Want advice about taking a TA.

[madera1]

We both love cruising and as 4 star Mariners prefer Holland America. I have wanted to try a river cruise but my husband has been hesitant. I suggested that we might combine a river cruise followed by a TA as he has wanted to try one of these. I am looking at October 2019. Has anyone done this? Have you enjoyed a TA? Looks like most are 13-14 days with about 10 at sea.

 

 

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[SetAnOpenCourse]

We’ve done one 7-day T A but no river cruises. I think the TA would be a nice way to wind down, as I’ve heard that river cruises keep you very busy. I’d do a TA every year, if only I could, on HAL or another line that has ships with a promenade suitable for walking and lounging and enjoying the sensation of being on the ocean.

[djett]

My wife and I did a Ft. Lauderdale to Rome TA on the Westerdam prior to a river cruise. We loved the relaxing sea days.

[RMLincoln]

We did a river cruise, did a few other things in Europe, then came home on a TA. The repositioning cruises coming back to the US are in the fall and early winter. I find it a great way to wind down after a bust time touring in Europe. And coming westbound you pick up longer days instead of shorter days! Love those 25 hour days.

We've done TAs on Princess, HAL and NCL, plus the double TA Atlantic Adventurer on HAL - round trip Fort Lauderdale. Usually we've had good speakers with presentations twice a day on sea days. Many other sea day activities.

If choosing HAL for the promenade deck and its loungers, be careful what ship and how many lanai cabins there are on it because the lanai cabins get their loungers reserved so there are fewer for the rest of the people.

We try to get a cabin that is low and mid ship or aft-wards so we have better stability in case we hit weather. But on NCL we had such a good price we took a balcony and enjoyed it even in the late fall. It was only a bit coolish, not cold, and the further south we went towards the Caribbean the warmer and more pleasant it got. We've had a bit of rocking and rolling but never anything terrible... they usually have enough flexibility to go around any storms.

Happy planing, m--

[oceanmom]

While perhaps not technically a TA, we thoroughly enjoyed our Viking Passages cruise from Rotterdam to Boston. Usually a sea day or two, then a port day--except in Iceland where we had four port days in a row although two of the port days were an overnight in Reykjavik. Absolutely best cruise ever. Don't think I would like more than four sea days in a row. On the other hand, I don't like 4 port days in a row either.

[westcoastcruiser]

Have done transAtlantic and TransPacific a couple of times. Echo what others have said. It is our preference to do the crossing after a port intensive cruise. Love being able to enjoy the ship, relax and savor the experience.

[KirkNC]

We did that a couple of years ago taking a TA on the Prinsendam from Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam. We spent two days in Amsterdam then did a Viking river cruise from there to Basel. It was quite nice.

[birdietree]

We have done several TAs eastbound as we love the sea and jet lag takes a day or more from enjoying our European vacation. We do not get sea sick. The trick for many sea days is to love reading or handwork or spa going or doing exercise or chitchat. You should be able to keep yourself busy in case the onboard entertainment is not to your liking.

[*Miss G*]

I did my first TA (15 nights) last October on the Koningsdam. It was fantastic and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The long leisurely days were so relaxing and it was so nice to adjust to the time change gradually. We were deck 7 forward so I was worried about the movement, but I needn't have. The ship is very stable so we didn't feel a thing. All of my concerns (multiple sea days, boredom, and ship movement) came to naught. The weather was perfect and so was the ship. I hope your experience is the same.

[AncientWanderer]

We have done four TAs -- three eastbound and one westbound. If it can be coordinated, I'll always choose a TA as my method of transportation for a European vacation. Heading east, you arrive fresh and ready to go in Europe. Heading west, you get to gradually adjust to time change and the hard reality that vacation is over. DH and I really enjoy our TAs. Highly recommend.

[ger_77]

We're booked for our 4th westbound TA in October and are really looking forward to it. The actual crossings have been 7 or 8 consecutive sea days, which we've found to be relaxing and invigorating at the same time. You do gain an hour every couple of nights on the westward trip, which is nice. There are always things to do around the ship, but if you like to read, then load up your Kindle or iPad and catch up on books you've wanted to read, but never had the time. At the end of a TA, you feel like you've really had a holiday.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[OlsSalt]

Tough call - do the TA before or after. I tend to agree adjusting to the European time zone doing the TA before your river cruise is a benefit to ensure you are in best shape for what is your main travel event- the river cruise.. Best answer - do them both ways - see if one of the Queens is making their TA "bus trip" to get you back home. (After you win the lottery, of course)

[RuthC]

I've done one west-bound and three round-trips on the northern route, and 2 or 3 (I lost track) west-bound from the Med. to Florida. Your October plans would put you on the Med-Florida route. It is still hurricane season, but by then is winding down.

These were all fantastic cruises. We were able to avoid any storms on the more southerly route.

 

I love those relaxing days at sea to read, attend lectures, or just watch the ever-changing ocean.

If you have the river cruise first you will want those sea days to wind down from the busy earlier cruise. Sounds like a perfect compromise for you.

[AncientWanderer]

As RuthC mentioned, storms are avoided during the fall westbound journey by sailing a southerly route. Our most recent TA was this past November, and we were so surprised to be in bathing suits and sunbathing for most of the crossing. I don't know if that's an unusual situation, but it was a lovely surprise for us.

[TAD2005]

We love a TA after a very port intensive cruise through the Mediterranean. A good way to wind down from visiting a port every day. Also, one thing that makes the 6 or 7 days at sea enjoyable is having the Signature Beverage Package !!

[madera1]

Just got online and read all of your posts. Sounds like quite a few of you think this is a nice way to combine an active cruise with a more leisurely one. Now to continue researching potential cruises. Thank you for your responses.

 

 

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[Sue from Canada]

We both love cruising and as 4 star Mariners prefer Holland America. I have wanted to try a river cruise but my husband has been hesitant. I suggested that we might combine a river cruise followed by a TA as he has wanted to try one of these. I am looking at October 2019. Has anyone done this? Have you enjoyed a TA? Looks like most are 13-14 days with about 10 at sea.

 

 

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I did a 16 day TA starting out of Barcelona on Nov. 1st in 2014. Once we sailed out of the straight of Gibraltar we had 9 glorious sea days until our arrival at Tampa. Super weather in the 70s, calm seas. I would do this again in a flash. I think adding a TA after a river cruise is a wonderful idea.

[iancal]

Seven or eight days at sea. We were ready to jump ship by day 3.

 

This is such a personal decision. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. We won't do another one. You may love it.

 

That aside. We could never do 7-10 days of 'understated HAL elegance' (aka dead quiet) without the chance of some reasonable entertainment options.