If blissfully staring out onto serene blue Atlantic waters for a week or two without an agenda sounds tempting to you, a transatlantic cruise may be right up your alley. But what are these peaceful vacations? How are they any different from a standard destination cruise?

At a quick glance, transatlantic cruises:

• Cross the Atlantic Ocean to reposition themselves for the next season,
• And stay open during this repositioning,
• Meaning you can get a fairly good deal on a transatlantic crossing.

What's the catch though? A discounted Atlantic Ocean cruise to far off beautiful locations sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Well, because transatlantic cruise lines primarily travel across the Atlantic in order to reposition themselves for other cruise itineraries, they're not going to take you back to your original location. In other words, they're not roundtrip cruises, meaning you'll need to pay for a separate flight home.

But even with the cost of airfare, you could still save a significant amount of money by booking a transatlantic cruise. We may have cruise packages available to make sure that your flight is covered. But more on that later.

Let's dive deeper into the pros and cons of taking an Atlantic Ocean cruise:

Pros

Give yourself the time to relax

Transatlantic cruises aren't just for those looking to save some money though. On these repositioning cruises, they either tend to have a long duration with many ports of call or a short duration with few ports of call. For those shorter transatlantic cruises, most days of the cruise are spent at sea and for the longer Atlantic Ocean cruises, you'll have plenty of time to do everything you want to do on your vacation. For those looking for a relaxing getaway, these cruises give passengers the chance to slow down, get some reading done, catch up on sleep, visit the spa, and come back home feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

Discover something new

You're not just left to your own accord with nothing to do on the ship though; oftentimes the cruise ships will offer activities, classes, and lectures during sea days that cruise guests are welcome to attend. Topics can range anywhere from photography, history and travel to fitness and dancing.

With so many days spent at sea, you not only have the opportunity to kick back, relax and lose track of time, but you also have the chance to learn something new or gain a skill that you can use back home.

(L) Tenerife, Spain, (R) Madeira, Portugal

Cons

The ports of call are amazing, but not all transatlantic cruises make many stops

As previously stated, repositioning cruises may make stops at different ports, but if you're going on a shorter cruise, there usually aren't very many of them on the itinerary. Instead of visiting somewhere new practically everyday, you may be at sea for the majority of the time.

This isn't so much of a con, but more of something to just be aware of when booking a transatlantic cruise. If your intention for cruising is to view new destinations, you may be better off booking a longer transatlantic cruise that visits more destinations. Whereas, if you're just looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of life for a bit and you're more excited for the cruise itself than its potential destinations, then a shorter transatlantic cruise may be a great option for you.

This isn't to say that the shorter cruises don't stop anywhere though; so choose a transatlantic cruise that stops at ports that you'd like to visit, whether in the Caribbean or Mediterranean (including locations you'd only be able to cruise to, aboard a transatlantic crossing). Or continue your vacation on land wherever the cruise repositions itself to.

The seas and weather are rough

If you're prone to seasickness, then you may need to reconsider taking a transatlantic cruise. While the rough waves are nothing to be overly concerned about regarding safety, the weather could go on for multiple days and nights while you are out at sea without a break to go onto land. Even if you don't normally get seasick, we still recommend bringing on something to soothe your potential motion sickness, like Sea-Bands and/or motion sickness medications.

Some cruises may have stabilizers to ease the motion of the ship, and different times of the year may be better to travel on a transatlantic cruise (like summer), but if you're wary about getting nauseous from the motion of the ocean, you may want to try out a different type of cruise.

Transatlantic Cruise Advice

If you're simply looking to relax for a week or two on the ocean, without having to drop big bucks on a cruise, transatlantic crossings are likely the best cruise option for you. But before you go, make sure to keep these things in mind:

Bring something to keep you entertained

While there will likely be activities aboard the ship, eventually you may get tired of the lectures and trivia, or you may run out of things to do between activities. While the cruise ships offer things to keep you entertained, make sure to bring your own entertainment as well. Any hobbies that you have that you could bring onto the ship we recommend packing - for example, books for reading.

Pack carefully

While you travel the Atlantic Ocean, the weather could be anywhere from hot and sunny during the day to chilly at night so make sure to pack a variety of clothing items for any type of weather.

Also make sure to research the cruise's dress code ahead of time to see if you need to pack any formal attire (such as a gown or tuxedo) for formal nights.

Pack seasickness meds

Okay, so this was already stated, but seriously. While you shouldn't worry too much about this, it's important to be prepared because stopping at land will be rare during your vacation. In the case of an emergency, these are good to have.

Based on our listed pros and cons, you can figure out whether or not a transatlantic cruise is for you. And if you're still not sure, you can speak with one of our travel agents to help you figure out the best type of cruise for you at the best available deal. To learn more about how we can make your cruise vacation easy and budget-friendly, contact us today!

About Sarah Pruzansky, Cruise & Travel Writer

Sarah Pruzansky is passionate about everything related to travel, hospitality, environmental science, self-care, and writing. She joined the iCruise team in February 2019 and assists the company in developing blog and web content that shows the benefits of cruising, information on different ports of call and destinations, and other industry tips for those looking to cruise.