that one from Southampton-NYC and loved it. As you can see I have sailed QM2 twice. In fact, we are boarding her for a third time tomorrow!

[Lilac Wine]

Thanks so much for your quick reply, rebeccalouise! It's good to know that someone has already done exactly what we're considering and with such a good outcome. Our daughter adjusts to new situations fairly easily and is excited at the prospect of taking a "big" trip, so I'm hoping that she would enjoy it as much as we would...

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise! :)

[NAS-KARR]

Once you have exhausted all your answers here I would go to the "Cruise Lines" Forum~ ~ ~click NCL and pose the same question there and you'll get even more comments.

 

Have a good trip e CIAO, :D

[patrickc]

It's a shame there isn't a "Transatlantic" forum-- or a specific forum for each European country. Oh well. I am doing the TA on Noordam in April & do appreciate insight as to what to expect. We take a southern approach from NY to Bermuda & on to Funchal... Spain, Morocco, Riviera, ending in Rome. I am curious about- the weather in April (any slight chance can use outdoor pool/get some sun?!) and also interested in seeing the Rock of Gibraltor-- tell me if anyone recalls how exciting (or otherwise) entering the strait will be... thanks.

[rebeccalouise]

you will get to see the rock of Gibraltar.

 

Also April will be very nice. Don't worry. I did one in early May and it was fantastic. There were many people outside on my May TA. Conversely, there weren't as many outside on my August TA on Cunard. That one was much windier and rougher.

 

The ships heat the outdoor pools and on my TA (southern route) it wasn't rough at all.

 

As for sailing into or out of NYC- I must say that it is rougher but still a great experience. I tend to get seasick and I was fine on both of the TAs that I have done.

 

It is nice to do the longer TAs because you do get to see some interesting places. In Gibraltar, my son loved the barbary apes.

[Jill SC]

We are doing a transatlantic cruise for the 3rd year in a row in April. Each night for five or six days (depends on where your first port is) the clock is moved ahead one hour. The first year we really noticed a difference - our internal clocks were way off, even more than if we had flown over. The 2nd time we adjusted. Best advice is to go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time so that your sleep amount is the same every night.

[Lilac Wine]

Thanks so much for the tips, Steve and Jill!

[bubbachief]

Lilac Wine-- Check out the 4/19 Gem Roll Call posts. Lots of chatter going on.

[Lilac Wine]

Lilac Wine-- Check out the 4/19 Gem Roll Call posts. Lots of chatter going on.

 

Thanks, bubbachief. I saw that--I've been surfing the site most of the afternoon instead of working! ;) --but the length of the thread is a bit intimidating. I might try to tackle it this weekend...

[kit9172]

I am also on the cruise with bubbachief. We would love to have you join us over on our Roll Call. I don't know about any other toddlers but we have a couple with three children going. I love toddlers as I have two grandchildren myself. Ask any questions as we will try to answer. We are talking about shore excursions, where to book and with whom.

Kit

[Lilac Wine]

Thank you so much, Kit. I certainly do feel welcomed here--I have really appreciated the advice and practical tips I have gotten in the less than 24 hours since I joined! I'm 95% sure that we're going to book this cruise. :) The question now is how: online or through a travel agency. I'll probably post something about that in another forum later this morning so I can get some more insight into this seemingly byzantine process before booking...

[Hlitner]

We do 2 transatlantics a year (fall and spring) and absoutely love every minute. There will be a limited number of kids on the cruises, but there are always some pre-schoolers. These cruises tend to attract an older well seasoned group of cruisers. On our December crossing on Royal Caribbean we had more than 400 Diamond passengers (more than 10 cruises with RCI) out of about 1800 passengers. Transatlantics are great for those who love the many sea days.

 

Hank