Have you ever wondered how it would be to travel slowly? Not taking the fast road (or flight) but relaxing and having lots of time to yourself? Let me tell you all about Transatlantic cruises and why you should consider one.
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Table of contents
Intro to Transatlantic Cruises
After we took our first cruise, it didn’t take long for us to get addicted to the concept. Traveling while asleep and not having to unpack and repack at every destination sure is a great way to enjoy life.
Many Good Reasons for a Transatlantic Cruise
Let me tell you the top reasons why we love transatlantic cruises. Then you can decide whether it is something you would like to try.
Relatively Cheap
Though we love cruising, we also love travel hacking, budget travel and other ways to save money. So we were happily surprised to find out that transatlantic cruises tend to be cheaper because there are fewer ports so you save on port fees. Secondly, they usually are about two weeks, which is longer than most employed people can go on vacation, especially if you still have to fly in addition to the cruise.
For example, a Princess cruise from Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona costs only $ 740 per person. That means $ 50 a night will buy you room, board, entertainment and an ocean crossing. Quite an amazing deal!
Lots of Sea Days to Relax
Seemingly, there are two types of cruise enthusiasts. The type A ones thrive on exploring a new port every day, choosing high adrenaline activities and seeing as much as they can before the ship departs. Usually they complain about sea days being boring.
Then there are the Type B ones, like me. Tremendously enjoying every single sea day because there is NOTHING on the agenda. Well, apart from sit-down meals in the Main Dining Room, sipping tea overlooking the ocean with a good book on my lap, and unsuccessfully trying to win trivia. Let’s not forget about the shows and there is always the casino, where I brazenly bet like $ 20 each trip in the hope to win a free cruise. Hasn’t happened yet but hope springs eternal.
Interesting Ports
Although there might not be many ports, the ones you visit tend to be interesting ones. On our first four cruise days last year, we visited a different UNESCO World Heritage site every day.
Even better, we were going to stop at the Azores, a place in the middle of the ocean which is kinda hard to reach. Regretfully, the location also means there is lots of inclement weather so we had to skip that port. Twice so far!
No Jet Lag!
My very favorite perk in the world is the slow travel, without jet lag! So much nicer to adjust an hour at a time instead of six hours at once.
Good Food: Eat, Drink and be Merry
Imagine two weeks of not having to come up with daily meals, not having to do laundry and to enjoy good food and fancy drinks. Visit the ship’s library and find a good book to read while overlooking the ocean. Maybe compete in daily trivia or write snail mail letters and postcards.
Sitting down in the Main Dining room in the morning and make the difficult decision between eggs Florentin or the pan Asian breakfast bento box.
For entertainment there are daily shows in the big theater and many smaller venues like our favorite piano bar. You are in a floating all-inclusive resort, so enjoy every moment!
Learn New Things
Have you always wanted to learn to play bridge? Maybe you feel more like pickle ball or tai chi. Interesting daily lectures will fill your time if you wish, or you can learn some simple origami.
To our big surprise we even learned that peregrine falcons sometimes follow the cruise ships over the ocean, dining on fish and maybe on other hitch hiking birds. It was a joy to see them daily for a while.
Experience the Journey of your Ancestors
Maybe your ancestors immigrated to the USA before there were planes available, so they had to take a transatlantic journey on a big ship, usually in steerage. Although our experience on a cruise ship is somewhat fancier, they still had the same views over the ocean, the same moon lit nights and the anxious feeling of “There is no land in sight, I hope the captain knows where he is going!”
In addition it gave me a new appreciation for the early explorers, who were sailing without the benefit of modern navigational tools. Without good maps, just hoping for the best, not knowing where they would end up. Hopefully in China, but there was another continent in the way…
Just imagine the Polynesian people who discovered Hawai’i, floating on the ocean in oversized canoes. They must have been so ecstatic to see land.
FAQ about Transatlantic Cruises
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about transatlantic cruises, let us know in the comments if you have a question I didn’t cover here.
How long does it take to get from Europe to the USA?
For a typical transatlantic cruise, it takes about two weeks to make the crossing. If you purely want a transatlantic crossing on an ocean liner, look into Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. She will go straight from Southampton to New York City and vice versa in a week’s time. No ports in between, so you have time to enjoy this luxury ship.
