Ship Size vs. Motion

[ihavecats]

In your experience regarding the size of the ship, what is the threshold for when you start to feel the ocean more? Just as an example, Liberty vs. Serenade - in similar seas/weather is there a differnece?

[setsail]

If there are waves, there is rocking. Ship direction can determine if there is side to side or pitching or both

Edited March 4, 2014 by setsail

[xpcdoojk]

The only ship on which 99% of the time I couldn't feel any motion was the Oasis. On the Freedom class ships I have felt significant motion, and on the Radiance class and smaller even greater motion. IE the bigger the less the motion is felt. That said, given the right conditions I am sure even the Oasis class could get to really rocking.

 

jc

[Tapi]

For us, the only ship where we didn't feel any motion whatsoever was on the Allure, although I've read reviews from people who said the ship did rock quite a bit on their sailing.

 

Interestingly, except for the Allure, the worst motion I've ever experienced has been aboard ships that are OVER 100,000 tons.

 

 

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Edited March 4, 2014 by Tapi

[Ourusualbeach]

When you see the bags being attached to the railings in the public areas you know it's about to get bad.

[thjeepster]

My last cruise on Oasis I felt nothing. It was like we were not even at sea.

 

Few years ago on Carnival Legend I could feel a slight rocking feeling walking down the hallways.

 

Then years ago on Norwegian Leeward you could feel everything!!!...Even at dinner the plates were sliding down the table.....of course this was like a day after a major hurricane!

 

 

I'm hoping there is nothing on the Allure when we go next month!

[mjldvlks]

I fully recognize that in rough seas the biggest ships are going to move. But size does make a difference. It makes sense if you think about it. Consider the distance between the crests of two waves. If the ship is long enough to span the distance between the crests of the waves in the seas it is sailing, it will not feel the motion to the same extent as a smaller vessel that is heading downhill with every crest.

 

Best example from experience is the end of our TA on Independence. We sailed into Southampton at the end of the cruise and then later that day took a ferry accross the Channel to Cherbourg in the same general conditions. While we felt virtually no motion on Independence, we had trouble walking to the restroom on the ferry.

[Spurschick]

Smaller but also age ie older rockier. Better stability these days I think!

Went around Mediterranean one year on P&O or Cunard, was so bad only 5 people made dinner and the captains cocktail party, and the waiters were wandering around the ship handing out bread rolls and dry crackers as nobody was moving!

 

What's worse is it was a nice sunny day:eek:

[Robinola]

In this case.......size Doesn't Matter. It depends on conditions and direction of ship.

[Spurschick]

Forgot to mention have done that itinerary several times in similar conditions and yes the slightly larger ships faired better but it was noticeable the difference in the newer ships (for the better)

[BLAMBKY]

Smaller but also age ie older rockier. Better stability these days I think!

Went around Mediterranean one year on P&O or Cunard, was so bad only 5 people made dinner and the captains cocktail party, and the waiters were wandering around the ship handing out bread rolls and dry crackers as nobody was moving!

 

What's worse is it was a nice sunny day:eek:

 

:eek: I could not even (nor do I ever want too!) imagine that type of cruise. Ugh! :(

[ihavecats]

In this case.......size Doesn't Matter. It depends on conditions and direction of ship.

 

Haha. I almost titled this post, "Does Size Matter?"

 

Great minds... :D

[Little Miss Fine]

When you see the bags being attached to the railings in the public areas you know it's about to get bad.

:):):) Those little bags always give me a giggle.

 

My daughter and I did a short coastal cruise from Fremantle on the Anthena the last day and half was very rough. Just about all the passengers were lying around on the decks near the pool and the Activity Staff could not get anyone to move.

 

Twelve months later on the Rhapsody of the Seas coming back from the Pacific Islands, the little bags made an appearance in the corridors & stair wells. Both my daughter and myself looked at each other to ask if it was rough?? To us it wasn't compared to what it was like on the Anthena :)

[ehfl]

It's a continuum, rather than some cut-off point. It really depends on sea conditions. The key is to keep in mind that with motion sickness, there's no underlying problem. It's simply a matter of your brain being confused because the signals it's receiving from the motion sensors in your inner ear conflict with what your eyes are seeing.....it's litterally all in your head, and it's easy to get your "sea legs" and train your brain to recognize that you're on a moving ship. Stand as much as possible, so that the muscles in your legs confirm to your brain that the ship is moving. Try to look at the horizon if possible so that the signals from your eyes sync with the motion you are feeling. With a little effort, you can avoid motion sickness in light to moderate seas.

[anteaterboat]

As previous posters have said, the size of the ship can matter. More importantly, though, are the environmental conditions and your location on the ship. Your location with respect to the ship (treated as a solid object with no moving parts, which isn't actually the case...) and its center of gravity will determine how much acceleration/motion you will experience. If you are mid-ship and on a low deck, since these ships are very bottom-heavy to compensate for their height, you should experience less rocking. The size of this motionless area is going to be bigger on bigger ships. The location of the center of gravity on a ship will be dynamic, but it will average out towards a certain point as the ship bounces around on the waves.

 

Regardless, mother nature always wins. If there is a storm outside with huge swells, the boat is going to rock....because it's still a boat and the ocean is the ocean = )

 

 

 

 

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[davy jones]

If Mother Nature decides to get surly, she will win against any ship.

 

I beleve that size does have some effect, but the larger ships are also newer builds that have the benefit of better stabilizer systems.

 

The worst motion that we have ever encountered was on the Nordic Prince, a small ship that was stretched to a whopping 21K tons. It is the only time that we were physically sick, and we have sailed through a hurricane on a larger ship.

[George C]

I also think size does matter, we did cruise to Bermuda 2 years ago on a 50k ton ship and many people were sick ( we were fine) talked to people on ship that left same time to Bermuda but ship was twice the size and they were fine , smooth voyage

[ihavecats]

I beleve that size does have some effect, but the larger ships are also newer builds that have the benefit of better stabilizer systems.

 

This is a good point to consider too.