Transatlantic Experience?

[godde8ss]

I'm looking at 2018 itineraries, and feel like the transatlantic sailings are a good value. I want to take the kids to Europe, and it seems like less time spent on a plane is a good thing to me (they are still small). When on Disney, we enjoy the sea days. So, it seems like this would be the ideal cruise line for a transatlantic sailing. Can you please share some advice/experience on this? DO it, Don't do it? Another cruise line better idea?
THanks!

 

[Quellman]

I think your question is best answered by reading trip reports in the trip report section or browsing the results linked here. I suspect most people will say to do it. But you should acquaint yourself with the differences between these long haul trips and regular Disney cruises before making the choice, especially with small kids. If you have some more specific questions that might help garner responses to help you make your decision. Happy cruising!

 

[MelDane]

I did the EBTA in 2015 with my 5 year old daughter at the time. It was the great experience on a trip ever. It was a 15 day cruise with 9 sea days and we were never bored. There is a lot less kids on these type of trips so the attention the kids get in the kids clubs are great. There would be several times where we would go pick her up and she would be one on one with one of the staff in the club have a blast. The staff in the clubs really seem to go out of their way to make the trip special for the limited kids onboard. We would do a transtlantic again in a heart beat because like you said. It's a great was to visit Europe.

 

[Gigi22]

I'm looking at 2018 itineraries, and feel like the transatlantic sailings are a good value. I want to take the kids to Europe, and it seems like less time spent on a plane is a good thing to me (they are still small). When on Disney, we enjoy the sea days. So, it seems like this would be the ideal cruise line for a transatlantic sailing. Can you please share some advice/experience on this? DO it, Don't do it? Another cruise line better idea?
THanks!

DH and I were on the 2014 EBTA, Port Canaveral to Barcelona. We felt it was very good value for the length of cruise, especially if you like sea days. One thing you might want to do is look at the cost of one way airfare from Europe to your home and add that cost onto the cruise fare when you price compare. Pretty well everyone I spoke to on our cruise found that the airline prices were steep. A lot of people used their airline miles to defray costs. At the time Iceland Air and Aer Lingus offered some of the less expensive prices, depending on your home destination. YMMV, of course.

 

[godde8ss]

I think your question is best answered by reading trip reports in the trip report section or browsing the results linked here. I suspect most people will say to do it. But you should acquaint yourself with the differences between these long haul trips and regular Disney cruises before making the choice, especially with small kids. If you have some more specific questions that might help garner responses to help you make your decision. Happy cruising!

What would be the difference between the long haul and say, a 7 day Disney cruise? (we have done, and prefer sea days)
All my cruise experience, Disney and non-disney, has been in the Caribbean. So, I am specifically curious about the seas - i.e. roughness, size of swells. I believe the itinerary is a May sail date to Barcelona.

 

[gilsan]

What would be the difference between the long haul and say, a 7 day Disney cruise? (we have done, and prefer sea days)
All my cruise experience, Disney and non-disney, has been in the Caribbean. So, I am specifically curious about the seas - i.e. roughness, size of swells. I believe the itinerary is a May sail date to Barcelona.

We have done to Transatlantic cruises one in May to Barcelona and the sea was smooth as glass. The only time it got a little rough was where the Atlantic met the Mediterranean.

 

[jenpink]

We were on the 2015 EBTA. The seas were very smooth until our last night at sea between Oslo and Copenhagen.
I heard last year's EBTA had very rough seas though so it can vary a lot year to year.

 

[Quellman]

What would be the difference between the long haul and say, a 7 day Disney cruise? (we have done, and prefer sea days)
All my cruise experience, Disney and non-disney, has been in the Caribbean. So, I am specifically curious about the seas - i.e. roughness, size of swells. I believe the itinerary is a May sail date to Barcelona.

Others have talked about the sea swells. It can also vary by location as well, if they sail further north, it may be a bit more rough for instance. Long haul cruisers are generally a different type of people than people looking for a quick vacation. There for instance, are SIGNIFICANTLY less kids on board, this has many great perks associated with it not just for the kids, but the adults. There is a kids sleep over in the club. There are times the kids get kicked out and programming for adults happens in the clubs.

Long cruises are great, and we love sea days too. Total relaxation, and it may be just what you are looking for!

 

[clten]

We have done 5 or 6 transatlantic crossings. For us, these are the types of cruises that are worth the DCL premium (even though as repositioning cruises, the cost per person per day is typically lower than regular routes). You are onboard for many sea days so get to take advantage of all the onboard activities and services that you are paying the premium for. They also have a lot of special activities since there are so many sea days and DCL does entertainment better than most cruise lines. We've seen some real headliner acts (most have some tie to Disney but that's okay because most onboard are big Disney fans).

The first crossings we were on where southern routes and were pretty much like glass (there were a few that were rocky but we missed those). The last few years they were more northerly routes and there was some rocking on them (especially last years EB crossing! As Capt Andy told us, we have officially sailed the High Seas of the North Atlantic). I think in 2018 they are going back to the more southern route so while there is potential for some rough water, it shouldn't be as bad as the stories you might hear from people that were on the 2016 EBTA.

If you like DCL, like sea days and have the time, I think a transatlantic crossing would be a good choice for your family.

