Transatlantic Questions

[shrifk]

My wife and I, in our 70's, are thinking about a TA in 2014 and have cruised several times before in Europe and the Carribean.

 

1. What are the pos. and cons.. about a TA?

2. We are considering to include Barcelona in the TA itinerary. What month would be most desireable, April or October sailing. Which month would be more calm and warmer.

3. I've read several posts that traveling west would be preferable and others claim traveling east. A little confusing. Any other thoughts?

 

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

[Keith1010]

Pros are the length of the cruise and all of the sea days.

 

I would go in April as I think the seas would be better then October.

 

Traveling East to West is ideal because you set the clocks backward as opposed to forward.

 

Keith

[negc]

Among the pros of a Westbound transatlantic cruise are: the extra hours you gain as you turn the clocks back giving you a number of 25 hour days. You also get the long flight over with at the beginning of your vacation rather than at the end. Couple that with the number of 25 hour days and you should arrive back in the US well rested. Weather is variable and will also depend on the route you take (northern or southern) as well as the time of the year. We regularly take the westbound TA from the UK to Boston and enjoy the mix of ports of call the cruise offers.

[KeywestK]

We loved our westbound TA, Barcelona to FLL. The biggest advantage is that you get the hard traveling, including the long flight, and any touring and/or sightseeing you plan to do, over with on the front end of the trip, and then you have those wonderful, lazy, and 25-hour days to relax and rejuvenate on your way back to the U.S. The weather in the fall for our crossing was, for the most part, excellent. We had some scattered showers the first couple of days, but as we headed further west, it got warmer and warmer.

 

Whatever you decide, have a great time. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!:)

[pcur]

We've done TAs both directions: April going east, and October going west. Since you are planning the southern Atlantic route, I think your sea conditions will be better. We had smooth sailing on all of our TAs.

 

In Europe the weather can be cooler in April, which can be a good thing. October is the very end of their hot season, and it's pretty muggy if there is a hot October. We had a day in Florence where it was 60 in the morning, torrential rain at noon, and mid-70's in the afternoon!

 

The kind of TA we enjoy the most is to add either the Caribbean or European cruise to the front or back end of the TA. It's makes for a great variety of ports. My favorite is coming west and adding the Caribbean cruise to the end of the TA. Once, however, we added the first Mediterranean to an eastbound and that was a great cruise, too.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We are looking at a TA, also. However, we are thinking of adding a European river cruise on to the TA. We have never done one of those.

[lakelorain]

We did a TA westbound as part of a b2b with a Med cruise from Barcelona in October. Weather was excellent. Ocean was calm. Nice having 25 hour days on the way back. We really enjoyed it. It was very relaxing after a hectic Med. trip and there were so many activities on the ship that we wished there were more hours in the day.

We spent 3 days in Barcelona prior to the cruise. What a wonderful city to visit. Had some rain showers there but it was warm so not a major problem.

[HokiePoq]

We are looking at a TA, also. However, we are thinking of adding a European river cruise on to the TA. We have never done one of those.

 

Now that is a good idea! We've done three eastbounds. Two were combined with the Med itineraries afterwards and one was followed by a land tour in the UK. Weather was good for all of them for the most part. I am hesitant with booking a westbound in the fall due to the Atlantic hurricane season.

I think having the long flight at the end when you recover at home is better than in the beginning when it makes me tired starting off the trip.

[ssb]

Look at 11/3 and 11/10 b2b and TA navigator

Rome to Barcelona and Barcelona to Galveston

Prices are right

We love them .

Join a bunch if us!!!

[ARCruisinNana]

Oasis is going to Barcelona from FLL on Sept. 1,2014 and will return from Rotterdam/Southampton on Oct. 14/15, 2014. That would give you a month or so to visit family and have a great time getting there and back:)

[sassy12]

Dragonof the Seas -

 

If you like cruising you will love the European river boat cruise. We cruised the Danube from Nuremburg to Budapest a couple years ago. It's totally unlike ocean cruising. The days can be intensive but the nights are very relaxing as there really wasn't much going on other than a musician in the lounge and a beer and wine tasting one night. Fewer activities at night made it easy to be rested up for the next day.

[Markanddonna]

Four days in Rome

About one week in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands with 5 ports of call

Six sea days that are so relaxing

3 "Caribbean" days as you end your trip

 

I'm hooked on TA's.

[hockeyken]

:D We cruised out of Barcelona ( Nov. 11th to be exact) and I'm sorry to say all we had was 70F and clear blue skies;).

 

I agree with other posters who said get the long flight and touring and sightseeing over with first, and then relax and arrive home fresh and rested. My next TA will be Westbound in October.

[GaNavy]

For my TA last year, the weather in Barcelona was perfect, and the crossing was smooth - the weather was variable at sea, we had a good bit of rain, but Navigator is a huge ship with plenty to do.

 

I know my sig says I'm sailing with "Brand C" this fall - yes, I like them, too - but there are some fantastic deals on Royal's TA's this year so thinking of changing up and doing another TA this year as a solo.

 

Any encouragement from my fellow CC'ers? ;)

[Mark_K]

If you're a person like me, who can't get any decent sleep on an airplane, give serious thought to the cruises which end in Europe. Almost all US-Europe flights are overnight, most of the Europe-US flights are just a really long day - not a night of not sleeping.

[ssb]

Four days in Rome

About one week in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands with 5 ports of call

Six sea days that are so relaxing

3 "Caribbean" days as you end your trip

 

I'm hooked on TA's.

 

We are hooked also.

Our next is 11/13!

One of our fun cruises was

Week in Med then TA and then week in Carib.

Weather was freezing cold then relaxing Atlantic

then warm islands in Carib. Hard packing decisions.

We loved it and the menus varied with the countries.

Lots of Europeans made it an adventure on the positive side.

Plus it was over Holidays and New Year.

[Markanddonna]

The issue of jet lag is one consideration on a TA. With the westbound, you don't really sleep on the airplane and need a day or two to adjust until you are back at full speed. So, it somewhat diminishes your big adventures in your port cities in Europe.

 

You have the entire TA cruise to overcome jetlag on an eastbound. You arrive in Europe ready to tour.

 

If you are retired, it makes it easier. When you fly back to the US after the eastbound TA, you can just readjust at your own leisure. If you have to go back to work the next day, well...maybe everyone will understand.

 

Does that make sense?

[qdog123]

We just got back from a ta on the NCL Epic. The weather was in the 60's during the crossing so I had the pool deck to myself. Seas were relatively calm with the exception of one day where we had 50 ft seas and 50 knot winds. They actually had to add ballast to one side of the ship to keep it from listing. The weather in Barcelona was goreous in the 70's.

 

With 6 time changes shortening the days constantly I found it difficult to be an early riser. Thankfully the Epic has like 15 restaurants so we never got board with the menu, but I think that would e a concern on most RCL ships outside of the Oasis. Ditto for entertainment.

 

I'd love to do another TA but my wife s turned off now do to that one bad sea day...

 

Good luck deciding!

[elvismeggi]

Hi,

This year in April we have in parts of Europe snow ....:eek: but other years also pool weather...

October is often called 'golden' because of warm temparature during day, colder in the evening, not so much rain.

 

We do our first TA next September : Hamburg - New Jersey :cool:

Can't wait ....

[pspercy]

We've done one each way.

 

All else being equal, westbound wins easily for us.