Transatlantic?

I would go both ways without hesitation if it were offered, but it's not, at least not until 6 months later.

I've had the same thought.......Cunard does crossings both ways all year 'round, but only England <---> New York. (They do other voyages, but not as frequently and not all year.)

Sometimes it is possible to combine one or more cruises, or more than one ship of the same cruise line.

I am doing 22 days this year, on QM2, a transatlantic, staying on board for cruise to Hamburg and Stavanger, back to Southampton, staying on board back to New York.

Next year have a B2B booked as follows, joining QV in New York, transatlantic, transferring to QM2 in Southampton back to New York.

Next year QM2 is supposed to be doing several B2B trans Atlantics but I do not know the dates.

This assumes that you find Cunard suits you. That is important, it is easy to be swayed by the adverts into taking a cruise that looks good on paper, but really does not suit you life style. There is nothing wrong with these trips, but a cruise must suit you personally if you are to enjoy it.

I did my first TA April 2013. I am booked on the Silhouette for the October 31, 2015 TA west bound. I loved the crossing. There were solos on the April 2013 cruise. So far there is 1 other solo on the roll call for October. I wish I could do a B2B but I'm still working. If you decide to join us in October that would be great.

This is actually one of the TA's I'm considering for next year. Maybe I'll see you there!

Headed out to my first solo Transatlantic Sunday so I will let you know when I get back what I thought. Have to say on this specific cruise Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas there are a LOT of solos booked that have connected via the roll call. If anything I may not get enough relaxing time!

As promised, I just returned from my first TA so can share my experience. The trip was great and there is plenty to do during the day. I personally don't join the activities though or go to the shows. So my focus was on reading and relaxing. Given that, I am very glad I did the TA for the experience - but 8 straight sea days was a bit long for me. I think 4 or 5 sea days would work better for my taste.

Having said that, I was on the RCCL Independence of the Seas and the ship was incredible with lots to do. So it really is up to you on how busy you would be.

I did a 19 day trans-Pacific on Crystal with only one stop---one day in Hawaii. It was a fantastic cruise with so much to do that there weren't enough hours in the day. I've also done a trans-Atlantic from Cape Town, South Africa to NYC with stops in Namibia, Rio and then on to NYC. Great cruise !!!. My preference in trans-Atlantics are from East to West, because you have 25 hour days for 5 days of the cruise. But going in the opposite direction, you lose an hour a day for 5 days.

I don't know about traditional transatlantics, but definitely consider sailing the Norwegian Escape 10-day maiden transatlantic out of Southampton UK in October 2015 to Miami. Lot's of nice folks from the Breakaway's maiden voyage are reuniting on Escape.

Solo cabins are currently $1250 plus tax. If we're lucky, NCL will schedule a 1-day from Rotterdam, Netherlands to Southampton, UK first. This means you can fly to Amsterdam, enjoy the city, then take the train to Rotterdam, layover in Southampton and enjoy London or the surrounding area while they kick us off the ship for a day or two to let the press and travel agents on. If you have time and the budget, you can include a side trip to Paris or Brussels as well. IcelandAir offers a free layover in Reykjavik, and Aer Dingus offers a free layover in Dublin, but I'd rather spend the time in Amsterdam or Paris first.

P.S. And no, it's not a typo. It's Aer Dingus because they ding you with hefty baggage fees and their customer service stinks.

I've done a number of TA's. If you're on a budget, it's risky. Holland America, I was so bored I was seriously considering getting off in Funchal. Crystal was a little better but still not worth the money. QM2, I'm unhappy with for a number of reasons, not all concerning TA's, but as a rule, Cunard does have the best singles program. Costa, even at 200% was still the cheapest, and the only one I felt the value was equal to other places I could be spending the money, but Costa is too foreign for many Americans.

I was wondering why you were unhappy with Cunard? Also, you said they had a good singles program, what does it entail?

I did a Three Queens, B2B2B a couple of years ago. Put simply, many things on QM2 were not really bad, but not up to the standard of QV/QE. More detail than that would make for a lengthy post.

Jimsgirl really sums it up; also look at LisaAtlCruiser. This is not a dance thread, so I won't dwell on QM2's poor performance there. All three a ships have similar singles programs. When I look at what's important to me, QE/QV makes the short list, QM2 doesn't.

As per my siggy, I've always wanted to do a TA but for SOME reason, I feel like it has to be on the Cunard to get that old school, ocean liner experience. I'm willing to pay the 175-200% it costs. I think 2015 is going to be the year which means I am looking to book now! I've done lots of trips abroad but I feel like this will be the biggest one yet, because it will entail coordinating air and boat travel, planning activities, etc. I'll be watching this thread carefully!

My first solo cruise was on QM2, and I loved it. It was just the Transatlantic from New York back to Southampton.

I went to a single event at the beginning, and met up with some of the others that I had met at the event during the crossing. I enjoyed the daytime activities, the entertainment and the disco!

My third cruise (Voyager of the Seas) was a repositioning cruise; not a transatlantic, but there were a lot of sea days. I was in touch with some other singles on the roll call. I had a great time.

The fifth cruise was another transatlantic repositioning cruise, on Adventure of the Sea. I gelled with some of my tablemates, and we would do things together after our dinner sitting. The four of us keep in touch and have met up. Three of us are booked on Explorer of the Seas in 2015.

If you like a range of activities, then transatlantics/repositioning cruises are great. They always seem to be more affordable as well.

I did a Three Queens, B2B2B a couple of years ago. Put simply, many things on QM2 were not really bad, but not up to the standard of QV/QE. More detail than that would make for a lengthy post.

Jimsgirl really sums it up; also look at LisaAtlCruiser. This is not a dance thread, so I won't dwell on QM2's poor performance there. All three a ships have similar singles programs. When I look at what's important to me, QE/QV makes the short list, QM2 doesn't.

I did not enjoy QM2 but I have heard the other ships were better overall. I may try another Queen.

My first cruise was a TA and that was what interested me, to cross on water rather than air. I have taken 3 more since. The only thing that puts me off now is that you have to fly one way. I would go both ways without hesitation if it were offered, but it's not, at least not until 6 months later.

It takes a lot of research to find them and I never did the combination myself, but I have found cruises from North America (usually Florida) to the Mediterranean then cruises from England back to North American (usually New York) a month or two later.

So if you don't mind a cruise to Europe, then bumming around a number of countries for a month or two, then a cruise back to North America you can take a look at that idea.

So if you don't mind a cruise to Europe, then bumming around a number of countries for a month or two, then a cruise back to North America you can take a look at that idea.

Sounds like heaven. Now I just need to win the lottery so that I don't have to worry about pesky vacation time off from work... :D

Sounds like heaven. Now I just need to win the lottery so that I don't have to worry about pesky vacation time off from work... :D

You are preaching to the Choir;)......that 4 letter word gets in the

way everytime.