mnocket Posted September 26, 2018 #26 Share Posted September 26, 2018 Jet lag kicks my but, so if I'm planning to spend extra days vacationing in Europe I prefer to cruise US to Europe and arrive without jet lag relaxed and ready for my post-cruise touring. I fly home - better for me to experience jet lag at home than on vacation. Link to post Share on other sites
SPacificbound Posted September 27, 2018 #27 Share Posted September 27, 2018 We have done Transatlantic both East and West quite a few times, and we really don't use the time changes as a consideration. Where we are going to, or coming back from is more important for us. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
EGG Posted September 29, 2018 #28 Share Posted September 29, 2018 We did an eastbound on a ship with an enclosed solarium. This a great feature for any heavy sea day cruise, even Hawaii which we did twice. A US port stop of Boston. The 3 European ports were terrific, (Cork, Brugges, and Cherbonne), as well as the final port where we did a short tour on the way to a hotel. Others joined us for the tour and continued in the van to the airport for late afternoon flights. I can't even remember immigration, but something to consider. I'd ask someone who did this recently. On our westbound, no enclosed solarium, so huddled under blankets in the corner near door for afternoon nap. The ports were Boston, N.Y. overnight and Cape Kennedy. For us this was transportation from a European cruise home and not much more expense than plane tickets. Immigration was horrendous for the 3,100 non US citizens who wanted to see Boston. Only maybe half an hour for us who were 2 of 350 US citizens. Even though I lived 65 years in NY/NJ there is nothing like sailing into Manhattan and being in Times Square in the evening. To sum, take into consideration ship, ports, and the ports you will start out and end up in. Sent from my SM-T113 using Forums mobile app Link to post Share on other sites
ReligBookFreak Posted February 1, 2020 #29 Share Posted February 1, 2020 On 9/23/2018 at 7:23 PM, donaldsc said: I think that this time zone change is hogwash as you your hourly change only occurs once every few days. My only parameter would be if I want to rest before my Europe land trip or after. That doesn't make any difference to me so I guess that in the end, whichever way is cheaper. DON Since Central European Time (CET) is 6 hours different from East Coast Time (EST), the time change actually occurs 6 times during a transatlantic cruise; sometimes 2 or even 3 days in a row. Alan Link to post Share on other sites
ReligBookFreak Posted February 1, 2020 #30 Share Posted February 1, 2020 On 9/25/2018 at 10:17 PM, Daytona_MAc said: I've taken 3 TA cruises, all of them eastbound from the USA. Never had any issues with time changes, it didn't seem to be a big thing. Then again, I am not someone who pays close attention to a clock or tries to follow a fixed daily schedule. The first TA cruise was as part of a charter group to Europe and we took what was offered. The other two were chosen based on itinerary and price -- mostly the price for the flight needed to complete the journey. What worked for us in both of those just happened to be eastbound but we would have taken a westbound just as quickly if the schedule and airfares had been as good. We were on a RCCL transatlantic once where the Captain decided to change the ship's clock at Noon rather than at 2 am. It provided one hour less during the day to do whatever activities you had in mind, but it did not take away an hour of sleep. Alan Link to post Share on other sites
BarbinMich Posted February 2, 2020 #31 Share Posted February 2, 2020 We love TAs and did 10 of them (5 WB, 5 EB) between 2009 and 2017. Mostly on Princess, but last one was on HAL. Obviously we love them! They're a good deal price-wise and we've been to a variety of ports from Greenland/Iceland to Norway/Denmark and ports in between. Only missed several ports (Shetland Islands twice due to weather) so we were lucky perhaps. We've only done one from the Mediterranean (Venice to FLL), but enjoyed that one also. The Cruise Critic groups are usually quite active on them, setting up small private excursions, which is a big plus IMHO. The CC groups also usually plan a variety of onboard activities on sea days. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_Iain Posted February 15, 2020 #32 Share Posted February 15, 2020 Much prefer a Westbound. Getting an extra hour sleep every night on the crossing is so much better than loosing an hour every day. The crew also are much more relaxed as they also get the extra time to enjoy the crew bar. Link to post Share on other sites
spunks Posted June 18, 2020 #33 Share Posted June 18, 2020 gain an hour....lose an hour....no difference to us one way or another. We have done 10 EB and 10 WB and we greatly prefer WB. It has nothing to do with gaining or losing hours. When we are going WB, we fly over and walk "the living dead" walk until about 8 PM when we crash and sleep like logs. The next day we wake up feeling normal and are over the jet lag almost entirely. The Nice thing to us is that we get the port,port,port at the beginning of the cruise and then spend the next 7 to 10 days relaxing at sea. We LOVE the sea days....so much to do on the ship! The EB( we do whatever TA is available to us) are much tougher on us. The port,port,port comes at the end of the cruise and we have no time to relax until we head to the airport. The big thing is that for some reason, flying home leaves us with jet lag that can take up to 2 weeks to get over. Also, when we fly over and want to spend extra days in Barcelona, London, Rome, Venice, or where ever it is a treat and we enjoy it. When we get off the ship all we really want to do is go home. Doug Link to post Share on other sites
cementhands Posted July 8, 2020 #34 Share Posted July 8, 2020 On 9/23/2018 at 5:08 PM, jmk22 said: We've been thinking about taking a repositioning cruise. I wonder whether it is better to go from the US to Europe or From Europe to the US. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to going one way or the other. Thanks in advance for anyone's help We enjoyed our land based Europe experience in October 2018 a couple of weeks in Portugal and Poland Italy then transatlantic from Barcelona to Florida. Wonderful way to recover from our experience on land. Bonus is you gaining a hour extra sleep every other day on way back. Flying out to Lisbon was first thing in the morning and we enjoyed our sleep and recover nicely there. We can’t wait to return. But for covid19 we’d be going back soon! Link to post Share on other sites
