We've taken many transatlantics on both Celebrity and Royal Carib but have fallen in love with the Soltice class Celebrity ships. We've had calm seas and very stormy seas but I've always felt safe. We've booked directly with the cruise line and also with Crucon. You can get some great deals with Crucon when they have a sale and they will be having a Labor Day sale soon. The key is to find your particular cruise on the roll call on Cruisecritic and make connections. Also Choice Air which is affiliated with Celebrity and Royal have great one way air fares to Europe. The many days at sea can be as relaxing or busy as you choose. I've only been on one Holland America ship and I was impressed and they do have great Northern European cruises. Very important that you purchase insurance when you book your cruise since they will not honor pre existing conditions if you wait too long to purchase the insurance and usually it's cheaper at that point. We've had occasion to cancel a cruise and the insurance paid us every dime minus the insurance payment which was only a couple of hundred dollars. Most importantly have fun. Oh.... they do have formal nights but it's not necessary to participate in you don't want to lug formal wear with you. The buffet is wonderful and no formal wear is necessary. That's how we roll...
