first time transatlantic question

[soaknitup]

Going on our first TA trip next April out of Ft Lauderdale. 7 days at sea to the Azores (first stop). What are the seas usually like that time of year. I would imagine one we get to Cork Ireland the seas would be calmer for the rest of the trip? Just wondering how much Drammamine to take!

[cnd crsr]

We have done TAs in April and both times found the sea calm all the way over. There were some cool days. Enjoy your TA.

[avcruz]

We did 8 days from Ft Lauderdale to Gibraltar last April and the temperature was quite mild, probably 15-20 degrees celsius (65-72 fahrenheit). It was cooler on our balcony but up on deck surrounded by the glass to act as a windbreak, you could actually tan. We were very fortunate to have calm seas and no rain the entire way across.

[FritzG]

We've done 2 spring TA's heading to the Med. Once the seas were calm and smooth. The other time we hit a storm, and by the time we got to Seville the ship had to be washed to rinse off all of the salt residue. Our balcony on Baja deck had an inch of salt dried on the balcony partition. You never know from year to year what the seas will be like.

[Times Prince]

Going on our first TA trip next April out of Ft Lauderdale. 7 days at sea to the Azores (first stop). What are the seas usually like that time of year. I would imagine one we get to Cork Ireland the seas would be calmer for the rest of the trip? Just wondering how much Drammamine to take!

We were on the Crown Princess Transatlantic this April and the seas were fine. However, the Captain said we were fortunate as there was a storm front 2 days behind us the whole time. The Azores and Lisbon were beautiful, shirt sleeve weather but the fronts caught up with us as we neared the northern part of France, and it turned cold with some winds. Except for cold the ship remained pretty steady (some people were affected by motion).

 

However - if we had left 2 days later it would have been a totally different story. So you never can tell.

[Luvmyrotti]

Both of our springtime east bound TAs have been quite mild on the crossing with smooth seas and nice temperatures. We spent time in the aft hot tubs and enjoyed it tremendously (though with full disclosure, we are from Maine, so our need for warmth is likely lower than most). We're actually booked on the same April 2014 TA as you and hopefully we'll be blessed with good weather and calm seas.

[e2011]

It should be nice ....

[Dame Delilah]

Have done April TAs 4 times and it has always been a good trip. Will be going again next April.

[boilermom53]

We did the TA out of FLL this past April and had smooth sailing all the way to Dublin. Had to skip Cobh (Cork) due to rough seas so the captain overnighted in Dublin and we sailed for Falmouth at 1PM the next day. Around 6:00PM things started getting rocky and by 9 or 10, seas had built to 18 ft. with gale force 8 winds, causing the ship to list to port. I've never been seasick and never take anything, but I was wishing I had something that night. By 3:30 AM things had calmed down. There was concern that we might not be able to tender into Falmouth, but all was fine. We had smooth sailing the rest of the time.

The first three days out of FLL, we had nice sunny weather, but by day four, it became quite chilly, 40's-50's. After leaving the Azores, we had a lot of fog at night. In fact, one night the fog horn blew every 60 seconds for several hours.

Despite the one night of rough seas, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Loved the relaxing sea days, met lots of fun and interesting people, the ship (Caribbean) and staff were GREAT, and we thoroughly enjoyed the ports and excursions.

[skynight]

Going on our first TA trip next April out of Ft Lauderdale. 7 days at sea to the Azores (first stop). What are the seas usually like that time of year. I would imagine one we get to Cork Ireland the seas would be calmer for the rest of the trip? Just wondering how much Drammamine to take!

 

I take chewable Bonine Tablets, 1/day maybe 2 max. if the sea is really rough. At the first sign of rough seas I take a tablet.

On our April TA, Ft Lauderdale to Azores the seas were clam. From The Azores to Lisbon we hit 24 to 36 hours of choppy seas. The Captain said that seas can be rougher in this area.

[JamesFic]

In April 2012 we sailed the Emerald Princess from FLL to Copenhagen. Each day at sea the ocean was very calm; temperatures got cooler the farther north we went. Only rough seas were between Oslo and Copenhagen. In April 2013 we sailed we sailed HAL Eurodam FLL to Civitivecchia. Seas were calm until the Azores and we had to miss the stop there. So I think it's hard to predict but generally speaking April and May TA's are on the quiet side.

[cookieartist]

On our first TA last April on the Ruby out of Ft. Lauderdale, I had to keep reminding myself that it was the Atlantic Ocean and not a lake. Had one rainy day but still didn't feel the ship moving and the rest of the time it was warm and sunny and smooth.

[soaknitup]

thanks for the input. we will hope for the best and bring the drammamine just in case.