Favorite memories of transatlantic cruising
 

My husband and I are getting ready to take our first transatlantic cruise. We will be traveling from Ft. Lauderdale to several ports in Europe in April. We will be on the ship for 7 days before we reach our first port of call.
We are interested in other travelers experiences on the ship for the trip over. Was it boring? Was it restful? How was the weather? What were the sea conditions?
Thanks very much for sharing your experiences.

I went on an 850 passenger ship in 2001 - from Ft. lauderdale to Athens. Loved every minute. Greek crew- great, fresh food. Very few passengers - maybe 350 or so. I've never felt so rested. It is for the person who can entertain himself with reading or relaxing. Am planning another this April.

<font color="purple"> What line was this?</font>

I have been on many cruises and favorite by far was the Trans-Atlantic cruise in 2004. Days at sea mean reading for hours on end without feeling any guilt! Spa time. But mostly I loved the time I spent with my family. We were also able to unusual ports. My favoirte was the Faroe Islands and a beautiful sunny day in Greenland.

chevre,
Can I ask you more about the Faroe Islands and Greenland? What did you do there? Did your cruise also stop in Iceland? We are doing one this fall with all of the above stops including a few stops in Norway. Did your cruise go to Norway? Anything you could tell me would be greatly appreciated.

My experience is different because I crewed on a tall ship during a transatlantic crossing.

That said, do yourself a favor and get up at sunrise as often as you can. The &quot;Sunrise-Sunset Watch&quot; of 4-8 (morning and evening) was by far my favorite.

In terms of reading, I used the 3 week trip as an opportunity to read War &amp; Peace.

This is in response to connette's question. We did a Holland America cruise last year that sounds very similar (if not identical) to what you are planning. Start in Copenhagen and end in NYC with three stops in Norway, three in Iceland, two in Newfoundland, plus one each in Greenland and Faroe Islands. We had booked three shore excursions, but took only one (in Norway) that was disappointing. On the spur of the moment, we rented a car at our first port in Iceland and thoroughly enjoyed our day away by ourselves out in the countryside. Then, I reserved rental cars at our other two Iceland stops. I highly recommend that approach -- unless you like being hearded onto buses and escorted around in a mass. There's not a lot to do in Greenland or Faroe with the short times available -- just get out, explore and see what you find.

bo jack,
Thank you for the response. What tour did you do in Norway that was disappointing? We were sort of looking at kayaking or on that goes to a farm. We stop at Bergen (don't want a tour there) and Hellesylt/Geiranger. Where did you book your rental cars and how did you pick them up? Near the dock or did you have to taxi somewhere? Where did you drive to? In Iceland we just stop at Reykjavik and Akureyri. I really appreciate your help.

TSFS: I've been on a dozen or so trans-atlantic cruises because I enjoy the time at sea more than ports. The days are peaceful, since there's no scurrying to get into port or on tours. Cruise lines typically increase their daily activities for trans-oceanic trips, so there's a wide variety of &quot;planned&quot; activities but I like to find a quiet spot on deck to read. Since you're taking a southerly route, it should be warm and good weather. (Bathing suit weather for sure, but not stifling.) Sunny nearly every day with maybe a brief rainstorm. I don't have a problem with seasickness, but I don't remember the seas being rough at all.

During the days, I typically go to trivia, dance lessons &amp; lectures since they're great ways to meet people. Usually, trivia is run as a team event and you can stick with the same team throughout the cruise or move around - either way, you get to know a lot of people. Dance lessons are fun, no pressure also. Mostly, though, I read on deck and watch the waves &amp; clouds; and walk the decks at different times of day (during sunset is great!).

connette --
Although I used the word, &quot;disappointing&quot; is probably an overstatement in describing the organized excursion. However, the unpleasant aspects of it (being hearded around in a group) outweighed the pleasant aspects of it. It was a bus trip from Kristansand to Lillisand and a boat trip back (the brocure sounded like boat both ways). It was OK -- just not something we would want to repeat. Our Iceland stops were Akureyri, Isafjordur, and Reykjavik. In the first two places, someone from Hertz came to the tourist center (near where we landed) and picked us up. In Reykjavik, we took a taxi to the Hertz location, but Hertz provided transport back to the boat. The cost of rentals was about $100 per day plus gas. For the two of us, this was cheaper than the shore excursions at $85 per person. In Akureyri and Reykjavik, we simply followed a route similar to one of the shore excursion bus trips. However, we stopped where we wanted and stayed as little or as long as we wanted (within the general time frame of getting back to the ship). My wife is an avid photographer, and we made lots of road-side stops for her to take pictures. I booked the first rental (Akureyri) from the tourist information office when we landed there. The other two, I reserved via computer from the Hertz office in Akureyri. I'm not sure what other rental companies are available, but Hertz was quite reliable for us in this instance.

Thanks bo_jack. Great info.

Thanks vikiebypass! That's just the kind of info I was looking for. I am a reader, I love trivia and the dance lessons sound great, (I might even be able to talk my husband into doing that!) We are very excited. Thanks again. TSFA

I am sailing in Sept. with Princess trans Atlantic to Norway, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Newfundland. Some one mentioned dance lessons, were they on Princess?
What kind of lessons? What is there to do in Greenland? Were there any AA meetings, Friends of Bill Wilson?

We're in that &quot;TransAtlantic is the best!&quot; camp, too. Have crossed S'hampton to Boston and Ft. Lauderdale to Lisbon. LOVE sea days, the relaxation, the time to enjoy the ship and the whole shipboard experience. Have never been bored a bit - and our most recent, westbound voyage was 10 days at sea before our first/only stop in the Azores. Then two more days and we debarked in Lisbon. Would go on another TA in a trice (if only the wallet could afford it).

(B/t/w....how is a route that includes Iceland....southerly???)

ooops...overlooked the part that said Ft. L'dale, so that's southerly, but heading up towards Iceland, etc...sure isn't.

As for weather/seas....I'm sure you know that's totally unpredictable. On our first crossing, we had about 1.5-2 days of &quot;lumpy seas&quot; as the Brits call it. The most recent voyage was almost five days straight of bumpity-bump. 12-15 foot high waves. Just enough, in my book, to know you're on the ocean. But too much for some folks. SO go prepared with the patch, or whatever, and if that doesn't work - opt for The Shot from the ship's doc. It's a miracle, sets you right in a couple of hours and keeps you in fine fettle from there on.