Transatlantic - Tell Me All the Things!

[LAS2AMS]

We have considered doing a WBTA but since they're only offered in the spring and fall, I was worried about the weather being warm enough for pool time in the Northern Atlantic. Can anyone tell me what the temps were when they sailed?

We have done 2 WBPC cruises and don't mind the 4 consecutive sea days but at least they were HOT days (at one point our latitude was at 6.xx degrees) so close to the equator. It felt great to just relax in the sun. Those too were mostly all seniors sailing and the adult pool area was always full. Eventually we went to the empty Mickey pool area. Always plenty of chairs available there.

The EBTA from Fort Lauderdale -> Barcelona in early May should be warm throughout. The WBTA from Southampton -> Fort Lauderdale in late October will likely start out cool but turn warm after a couple days or so. Neither will reach the typical temps (HOT) of much of a Panama Canal cruise. Both are on the fringe of the rainy seasons, so you may see long periods of rain in either direction... or you may see few/ none.

Obviously it's tough to predict the weather these days. I mean, it's mid-April yet here in Los Angeles it's 47 degrees and raining.

 

[cwis]

Regarding the TAs, as one of the longest cruise (short of the transpacific), does anyone have the recollection of how much does it cost to connect to the internet? I guess the “cruise-length” package saves a lot of money here, but still, it's going to be expensive?

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have done both the eastbound and westbound TAs one on the Disney magic, the other on the Dream. And we have done the transpacific from hawaii to Sydney. All were fabulous, we love sea days. You can do as much or as little as yiu want. I’m a pool person so my day is sitting by the pool, reading, occasionally doing the slide, my husband loves the lectures (there is usually a lecturer in board…the transpacific had a National Geographic photographer who was very interesting). There are cooking classes, lots of trivia and other games, movies, Disney productions during the day and night and usually other entertainers like magicians, singers, etc. The nightly entertainment includes the usual Disney shows, first run movies, and other entertainment.
while not a lot of kids, there are always several kids of all ages. And someone asked if it were an old crowd…ie seniors. Yes I suppose there are a few seniors onboard but there are adults of all ages from 20s to 80s. And the late night entertainment was always going until after midnight.
We are talking about doing the westbound TA again in the near future.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Regarding the TAs, as one of the longest cruise (short of the transpacific), does anyone have the recollection of how much does it cost to connect to the internet? I guess the “cruise-length” package saves a lot of money here, but still, it's going to be expensive?

For our 14-nt WBPC, of the 3 packages offered, dh chose the middle one and it was close to $300 for the full cruise.
If you don’t think you’ll use it every day, you can buy 24-hour sessions but those cost more per day than if you buy the full cruise package.

It also varies with how many devices you enroll. We only chose dh’s laptop. I’m not sure if he would have been able to log off the laptop and then log onto his phone. You can ask at GS if choosing one device means choosing that one or simply one device at a time.

ETA: Now after looking at the price list, we paid $336 for our 14-nt cruise.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This is for the middle package.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

It also varies with how many devices you enroll. We only chose dh’s laptop. I’m not sure if he would have been able to log off the laptop and then log onto his phone. You can ask at GS if choosing one device means choosing that one or simply one device at a time.

It’s one device at a time if you purchase for a single device. DW enrolls and has the login active most of the time. She will log off once a day and I’ll log on to check my email and check a couple of news sites.

 

[Girl of the South]

I did a West Bound from the UK to NYC with port stops in Canada, in September. Both the UK and Canada were warm but the sea days were cold/chilly and windy. Not rough water but you really couldn't hang out on the pool deck - everyone flocked to the Cove Cafe which was packed. That's one design flaw for the Disney ships is that there really isn't enough INSIDE. IMHO. There's space but not usable space? I wanted tables and chairs that you could type/write at but those are few and far between outside of Cabanas and the restaurants. The tables outside Cabanas were cold and windy. Granted, it was a 'northern' crossing. I'll be using my Verizon $10 a day plan in Ports and MAYBE one sea day for the $24. Or I'll find Ralph and Pam and see if they'll let me log on for 10 minutes!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I did a West Bound from the UK to NYC with port stops in Canada, in September. Both the UK and Canada were warm but the sea days were cold/chilly and windy. Not rough water but you really couldn't hang out on the pool deck - everyone flocked to the Cove Cafe which was packed. That's one design flaw for the Disney ships is that there really isn't enough INSIDE. IMHO. There's space but not usable space? I wanted tables and chairs that you could type/write at but those are few and far between outside of Cabanas and the restaurants. The tables outside Cabanas were cold and windy. Granted, it was a 'northern' crossing. I'll be using my Verizon $10 a day plan in Ports and MAYBE one sea day for the $24. Or I'll find Ralph and Pam and see if they'll let me log on for 10 minutes!!!

That’s actually a great idea, not to sponge off someone but to split the cost and share the package. Easy if you’re sailing with a group of friends/family and you can agree on a fair way to share so that no one gets annoyed.

 

[tlprice]

On our WBTA there were several days that were great pool weather. There were also some days that were not. Our WBTA was from the middle to the end of September though. The upcoming WBTA is late October to early November (because of dry dock) so will probably be quite a bit cooler.

 

[auntlynne]

We have considered doing a WBTA but since they're only offered in the spring and fall, I was worried about the weather being warm enough for pool time in the Northern Atlantic. Can anyone tell me what the temps were when they sailed?

