raymac46 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 It was a year ago today we drove to Montreal, hopped a plane to Fort Lauderdale and then embarked on our Transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Infinity. I'm watching the Infinity on the Port of Miami webcam right now. She's getting ready for another Transatlantic passage, but this time I have no sadness that I'm not aboard. Last year we went across the South Atlantic to The Azores, then hit a couple of European ports before arriving in Harwich England. This year Infinity will sail up to New York, visit Halifax and then take a North Atlantic run over to Cobh Ireland before ending up in Harwich. It's sort of a reverse Titanic cruise. The weather on the Atlantic seaboard looks cool and showery for the next week and the North Atlantic will be cold and possibly stormy. I don't know what Celebrity is thinking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Next time, swing by and pick me up. I can stow away in your steamer trunk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Well not if we're doing the North Atlantic. I'd have too many packs of Bonine stuffed in my suitcase to fit you in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 . . . then take a North Atlantic run over to Cobh Ireland before ending up in Harwich . . . 55 years ago, looking at Cobh and Ireland from the harbor was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. I wonder if it's still as lovely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 (edited) Still pretty nice if you ask me. I've used it as a desktop background. Edited April 30, 2014 by raymac46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 I saw it from much farther out than that. I was near the end of a trans-Atlantic voyage, and they had a tender to transport people from the ship back in those long-ago days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 (edited) No it's a cruise ship built more for leisurely cruising than speeding across the Atlantic. Ocean liners are rare beasts nowadays. However any ship has to be built for rough seas. I've been out on a (larger) cruise ship in a near tropical storm and a (smaller) one in a 'Noreaster in October. Not a pleasant experience but I never felt unsafe. Cruise ships have stabilizers that mitigate a lot of the rolling, but pitching up and down cannot be eliminated. The best thing to do is steer clear of bad weather. You would not plan to take a cruise ship across the Atlantic in December, whereas they can (and did) make these passages with ocean liners back in the day. Today even an ocean liner won't do that in most cases. Too uncomfortable when you can simply choose to fly. In 2011 Celebrity based the Silhouette in Bayonne NJ, and sailed regularly from there to the Caribbean throughout the winter. The Captain advised the management that he expected at least 50% of those trips to be rough. He must have been right because this experiment was not repeated the next year and the Silhouette is now based in Ft. Lauderdale during the winter months. Bottom line - whether a cruise ship or a liner you'll be in a ship that can take it - but why? Edited April 30, 2014 by raymac46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydoom Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 55 years ago, looking at Cobh and Ireland from the harbor was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. I wonder if it's still as lovely? The wife and I were in Ireland almost exactly 2 years ago and yes, it is still lovely . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 \Bottom line - whether a cruise ship or a liner you'll be in a ship that can take it - but why? Because you never know about the weather these days. You could hit a pretty big squall without much warning. Maybe your stores are running low and you really don't have enough food, etc. to allow for the time to get around it. Also, folks are not always departing from the ship's port because they live there. Many have to make travel arrangements. Many factors go into making these decisions. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydoom Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 (edited) yes, why ride a ship when you can fly? Because planes are cramped and if they crash you die. At least if a ship sinks you have a better chance . We just took the kids on a cruise for the Spring Break in mid-March and we loved it. First cruise for all of us but we'd definitely do it again. We left the Port of New York and went to the Caribbean for 9 nights/10 days. If we had wanted to leave from Miami instead of New York, plane tickets from Toronto to Miami were roughly $1000 each at that time so flying would have been an absurd option because we still would have had to pay for the cruise on top of that. We got to NYC cheaply and easily and enjoyed our trip to the fullest . Edited April 30, 2014 by daveydoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 arrr. spoken like a true sailor, adam! Arr, me mate..... Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Because you never know about the weather these days. You could hit a pretty big squall without much warning. You can pretty much guarantee it if you come across the North Atlantic at this time of year. On the other hand if you take a more southerly route your chances are much better it'll be sunny and calm. I just don't know why Celebrity decided on the more Northern route. This is after all a cruise, not just transport across the Atlantic. Even in the late summer it's no picnic in the North Atlantic. When Silhouette came from Barcelona to New York in 2011 they had two major storms in a row to navigate through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Because planes are cramped and if they crash you die. At least if a ship sinks you have a better chance . We just took the kids on a cruise for the Spring Break in mid-March and we loved it. First cruise for all of us but we'd definitely do it again. We left the Port of New York and went to the Caribbean for 9 nights/10 days. If we had wanted to leave from Miami instead of New York, plane tickets from Toronto to Miami were roughly $1000 each at that time so flying would have been an absurd option because we still would have had to pay for the cruise on top of that. We got to NYC cheaply and easily and enjoyed our trip to the fullest . Nice if you enjoy sea days. We did one from New York and it take 3 days down, 3 days back. We plan on doing a New England /Quebec cruise this fall from Cape Liberty NJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 I saw it from much farther out than that. I was near the end of a trans-Atlantic voyage, and they had a tender to transport people from the ship back in those long-ago days. This is about the best I can do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 yes, why ride a ship when you can fly? There is much to be said about a leisurely trip. The sea has its own fascination, you get to see lots of different types of ships when you come near ports, and the food and drink is pretty decent. Costs are much lower on these types of trips than a typical Caribbean or Alaska cruise. However if you don't like traveling cooped up in a ship for a week it's not for you. I'd suggest a Bahamas cruise to start. Or maybe Alaska. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 yes, that's the problem with vacations, they are a lot of work and stress & you need a vacation when you get back from one. Put clothes in bag, put money and cards in pocket, lock house up, get in car or taxi, forget all worries till you get back. Where is the stress in that. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Depends on the driver I would think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 The ship part of any cruise holiday is always relaxing. It's the flight to the cruise port and back that's usually hectic. We try to get to our embarkation port a day ahead and have a couple of days at our final destination before coming home. Last year was really nice as we had back to back cruises in the same cabin. Didn't have to pack and unpack for 3 weeks. At the end of the cruise we enjoyed a long weekend in London. From this: To this, in 3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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