Has anyone done a transatlantic cruise?

[lildreamer101]

What is there to do since it is mostly sea days? Do you visit any ports?

 

[Simba One]

So much to do on sea days you run out of time! Movies, shows, group events, meals, lounging and reading.... We went to NYC, Halifax, Stavenger , Oslo, and Copenhagen. We go off at every port. I could have stayed 2 more weeks!

 

[gismo1554]

I have done 5 TAs now and there is still stuff I haven't managed to find time to do now. There is absolutely loads including:

• Movies by the pool
• Movies in the theatre
• Prentations in the threatre (Disney related from things like animators to lighting design etc)
• Cookery demos (one a day on sea days and they are fab as you get to try something and have a little taste of wine paired with it)
• Bingo (if you like it at an additional cost - I don't)
• Quizzes
• Craft activities (from coaster making to scrapbooking)
• Character meet and greets
• DVC presentation (if you fancy it)
• Cocktail/Beer/Wine tasting for an additional cost
• Towel folding
• Napkin folding
• Matinee shows
• Spa seminars
• Family activities in kids club
• Adult activities in kids club

Have a look on the past navigators on http://www.disneycruiselineblog.com to see and you will get an idea

 

[ludari]

I have done 2 WBTA and I find them very relaxing and fun. The two transatlantic cruises I've taken where all different ports with the exception of maybe two ports that where the same. While half the cruise was probably sea days I didn't mind and actually prefer sea days.

 

[apathetic]

We did the TA in 2015 and, after they shifted the itinerary, we ended up with like 6 straight sea days. I don't recommend that for a first cruise, but it actually was pretty awesome. The drawback is colder weather (at least in the spring crossing), eliminating the pools as an activity for all but the brave. They do have tons of stuff going on, from crafts, cooking classes, tastings, trivia, etc. Movies are always playing in the theater. They have games in the pubs. Your kids will love the time in the clubs. If you've ever been on a Disney cruise with a sea day, it is just like that but with different stuff every day. The nightlife had a pretty good variety as well. If you want a fast paced trip (like visiting WDW), don't do the longer cruises. It is a mixture of having a ton of stuff you want to do and times where you can just relax. The ports are great, or at least they have been on the past few EBTA. They've done NYC, Canada, Norway, England and I think Amsterdam next year.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Our first DCL cruise was the 2011 WBTA. since then we've also done the 2014 WBTA and a 14 night EBPC, so three 14 nights. I always think I'll read like 2 or 3 books, but I am doing so many things I have to force myself to get through one. On the 2014 we had 8 sea days and stopped at Malaga, Tenerife, st kitts, st Martin and Antigua. I wanted another sea day so we stayed on board in st Martin, and my kids (7 and 10 at the time) didn't want to get off and skipped 3 ports, so they only got off twice in 2 weeks!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We were on the EBTA in 2013 that left from Galveston, and it was great. We had a stop in CC and 2 other DCL ships came to salute the Magic on it's journey! Then we stopped in Fuschal and Gibraltar on our way to Barcelona. It was our best cruise ever, well, until we went on DCL's WBPC cruise the next year!

We're doing EBTA on DCL next year!

 

[bksaffle]

We very much enjoyed our 2010 WBTA. Our twins were 7 at the time, and we did so many activities and spent non-stressful time together....all activities are planned for you, you just have to show up if you want to go, and as a mom I didn't have to plan any meals or clean up, it was GREAT...there are also a lot less kids on board. I have many pictures of my kids being the only ones in the pools, and they got closer to the kids club counselors....

I think the ship was only 2/3rds capacity

We loved the sea days, but we also did excursions on the various ports we visited. It is by far one of the top cruises we have taken. We would do another one, but now that the kids are older....it is harder to take them out of school.

