Transoceanic on Silversea v larger ships

I am thinking of booking a transoceanic cruise from Barcelona to New York in September 2020 on Silver Whisper.

I am prone to a certain amount of motion sickness and realise that the weather/sea may be rough across the Atlantic. I just wonder how a smaller ship like The Whisper compares to a much bigger liner, like for example QM2.

I have previously sailed on The Whisper in the Med and other cruise lines as far as Madeira without any problems, but never across the Atlantic.

Any thoughts please.

I’ve done many transatlantic voyages both on Cunard and SS....the weather can be unpredictable on the Atlantic and even on the big liners one can feel great movement in rough seas....

You will undoubtedly feel more motion on the smaller vessels....

It all depends on the degree of sea sickness you can cope with and the impact it may have with the enjoyment of the voyage.

S😊

Firstly, we have done TAs on the Spirit, Wind and QM2. The Spirit crossing skirted an Atlantic storm and 3 of the days could best be described as lively. The Wind TA was via a Southern great circle route and the ship barely moved for the entire voyage. On the QM2 we got some very heavy North Atlantic seas but the ship ploughed on unruffled - on the Wind or Spirit I think we would have had a fairly torrid time.

Finally, I spent some time in the South Atlantic experiencing a very small ship (SS Uganda) and a dedicated ocean liner (QE2). Well, let me just say that on the smaller ship it was impossible to stand or walk unaided yet on the liner, while there was movement, it was not anywhere near as violent.

So if motion really is an issue then you have to go for the ship designed to operate in difficult sea conditions. On the other hand, the on board experience is very different and might prove a clincher.

I wrote a few thoughts on QM2 v SS on this thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2432308

Thank you both so much for your informative and balanced views about transoceanic cruising. You have confirmed my own thoughts ... cruising in the Med is a safer option for me! The idea of cruising across to New York seems great but not such a good idea if the weather or rough seas compromise my enjoyment of the holiday. And as a solo traveller I don't want to spend all the time in my cabin. Back to the drawing board as they say. :)

Jill

We've done numerous TA crossings( both directions ) on both SS and Regent/Radisson. They were all on the southern(Fall) or central Atlantic(Spring) route and were wonderful. Why SS has decided to go the north Atlantic route in the Fall escapes me; their ships are not the Queen Mary. While I was flying in the Navy aboard carriers we spent quite a bit of time in the north Atlantic on submarine patrol and the weather was never very good; either rough seas and/or low visibility with fog, rain or snow. Not the place to be in the Fall or winter for a pleasant cruise IMHO. Maybe SS is listening.

Perhaps the planning has been done by committee?

We once had orders to take a cargo from Uddevalla in Sweden to Baltimore. The helpful ‘suggestion’ from a bean counter in head office was to use a full great circle routing as it was a much shorter distance ... ie cheaper ... this was in December .... the weather chart looked like the results of a three year old being given a licence to scrawl [emoji3]

We went South .... [emoji849]

Thre are two types of sea sickness.

The first is when you think you are dying, and the second is when you wish you were dead!