What is the worst weather have ever cruised in?

[glendon3281]

Another vote for Superstorm Sandy...We followed Sandy on the Oasis for 2 days back to FLL. Couldn't believe how that massive ship was tossed and turned so much like a toy.

[divergirl63]

On Enchantment of the Seas in February 2008, we went into a storm and the ship was "locked down", we were not allowed on any decks, had to stay inside. It got pretty rough. August 2008 while on Carnival Sensation, TS Fay, had us reroute from Port Canaveral to Fort Lauderdale and then it was a long bus ride back to Canaveral. Also, not a storm but hit severe fog coming into Tampa in Dec. and had to sit in the Gulf for 3 hrs waiting for it to clear, that was on Jewel of the Seas. Other than that it has been smooth sailing with a little rain here and there!!

[jobowl]

we were out with Katrina. Now I know why they put rails in the hall to your room. lol

[F27TW]

The worst weather (in terms of impacting our cruise) was probably on the Carnival Victory in 2001. While heading back to NYC from Canada we hit a solid bank of fog. Couldn't even see the water from the ship. It was freezing out and raining constantly, to top it off though it was early July and snowed for several hours while we were off the coast of Maine. Rough seas can be a bit fun, but snow in July is just wrong, lol. They didn't really have a hot lot going on and no one could go out obviously so it was not the greatest cruise. It was our second and didn't stop us though (but we'll never return to Carnival as a result, Grandma was on Celebrity the same week to Bermuda and they sailed all the way south to avoid the storm while we hugged the coast right through it in order to stay on route).

 

The worst weather in terms of stats though had to be the Independence of the Seas westbound transatlantic last year. Their was a huge storm moving through England at the time causing flooding so many passengers had trouble making it to the ship on time. They delayed departure by several hours and then when it was time to leave the wind had picked up to the point that the upper decks were all closed and the ship struggled to free itself from the pier. It took several attempts and a visit to deck 5 by the captain, but when they finally managed to get away they had to do so at full speed. It was quite impressive to see so much power. Starboard side of deck 5 was closed but port side was open, I made the mistake of going to the stern. It was easy getting their but once we were moving trying to walk back around the MDR in the dark with those winds was the most terrifying thing I've experienced at sea. Video:

The bad weather continued through the night and the next day. During night 2 things picked up as we passed along the Bay of Biscay. According to the captain a series of unexpected weather events occurred and several storms converged on us creating a super storm. None of the radars or weather stations were apparently able to predict or even see what we were experiencing until after it was occurring. The waves were reported to be reaching 65 feet with winds in excess of 100mph. Luckily it was night so I woke up for a moment to look out the balcony, saw the huge waves and caps in the pitch black night and rolled back to bed. Things calmed significantly by morning but the outside decks were still closed off. Morning Inside video:

By the afternoon things started to calm even more and we were able to turn to go with the wind. It created the weirdest feeling as we could see the big waves and it looked stormy but their was no movement in the air. Afternoon Outside video:

It was an incredible experience that I'm glad I had. Not often you get to hear these big ships roaring out like that as the waves try to twist them about.

Captain Announcements video:

A whole lot more pictures and videos are available at the links in my signature.

 

 

YOU get the prize, my friend ! your vids and pics are AMAZING !!

[dirtgirl]

Ummmmmmmmmmmm this one. The Brilliance of the Seas, Dec 5/10, off the coast of Egypt.:o

 

I have a permanent injury from it, and it remains the most memorable cruise ever!

 

And then I was stranded for 8 days away from my family at Christmas, right after the cruise.

 

I wrote about the saga here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1343849

 

But still, I cruise!! ;)

[DEIx15x8]

Ummmmmmmmmmmm this one. The Brilliance of the Seas, Dec 5/10, off the coast of Egypt.:o

 

I have a permanent injury from it, and it remains the most memorable cruise ever!

 

And then I was stranded for 8 days away from my family at Christmas, right after the cruise.

 

I wrote about the saga here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1343849

 

But still, I cruise!! ;)

 

I was surprised it took so long for someone to mention this one. I met a couple on the Indy who were also on that sailing. IMO that is the worst weather incident I've seen in recent years.

[Folk Singer]

Hawaii on the ncl star in November. Cruise was cut short by half.

 

wow. our ship was to go to Bahamas but ended up in Halifax due to a hurricane.

[Folk Singer]

YOU get the prize, my friend ! your vids and pics are AMAZING !!

 

 

great pics and vids.:):)

[jewlrybabe]

Jewel repositioning cruise in 2011 sailing out of Boston during the October snow storm.

I had a fun one on the Grandeur repo from Boston. Out of Boston is iffy, I have heard alot of stories about NCL Dawn to Bermuda.

[J&Bsail]

[PhoenixCruiser]

Boston to Bermuda on the Jewel in October 2006.

 

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[K1200S]

Freedom in Oct of 2011 leaving port Canaveral we had sustained winds of 80 and gusts over 100 with 30 foot seas. First seating got cancelled halfway through and second seating never happened. Got sandwiches around 10pm. Rest of cruise weather wise was great.

 

 

Pete

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

[LisaGoeke]

Freedom in Oct of 2011 leaving port Canaveral we had sustained winds of 80 and gusts over 100 with 30 foot seas. First seating got cancelled halfway through and second seating never happened. Got sandwiches around 10pm. Rest of cruise weather wise was great.

 

What he said. What a crazy couple of hours that was! :eek:

[pstone1]

Freedom in Oct of 2011 leaving port Canaveral we had sustained winds of 80 and gusts over 100 with 30 foot seas. First seating got cancelled halfway through and second seating never happened. Got sandwiches around 10pm. Rest of cruise weather wise was great.

