A Transatlantic crossing is one of the world's great line voyages - nostalgia and relaxation are the two keys to these popular cruises.

A Transatlantic cruise conjures up images of classic cruising - packing up steamer trunks for a long voyage to the new world - reading a good book on a deck chair on the Promenade Deck, glancing up at times to see the endless horizon of the days at sea.

Cruise types

Some North Atlantic sailings offer cruising to Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland.

However, there are also Southern Atlantic cruises that depart Florida, sail along the Caribbean, often with stops in San Juan, St. Thomas or St. Maarten, and then head over to Europe. Many of them call on the Azores and Canary Islands before ending the cruise in Spain or Portugal.

Transatlantic cruise is a delightful way to link American, Caribbean and European countries – where else could you visit such a diverse range of ports than on a cruise?

Cruise seasons

The majority of crossings are in April/May when ships cross from West (the America’s) to East to commence their summer cruising season in Europe. Then in October and November they escape the northern winter and return to the warmer cruise destinations of the Caribbean, Mexico and South America

There are also specialty cruise lines running voyages on a regular basis

Main Ports

Most westbound cruises depart from New York, Southampton or Rio in South America. Smaller cruise lines often depart from Caribbean ports including San Juan and Bridgetown.

Eastbound crossings mostly depart from the UK (Southampton) or the Mediterranean (Barcelona/Lisbon/Genoa).

Weather
The regular crossings are scheduled from Spring to Autumn when days are longer and warmer. The repositioning cruises are in spring (westbound) heading to the Northern summer and autumn (eastbound) returning to warmer climes.

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