Transatlantic Pros and Cons

[orla56]

Hi can anyone tell me what is the northern route or southern route transatlantic.

We are going from FL to Southampton next April.

Thanks.

[Clarea]

Hi can anyone tell me what is the northern route or southern route transatlantic.

We are going from FL to Southampton next April.

Thanks.

What ship?

[ducklite]

I don't see the point of going to Europe if you won't be able to spend time there. We plan on doing an eastbound TA after we retire, spending ~six months in Europe, then taking a Westbound back. :)

[orla56]

We are on the Independence o the seas clarea

Edited September 17, 2016 by orla56

[riclop]

Looking for info on Transatlantic sailings. This will be my first TA and I'll be traveling solo.

 

I'm currently working and this will utilize a large portion of my vacation. I'll also need to obtain approval although I don't foresee any concerns.

 

What are the pros and cons of a TA sailing?

In your opinion is it a better option to take 2 separate vacations as opposed to one long vacation?

The cruise price is good. Any idea about one way airfare? I tried to do a fake reservation and the one way fare was $2500.:eek:

 

Sailing - Brillance 2017 Westbound. Also the sailing coincides with my birthday.:)

 

Thanks

I don't see many pros, crazy weather long flights and it gets old after a while.

[Clarea]

We are on the Independence o the seas clarea

Looking at the itinerary, that cruise goes south to St. Maarten before it heads to England, so that does not look like the northern route to me.

[sailset]

We have done 2 TA East bound in April and they were great. As previously stated much quieter. The only con I thought was that after relaxing days on the way over, the remaining port days were tiring. Then to jump on a plane and fly back and go to work was kind of a lot for me.....so finally this October well be doing just the opposite on the Harmony! I'm so excited. We got such a great deal on a balcony room because we booked it last year. We did airfare through Air2sea and for one way for me and hubby it was like $900. Can't think of cons really....love TAs:) btw it is fun going during Halloween...We won the group competition on Halloween night one year...so were going to participate this year too :). Can't wait....5 more weeks!

Edited September 17, 2016 by sailset

[IsanTom]

Love TA's and sea days. A TA is so relaxing with very few kids aboard, so the ships are

not sailing at capacity. I try and take 2 TA's every year!

[jules815]

We'll also be on the Harmony TA next month. It will be our first and we're really getting excited!!

 

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[Tommy3putts]

I don't see the point of going to Europe if you won't be able to spend time there. We plan on doing an eastbound TA after we retire, spending ~six months in Europe, then taking a Westbound back. :)

 

 

 

Dittos!

[Freedom55]

We are going from Tampa to Barcelona with stops in Key West, St Maarten, Malaga, Cartagena and ending in Barcelona.

Any tips on these ports for us?

[Desert Cruizers]

If you have the extra time post cruise, I would stay and see Barcelona, beautiful city and so much to see

[negc]

Love TAs. However I wouldn't personally risk a northern Atlantic crossing. We've done Caribbean to the UK and had exceptional weather throughout in April and even sat by the pool in the English Channel. It's a very relaxing holiday.

 

As a single traveller it may give you more time to meet and get to know other passengers and the higher number of daytime activities might also help you meet new friends.

 

 

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We just returned from a northern Atlantic crossing (Copenhagen to Boston) that was one of the smoothest crossings we have ever experienced. Our first northern crossing was spent avoiding the full impact of hurricane Gustave and was briefly rough but still a wonderful cruise. It all depends so I wouldn't automatically rule one out because of the weather you might encounter.

[BillOh]

We are booked on our first TA this October and can't wait! We are Diamonds on RCI, plus we have cruised other lines, so we know that cruising is a good fit for us and we know that we love sea days. I would not recommend someone to book a TA if they have never cruised.

 

We are combining our TA with land time in Barcelona, so we will be able to enjoy this part of Europe at our leisure, something we often miss on a cruise when we have limited time in each port.

 

We got our airfare on Air2Sea for a great price, much lower than booking through other travel search engines.

 

Ginny, almost down to 30 days! I was reading this for informative purposes in case we do this someday, but I was waiting for someone to mention Air2sea. It seems the one way international flights are their niche market.

[Starinyte]

We just returned from a northern Atlantic crossing (Copenhagen to Boston) that was one of the smoothest crossings we have ever experienced. Our first northern crossing was spent avoiding the full impact of hurricane Gustave and was briefly rough but still a wonderful cruise. It all depends so I wouldn't automatically rule one out because of the weather you might encounter.

 

This is very good to hear. We're considering doing our first TA from Copenhagen to Boston next fall and I'll admit to being concerned about the rough waters of the crossing.

 

We're excited about it, even though it sounds like we'll have to manage the expectations of our little ones (ages 9, 8, and 3) since we're doing the Oasis this November and the TA will be a very different sort of cruise.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Starinyte

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Ginny, almost down to 30 days! I was reading this for informative purposes in case we do this someday, but I was waiting for someone to mention Air2sea. It seems the one way international flights are their niche market.

 

Hi Bill! Actually, we are now 29 days until we leave.:) We leave 5 days prior to the cruise, which will give us approx 4 days in Barcelona.

 

Yes to Air2Sea. We got PHX - BCN for $450pp. I was very happy with that. We will be flying home on SWA points from FLL, so our transport overall is very affordable. We plan to book Air2Seas for our 2017 cruises (one way to Rome for the Jewel Greek Islands, then over to BCN for the TA on the Freedom) soon after arriving home in early November. Any chance you can join us on either segment?

