subject: Trans Atlantic Cruises From Southampton [print this page] Trans Atlantic Cruises From Southampton Trans Atlantic Cruises From Southampton
Trans Atlantic Cruises from Southampton Why Bother?
A transatlantic cruise from Southampton harks back to the golden era of ocean liners before jet travel. They have rather romantic connotations of casting off from the hum drum UK on wonderful worldy adventure.
Southampton situated on the South coast of England can be reached by road 50 miles down the M3 from the M25 London Orbital motorway. By Train from London Victoria approx 90 minutes to 2 hours journey. Or by air in and out of Southampton airport. Dock gate 4 is the entrance to the original QE2 cruise terminal and the ultra modern Ocean cruise terminal. Dock Gates 8 and 10 are the entrance to the Mayflower cruise terminal.
Transatlantic cruises from Southampton should be referred to as Transatlantic Crossings. Then the whole meaning of Transatlantic cruises completely changes. A Transatlantic Crossing could be chosen for 3 reasons:
Simply a means of transportation to get from one side of the Atlantic to the other. After all a 7 night voyage on a luxury ship in a comfortable ensuite stateroom on full board with waiter service can sometimes be the same cost of an economy flight and a fraction of the cost of business or first class flights.
To enjoy the journey in itself as a way to relax perhaps without the interruptions of ports of call and / or to escape the distractions of daily life.
As part of a greater holiday experience in North America instead of flying combining a cruise with a more traditional land based stay. For this reason Transatlantic Crossings are ideal for people who like their land based holidays but want to try out the cruise experience.
WESTBOUND: Travel to the States in Style. For five days of any crossing - Each day at sea is 25 hours long and so you will arrive refreshed in tune with local time ready to step of your ship after breakfast and enjoy a full day. That is without the jet lag - wanting to go to sleep 5 hours before everyone else and waking up in the early hours of the morning.
EASTBOUND: Enhance your holiday or travel experience and journey home from the USA with the knowledge that you have not got to go the airport, through all that security and board a cramped and impatient flight overnight back to the UK. Why subject yourself to all of this aggravation when you can turn this overnight flight home into the most comfortable and relaxing journey home possible? PLUS: The potential to shop and buy things that you would not normally buy because of the flight home is irresistible. No restrictive luggage weight allowances and much less chance of breakages if your purchases are not being thrown into the hold of an aircraft or squeezed into the overhead storage.
WHO ARE THEY SUITABLE FOR ? If you want a regular cruise with ports of call or badly suffer from the effects of motion then these cruises are probably not for you. These cruises are ideal for those of you who have cruised lots of times and are looking for something different. They are also perfect for people who lead busy lives in the work or home environment and want to totally relax without distraction and let someone else do all the work.
ON A TYPICAL CRUISE: For many experienced cruisers the most pleasurable days on a typical Caribbean or Med cruise are the ones at sea. The chance to visit a whole range of exotic ports of call can be accompanied with:
Shall we book any excursions?
Shall we get off and do our own thing?
Where can we get some local currency?
We don't want to be ripped off and spend too much!
Let's get back to the ship before the lunch time buffet closes.
Will we see everything I should see at this or that port of call?
How long will the Queue be to get off and back on?
Multiply this by your ports of call and there you potentially have the distractions to your relaxation.
ON A TYPICAL BEACH HOLIDAY: For many beach goers the intention is to relax and do absolutely nothing. There is always the vague promise of taking time out to see something of the local area. Ultimately many people find their favourite spot beside the pool or umbrella on the beach and God forgive anyone who takes that spot before they get there !!! Generally they end up having spent a week or two completely relaxing, being lazy and having seen nothing of the local area. If you are one of these then you will love a Transatlantic Crossing.
WHAT IS THERE TO DO:
Cynical people would say : Eat, Sleep & Drink .
Perfect !!!!!But there is so much more too.
-No Washing up , cooking and cleaning you don't even have to make the bed !!!
-Switch off from the outside world - put the mobile down and shut the laptop!!!
-Have a wallow in the Thermal pool or detox in the Sauna.
-Try your luck at bingo or learn how to play Poker.
-Take in feature film or attend a lecture for a guest speaker.
-Join a RADA acting class or pop in to see a matinee theatre performance.
-Compete in a golf simulator competition or learn more about computers.
-Join the pub trivia quiz or learn about mixing martinis.
-Make friends with Bill W or Dorothy.
-Work out in the gym or learn some dance steps.
-Check out the library or surf the net.
-Relax in a hot tub or have a splash in the pool.
-People watch with a Coffee or plan your evening attire.
With so much choice you soon fall into a completely lazy daily routine. Transatlantic crossings are one of the few holiday experiences where you can completely relax . More so than on a regular cruise - without the interruptions of ports of call . More so than on a regular beach holiday without decisions on where to go, where to eat, where to visit and how to get there.
