Has anyone taken a transatlantic cruise?

Old Aug 22nd, 1998, 02:03 PM
  #1  
Steph
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Has anyone taken a transatlantic cruise?

I love cruising and usually go alone. Am interested in a 10-14 day transatlantic cruise. Anyone have any firsthand info? Thanks for your help!!
 
Old Aug 22nd, 1998, 06:02 PM
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gloria mcmahon
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we took a transatlantic 1997 on the splender of the seas. it was a wonderful trip. we like all the days at sea.we left from san juan and ended in barcelona. it was relly great. if you have any questioins will be glad to answer. gloria
 
Old Aug 24th, 1998, 09:47 PM
  #3  
Bobbie
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We also took a transatlantic cruise - 19 days from San Juan to Athens 5/97.
We sailed on the Royal Princess (wonderful ship) - 6 days across to Portugal then Gibraltar, Cannes, Florence, Rome, Istanbul (overnight) Ephesus and ending in Athens - there were days at sea in between some ports.
We have been on a lot of cruises - this was the best! If I can help any further just send email. Hope you can go - you will love it.
 
Old Sep 17th, 1998, 09:41 AM
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Betty Ann
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We are taking a 14 day cruise on Windstar in Nov from Lisbon to St Thomas. Small ship, 148 passengers, 84 crew, one cabin class, one fare. Will post our experiences after we return Nov 26th.
 
Old Nov 27th, 1998, 04:28 AM
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Betty Ann
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We returned yesterday from a 14 day transatlantic crossing on Wind Spirit, a Wind Star Cruises ship, from Lisbon to St Thomas. We enjoyed it so much we signed up for next year! E Mail me direct if you have any specific questions.
 
Old Dec 18th, 1998, 08:27 AM
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Eunice
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Husband and I booked Celebrity's Century for the Genoa to Ft. Lauderdale crossing
leaving Oct.22,l999. Itinerary looks great, early booking gives good discount. There is also a Ft. Lauderdal
to Genoa option. Would appreciate hearing what you decide and your insights on the trip. Enjoy.
 
Old Dec 18th, 1998, 04:21 PM
  #7  
Steph
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Hi everyone! thanks for all the replies. I still haven't decided but you all are making me itch to go somewhere! My next trip will be in late september or early october. I will keep reading the board for opinions. thanks again.
 
Old Aug 12th, 1999, 01:24 PM
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Joe
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I'd like more information on transatlantic cruises. We live in Washington, DC and are in our early 50s. Go to Europe yearly - - cost conscious but not bargain driven travelers. When you leave from Florida or Caribean ports, does the fare include transportation from your home city? return flight? what are average costs? We're thinking of a late Nov., early Dec. trip. Is this a bad time to sail the Atlantic? I'll appreciate answers to any of my questions along with general tips and advice. Thanks, Joe
 
Old Aug 12th, 1999, 05:18 PM
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merriem
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We did a 13 day Miami Barcelona trans-atlantic on the Norway. What a great way to travel..loved the trip...hated the Norway...
 
Old Aug 13th, 1999, 10:33 AM
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Vickie
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Joe: Your time frame (late Nov/early Dec.) is too late for any transatlantic cruises except the QE2. The QE2 does transatlantic sailings most of the year, except for Jan-March when she is on her world cruise. She sails between NY and Southhampton (London)and the trip takes 6 days. I've been on QE2 about 6 times for crossings and have sailed from NY and flown home from London and vice versa, plus I've done the roundtrip crossing. Cunard offers a variety of special pricing, including "Matched Sailings" where you sail roundtrip but only pay for one way.

I have also done transatlantic crossings on Princess and Crystal ships, both in the spring and fall which is when most cruise lines are repositioning their ships between the Caribbean and Europe. Those cruises are usually 14 days and sail between Barcelona/Lisbon and Florida/San Juan. They stop at some ports (usually Tenerife), but there are many days at sea, so be sure you enjoy that!

The cruise lines will arrange airfare for you - either one way if you live near an embarkation/disembarkation point or round trip. There's usually a supplemental charge from your home city to the embark/disembark city. Nowadays, the air is NOT included in the cruise fare - be sure to check the brochure carefully!

On the QE2, in late fall, the weather can be interesting since she sails a northerly route. Certainly not bathing suit temperatures and could be windy, stormy, etc. Seas are often rougher then too. The other cruise lines, who are simply repositioning their ships, sail a southerly route which is warmer. However, the European end is not warm either at that time.

Have you thought about a transpacific crossing? I've done that a few times & loved it - LA to Auckland and LA to Sydney. Usually 3 weeks, stopping in Hawaii, Mexico and various South Pacific islands.

 
Old Aug 14th, 1999, 09:16 AM
  #11  
Dawn
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Steph:

We did a 16-day Transatlantic Cruise in November 1996 on the Splendour of the Seas. We chose this itinerary because out of 16 days, 9 were "at sea" days..which we love.

We started in Barcelona, went to Gibraltar, Lisbon, Funchal (Madeira), Tenerife (Canary Islands....fab, fab, fab), Philipsburg, St Maarten and then to Florida.

This was, so far, out best cruise ever. We had a category C and my husband spent many, many hours enjoying his balcony. This trip spoiled us for all future cruises...my husband insists on a balcony....no matter what!

We have such fond memories of that cruise.

Enjoy!