[Freedom55]

If you have the extra time post cruise, I would stay and see Barcelona, beautiful city and so much to see

 

Thanks! We are booked to stay in Barcelona...looking forward to it

[jules815]

Hi Bill! Actually, we are now 29 days until we leave.:) We leave 5 days prior to the cruise, which will give us approx 4 days in Barcelona.

 

Yes to Air2Sea. We got PHX - BCN for $450pp. I was very happy with that. We will be flying home on SWA points from FLL, so our transport overall is very affordable. We plan to book Air2Seas for our 2017 cruises (one way to Rome for the Jewel Greek Islands, then over to BCN for the TA on the Freedom) soon after arriving home in early November. Any chance you can join us on either segment?

 

30 days for us! Arriving in Barcelona early on the 20th. :D

 

Time to pull out the suitcases. My packing piles on the bed in our guest room are getting quite large!

[emeraldcity]

We are going from Tampa to Barcelona with stops in Key West, St Maarten, Malaga, Cartagena and ending in Barcelona.

Any tips on these ports for us?

 

I did the Tampa-to-Barcelona TA on Brilliance this year. The only common port-of-call was Malaga where I did the "free" walking tour. It was extremely well done. They explain that you pay at the end whatever you think it's worth, so they have an incentive to give you a good product. And our group loved it. At dinner that evening we found that our tablemates were especially disappointed by their ship's walking tour that had covered much of the same ground.

 

At the end of our tour we asked our guide to recommend a local place for lunch and he sent us to Los Gatos, which was an amazing way to end the visit. Nobody spoke English there, but Kathy in our party did, having lived in Spain for several months. So she conferred with the waiter and asked him to recommend what would be best for us. He got us a sampler plate of tapas, and we cut them all into four pieces so we could each try one of everything. Two of us bought beers, one had wine and I ordered bottled water. The place was narrow and jam-packed with people. A guitarist wandered through at one point serenading the lunch crowd and all the locals joined in with the songs. It was like being in the middle of some movie. After the tapas they delivered wonderful crème puffs, which we hadn't ordered. And then when we asked for the bill, they stalled us a bit more before they brought out champagne and stemmed glassware. "Why?" we asked when we were making it clear we hadn't ordered it. "Because the house is generous" was the reply. Kathy then turned to us and explained that they were honoring us for the gesture of stepping out of our comfort zone to come to a local place instead of going to Burger King.

 

And I got my airfare through RCI ... $560. Getting decent air out of Cleveland is challenging, so I was thrilled with the rate I paid.

[bigeck]

The best way to get airfare is to book 2 Ta's and get return flights.

Worth looking at.

Or Norwegian Air from FLL to Gatwick one way is pretty cheap

Thomas Cook has a charter from MIA to Manchester that is reasonable

Edited September 21, 2016 by bigeck

[SailingSal]

TA's for me are the ultimate chill vacation. Lot's of ship time for reading, napping, games - whatever.

 

As far as airfare goes it is way too early to check airfare for 2017 but one way from MIA to BCN Nov 2016 I can find as cheap as $374.

 

Try /www.skyscanner.com

 

Squeeze as much time off as you can so you arrive in BCN at least the day before sailing.

 

WOW - you are so right about skyscanner.com. The airfares are so much cheaper - even for non-stop:eek:

Thank you so much for the tip! We would love to do a transatlantic, but the airfares were/are so high! Again, thank you.

[harola]

The best way to get airfare is to book 2 Ta's and get return flights.

Worth looking at.

Or Norwegian Air from FLL to Gatwick one way is pretty cheap

Thomas Cook has a charter from MIA to Manchester that is reasonable

 

 

We booked Norwegian Air from San Juan to Gatwick for € 240 including luggage and meals. That is pretty cheap (about $ 260- 270)

 

 

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[Freedom55]

I did the Tampa-to-Barcelona TA on Brilliance this year. The only common port-of-call was Malaga where I did the "free" walking tour. It was extremely well done. They explain that you pay at the end whatever you think it's worth, so they have an incentive to give you a good product. And our group loved it. At dinner that evening we found that our tablemates were especially disappointed by their ship's walking tour that had covered much of the same ground.

 

At the end of our tour we asked our guide to recommend a local place for lunch and he sent us to Los Gatos, which was an amazing way to end the visit. Nobody spoke English there, but Kathy in our party did, having lived in Spain for several months. So she conferred with the waiter and asked him to recommend what would be best for us. He got us a sampler plate of tapas, and we cut them all into four pieces so we could each try one of everything. Two of us bought beers, one had wine and I ordered bottled water. The place was narrow and jam-packed with people. A guitarist wandered through at one point serenading the lunch crowd and all the locals joined in with the songs. It was like being in the middle of some movie. After the tapas they delivered wonderful crème puffs, which we hadn't ordered. And then when we asked for the bill, they stalled us a bit more before they brought out champagne and stemmed glassware. "Why?" we asked when we were making it clear we hadn't ordered it. "Because the house is generous" was the reply. Kathy then turned to us and explained that they were honoring us for the gesture of stepping out of our comfort zone to come to a local place instead of going to Burger King.

 

And I got my airfare through RCI ... $560. Getting decent air out of Cleveland is challenging, so I was thrilled with the rate I paid.

 

Thanks!

[ncbn0902]

We will be doing Barcelona to FLL TA's in late October in both 2016 & 2017. Should we pack warm clothes for those, or will typical Caribbean cruise clothing be ok?

 

We were looking at this cruise, how much did you find your airfare for?

[Clarea]

We were looking at this cruise, how much did you find your airfare for?

Our airfare this year, STL->BCN, was $515 per person.