 

 

Pete

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

 

What he said. What a crazy couple of hours that was! :eek:

 

What they said! Our balcony cabin on Deck 8 had water pouring through the locked sliders. Pretty sure most of the balcony cabins had to get new carpet installed. We finally got new carpet on Day 4. The apparent winds on deck were 135+ according to the TV. Capt. Rob did an awesome job!

[uncle John]

Freedom of the Seas.

Hurricane Sandy Oct 2012

85 mph winds across the bow and 28 foot + seas

Closed all outside decks

Watched the carpet get blown up from pool deck

Not real bad unless you hit rogue wave that felt like a HUGE speed bump

Almost got knocked out of bed once.

[DEIx15x8]

What they said! Our balcony cabin on Deck 8 had water pouring through the locked sliders. Pretty sure most of the balcony cabins had to get new carpet installed. We finally got new carpet on Day 4. The apparent winds on deck were 135+ according to the TV. Capt. Rob did an awesome job!

 

Was that the sailing that she headed out and no one knew the storm was their (or at least that it was that severe) until she hit it and then they closed the port after her and all the other ships had to stay put?

[SharkCruiser24]

Hurricane Sandy - Carnival Imagination - last year. It was a ghost town on the ship at 8:00. Our wait staff was falling, guests were fallings. It felt like a nonstop elevator ride. Thankfully, our cabin was on the first deck and it wasn't as bad down there. But because so many people didn't feel like they could leave their rooms, room service was backed up for 2 hours... We were on hold for 45 minutes! But hey, it was a crazy situation! Still had a blast!

[BND]

Freedom in Oct of 2011 leaving port Canaveral we had sustained winds of 80 and gusts over 100 with 30 foot seas. First seating got cancelled halfway through and second seating never happened. Got sandwiches around 10pm. Rest of cruise weather wise was great.

 

 

Pete

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

 

We were in Orlando that weekend. It started pouring Thursday afternoon and continued almost all weekend. We then went to WDW on Monday and weather was great. After that we boarded Freedom the day you returned. The Captain explained everything that happened. The ship was never in danger, but it was messy. We saw lots of carpeting being replaced and a window in the gym that had been knocked out by some flying debris.

[BND]

Was that the sailing that she headed out and no one knew the storm was their (or at least that it was that severe) until she hit it and then they closed the port after her and all the other ships had to stay put?

 

Yes.

[lidopuppy]

October 2012 - Mediterranean. 40' waves and 79 mph wind. They closed all outside decks. Windjammer was interesting when the captain turned the ship around, the ship listed a bit, causing all the pre-poured juice & water glasses to spill all over. The combination of the wet floor and the tilting ship caused a few people to take a spill. The port that we missed was Nice.

[Robinola]

I STILL have not made the tendering in to Grand Caymen due to bad weather!

Am trying one more time next year!

Sheesh!

[jagsfan]

We listed to port all night Canaveral to Nassau on Disney. The water, fresh, luckily, poured in under the balcony door and flowed thru and under the door into the corridor. Can't remember the name if the hurricane, but my little granddaughter said she lived it when the ship got all bumpy. By the time we got back to Canaveral the mildew smell was awful. There were rolls of carpet on the wharf flown in from Europe.

New York to Southampton we had 50 foot waves all the way and the outside decks were closed to passengers. This was two or three weeks after the 90 foot wave hit head on. Commodore Warwick said it hit the bridge right at the windshield wipers. Glad I missed that one. Actually Commodore Warwick said he was asleep and missed it himself.

Some if the storm stories are positively scary, glad I missed those cruises.

[ireneadler]

As long as no one is hurt... I'd really love to witness one of those storms, particularly during the day, when you can actually see the waves.

 

I never knew it could get so bad in the Med. Thanks for your stories.

[clean1owner]

Wednesday, January 11, 1984, aboard the MS Skyward.

 

We were cruising from Cozumel to Key West.

During dinner, (6:00pm, early seating), the captain came over the PA and told us we had to change course to try and avoid a large storm. Even though we were going around the storm, there was still a chance of rough seas.

 

After dinner, I was pretty tired from 2 consecutive days in port, so I laid down for a nap. I woke up about 8:45 to a ship that was really rockin'.......literally! The captain was not kidding about hitting some rough seas. The largest waves were 22 footers! On a 450 foot 12,000 ton ship, those are some HUGE waves!

 

I went up poolside to the line dance, (it was western night), and found about 15 people there, so they cut it short.

 

Down to the casino, which was also deserted, so they shut it down early.

 

I ran into one of my roomies who was In the late (8:00) seating, and he told me the dining room was barely 1/2 full. We wandered around the ship to find venue after venue either near empty, or closed.

 

My roomie was feeling the effects of the storm, and headed down to the cabin. I, on the other hand, was wide awake, so I wandered around a little more, and ended up at the front of the ship, outdoors, right below the bridge. There was a small observation deck that extended about 15 feet out from the doors. I managed to get out to the handrail, and hung on as tight as I could. We were hitting the waves head on, and the bow would rise up, and then crash down, spraying water across the entire front of the ship, including me. Better than any amusement park ride I had ever been on!

 

I don't remember how long I stayed out there, but I do remember the next morning, my hands and arms ached from the experience!

[sandy toes]

While it wasn't me...DD was on her honeymoon May 2012 and their ship sailed with Alberto down the east coast and cancelled ports then sailed up the coast after Bahama stop with Beryl (which was called a pre-June tropical cyclone). She came home saying while she didn't get sick many others were all over the ship. She said is was King Triton's way of telling her she goofed!!!