Transatlantic in December?

[Desertbelle]

We are looking at a cruise on the Galaxy in early December, 2006 that sails from Rome to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The actually crossing of the Atlantic would start on December 8th from Funchal (Madeira), Portugal, stopping in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, and on to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

This seems like a very southern crossing of the Atlantic and I was wondering if anyone has done this route in December and what were the temperatures. When I think of transatlantic cruises in winter I think England to New York and ice bergs and freezing temperatures. Never gave a Portegal to Puerto Rico crossing any thought, but it would seem to me to be much warmer....yes??

 

We understand that it could be quite cold in Rome on December 1st, but it would seem the rest of the trip, Spain and Portugal and of course the Carribbean would be quite warm....is this correct?

 

Any thoughts about the Galaxy and a southern transatlanic crossing would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Druke I]

Can't answer re December crossing, but we did a November 95 crossing, on HAL's Maasdam, Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale, and it was fairly cool, and very rough first two nights West of the Azores. Water entered the hull through the hawsepipe (anchor chainway), and flooded some dozen cabins forward on Main deck, including ours, to a depth of 6". Luckily they had extra cabins to which we could be moved.

 

You're stopping in Funchal, Madeira. The street sled excursion there is a real hoot - lots of fun.

 

Getting back to the state of the ocean - any crossing is always a crapshoot

as far as sea state is concerned.

 

Our smoothest trans-Atlantic was a crossing from Recife Brazil to Dakar Senegal, 3-98, on the late great Royal Princess, on a trip from Buenos Aires to Barcelona. The Atlantic was like a millpond all the way.

[Druke I]

And the water can get rough out in Far Eastern waters too.

 

Way back in Nov 86, on the little Golden Odyssey, a 10,000GRT "baby liner", we had green water over the bridge, screws out of the water, and inclinometer pegged several times, while trying to outrun the back end of a typhoon.

 

Travel upon the water can be an adventure.

[kitty9]

Did a crossing that started in early December from Lisbon to Ft Lauderdale and it was far too cold to do much of anything at the pool or outside. Maybe the last day as you get closer to Florida, but for the first 5 or 6 days, it's really cold and windy.

[Desertbelle]

Thanks for the replies. Since this ship is sailing to St. Maarten, that is quite a bit more south than Florida, so I was hoping that the weather would be moderate and even perhaps warmish on the last couple of days. The rough seas don't bother us, and in fact, a good old Atlantic storm would probably make my husband very happy, he loves the waves and the rocking. I wouldn't mind a day of it, but 5 days of cold, windy, rainy, and being tossed about, would really bum me out. :(

[JGaleCPA]

I've sailed the atlantic four times, total of about 27 days total.

 

Had maybe three "nice" days, i.e. days you'd love to sit on a deck chair and feel the sun in your face.

 

J

[Desertbelle]

I've sailed the atlantic four times, total of about 27 days total.Had maybe three "nice" days, i.e. days you'd love to sit on a deck chair and feel the sun in your face.

 

Were any of your 27 days on the route that I am considering? I would expect that transatlantic crossings, in the north Atlantic, such as England to New York, especially in December, would be quite cold.

 

I want to know if transatlantic crossings get warmer when they are as far south as the cruise we are considering?

[excitedofharpenden]

Margie, sad chap that I am:o, I looked at the sea surface temperatures for the Eastern Caribbean and out into the Atlantic for our 2003 cruise in November/early December. By then the Caribbean had cooled down quite a bit even going that much further South to the USVIs. Warm around the islands, but you didn't need to go far out for it to cool down. I have to agree with Darcie and say that the last sea day maybe the only one where it would be warm.

 

Phil

[Galer99]

We did a transatlantic crossing from Barcelona to San Juan (very much the same route as you're considering) in 2000 over Thanksgiving time. The ocean was smooth all the way and the weather was mild and lovely. We'd do it again in a heartbeat!