We have done 2 WBPC cruises and don't mind the 4 consecutive sea days but at least they were HOT days (at one point our latitude was at 6.xx degrees) so close to the equator. It felt great to just relax in the sun. Those too were mostly all seniors sailing and the adult pool area was always full. Eventually we went to the empty Mickey pool area. Always plenty of chairs available there.

The heated pool temperature may be warm enough (we were in the water on a late May cruise in Alaska), while the air temp may be brisk.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The heated pool temperature may be warm enough (we were in the water on a late May cruise in Alaska), while the air temp may be brisk.

You’re braver than we are. Even our kids didnt swim in Alaska. Late August.

 

[Cathy W]

We are considering the EBTA in May 2025 - I would appreciate hearing prior experiences. Pros and Cons. It will be 2 adults and we know we love sea days on DCL...but this is a LOT of sea days. Do they do special things since it's such a long, unique cruise? Extra movies and shows? How are the seas? I assume there are not many kids - are the adult areas overly crowded? Please tell me all the things! (My TA is going to price it for us tomorrow.)

we sailed the eastbound dcl transatlantic in 2019. was wonderful! if you love sea days you'll love this cruise. they get creative with the shows - even crew talent shows. the main dining room included menus from Pacific Coast and Alaska cruises as well - no repeats of menus. we've been on 12 DCL cruises, and the transatlantic was our favorite. 2nd favorite was Alaska.

 

[auntlynne]

Look for one-off activities that (typically) only happen on longer cruises. On my Panama Canal cruise, there was Hide and Seek with the Officers. The Captain dressed as a maintenance worker.

 

[LandonM170]

Hope it works out for you! Maybe I will see you onboard, we are considering that cruise as well.

Booked the 2025 EBTA yesterday!! We are very excited for this trip, and we are hopeful we can get all the money for flights, hotels, Ubers, and food/attractions in Barcelona. Deposit has been withdrawn, and rest of the cruise cost should be covered by the money we have now, but I'm gonna wait and hopefully my wish of being an authorized user on the Capital One Venture X will come true in a few months, so I can pay the rest of it off and transfer the SUB to myself.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Booked the 2025 EBTA yesterday!! We are very excited for this trip, and we are hopeful we can get all the money for flights, hotels, Ubers, and food/attractions in Barcelona. Deposit has been withdrawn, and rest of the cruise cost should be covered by the money we have now, but I'm gonna wait and hopefully my wish of being an authorized user on the Capital One Venture X will come true in a few months, so I can pay the rest of it off and transfer the SUB to myself.

I have never booked flights through DCL but I have read somewhere here on the DIS that sometimes their pricing is competitive when it comes to otherwise buying one way flights to Europe directly, which can sometimes cost close to the price of a RT ticket.
Maybe some other people with experience can chime in.

 

[LandonM170]

I have never booked flights through DCL but I have read somewhere here on the DIS that sometimes their pricing is competitive when it comes to otherwise buying one way flights to Europe directly, which can sometimes cost close to the price of a RT ticket.
Maybe some other people with experience can chime in.

I will look into that! If I get the Capital One card, I probably won't because I know the SUB can pay for my flight back if Delta's price goes down on the travel portal compared to their website or if I transfer them to Turkish Airlines. Also, I want to stay at the Hyatt in MCO and then take the DCL transport from the airport to Port Canaveral. I have never done that before, and it would get us an early boarding time since I'm the only Castaway Club member (sliver status) on the trip for two staterooms.

I say that because now I have four people going, two being a couple together. They want a separate room, and I believe they are booking everything apart from us, which does help me because I was booking and planning everything, but there are downsides. It drives up the individual cost of my stateroom, makes them get a later online check-in time, and makes us wait until the 75-day mark to book things as a group (like Palo and Remy brunch and dinner). Is it worth the $45 per person to use DCL transport to board the ship early?

 

[Flossbolna]

Booked the 2025 EBTA yesterday!! We are very excited for this trip, and we are hopeful we can get all the money for flights, hotels, Ubers, and food/attractions in Barcelona. Deposit has been withdrawn, and rest of the cruise cost should be covered by the money we have now, but I'm gonna wait and hopefully my wish of being an authorized user on the Capital One Venture X will come true in a few months, so I can pay the rest of it off and transfer the SUB to myself.

Sounds great! We will most likely see you onboard!

 

[Flossbolna]

For such a long cruise, early boarding is not that important in my opinion.

As to waiting to book Palo/Remy: book for your room as soon as you can. And then they should try to book as close to your time as possible. Once onboard you can then go to the place where they take reservations on boarding day and consolidate this into a booking for 4. Hopefully on a cruise this long, availability should not be an issue.

 

[Karin1984]

Yeah, oneway plane tickets can be almost as expensive as a round trip. Do you have frequent flyer points? They are often a better deal on one way tickets, especially on long distance flights.

 

[auntlynne]

Depending on what time you get in to MCO, I would check hotel prices across the interstate. There are lots of options. Look for free airport shuttle. The cost difference can be significant. Someone has mentioned a Hyatt south of MCO.

And check to see minimum age for reservation. For many hotels, it is 21.

And you should be able to find a group transfer that is less than $45 x 4 to cover all of you. GoPort is $30 pp; it picks up at MCO.

While the Hyatt is nice, we have only stayed there once, when our flight landed after midnight. That was too late for hotel shuttle. And would have left us with little sleep time.

For May 3 rates
Hyatt MCO $320 + tax
Hyatt Place $204 + tax