Rough Seas

[firespk]

We just finished a New England/Canada cruise this past week. Friday, the wind was about 45-50 miles and hour and we were in the Gaudelope Suite on the Caribbean Princess. The ship was bouncing all over the place. My wife was sick for at least 24 hours. The reason for the post is a lesson learned. The room needs to be lower and closer to the mid ship or aft. Forward is miserable in rough seas. :(

[Colo Cruiser]

We just finished a New England/Canada cruise this past week. Friday, the wind was about 45-50 miles and hour and we were in the Gaudelope Suite on the Caribbean Princess. The ship was bouncing all over the place. My wife was sick for at least 24 hours. The reason for the post is a lesson learned. The room needs to be lower and closer to the mid ship or aft. Forward is miserable in rough seas. :(

 

 

Sorry she was sick, but you are on a ship.

How was the cruise otherwise?

 

There is tons of info on just what you experienced here on CC.

[Pam in CA]

There's no way to predict weather, wind or wave action. Most people aren't affected by motion and there is a variety of different cabins available on different decks. I'm sorry your wife was sick; I personally enjoy a lot of ship movement. After all, I'm on a ship, on the ocean, I expect rocking and rolling, and I like being reminded of that.

 

FYI, that cabin is usually available and cheaper because of it's location. Several people have been upgraded to it because Princess couldn't sell it.

 

This is a lesson for anyone who experiences motion sickness: book a cabin lower down and mid-ship. Even lower down and aft is better than higher up and forward.

[Tatka]

You need to pick cabins carefully.

 

We never get sick even in the roughest seas, but in July we sailed in R749 (aft OV).

 

Even in calm waters we felt movement.. constantly. We were waking up every morning rolling from one side to another. It was quiet funny... and annoying at the same time.

[dfields1814]

My wife is prone to get sea sick. Midship is best for her. However, lately we had to get cabins near the aft elevators and they were not so bad... just a little bad. But anything is better than the front of the ship.

[Cruisers from WA]

If you know you or spouse gets sea sick, it is better to bring OTC meds or RX Patch (Scop patch) with you....if you see people walking around the ship with a flesh colored round sticker behind their ear, we are not in a "special club" but do use this preventative so we can enjoy every minute of our cruise.

 

I put the sticker on and start feeling loopy, (better that a couple strong drinks!) and then go to sleep for 1/2 to 1 hour, wake up and then I am fine and ready to have some fun :D

[Putterdude]

While I am not subject to motion sickness and all ships handle differently in rough water...the tried and tested rule for reducing motion is low and midships.

[Dorset Cruiser]

There's no way to predict weather, wind or wave action. Most people aren't affected by motion and there is a variety of different cabins available on different decks. I'm sorry your wife was sick; I personally enjoy a lot of ship movement. After all, I'm on a ship, on the ocean, I expect rocking and rolling, and I like being reminded of that.

 

FYI, that cabin is usually available and cheaper because of it's location. Several people have been upgraded to it because Princess couldn't sell it.

 

This is a lesson for anyone who experiences motion sickness: book a cabin lower down and mid-ship. Even lower down and aft is better than higher up and forward.

 

 

You would have loved Ocean Princess on her 6th October sailing then. We were in one of the aft balconies on deck 6 and it really really rocked between Barcelona/Nice (where we could not dock) and Livorno. So rough, it threw me completely out of bed and left me a jiddering wreck on the floor of the cabin. Most scary sailing I have had in 21 cruises. We had 20 foot seas and force 10 winds. Hasn't put me off cruising though:D

[DrivesLikeMario]

The wind really seems to make a big difference vs. the sea height. I agree with the OP. I do not like the location of the aft suites. I much prefer midship.

 

Dorset Cruiser - We were on the OP the week before you and the First Officer told us that the area between BCN and Nice is very typically rough. It was rough on our sailing too, but nothing we couldn't handle. In fact, it was rough there, plus between Nice and Livorno and again, between Livorno and Civitavecchia.

 

The week before us was REALLY rough, so much so that the First Officer said 95% of the crew and passengers were sick to some extent or another. I suppose it has something to do with the time of year and size of ship too.

[gingera]

We have A326 on Aloha, Grand Class, for our next cruise; located about 1/3 of the way from the front of the ship.... I have gotten motion sick before on a 35 foot fishing boat...but, the waves were big.

I have found that the swaying back and forth bothers me, while the forward rock doesn't .

Hoping this room will be OK.

[navychop3]

I enjoy ship's movement. But I suspect we'll have little to none of it in December in the eastern Caribbean.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We have A326 on Aloha, Grand Class, for our next cruise; located about 1/3 of the way from the front of the ship.... I have gotten motion sick before on a 35 foot fishing boat...but, the waves were big.

I have found that the swaying back and forth bothers me, while the forward rock doesn't .

Hoping this room will be OK.

 

If I were you, I'd avoid that deck and that forward of a cabin. If you could just go down to the Caribe Deck, midship, it would be a lot more smooth for you. JMHO.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I enjoy ship's movement. But I suspect we'll have little to none of it in December in the eastern Caribbean.

 

What makes you think that? We had rough seas in Dec. in the Caribbean!

[butterflyfish]

My in-laws were on a New England Cruise the week before and luckily had good seas (they were a little worried). But they always get lucky with weather--they went to Alaska in June and it was sunny and in the 70's, I went in August and it was cloudy every day and in the 40's!