 

[griffindesign]

We were on the 2016 ta last May and loved it. Yes, there were about 3 days that were pretty choppy, but I get motion sickness and after struggling the first night of it my body adjusted without a problem. I use sea bands, ginger capsules, and motionez (essential oil mixture I bought on Amazon). When things are smooth I am able to use just one sea band, but when it got bad I used 2 bands plus the other things I mentioned and was fine. I'll admit I panicked when we first hit the rough seas. I'm glad I didn't use medications though. One of our table mates used the patch that they were handing out and it knocked her off her feet for days.

I agree with meldane that the kids got so much attention in the clubs that it was a great experience, and the counselors knew them by name. They were able to really get to know other kids too.

Another thing we noticed was they brought on special entertainers, staff, and artists for the trip so there was a lot of extra entertainment. They were reworking "Twice Charmed", so they had the director, choreographer, lighting & set designer, writers all on the ship. They did some round table discussions on the rewriting, designing, and processes for changing the show. They also brought the original Belle from the broadway Beauty and the Beast. She did some performances, including one in the adult only area. They also had a lady who was a cartoonist/historian who did quite a few presentations. All of this was in addition to cooking/tasting classes, crafts, dancing lessons, a great line up of evening entertainment, first run movies (they premEARed Alice Through the Looking Glass), a band from Ireland that played in the Irish bar for part of the trip (then changed to a Celtic group from Seattle that was great too), I could go on. Every evening had a different menu in the MDR's. There also was a character breakfast and a princess tea (no up charge).

We had 9 sea days and still felt like we didn't get to do all of the things we would have liked to do! It was such a great experience that we are booked for the 2018!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We have done to Transatlantic cruises one in May to Barcelona and the sea was smooth as glass. The only time it got a little rough was where the Atlantic met the Mediterranean.

Our experience too.
DH found losing an hours sleep so many times did affect his well being. Still, we're doing EBTA this year again.

 

[owensjro]

We did an EBTA while back and the hardest part was 3 days in a row losing an hour. By the end of the cruise we were waking up at lunch time and completely missing breakfast. Granted you lose the same if you fly...it just felt easier to make the adjustment all at once vs. an hour a day.

The crew did comment on our trip that they had never seen seas as calm as ours.

 

[godde8ss]

We had 9 sea days and still felt like we didn't get to do all of the things we would have liked to do! It was such a great experience that we are booked for the 2018!

Which sailing are you booked on?

I think in 2018 they are going back to the more southern route so while there is potential for some rough water, it shouldn't be as bad as the stories you might hear from people that were on the 2016 EBTA.

If you like DCL, like sea days and have the time, I think a transatlantic crossing would be a good choice for your family.

Thanks for the great description! I"m looking at the Eastbound to Barcelona. Is that a more southern route?


You all have me pretty convinced on this...

 

[braysmommy]

We are going on our third transatlantic this May. We love the longer cruises and the past two have had perfect weather and clam seas. My son was 4 the first time we cruised and he did great. He will be 10 on this cruise and is just as excited. Next years sails to Barcelona so will be more southern and it is a great city to stay a couple nights and explore.

 

[griffindesign]

Which sailing are you booked on?



Thanks for the great description! I"m looking at the Eastbound to Barcelona. Is that a more southern route?


You all have me pretty convinced on this...

We are booked for the 2018 Eastern Bound Transatlantic. It will be a southern route based on the ports and disembarking in Barcelona. From the trip reports I have seen it does seem like the southern route is typically calm. But after experiencing what I did last May I have confidence that I can handle extreme weather as long as I am prepared with the remedies that work for me. I also spoke with someone while onboard who was having severe motion sickness, and they went to the spa and had the acupressure treatment where some tiny seeds were taped inside their ear and on their wrist. They were raving about how effective that was. Overall I can't say enough about what a wonderful experience it was!

 

[godde8ss]

We are going on our third transatlantic this May. We love the longer cruises and the past two have had perfect weather and clam seas. My son was 4 the first time we cruised and he did great. He will be 10 on this cruise and is just as excited. Next years sails to Barcelona so will be more southern and it is a great city to stay a couple nights and explore.

I put a hold on this cruise based on everyone's responses. My son will be 8 and my daughter will be 4.

 

[mmouse37]

Everyone is different....I found losing an hour a day was no big deal and got up the same time as I normally would. I actually enjoyed that it wasn't all at once, like on a plane.

We have done two TA's and loved them both. We did the 2015 EBTA from PC to Copenhagen and last year's WBTA from Barcelona to New York. I absolutely love the longer cruises. We have also done two Panama Canal cruises.

MJ

 

[Kewz1]

We did the EBTA in 2013 and would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Krissy22222]

Another thing to consider, we have done several longer cruises on other cruise lines and often my kids are the only kids on the ship, or there are only a handful, which isn't any fun for them. With Disney, there will be plenty of kids with whom to interact, but not too many to make it feel crowded due to this being a longer cruise during the school year.

 

[michellekcm]

I put a hold on this cruise based on everyone's responses. My son will be 8 and my daughter will be 4.

The kids club on the Transatlantics are awesome - so much to do and the counsellors really get to know the kids. Often they will do a sleepover - your 8 year old will be the perfect age for this. My daughter was 6 and one of the youngest when we did it, but she had a blast. They played games, had special visitors, and got donuts for breakfast! (You can tell what was important to her. Lol)