What are typical routes?
There are two different routes, one across the North Atlantic while the others sail South Atlantic. Between these two, the South Atlantic one is supposed to be smoother. While many of them depart from Florida, there are also some from South America. In Europe Barcelona, Rome and Southampton are popular starting or ending points.
How many ports on a transatlantic crossing?
Usually transatlantic cruises will visit only a few ports, maybe 4 to 6 ports on a two weeks cruise. Since there are only a few ports close to the Americas, most of the ports will be in or close to Europe. Both Bermuda and the Azores are popular, although the Azores are hit and miss because of weather. Unsurprisingly, an island right in the middle of the Atlantic often deals with strong winds.
How many people would typically be on board with me?
The number of people totally depends on the size of the ship. We have sailed on Holland America (MS Rotterdam) and Celebrity Cruises (Constellation). The Constellation is a smaller ship with about 2,000 passengers while the MS Rotterdam is a lot bigger with around 4,000 people. From what I have found it seems that the higher end cruise lines (like Viking) have fewer passengers, but they also are more expensive.
Which cruise line is the best for crossing the Atlantic?
Frankly, it all depends on your budget and your personal preferences. Although you might be with thousands of other passengers, neither of our transatlantic crossings felt crowded to us, apart from the first day when everyone boards and then heads to the buffet area.
What is the best way to search for the cruise I want?
Since we discovered Vacations To Go, we have been using it exclusively to plan our cruise vacations. They have an amazingly strong search engine and you can sort on many different variables like price per night, total price, number of days, routes, visiting ports and more.
After we do our research we do go to the cruiseline’s website to explore more and fact check the prices and conditions. Once we have decided we call our travel agent to make the actual booking. Hearing good things about Costco travel agents has us considering using them next time, but so far we haven’t done that yet. Please let us know in the comments if you have used them.
Our First Transatlantic Cruise
Sharing our experience when we crossed the Atlantic for the first time on a cruise ship.
Holland America MS Rotterdam: Amsterdam to Fort Lauderdale
Since Karen is Dutch and Tom is American, we really have identified with the Holland America cruise line. Actually we should be their spokespersons and get free cruises but they haven’t offered us that position yet.
Anyway, this was our first transatlantic cruise so we weren’t sure what to expect. Looking back, I guess we should have expected to get addicted to transatlantic cruises 🙂 .
Before Crossing: Amsterdam to Brest: UNESCO World Heritage sites
Starting out in Amsterdam, we first spent a few days there, using two Hilton Free Night Certificates to stay at the iconic Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam. This hotel is located right in the middle of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Amsterdam Canal Ring.
After this UNESCO World Heritage site, we stopped at a few more before we actually crossed the ocean. First Brugge / Brughes in Belgium.
Three more busy days, first Le Havre in France, then Portland UK with final European stop in Brest.
This first part of the journey felt fast and furious with new ports every day. Looking forward to relaxing sea days, we set sail towards the Azores.
Halfway the crossing: so close to the Azores, but Alas…
Knowing that the Azores always are windy we had our fingers crossed that we would be able to visit. But alas, the winds were too strong and it wouldn’t be safe to get into port, so we watched longingly from the Crow’s Nest and then went on to the rest of the Atlantic crossing.
Peregrine Falcon joining our Transatlantic Cruise
After our disappointing non-visit to the Azores we were looking at a bunch more sea days. When I started whining about not seeing birds, suddenly they showed up. Peregrine falcons, the world’s fastest birds joined us on our crossing and gave regular flight performances for our enjoyment! So unexpected!
We did it: Half Moon Cay tropical paradise
Our first stop after the Atlantic crossing was Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, a private island of the Carnival / Holland America line. So nice to feel solid ground under our feet again but also so happy to have been on the ocean for what seemed a long time.
Conclusion: Transatlantic Cruises are Worth It!
I hope you got a better insight in transatlantic cruises and maybe you are ready to join us on one! Luxury life on board a cruise ship while crossing the Atlantic totally beats a tiny seat in an airplane with no legroom. And it can be cheaper to take a cruise ship instead of a plane, so… see you on board!
Have you done any transatlantic cruises? What did you like best about it? Please let us know in the comments.
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