Cruseing Transatlantic Solo, Best Ship?

Hi Cruisers! I have taken a lot of cruises on small ships by myself and thoroughly enjoyed them. I am planning a Transatlantic in April/May by myself. I have a medical condition that causes extreme fatigue so I spend a lot of time in my cabin. The things that are important to me are the CABIN, ROOM SERVICE, SPA, GYM/EXERCISE PROGRAMS, MOVIES, LEAST CHILDREN. My choice of ships are Celebrity Eclipse, Norwegian Epic, or Independence of the Seas. Which ship would you reccomend that provides the best of the above items? Cheers Missea2

Most definitely Celebrity. They have a very good room service menu, and like other lines you can order from the main dining room for dinner. They have a great spa and gym. And, they attract the least kids. I was just on Equinox and they had maybe 10 kids total on board. You might want to look into booking one of their Aqua Class cabins which gives you access to special areas of the spa that others cannot.

Hi Cruisers! I have taken a lot of cruises on small ships by myself and thoroughly enjoyed them. I am planning a Transatlantic in April/May by myself. I have a medical condition that causes extreme fatigue so I spend a lot of time in my cabin. The things that are important to me are the CABIN, ROOM SERVICE, SPA, GYM/EXERCISE PROGRAMS, MOVIES, LEAST CHILDREN. My choice of ships are Celebrity Eclipse, Norwegian Epic, or Independence of the Seas. Which ship would you reccomend that provides the best of the above items? Cheers Missea2

I did a solo TA on the Mariner last November. I had a huge balcony cabin and loved it. Room service was great. I don't think there was 10 children total on board. Can't tell you anything about the gym, but the spa services were terrific with a daily special in addition to the regular offerings.

You will see very few to no children on any transatlantic, repositions in the spring and fall, that is. Just go with a ship and itinerary you like.

An open-jaw cruise outside of school vacation time will have very, very few children even on the family-oriented lines.

Celebrity has on-demand movies in your stateroom for a fee; the other ships have the ubiquitous jumbotron screen on the pool deck.

Since being able to order room service from the full dining menu is a deal-breaker for you I suggest you ask on each lines' board for recent experiences on those ships. It does give me pause that you have only sailed previously on smaller ships but are now choosing between three of the largest ships at sea. (Usually when someone inquires about choosing their first TA I am quick to suggest the Queen Mary 2, but not this time). You are starting off right by doing this research and keeping your expectations realistic--I do hope you have a nice relaxing time on whichever you choose.

I did a solo TA on the Mariner last November. I had a huge balcony cabin and loved it. Room service was great. I don't think there was 10 children total on board. Can't tell you anything about the gym, but the spa services were terrific with a daily special in addition to the regular offerings.

I noticed your post about the Mariner crossing. We are booked on Celebrity Infinity Harwich, UK to Miami in October - our fourth T/A, after HAL Noordam in '10, Queen Mary II in '11 and last year's Mariner -- hope to continue - sampling Princess, Carnival, Norwegian and as many others as time and health allow.

Hoping to find trivia partners as knowledgable as you.

Thanks for the Info! I wanted to try a big ship for a crossing since I thought there might not be enough to do on a small ship for so long. Also, the Atlantic can get pretty rough, I though the larger ships would be more stable. Cheers

We have done several TAs -- generally in the spring, southern crossing... Princess, and HAL, plus Cunard which was a bit more northly, since it stopped in Bermuda. Weather was nice in each case.

Did a crossing on Princess in August from England to NY... weather again fairly nice.

Of the lines you listed I would go with Celebrity...

We always selected the TA based on itinerary.. besides the 6 day crossing. Some lines offer more interesting itineraries than others.

Thanks for the Info! I wanted to try a big ship for a crossing since I thought there might not be enough to do on a small ship for so long. Also, the Atlantic can get pretty rough, I though the larger ships would be more stable. Cheers

Remember that all the ships you have looked at are cruise ships, and while it is largely true that the larger ones will be more stable crossing the Atlantic, there is only one ship which is designed and built as a transatlantic liner, specifically designed to be stable across the Atlantic and that is the Queen Mary 2. I can attest that she is rock solid even in pretty high seas. I think she probably does have a different 'feel' to the ships you have listed, but don't dismiss her without looking a little further - JMHO!

