What is the worst weather you have encountered?

[cruiseLMG]

I have seen a few pictures of big waves crashing against cruise ships, but never have talked to anyone who has experience one. Anyone have first hand experience? How about a photo?

[Garyorient]

125.6 degrees in the Valley of the Kings during a Nile Cruise.

[Morecruisesplz]

We have been on the ship when the waves were high enough you thought you were hitting stuff while sitting in the theater watching the show. Made it tough to get up and down the stairs and the juggler really had a time trying to complete his act. But everyone made a joke of it and we got through it. The worst part is seeing the people who are sick in the Windjammer! I can eat anytime -- might need help getting my food to the table and luckily they send extra staff to help people get to their tables -- but sitting next someone who is green is not fun! Don't remember the wave heights but the outside doors were locked and no one was allowed on top deck.

[HorrorFan]

125.6 degrees in the Valley of the Kings during a Nile Cruise.

 

Wow, thats just about the right temp for me. ;)

 

Worse I have seen was on the Eastern Carib. One night the water was splashing out of the pools EVERYWHERE and it was extremely windy. They eventually closed most of the outside decks. I don't recall how high the waves were, but is was pretty rough and there were quite a few 'green' people around.

[Pomperaugrr]

We never really experienced anything severe, but in May 2008, on the way back from Bermuda, on the Explorer, we hit some heavy seas after midnight. We were in a strong gale and had 27 to 30 foot seas. I woke up about 2:30 from the movement. We were in a deck 9 JS, on the hump. I went out on to the balcony, because I love weather like that and wanted to watch the waves. The Explorer handles seas very well, but we were taking the seas on a side angle and when we would be in a trough, the wave tops were not that far below our balcony rails. Watching the tops of the waves getting sheared off by the wind and drenching me on deck 9 was enough to convince me to watch from inside, with the door closed. My wife was asleep and I figured discretion is the better part of valor, so I opted not to be alone on the balcony in those conditions.

 

It was rough through most of the morning at sea, but calmed down after that. It did not dampen our cruise at all. I love seeing the power of the seas like that, I just didn't want to get too up close and personal with those waves and have people writing and speculating about that dummy pomperaugrr, the guy that was swept off the balcony at night. ;)

 

Eric

[mtinney]

we hit the tail end of hurricane Michelle in Nov 02 on Majesty. We didn't leave port till 10 pm b/c the ship couldn't dock to let the passengers off from the previous cruise. we ate dinner that night and we were couldn't walk straight and holding our trays was a big challenge. The next day when we were on deck all the water was coming out of the pools. I have some really cool pics of that but have no idea where they are. We weren't able to dock at CoCo Cay or Nassau and ended up just going to Freeport for about 6 hours.

[cruisegal40]

We were on the backside of hurriacane Mitch on NCL Majesty heading to Bermuda. ALOT of people were seasick. Even the crew. They had barf bags stuffed all over the place. Kind of ironic as our last name is Mitchell.

 

My mother in laws first cruise. Not her last, but she was not happy about being seasick for all the way down. Was better on the way back, but still rough.

 

DH refuses to go out of Boston anymore.

[geojobes]

On a cruise ship, I've never seen it the least bit rough, although I've seen people get sick. Now on a Navy ship, I've seen it so rough that the Captain sent everyone to their racks (beds) unless they were absolutely needed. Unfortunately, a piece of my equipment quit & I had to get up to fix it. That was the closest I ever got to being seasick. That was on the USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7), a rather small ship.

[reallyitsmema]

I was on the Sovereign in Jan 2005 for a 3 day cruise. There was a noreaster going up the coast. We missed Coco Cay because it was too rough to tender. The outer decks were closed because it wasn't safe. The production show was also cancelled because it was too dangerous for the dancers. Half of the dining room was empty because so many people were sea sick. There were crackers and green apples on the table when we sat down for dinner. Our waiter offered us clear broth if anyone wasn't feeling well. Our assistant waiter had to leave the dining room because she was sea sick, it was only her second cruise. Walking was a challenge, they actually announced that people shouldn't wear high heals.