Dawn
 
Old Aug 22nd, 1999, 10:39 AM
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Betty
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NCL Dream will leave on trans-atlantic November 28 for 14 day crossing, most of these re-positioning cruises have great rates and worth looking into. This one leaves from Rome with stops in Casablanca, canary islands and other ports and ends in San Juan. Betty
 
Old Jul 5th, 2001, 07:36 AM
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Andy
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I'm also single and will make the crossing on Celebrity's Millenium Sep.30-Oct.14 from Barcelona to Ft.Lauderdale. This is my first cruise but after doing some research I think I've picked one of the better ships. Will let you know as soon as I get back.
Andy
 
Old Mar 24th, 2002, 07:25 AM
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Barb
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My Husband and I sailed on the Norway when it returned to LaHavre France and then onto South Hampton England for a refit. WHAT A JOY.

If you are anything like us we work hard for a living and enjoy all the time at sea. It forces you to relax and enjoy instead of rushing everyday to see what each different port has to offer.

I can't understand why anyone would hate the Norway. It is one of the last remaining Luxury Liners.
 
Old Mar 24th, 2002, 11:46 AM
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Howard
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Funny this old thread should come up now. I am looing forward to my first t/a cruise (and first cruise of any type) in one week. We are flying down to St. Thomas on Friday, then are on the Wind Spirit (see Betty Ann's post above) for 14 days...leaving March 30 and arriving in Lisbon 14 days later, with no stops. We are staying in Lisbon for 4 days before returning home. The cruise was at a great price (in fact the airfare is a lot more than the cruise price itself).

I am planning to post something about the trip when I get back.
 
Old Mar 24th, 2002, 12:19 PM
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Parrot Mom
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Thanks for bringing this up.. We are doing our first trans-atlantic on September 9th from Harwich to Boston... the cabin with balcony is a steal, but we are still steaming over the air fare and transfer from Boston..we think it is outrageous, even with a transfer from Heathrow.. ?..how are the seas, will I be seasick. We are going on the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas and the thoughts of no ports to stop in makes it more attractive. A few years ago we took the repositioning trip of the NCL Sky from Miami to L.A. with only four ports in fourteen days..it was heaven...those days at sea are to be savoured. Waters smooth as glass until we headed to L.A. If this works out it maybe the only way I cruise, except from Boston to Bermuda...lol
 
Old May 10th, 2005, 12:46 PM
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We just got back from our first Transatlantic cruise last week. It was our honeymoon. It was also a sixteen day cruise and a great deal. We feel like a balcony cabin is must at least for our ports and most that we researched you see more once you get to Europe if you are on the port side of the ship. We were on the Grand Princess, and found out a lot about ourselves and about Princess. One, even though we like Sea Days five in a row can get to be a bit much if you are a lot younger than most of the passengers. We are in our thirties and and there may have been twenty people younger than us on the cruise including the nine children. You definitely have to get involved on a cruise of this length and we did. We had only cruised RCCL and had for the most part seen the crew treated with courtesy by the passengers. We were shocked and horrified at the level of abuse that Princess crew had to take from a suprising number of passengers. Another thing to consider if you are on a budget is that on a long cruise with a lot of sea days it is very easy to run up a bill that is much more than the original cost of the cruise. If you don't go knowing this you can have an unpleasant suprise as we witnessed many people on the last morning when they got the statements. We kept up by going to the pursers desk and getting a statement throughout the cruise every few days just like on any other cruise.

We are very glad to be able to say we experienced a transatlantic crossing and the ports including Bermuda and then Europe were Amazing, however next time we will probably just do a Mediterranean Cruise even though repositioning is such a great deal. However, I think an Atlantic crossing is something everyone should do once in there life just to say that they've done it. It also puts a transatlantic flight in a whole new perspective.
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Old May 12th, 2005, 06:03 AM
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We are taking our second trans-Atlantic.. from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale, 15 nights..Rome, Malaga, Corsica, Nice and Nassau with the rest of the days at sea... Our first that I wrote about earlier turned out to be a nightmare for me...a gorgeous ship, but a crew, entertainment and food among other things that has left me with a bitter taste for RCL...but we loved the idea of the days at sea.
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Old Jun 9th, 2005, 09:01 PM
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Last year we took the Star Princess from Venice, via Naples, Rome, Nice, Barcelona,Cadiz, Lisbon and The Azores to FLL.
We enjoyed a wonderful voyage with great table mates, great ports, several of which we had visited on previous voyages.
We had a balcony cabin on the port side of the ship and were very pleased with all the arrangements. Food was very good on most occasions. The ship was well kept and the crew very accomodating.
Our big problem was the "nickle and diming" that the Princess, unfortunately, engages in. Exhorbitant prices for bottles of water, icecream and drinks such as hot chocolate and extra on deck and at lunch. After paying $12,000 for a couple of weeks cruise, I think that is a bit much.

So, this year, because we enjoyed the crossing so much and it is 1/2 the time of most Pacific crossings we have done, we have decided to go with a luxury line which does not aggravate you with all the overpriced extras. You pay one time and almost everything on board is included. This includes tips, wine, drinks with dinner etc etc. It is a little more in price but from all the reports we have read on this and other boards, the experience is 1st class; and that is what you want when you are spending that kind of money.
The ship is the Radisson Voyager which will take us from Monte Carlo to FLL via Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Casablanca, Agadir, Morocco, and The Canary Islands
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Old Mar 28th, 2006, 06:57 AM
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I also am interested in taking a transatlantic cruise. I need help from those of you who have been. My biggest concern is whether or not my husband and I will be bored silly during the 5 days at sea. (We are looking at the Carnival Liberty, which has a 5-day at sea itinerary to Italy.) I also wonder--do the ships that go transatlantic have more things to do on them than the 7-day sailings ships? ANY type of advice would be greatly appreciated.
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