You might also consider Princess cruises.

I did a 19 day TA as a solo cruiser on the Ruby Princess last October, from Venice to Ft Lauderdale.

Wonderful cruise and it was over much too soon!!!

Remember that all the ships you have looked at are cruise ships, and while it is largely true that the larger ones will be more stable crossing the Atlantic, there is only one ship which is designed and built as a transatlantic liner, specifically designed to be stable across the Atlantic and that is the Queen Mary 2. I can attest that she is rock solid even in pretty high seas. I think she probably does have a different 'feel' to the ships you have listed, but don't dismiss her without looking a little further - JMHO!

I would agree with you - we had a rough-ish crossing in September 2011 on QM2 but you would never have known it. She is the only ship i would contemplate for a TA. She is a large ship, there is lots to do particularly on a transatlantic (but no rock climbing:p) but we never felt as if the ship was crowded. The spa is lovely, it has a good size gym and there were very few children about - and those that we did see were very well behaved. Room service is available 24 /7. The planetarium doubles up as a cinema but movies are available in your room on an almost continuous basis if I remember correctly. JMHO.....to.

Thanks for all the info. I have added another ship to the mix. Celebrity Reflections. It looks great and they have some great prices for +55. The problem that I'm running into is that it is 16 days and paying for gratuities, beverages, computer time and even bottled water puts it over my budget. I figured these items could add almost $1,000! I wnted the Aqua class but I was thinking maybe I could do just a balcony cabin, the diffrence between the regular balcony and the Aqua Class is about $700 but that's for 16 days. Ideas, thoughts???

Most definitely Celebrity. They have a very good room service menu, and like other lines you can order from the main dining room for dinner. They have a great spa and gym. And, they attract the least kids. I was just on Equinox and they had maybe 10 kids total on board. You might want to look into booking one of their Aqua Class cabins which gives you access to special areas of the spa that others cannot.

With Aqua Class you will also be able to eat in BLU dining room for much healthier meats. They also have a healthy breakfast and lunch up in the adult pool area.

~Doris~

With Aqua Class you will also be able to eat in BLU dining room for much healthier meats. They also have a healthy breakfast and lunch up in the adult pool area.

 

~Doris~

Not worth the extra money (IMHO) and altho some think so, BLU is not healthier, just a different menu (more fish options)....some people like the smaller restaurant area that looks like a specialty restaurant and breakfasts are often quoted as being great because it is sit down and people like smoothies (sugar), made to order eggs (you can get these in MDR and buffet); There ARE healthy choices in Aqua Spa restaurant which is FREE to anyone on board, unless you order specialty mixed yogurts ($5) or specialty smoothies ($5).

If you want to use Persian Garden, you can buy a weekly pass for $99 for a single...no need to spend that extra $700

for Aqua Class.

So we are talking about a solo lady cruiser who wants to avoid lots of kids. We would never recommend Aqua Class (Celebrity) because most of the tables are 2 tops and there is very little table sharing done in that venue. A good chance you would be dining alone surrounded by couples. We think HAL is actually the best fit for solo ladies since there are generally quite a few other solos on their ships and sharing tables in the MDR (if you want to enjoy others) is not unusual. HAL also has DVRs in their cabins with a large movie lending library. If you do a transatlantic repositioning cruise you will likely have very few kids. Larger ships do tend to attract more kids, but the repo cruises in the spring and fall have few since its during the school year. Perhaps a good compromise would be the Eurodam since that is a relatively large ship. We do understand you do not specify this particular cruise line, but perhaps it is time to think a bit out of the box :).

Hank

Thanks for the Info! I wanted to try a big ship for a crossing since I thought there might not be enough to do on a small ship for so long. Also, the Atlantic can get pretty rough, I though the larger ships would be more stable. Cheers

Consider Crystal - there is lots to do because of their excellent programs (lectures, classes) as well as a real movie theatre on board (2 shows daily). There are also very low single supplements (25% on window cabins, 35% on balcony cabins) and Gentlemen Hosts to dance with unaccompanied women. And a calm, luxurious environment with excellent food. I believe it is the best value for solo cruisers.