[phinn]

Freedom of the Seas this past May. Heavy rains and 70mph winds, but don't know the wave height. It was blowing so bad we were in the Viking Crown Lounge and visibility was nearly non existant. You could barely make out past the pool. No one was allowed on deck and a lot of folks (thank goodness I was not among them) were sick in the Windjammer. All that being said, the Captain did an outstanding job of getting us out of that asap and the ship handled the seas very well. Sorry, no pics..

[CruiseKeeper]

Where's my buddy Trish? We did this cruise together along with our Storm Queen Suzanne. It was the worst I've encountered and worthy of the photography staff to print us a commemorative photo.

 

We watched the pool deck carpet being torn up by monster winds, chaise lounges were flying. Good times. :eek: The duty free shop had sticky floors for the rest of the cruise, I can't imagine how many bottles broke. One of the promenade windows dropped in on the promenade and there were numerous sick passenger sightings. Ew. Poor folks.

 

[gospelle]

we hit the tail end of hurricane Michelle in Nov 02 on Majesty. We didn't leave port till 10 pm b/c the ship couldn't dock to let the passengers off from the previous cruise. we ate dinner that night and we were couldn't walk straight and holding our trays was a big challenge. The next day when we were on deck all the water was coming out of the pools. I have some really cool pics of that but have no idea where they are. We weren't able to dock at CoCo Cay or Nassau and ended up just going to Freeport for about 6 hours.

 

I think you typo'd. Hurricane Michelle was in November 2001, not 2002. You may also be a bit off on the ship you mentioned too or fuzzy on the port of call. I was on the Majesty November 2-5, 2001 during Hurricane Michelle and the ship definately stopped in Nassau.

 

This was a very memorable cruise for us and we have lots of photos (many of the Atlantis Resort in Nassau) and videos of the trip. On leaving Nassau the pool was sloshing so much the water was leaping 10 feet in the air at times. This was a great cruise though. We had two couples at our dinner table from California who were a bit wild and made for some hillarious memories especially at the Treasure Hunt game!

 

A couple pictures of the pool that day after leaving Nassau:

 

<hmm.. pictures didn't upload. will try again.>

[gospelle]

A couple pictures of the pool that day after leaving Nassau:

 

<hmm.. pictures didn't upload. will try again.>

 

I forgot to put the pictures in JPEG format. here they are:

[CruiseKeeper]

Here's the deck chairs. The one's that weren't chained down went over. This lasted about 12 hours. I wish Trish would post, she had some great pics of the storm.

[linkerbink]

Bermuda 2001 on the Nordic Empress it was so windy and rough the captain didn't want to risk going in to port, so we just steamed back and forth outside Bermuda for a few hours until he felt it was safe enough to go in. There were barf bags everywhere...stuck along the handrails on the stairways every few feet, piles of them stacked all over the place. We heard many loud crashes in the dining room as dishes hit the deck. We heard there were even several passengers with broken bones as a result of being tossed about. Our cabin was pretty high up but my sister spoke with a woman from an oceanview cabin on a lower deck who saw the water go up above her window. Quite a ride!

[bikn4fn]

Our first cruise (Nordic Empress) out of Miami was our worse experience. We were sitting at dinner (by the window) and the gentleman across the table exclaimed "oh look, you can see the tops of the waves". WE WERE ON THE 4th FLOOR. There were 30-35 footers that night. They had to cancel the show. The theater was in the front of the ship. They couldn't stay on the stage. One of the women we met told us her story as well. She was huddled in a corner on the one of the decks. A gentleman went jogging past her then stopped. He asked if she was OK and if she needed any help. IT WAS THE CAPTAIN. He was out on deck jogging.

 

That was a long time ago. It didn't stop us from cruising. We both felt a little dizzy, but did not get sick. We went to our cabin to rest and the next morning everything was OK. We couldn't stop at Coco Cay. It was too windy and the anchor would not hold. We drove around in circles and a couple of rounds of drinks were on the house (that's before all the cutbacks).

[yogimax]

Hurricane while on a Carnival cruise. We never expereinced it as the captain kept us far from harm's way, as would happen with RCCL. The good news - a 5 night cruise became a wonderful seven night cruise, at no additional cost!

