We sailed first 3 weeks of September and it wasn't warm enough to actually sunbath. People still used the outdoor jacuzzi (but I suppose it was filled with warm water) and we used the outdoor bar/cafe, but unfortunately it wasn't bikini/swimsuit weather. But the way the weather changes you just never know

Hope you have a fab cruise, we loved every minute of it.

sarahcolin1998 wrote:

We sailed first 3 weeks of September

That should have said "first" week of September (wish it has been 3 weeks!!)

What are the chances of any sunbathing on the outward cruise?

I would say virtually zero until you are almost there if your route is direct to Miami without any intermediate ports of call - a winter crossing of the Atlantic north of the equator is going to be fairly cold in November. Possibly very cold depending on how far north the route taken actually is - the shortest route to New York from Southampton actually takes ships via the coast of Newfoundland and then down the eastern seaboard of North America. I'm not sure just how much further south shipping heading direct for Florida is likely to go.

Do you know if there are any ports of call before Miami? For example, if you know that you'll be calling in at somewhere like the Canaries or Madeira on route then you'll be heading south before turning west for the actual transatlantic crossing and it could be warm enough for sunbathing. But if you are sailing direct to Miami without any stops then you probably won't be sailing down the West African coast because turning west because it adds considerably to the journey and the fuel costs for the company. Either way, it could potentially be a rough crossing at that time of year.

SM

The outbound cruise is 13 nights and stops at Le Havre, Cherbourg (I think that's the right order), Vigo and the Azores before heading for Miami. The sunbathing question was more in vain hope than anything else. The real question was whether it would be rough or not, a question I realise is difficult to answer because the weather is so unpredictable.

Can I ask what ship you will be sailing on?

We were on the QM2 and we had one particular rough day, but the stabilisers they used helped a great deal. It was our first time sailing and we just sat in the bar watching the big waves, it was amazing.

Outbound on the Celebrity Eclipse and home on the QM2. We have experienced a Force 7 storm when we crossed from Australia to New Zealand and whilst hubby loved every minute of it (!) I felt a little queasy but not enough to spoil the day. As a result of that experience I now remember to pack the seasick tablets, more in the hope that I don't need them - reverse psychology!!! I suppose it didn't help that at dinner (hubby was starving - I wasn't) everyone at the table (only one couldn't actually even face food let alone try and eat something) yelled with delight as the waves approached the ship and called out to hold onto the plates, etc which were sliding all over the place. We were 2nd sitting and everyone was more prepared for the pitching and rolling unlike the 1st sitting when they lost an awful lot of crockery and glass.

Oh what great cruises, we just couldn't fault the QM2 at all. I hope you have smooth crossings on both trips