A bit of topic but I never heard the expression "open-jaw cruise". What does that mean?

The other thing to consider about Queen Mary 2 is that she makes several TAs in each direction during the year. Most other ships make only repositioning crossings: EB in March/April or WB in September/October.

If your condition causes frequent fatigue, you could rest in your stateroom but there are also plenty of sheltered steamer loungers at the aft end. You could rest in the ocean air and have a wind screen to provide some protection.

For the ultimate transatlantic crossing experience it's worth taking a look and doing some research.

Thanks for all the info. I have added another ship to the mix. Celebrity Reflections. It looks great and they have some great prices for +55. The problem that I'm running into is that it is 16 days and paying for gratuities, beverages, computer time and even bottled water puts it over my budget. I figured these items could add almost $1,000! I wnted the Aqua class but I was thinking maybe I could do just a balcony cabin, the diffrence between the regular balcony and the Aqua Class is about $700 but that's for 16 days. Ideas, thoughts???

I would choose Celebrity. We have crossed on many ships and of those you mentioned Celebrity was better. A balcony is not necessary on a TA. It will usually be too windy and too cool.

Remember that all the ships you have looked at are cruise ships, and while it is largely true that the larger ones will be more stable crossing the Atlantic, there is only one ship which is designed and built as a transatlantic liner, specifically designed to be stable across the Atlantic and that is the Queen Mary 2. I can attest that she is rock solid even in pretty high seas. I think she probably does have a different 'feel' to the ships you have listed, but don't dismiss her without looking a little further - JMHO!

Could not ignore your post without posting some comments about the Queen. We have done a crossing on that ship and were not impressed by the food, ambiance, staff, etc. on the ship. Their Lido buffet area seems like a disorganized sterile cafeteria and the food in the regular MDR was not up to to the quality we have found on many other lines. We did enjoy the various entertainment venues (especially their resident Shakespeare company) and enjoyed the music and dance in the Ballroom.

Last month we met some friends of ours on the Island of Guernsey who had just returned from a long voyage on the "Queen." This couple is used to quality and traveled in one of the top suites on the Queen and dined in the supposed upscale Grill. They were appalled with their cruise, so much so, that they cancelled another very long cruise they had previously booked. They do like Cunard and said they will still plan future cruises on the other smaller ships, but never again on the Queen Mary 2. Their issues with ship had to do with the ordinary (at best) cuisine plus awful service and policies.

One anecdote had to do with the Soda Cards. Now our friends were traveling in one of the most expensive cabins on the ship, but the lady decided to buy a Soda Card because she does not drink alcoholic drinks. Since they were in a large suite they had access to the special deck reserved only for the suites. When she asked her deck steward for a soda he explained that she could not use her soda card on that deck! She could, of course, walk down 2 decks where they would honor her soda card. Our friend did not think this policy represented the high quality service that Cunard would have you believe you get in the "Grill" Suites.

Hank

Could not ignore your post without posting some comments about the Queen. We have done a crossing on that ship and were not impressed by the food, ambiance, staff, etc. on the ship. Their Lido buffet area seems like a disorganized sterile cafeteria and the food in the regular MDR was not up to to the quality we have found on many other lines. We did enjoy the various entertainment venues (especially their resident Shakespeare company) and enjoyed the music and dance in the Ballroom.

 

Last month we met some friends of ours on the Island of Guernsey who had just returned from a long voyage on the "Queen." This couple is used to quality and traveled in one of the top suites on the Queen and dined in the supposed upscale Grill. They were appalled with their cruise, so much so, that they cancelled another very long cruise they had previously booked. They do like Cunard and said they will still plan future cruises on the other smaller ships, but never again on the Queen Mary 2. Their issues with ship had to do with the ordinary (at best) cuisine plus awful service and policies.