[geoherb]

We hit 50-knot winds and 30-foot swells on the Maasdam of the coast of the Carolinas. I loved the motion. When we were eating breakfast in the Lido (buffet), if I looked to my left, all I could see was sky. To my right, only water. The ship was listing a good bit. They finally closed the Promenade Deck, but before they did I got some good photos of the waves spraying it down.

[metairiegal]

We'll be all the way forward/front in L101 on the Emerald Princess over Thanksgiving. Hope it isn't more than I can handle.

[gingera]

If I were you, I'd avoid that deck and that forward of a cabin. If you could just go down to the Caribe Deck, midship, it would be a lot more smooth for you. JMHO.

 

Thanks for your opinion. We have always been on Aloha but more midship...and we have enjoyed the 'rock' of the ship....the only time we were more forward was in Alaska.

[BosoxI]

We hit 50-knot winds and 30-foot swells on the Maasdam of the coast of the Carolinas. I loved the motion. When we were eating breakfast in the Lido (buffet), if I looked to my left, all I could see was sky. To my right, only water. The ship was listing a good bit. They finally closed the Promenade Deck, but before they did I got some good photos of the waves spraying it down.

 

I'm with you. A cou[le of rough days in the North Atlantic or Bay of Biscayne makes be feel like I'm really at sea. But I do feel for those with mothion problems. It must be terrible. I knew the skipper of a Navy destroyer who always got sea sick, so it happens to the best of us.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks for your opinion. We have always been on Aloha but more midship...and we have enjoyed the 'rock' of the ship....the only time we were more forward was in Alaska.

 

Sure. ;) Just want you to have the best experience possible. That's unusual that a 35 ft. boat made you seasick, but being on the Aloha Deck didn't. :confused: Guess there's no figuring out the human body sometimes. ;)

[Pam in CA]

You would have loved Ocean Princess on her 6th October sailing then. We were in one of the aft balconies on deck 6 and it really really rocked between Barcelona/Nice (where we could not dock) and Livorno. So rough, it threw me completely out of bed and left me a jiddering wreck on the floor of the cabin. Most scary sailing I have had in 21 cruises. We had 20 foot seas and force 10 winds. Hasn't put me off cruising though:D

Yup. I would have loved it. :) I HATE roller coasters but do enjoy ship movement. Go figure. However, there is a fine line between fun and fear. I was on the Amsterdam in Antarctica and as we sailed through a straight, we were hit by katabatic winds which put the ship at a 12-degree list that she couldn't recover from until we rounded Paulet Island. That didn't bother me in the least and I've been on ships with 20-30' seas. On the other hand, I wouldn't have wanted to be on the Prinsendam when they were going through the Force 12 storm, nor would I have wanted to be on her several years ago when she was hit by a succession of 64-70' rogue waves south of Ushuaia. When I was a teenager, I went to/from Europe on a freighter (long story and an incredible experience) and as we sailed from Rotterdam and into the English Channel, we were hit by a Force 10 storm. The ship was sailing empty, no stabilizers of course back in the 50s, and we bounced around like a cork for about 24 hours, often with the ship's propellers coming out of the water as the bow dug into the waves. THAT was exciting.

[Youngercruisers]

Hi,

 

I don't mind the rough seas, I actually like it for a day or two.

 

Was anybody else on the Crown Princess Oct 2008 from New York down to San Juan(Halloween cruise to), a repositioning. Around Cape Hatterus(sp) we went through, I believe was storm force 11 and we were on the Caribe deck 4 cabins from the front. She was rocking pretty good and at one stage the waves were crashing up to our balcony and beyond, least the spray was I should say.

 

I would love to have the Captain log for the sailing, we misplaced it.

 

If anyone has it would love to see it.

 

Peter

[abbydancer2003]

We generally love ship motion.

 

That said, on our cruise in South America earlier this year, we both got a bit seasick on one day in the South Atlantic. It was moderate seas with a lot of wind.

 

The worst weather we've ever had was on our Alaska cruise in 2007. We hit a very bad storm that caused us to miss a port, and the captain turned off the wave indicator on the voyage channel. The captain (Fortezze) was the second captain on our Antarctic cruise, and when we first said hello he asked when we'd sailed with him. All I had to say was "dawn princess - alaska and we missed Sitka". He knew exactly which cruise it was. We later had a chance to chat with him, and all he would say about the storm was "it was bad, very bad". We still don't know how high the waves were, because he still, 2 years later, won't say.

 

Interestingly, that didn't bother us. On that cruise we were in the frontmost, top most cabin. On the one where we did feel it we had an aft suite on the Caribe deck. All we can figure is that what did it was the ship motion combined with the constant engine vibration back there.

 

While we loved the aft view, and the wake, on our next cruise with a suite in 2012, we're moving to the center of the ship.

[caribill]

I'm with you. A cou[le of rough days in the North Atlantic or Bay of Biscayne makes be feel like I'm really at sea. But I do feel for those with mothion problems. It must be terrible. I knew the skipper of a Navy destroyer who always got sea sick, so it happens to the best of us.

 

Bay of Biscay photos below

[BosoxI]

Bay of Biscay photos below

 

 

Great pix. From where were they taken?

[caribill]

Great pix. From where were they taken?

 

Don't know as I did not take them.

 

I found them on the internet a couple of years ago.