Transatlantic anxiety

[phnett]

We did our First RCCL Transatlantic Nov 2012 and had a blast.

 

Get your message board going and help organize some CC friends in some

ship events. Here are some of the fun events we did as CC members.

Slot pull

Cabin Crawl

Poker Run

I pad help classes

Many card and trivia events

That was all on our own, then you add in the ship events too,

we all booked the Mystery Dinner together and filled the room with CC

we had over 300 in our Meet and Greet. The Cruise Director gave us very nice gift at it too, they said it was one of the largest groups they had ever had.

 

Our board arranged Private tours togther at our port stops.

we had ordered commemorative TA pins with the ships name and sail dates on it. Some custom ordered hats and shirts,

we all had Door signs with our TA pin logo and or CC names on them so we

could find each other up and down the halls.

 

I aranges on one of the private tours for 80 of us to see the Alhambra in Spain.

The cruise lines will not arranging a visit to world heartage site because of the distance from Port. it takes about 2 hrs to get there, 2 hrs min to tour and last then 2 hrs back if there is not traffic issues. :eek: But we did it just fine!

We had several sunny days to lay out in the Sun, and read books,

And you can sleep in with out feeling your going to miss any thing too!

So if you get into it no way you will be Board!

Edited March 4, 2014 by phnett

[TravelingOx]

That's right Cathy, I remember we had 5 ambulances waiting in the Azores just for our ship. The ship's staff said they almost ran out of refrigerated space. Then we lost another passenger en route to Spain.

 

Last year on the Silhouette we had to return to St. Maartin immediately after sailaway because of a medical emergency. Good thing too because that was our last port in North America before we sailed for Madeira 6 days away.

 

On the Eclipse a few years ago, we offloaded multiple bodies at our first port of call, Ponta Delgada. One died on the first night, one on the second, not sure about the others. So there IS some risk involved, but what a way to go!!!!

[CathyCruises]

That's right Cathy, I remember we had 5 ambulances waiting in the Azores just for our ship. The ship's staff said they almost ran out of refrigerated space. Then we lost another passenger en route to Spain.

 

Last year on the Silhouette we had to return to St. Maartin immediately after sailaway because of a medical emergency. Good thing too because that was our last port in North America before we sailed for Madeira 6 days away.

 

Oh, I completely forgot about that turn around!!! Lucky people that they got off!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

That's right Cathy, I remember we had 5 ambulances waiting in the Azores just for our ship. The ship's staff said they almost ran out of refrigerated space. Then we lost another passenger en route to Spain.

 

Last year on the Silhouette we had to return to St. Maartin immediately after sailaway because of a medical emergency. Good thing too because that was our last port in North America before we sailed for Madeira 6 days away.

I forgot that also

Harald had his gps and was tracking the ship movement , I thought the person walked off the ship

[pieter&sharon]

I prefer transatlantic cruises. They are restful and amazing value. Rest and relaxation is what vacations are about.

[margsipie]

I think the relaxation opportunities sound amazing, I love sea days, but I have always worried...are the seas very rough far out in the open? I am not prone to sea sickness, but it's always been the small concern in the back of my mind!

[Oville]

To the OP, we cruise a lot and will probably never do a TA. I get antsy with more than 2 sea days in a row. Everyone knows their preferences and limits, but for me a TA cruise is a no go.

 

To all others, please don't jump all over my post, I'm giving an honest answer to the OP's question.

[Austrian]

On our last TA in November on board Constellation, it was interesting to see Silhouette was close by as we sailed across the Atlantic. I mentioned this to one of the officers and was told this was done intentionally as a safety measure. Actually, I think it was those Kafetzis brothers (both captains) having fun at the helm and racing each other to port.:rolleyes:

 

We left Rome on December 1 and did 3 Med ports before going to Tenerife.

 

It's doubtful that you saw us in November.

 

Harald

[BearsAhoy]

We have done 5 TA's; on the first one a day before we reach land I saw a bird that was when I realized how far away from land we had been and how peaceful it was.

 

 

 

I remember that! The day before we reached St Maarten I saw birds for the first time in a week. And when I got up that morning in St Maarten, I jumped with surprise when I looked out our balcony and saw land!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk, please excuse wonky autocorrects.

[BearsAhoy]

I think the relaxation opportunities sound amazing, I love sea days, but I have always worried...are the seas very rough far out in the open? I am not prone to sea sickness, but it's always been the small concern in the back of my mind!

 

 

We were in 8-10m waves and force 10-12 winds for the first 2-3 days out of Southampton, and again as we reached the Bahamas. (Our call in Coco Cay was cancelled due to the wind/waves.) I think a number of people did get seasick, but we were all fine. (My four year old loved running back and forth singing "weeeeeee!" as the ship rocked and rolled!)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk, please excuse wonky autocorrects.

[BearsAhoy]

That's right Cathy, I remember we had 5 ambulances waiting in the Azores just for our ship. The ship's staff said they almost ran out of refrigerated space. Then we lost another passenger en route to Spain.

 

Last year on the Silhouette we had to return to St. Maartin immediately after sailaway because of a medical emergency. Good thing too because that was our last port in North America before we sailed for Madeira 6 days away.

 

 

We had a medical emergency the last day. We were supposed to be in Coco Cay, but the stop was cancelled since it wasn't safe to tender. Instead, we made a beeline for Miami, where the ill passenger was evacuated, and doodled around the coast before docking in FLL the next morning.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk, please excuse wonky autocorrects.