[onyourtoes]

I have seen a few pictures of big waves crashing against cruise ships, but never have talked to anyone who has experience one. Anyone have first hand experience? How about a photo?

 

October 26 to November 4, 2007 - Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne, NJ. We had 7 to 12 foot waves.:eek: Everyone one on the ship were walking drunk that night. The captain had to lock the doors that led to the deck and put yellow "warning" tape up. We were supposed to pull back into NJ at 8:00 a.m. that Sunday - we got in at 3:00 p.m.:D I had the friggin time of my life on that cruise. LOL

[jplotts865]

The worst weather I've experienced was on the old Cunard Franconia between New York and Bermuda. I recall one evening as we were all trying to dance in the "Mayflower" room the ship - which was both pitching AND rolling - took a very nasty dive and EVERYONE on the dance floor slid, as a unit, INTO the orchestra. You could not walk anywhere on the ship without holding on to something and everything from furniture, as well as every bottle on the shelves in the bars, was crashing to the floor - NO ONE was in the dining room as everyone was suffering from mal de mer - yet it is still my most memorable voyage. I love the feeling of the sea and miss it on the new huge mega-ships which don't much much at all.

[Oville]

Last October, Jewel Repo Boston to Miami, 45 to 55 foot seas on first evening.:eek::eek::eek:

[TPKeller]

On Grandeur, cruising down the east coast into a pressure gradient, October 2006. Strong headwinds and heavy seas slowed us down so much (as slow as 12 mph at times) that we had to skip our first port (Miami) and continue straight on to Key West. A couple years later, on a different cruise, I found out through a chance conversation with an officer who had been on the Grandeur cruise that once we arrived in Key West, 500 people got off the ship and flew home!

 

During that day of bad weather, they had to close the Windjammer due to unsafe conditions in the kitchen. We hit one particular wave which sent things toppling and flying throughout the ship. Many of the bars and the liquor store were particularly hard hit with many broken bottles.

 

They also postponed formal night, because so many were sick and it was unsafe for heels.

 

It was a pretty crazy first two days!

 

Here are some pictures.

 

Theron

[TuxedoMan]

No pictures, but water rolling out of the pools and almost out of the surrounding "containment" area.

NY to San Juan had 18 foot waves...good stuff

[monicajay]

NCL Dawn leaving NYC on Feb. 28th for the Caribbean. Hit a Nor'easter on the way down the coast. Pools closed. Hot tubs closed. Promenade deck closed. Warning signs throughout the ship that people were not to go out on their balconies. Barf bags tucked everywhere. The ship seemed empty. I think most were in cabins not well but for those of us who ventured out we had a "big wave" party in the Spinnaker lounge (deck 13). We sat along the fore windows and watched for waves that would hit the glass. When we thought one was coming we would raise our arms in the air and make noise until it crashed against the window.

 

The CD was there and was hanging on to a pole in the center of the stage. Said they she had never seen anything like this but assured us the ship could handle it. We arrived in San Juan 24 hours late and one port was eliminated in order to fix up the itinerary. Although I had no problem nor did my DH and kids, I would not wish this on anyone as I heard horror stories after about how sick people were

[Alexis]

Our first cruise on the 17,000 ton Cunard Countess in 1989. We sailed from Puerto Rico into the Caribbean during Hurricane Hugo. :eek:

It was beyond awful, but we still loved the idea of cruising and went right back on her about 6 months later. And sailed her again and again.

We have done 26 cruises since that first one and nothing could, or ever will, compare to it. Thank goodness. :D

That is probably why we can accept the many changes and things that can happen on a ship and we do not get upset over the little things.

When you sail in something like we did, you come back with a whole new set of values. ;)

[Kaboochi]

Celebrity Summit 2001: Rouge wave hit at 1:00am and sent the ship listing badly to port side. Passangers were running to life boats with their jackets on, yelling "we're going to die". Water was coming in on deck 4 and 5. I was in the casino and had just hit a $600 win as the liquor bottles from the bar crashed on the floor. Needless to say, we all survived and I came home with a positive cash flow!!!! The next morning, disembarkment day, I walked the ship and saw the damage: glasses, plates ect smashed. Very scary and I hope I never experience it again.