 

[topsy]

My friend and I were on the WBTA in September 2014 and it was spectacular. So much so that anything less than 14 nights just doesn't seem enough to us now! Our itinerary was great, we started in Barcelona and stopped at Malaga (Spain), Tenerife, 5 (I think) days crossing the Atlantic and then Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Kitts before finishing in San Juan. We also added two nights at Walt Disney World, which we flew to from San Juan before returning to the UK. An itinerary like ours is good because the route is more southern, meaning better weather. We were out on deck every day enjoying the pools and sunshine. As others have mentioned, there is so much to do if you want to keep busy. We went on a tour of the kitchens (galleys), theater tour, attended DVC presentations (free drinks included and it's always fun to look at Disney presentations even if you can't buy in!), watched new movies (Guardians of the Galaxy released whilst we were on board and was played in the theater), had several spa treatments, used the Rainforest Spa passes (saunas, steam room etc.), went on the water slides, enjoyed lazy leisurely breakfasts etc. I think it's a great trip for relaxing too as there is no pressure to be anywhere or get up to leave the ship for several days whilst at sea. I wish I'd done a trip report as there aren't many transatlantic reports out there but I just didn't take many notes - I was too busy enjoying myself! Also the transatlantic sailings used to be really reasonable in price, we paid only $800 each for a veranda room. However looking at prices this year, they do seem to be going up, but not ridiculously so. I think transatlantics offer great value for money if you compare the cost to a 5 or 7 day itinerary.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

My friend and I were on the WBTA in September 2014 and it was spectacular. So much so that anything less than 14 nights just doesn't seem enough to us now! Our itinerary was great, we started in Barcelona and stopped at Malaga (Spain), Tenerife, 5 (I think) days crossing the Atlantic and then Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Kitts before finishing in San Juan. We also added two nights at Walt Disney World, which we flew to from San Juan before returning to the UK. An itinerary like ours is good because the route is more southern, meaning better weather. We were out on deck every day enjoying the pools and sunshine. As others have mentioned, there is so much to do if you want to keep busy. We went on a tour of the kitchens (galleys), theater tour, attended DVC presentations (free drinks included and it's always fun to look at Disney presentations even if you can't buy in!), watched new movies (Guardians of the Galaxy released whilst we were on board and was played in the theater), had several spa treatments, used the Rainforest Spa passes (saunas, steam room etc.), went on the water slides, enjoyed lazy leisurely breakfasts etc. I think it's a great trip for relaxing too as there is no pressure to be anywhere or get up to leave the ship for several days whilst at sea. I wish I'd done a trip report as there aren't many transatlantic reports out there but I just didn't take many notes - I was too busy enjoying myself! Also the transatlantic sailings used to be really reasonable in price, we paid only $800 each for a veranda room. However looking at prices this year, they do seem to be going up, but not ridiculously so. I think transatlantics offer great value for money if you compare the cost to a 5 or 7 day itinerary.

We were on the same cruise, flew to Orlando and spent 2 days at WDW also!! Maybe we were on the same plane!

But just to clarify, Guardians was show on board, but it didn't premier on the cruise - that would have been awesome to do a PremEar at sea of that! Also, are you sure you don't mean 800 pounds each? I could be wrong but I don't think even with OBB from the first day that a veranda room was 800 per person. We had a 4 person occupancy and paid over 1k per person...

 

[topsy]

We were on the same cruise, flew to Orlando and spent 2 days at WDW also!! Maybe we were on the same plane!

But just to clarify, Guardians was show on board, but it didn't premier on the cruise - that would have been awesome to do a PremEar at sea of that! Also, are you sure you don't mean 800 pounds each? I could be wrong but I don't think even with OBB from the first day that a veranda room was 800 per person. We had a 4 person occupancy and paid over 1k per person...

Hey GatorMom!

We flew out with Jet Blue to Orlando I think our flight was around 11.45am ish?! The DVC sales rep guy was on our flight, we bumped into him in the airport at San Juan and then saw him sitting behind us!

Ah thanks for clarifying re. Guardians of the Galaxy. I know it was pretty newly released as so many people hadn't seen it yet. Maybe that's just us in the UK though as we're always a bit behind!