[lilghallinsf]

On major thing to remember about these medical emergencies a also the age and medical conditions of the passengers. Keep that in mind too!!! The average age is up there, not to be ugly

[Karynanne]

We took our first TA in 2005. I remember feeling somewhat anxious about being in the Atlantic for so many days.

 

We had a wonderful time, and have done many TA's (eastbound and westbound) since then. We love the leisurely days and really take time to enjoy the ship and friends.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

On our last TA in November on board Constellation, it was interesting to see Silhouette was close by as we sailed across the Atlantic. I mentioned this to one of the officers and was told this was done intentionally as a safety measure. Actually, I think it was those Kafetzis brothers (both captains) having fun at the helm and racing each other to port.:rolleyes:

As someone wrote , it was the Equinox, I have a picture of the Conny , we could only see her for about a day, then the captain put the foot to the metal to get the ship to FLL

 

Cathy , there was about a couple of miles between ship

[OceanCruise]

You all are starting to convince me to go! It is appealing to not have an excursion/port to rush off to in the morning. My other concern is rough seas. We have taken about 17 cruises and don't usually get seasick. However, the several times we have sailed to Bermuda it has been pretty rough in the Atlantic. Are there certain itineraries across the Atlantic ocean that tend to be more calm?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

You all are starting to convince me to go! It is appealing to not have an excursion/port to rush off to in the morning. My other concern is rough seas. We have taken about 17 cruises and don't usually get seasick. However, the several times we have sailed to Bermuda it has been pretty rough in the Atlantic. Are there certain itineraries across the Atlantic ocean that tend to be more calm?

17 cruise and no TAs:eek:

I hope those 17 were not just Caribbean cruises

Mark

[upwarduk]

-----Are there certain itineraries across the Atlantic ocean that tend to be more calm?

 

The more southerly the route the better and I would say avoid the Bay of Biscay at all costs, especially in Oct/ Nov.

 

Look at the routes the Atlantic rowers take, usually via Tenerife ( Canary Islands)

Edited March 4, 2014 by upwarduk

[Hlitner]

Reading the OPs post made me smile. DW and I have done many TAs (more then a dozen) and some partial Pacific Crossing (will soon be doing a total Pacific crossing). We actually seek out long cruises that have many sea days (23 Sea Days on a single cruise is our record) because we just love those long lazy days when we can totally relax with the knowledge that we will be doing the same thing the next day, and the next, and the next, etc. Our biggest problem with all those sea days was lugging enough paperback books to last for all those days. But alas, there came forth the Kindle. We normally keep over 150 books on our Kindles...so we are now prepared for any number of sea days :)

 

Our only anxiety on cruises are dealing with the ports and related logistics.

 

Hank

Edited March 4, 2014 by Hlitner

[boingy300]

We had 4 days at sea, unexpectedly, in the Caribbean on Nieuw Amsterdam (HAL). I had a blast. I was concerned because it was (perceived) an older demographic and horrible weather. I am usually so task oriented on cruises (and I usually pick port intensive cruises). I was forced to relax while my hubby was in seminar. I made friends, went to classes- really relaxed...new for me. Now my brother has just returned from a trans-Atlantic flight from So. Africa to MIA where he reports a person actually expired on his flight....They put the expired patient back in her seat, next to her husband for the rest of the flight after CPR failed. And everyone exited at MIA, walking past her body and sobbing husband. After hearing that- I thought "at least the cruise has a morgue". Put it in perspective for me. Once we retire a trans-(insert ocean here) is on my bucket list!

Karen

Edited March 4, 2014 by boingy300

[CathyCruises]

We had 4 days at sea, unexpectedly, in the Caribbean on Nieuw Amsterdam (HAL). I had a blast. I was concerned because it was (perceived) an older demographic and horrible weather. I am usually so task oriented on cruises (and I usually pick port intensive cruises). I was forced to relax while my hubby was in seminar. I made friends, went to classes- really relaxed...new for me. Now my brother has just returned from a trans-Atlantic flight from So. Africa to MIA where he reports a person actually expired on his flight....They put the expired patient back in her seat, next to her husband for the rest of the flight after CPR failed. And everyone exited at MIA, walking past her body and sobbing husband. After hearing that- I thought "at least the cruise has a morgue". Put it in perspective for me. Once we retire a trans-(insert ocean here) is on my bucket list!

Karen

 

Okay, you win!!! Hands down! That is just terrible--I guess what else could they do, but still!!!!!

[TeaBag]

Absolute rubbish!!!

How do you know if you're too scared to take one?

 

 

You need to read the fine print. Always read the fine print!:D Airbalancer was joking.

 

We have sailed on 3 TP's and 3 TA's. Love the sea days and the relaxation. Our first ocean crossing was to Hawaii and when we spotted land after 5 sea days, I never heard one person rejoicing. Everyone was sorry our peaceful crossing was about to end and it wasn't even a celebrity cruise!

 

There is so much to do on those sea days. OTOH, you can do absolutely nothing if that is your choice.

 

Another plus, they are cheap!

 

The only thing I worry about on our upcoming one is leaving our new Beagle puppy!

 

PS. The westbound ones are even better for the 25 hour days.

Edited March 5, 2014 by YVR cruiser