 

One anecdote had to do with the Soda Cards. Now our friends were traveling in one of the most expensive cabins on the ship, but the lady decided to buy a Soda Card because she does not drink alcoholic drinks. Since they were in a large suite they had access to the special deck reserved only for the suites. When she asked her deck steward for a soda he explained that she could not use her soda card on that deck! She could, of course, walk down 2 decks where they would honor her soda card. Our friend did not think this policy represented the high quality service that Cunard would have you believe you get in the "Grill" Suites.

 

Hank

I'm sorry your friends had such a bad QM2 experience that they cancelled a future voyage. I can't argue your points over the buffet and the "soda card" situation. The buffet is nicknamed "Kings Chaos" for a reason and soda cards include only fountain and not canned soda. If your intention was to give the OP some negative points to consider then you've done well.

I hope however that the OP will also consider that the QM2 does have the atmosphere and facilities that are important to her. She might consider one of the "sheltered" balconies on decks 4, 5, and 6 if she wants to rest in the outside ocean air yet still be protected in bad weather. The ship also has a 3D cinema, planetarium, lectures, and the Canyon Ranch Spa. And room service 24/7. No constant PA announcements, no hordes of children or teens roaming the ship.

A bit of topic but I never heard the expression "open-jaw cruise". What does that mean?

I also saw that and wondered what I was missing..

Back on topic.. My wife's parents did a 7 day Med cruise on Celebrity in a Aqua Class cabin and thought it was a waste of money, the biggest benefit was the ability to eat at Blue and they ate there once and went to MDR the rest of the cruise. happy cruising

Yes I sea I spelled blu wrong..happy cruising

Could not ignore your post without posting some comments about the Queen. We have done a crossing on that ship and were not impressed by the food, ambiance, staff, etc. on the ship. Their Lido buffet area seems like a disorganized sterile cafeteria and the food in the regular MDR was not up to to the quality we have found on many other lines. We did enjoy the various entertainment venues (especially their resident Shakespeare company) and enjoyed the music and dance in the Ballroom.

 

Last month we met some friends of ours on the Island of Guernsey who had just returned from a long voyage on the "Queen." This couple is used to quality and traveled in one of the top suites on the Queen and dined in the supposed upscale Grill. They were appalled with their cruise, so much so, that they cancelled another very long cruise they had previously booked. They do like Cunard and said they will still plan future cruises on the other smaller ships, but never again on the Queen Mary 2. Their issues with ship had to do with the ordinary (at best) cuisine plus awful service and policies.

 

One anecdote had to do with the Soda Cards. Now our friends were traveling in one of the most expensive cabins on the ship, but the lady decided to buy a Soda Card because she does not drink alcoholic drinks. Since they were in a large suite they had access to the special deck reserved only for the suites. When she asked her deck steward for a soda he explained that she could not use her soda card on that deck! She could, of course, walk down 2 decks where they would honor her soda card. Our friend did not think this policy represented the high quality service that Cunard would have you believe you get in the "Grill" Suites.

 

Hank

Now that Carnival has finished down grading Princess they can start cutting back on Cunard. happy cruising

Thanks for all the info. I have added another ship to the mix. Celebrity Reflections. It looks great and they have some great prices for +55. The problem that I'm running into is that it is 16 days and paying for gratuities, beverages, computer time and even bottled water puts it over my budget. I figured these items could add almost $1,000! I wnted the Aqua class but I was thinking maybe I could do just a balcony cabin, the diffrence between the regular balcony and the Aqua Class is about $700 but that's for 16 days. Ideas, thoughts???

We are elite on Celebrity, have cruised on the Equinox, Eclipse and we are booked on the Silhouette in October. We initially always booked a CC cabins on Celebrity, but with these new ships, we have found the cabins are all the same. We did try Aqua Class on the Eclipse, we were not that impressed with BLU the only real value to QC, so for our Silhouette cruise we booked a balcony cat 1B. Did not think the extra $s for the same cabin in a different location on the ship was worth it. We elected to save the money we would pay for a higher level cabin for our expenses since the cabins are all the same.