john watson Posted October 12, 2020 #35 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I think it is kinder to one's wife to fly to Europe and get this dreadful experience over early on ahead of the cruise. Once in Europe you do an enormous amount of shopping for shoes and other essential fashion items. These would not fit into airline hand baggage restricted spaces but you have circumvented all that. A relaxing voyage back to US with an extra hour sleep on five nights is worth having, I don't know where the cruise lines get this time from but they usually come up with the facility. Regards John Link to post Share on other sites
ReligBookFreak Posted October 13, 2020 #36 Share Posted October 13, 2020 15 hours ago, john watson said: I think it is kinder to one's wife to fly to Europe and get this dreadful experience over early on ahead of the cruise. Once in Europe you do an enormous amount of shopping for shoes and other essential fashion items. These would not fit into airline hand baggage restricted spaces but you have circumvented all that. A relaxing voyage back to US with an extra hour sleep on five nights is worth having, I don't know where the cruise lines get this time from but they usually come up with the facility. Regards John Another option is to take the QM2 eastbound, stay in Europe for a few days, and then take your transatlantic westbound. Doing it that way (if the timing of the QM2 works to your advantage), you never have to fly across the Atlantic. Alan Link to post Share on other sites
lyannea Posted February 13 #37 Share Posted February 13 I don’t do well with time change when travelling and felt sleep-deprived after flying to Barcelona first and not enjoying my stay because I was tired all the time & felt like a walking zombie. Looking forward to leaving from the US next time to see if it’ll make a difference Link to post Share on other sites
Heidi13 Posted February 13 #38 Share Posted February 13 54 minutes ago, lyannea said: I don’t do well with time change when travelling and felt sleep-deprived after flying to Barcelona first and not enjoying my stay because I was tired all the time & felt like a walking zombie. Looking forward to leaving from the US next time to see if it’ll make a difference Clox at sea is way different than flying, as the 6 hr difference is spread over at least a couple of weeks. Heading Eastbound, you will lose an hour, which on most ships that change clox at 02:00 means an hour less sleep. If you are lucky, you may experience one of the Masters that change clox at Noon. A Westbound TA gets an extra hour sleep on 5 or 6 nights and is generally considered less sleep depriving. Link to post Share on other sites
lyannea Posted February 14 #39 Share Posted February 14 16 hours ago, Heidi13 said: Clox at sea is way different than flying, as the 6 hr difference is spread over at least a couple of weeks. Heading Eastbound, you will lose an hour, which on most ships that change clox at 02:00 means an hour less sleep. If you are lucky, you may experience one of the Masters that change clox at Noon. A Westbound TA gets an extra hour sleep on 5 or 6 nights and is generally considered less sleep depriving. I agree - I loved that extra hour - though slept most of the time on the cruise - I usually have a lot of energy -all the fresh air and activities- and looking forward to seeing if going to Europe will make a difference, plus, I want to enjoy Barcelona and not feel as though I’m dragging myself around. Link to post Share on other sites
mbleackl Posted February 17 #40 Share Posted February 17 We have enjoyed the sailings going both ways. Going eastbound even though there are multiple time changes, you don't notice it as much as if you have an 8 hour time difference all at once. In the spring you don't have to worry so much about weather especially on the southern route. Luckily we have had relatively calm Westbound cruises as well. On our last eastbound we were lucky enough to be in Funchal for the Flower Festival Parade. On the 2022 Odyssey sailing you miss the parade but can see the Wall of Hope ceremony. We usually spend a week or more in Florida at the beginning or the end of a cruise to extend the vacation and spend additional time in Europe on the opposite end. Link to post Share on other sites
canadjineh Posted Monday at 06:13 AM #41 Share Posted Monday at 06:13 AM I didn't notice anyone talk about repositioning Pacific - ie Vancouver, BC to Tokyo/Yokohama, Japan via Alaska and Russia. Viking, Regent Seven Seas, and Holland America. I think we'd be interested in that itinerary. Anybody taken those trips? Link to post Share on other sites
kochleffel Posted Monday at 05:09 PM #42 Share Posted Monday at 05:09 PM 10 hours ago, canadjineh said: I didn't notice anyone talk about repositioning Pacific - ie Vancouver, BC to Tokyo/Yokohama, Japan via Alaska and Russia. Viking, Regent Seven Seas, and Holland America. I think we'd be interested in that itinerary. Anybody taken those trips? There are various threads and trip reports in the forums for the cruise lines that offer these itineraries, but they may not be easy to find. Here's one that I started in the Celebrity forum; one of the replies contains a link to an extensive trip report. Link to post Share on other sites
generichandle Posted Tuesday at 12:07 AM #43 Share Posted Tuesday at 12:07 AM I prefer to get my time change on hour at a time during the trip, then I can adjust to the massive one at home in the end. Since I am in the USA, I would prefer westbound Pacific and Eastbound Atlantic. I DO have a large 'jetlag' adjustment compared to others, so let it be at home in the end. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
deadzone1003 Posted Tuesday at 04:46 PM #44 Share Posted Tuesday at 04:46 PM Westbound is always more relaxing, but it would depend on what you are planning to do in Europe. If you are flying into Europe and boarding the ship, westbound would be the way to go. However, if you plan to travel for a week or two in Europe before boarding the ship, go Eastbound and get over the time changes on the ship rather than on the1st 2-3 days in Europe. Link to post Share on other sites
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