Our veranda was actually a navigators veranda which are usually a little cheaper. We used an OBB also but I think I got my conversions wrong from $ to £. Apologies, I've just checked and it was £960 each for our room. So I guess that would make it around $1450 each?! I know we were astounded by how cheap it was in comparison to other cruises. Saying that though, our Alaska cruise in 2013 was far cheaper than they are selling at now, according to my geeky cruise spread sheet, we paid £1900 for an inside room then upgraded to a navigators veranda for an additional $882 (about £620) - so we paid £2500 between the two of us for the 7 night Alaska cruise!

 

[gismo1554]

Ah thanks for clarifying re. Guardians of the Galaxy. I know it was pretty newly released as so many people hadn't seen it yet. Maybe that's just us in the UK though as we're always a bit behind!

It was I think as also on that cruise and I'm sure we hadn't had it just yet when it was on. I think we were a few weeks after the US.

On the 2007 WBTA they premiered one of the pirates movies at Midnight and that was fun (lots of random adults and kids in PJs in Walt Disney theatre including me!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Hey GatorMom!

We flew out with Jet Blue to Orlando I think our flight was around 11.45am ish?! The DVC sales rep guy was on our flight, we bumped into him in the airport at San Juan and then saw him sitting behind us!

Ah thanks for clarifying re. Guardians of the Galaxy. I know it was pretty newly released as so many people hadn't seen it yet. Maybe that's just us in the UK though as we're always a bit behind!

Our veranda was actually a navigators veranda which are usually a little cheaper. We used an OBB also but I think I got my conversions wrong from $ to £. Apologies, I've just checked and it was £960 each for our room. So I guess that would make it around $1450 each?! I know we were astounded by how cheap it was in comparison to other cruises. Saying that though, our Alaska cruise in 2013 was far cheaper than they are selling at now, according to my geeky cruise spread sheet, we paid £1900 for an inside room then upgraded to a navigators veranda for an additional $882 (about £620) - so we paid £2500 between the two of us for the 7 night Alaska cruise!

No, we were on Southwest. I'm too chicken to book a flight before noon. We did a tour of San Juan and caught a later flight.

It was a flight to our home (Raleigh) with a stop in Orlando. The kids thought we were just getting off for an hour and then re boarding to go home. My mom had cruised with us, we left her on the plane (she was going home) and I told the kids we would go to the Disney store in the airport to shop. Fortunately they didn't question why we took our carryons or notice we left the secured area. My husband, who had to work and couldn't cruise with us, walked up to them in the store and surprised them (we hadn't seen him in 3 weeks, they thought he was at home). It was quite a reunion! Then we told them we were going to Disney World for a couple days.

Then, later, I surprised them with a night at a Universal hotel and 2 days at Universal studios. Great memories!

I've always wanted to book a navigators but I'm always traveling with 4 so haven't yet. That price sounds right- really a great deal at $100/pp/pn. And that is a great price for DCL Alaska cruise!

The WBTA this year is shorter (11 nights) and about the same price as the 14 nights in the past. Still a good deal, but not AS good of a deal....

 

[RedSox68]

Yes -- one of our favorite cruises because we like lots of sea days. PP have mentioned great stuff to do on sea days. Our cruise was in 2007 and we stopped at Gibraltar -- Seville, Spain -- and Tenerife in Canary Islands (beautiful area). Then we had 6 straight days at sea and a stop at CC before returning to Port Canaveral. Our TA cruise was in August 2007 -- Disney seems to do them later now. The sea was like glass and we often couldn't even tell if we were moving! I would definitely do another if the ports were different.

 

[Ofinn]

There is plenty to do just make sure it's stuff that you would like to do...that would be my advice. I prefer port intensive cruises. Everyone's different.

 

[kaseyC]

Love transatlantic crossings. We've done 3 with DCL - WBTA 2007, EBTA 2013, 2014. We've also done two NCL WBTA in 2010 and 2015.

With added activities and entertainment, even with all the sea days it's hard to do everything you want. Sea days can be as busy or relaxing as you choose. We have met so many great people on our TA cruises. Most are still very good friends. If it wasn't for my DDs' school and activities schedule we would sail them every year.