Biggest waves encountered?

[sg1phileshipper]

I was wondering how high the waves you ever encountered on a cruise were and what part of the world were you in?

For me it was on our way to Geiranger, Norway. Leg 1 of our B2B the waves were 30ft high. Kept sliding back and forth in my bed. I am sure the barf bag were out. Our second visit to Geiranger, they were only 15ft high, managed to walk around the ship. The bags were out in full force.

Would love the hear everyone's experience :)

Cindy

 

 

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[Little Buddy's Mom]

We were on the Holland America Rotterdam in Sept, 2004, when we ran into Hurricane Karl.

It was the most terrifying three hours I've ever spent. We lost power on the ship and bounced around like a cork in a bathtub. We were in the North Atlantic, near the spot, where the Titanic went down.

 

According to reports, there were swells of over 50ft. After power was restored, we headed straight for Halifax, where we were met by ambulances and representatives of Holland America, who had flown in from Seattle. My husband and I were not hurt but we still received 50% of our cruise fare back. We thought that was very fair.

[sg1phileshipper]

We were on the Holland America Rotterdam in Sept' date=' 2004, when we ran into Hurricane Karl.

It was the most terrifying three hours I've ever spent. We lost power on the ship and bounced around like a cork in a bathtub. We were in the North Atlantic, near the spot, where the Titanic went down.

 

According to reports, there were swells of over 50ft. After power was restored, we headed straight for Halifax, where we were met by ambulances and representatives of Holland America, who had flown in from Seattle. My husband and I were not hurt but we still received 50% of our cruise fare back. We thought that was very fair.[/quote']

 

WOW! Just wow.... Getting goosebumps from reading you story. That must have been scary, especially being near the Titanic spot. :eek:

 

Cindy

Edited March 15, 2015 by sg1phileshipper

[sddsddean]

When we were coming back to Cape Liberty just before Christmas 2009, there was a force 10 gale all the way up the eastern seaboard of the US. Got into Cape Liberty, all NY airports closed, 2 feet of snow dockside. Luckily we were doing a b2b, but 300 passengers missed the ship...including the new captain! Waves must have been big, they dented the 'golfball' satelite dome up up the basket ball court! Only about 50 people went to the 'end of the cruise' show. The ship was like the Marie Celeste! Spoke to an ex-US destroyer captain next day at breakfast...he loved it!!!

 

Simon

[Kteacher]

We were on either the Enchantment or Grandeur sailing out of Baltimore. The waves came up over deck five and into the doors that open to the promenade.

[antique sailor]

AHOY SHIPMATES,,

 

1997 Grand World cruise APRIL between the AZORES and NEW YORK

finishing the final leg of the 100+ day cruise..

NO way to avoid the storm. Everyone was told to stay in their cabins.

Safety lines rigged everywhere around the ship. Average age of passengers was 76 that year. ALL the expensive LLARDO figurines in the store fell and broke($) and almost all of the LIQUOR in the stores and a lot in the bars was destroyed. The smell was fantastic for a few days. The ship lost one radio mast and other minor damage. There were over a dozen broken arm and legs among the passengers who didnt listen to the warnings. Mostly there were dozens of black eyes on those who wore glasses and fell on their faces. Lotsa fear but no panic. Barf bags were in demand that day.

 

In 1956 I was on an AIRCRAFT carrier, the USS SHANGRI LA CVA 38 returning from Japan to the USA when we encountered a Typhoon. It was much worse than the one in 1997.I have pictures taken from the bridge toward the bow showing waves breaking over the flight deck which is OVER 50 ft above the waterline. All catwalks were ripped off (steel) the sides and the Roller curtains were torn loose and crumpled up like balls of paper and rolling around the hanger deck.The menu was apples soup and crackers for those who had to get out of their beds to stand watch or help with damage control. Fortunately we were healthy young sailors who were trained and there were NO serious injuries.

 

I STILL LOVE THE SEA

[Trainman-2]

Can't have a post about big weaves with out videos.

 

Keep in mind that videos on YouTube are mostly amateur videos and the titles and descriptions may not match reality.

 

 

SORRY - CC's YouTube Tagging is not working, you will have to click on the individual links!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2015 by Trainman-2

[BND]

Heading back to Baltimore on Grandeur in March 2014 we had 30-35 foot waves. For at least 12 hours, we had 25-30 with a few 35 foot and when they went down to 20, we were thrilled. I've heard people on most of my cruises complain about 10 foot waves and I just laugh. I did miss dinner after spending some time in the DL which is in the aft. I couldn't handle the motion of the ships cavitating. I wasn't the only one. Most of us after spending the day dealing with it, it just got to be too much for my stomach and inner ear. DH was a US Naval officer and encountered higher waves and "rollers". He talks about walking on the bulkhead (walls) with the rolls. As for winds up and down the east coast, almost every cruise we've been on has had the upper decks closed for at least one day each way due to winds. It's not uncommon.

Edited March 15, 2015 by BND

[A&L_Ont]

30 foot rouge wave for us.

 

My favourite video. I love the guy in the background. "Oh sh/t"

 

 

[Theredofshaw]

AHOY SHIPMATES,,

 

In 1956 I was on an AIRCRAFT carrier, the USS SHANGRI LA CVA 38 returning from Japan to the USA when we encountered a Typhoon. It was much worse than the one in 1997.I have pictures taken from the bridge toward the bow showing waves breaking over the flight deck which is OVER 50 ft above the waterline. All catwalks were ripped off (steel) the sides and the Roller curtains were torn loose and crumpled up like balls of paper and rolling around the hanger deck.The menu was apples soup and crackers for those who had to get out of their beds to stand watch or help with damage control. Fortunately we were healthy young sailors who were trained and there were NO serious injuries.

 

I STILL LOVE THE SEA

 

 

We had something similar going around the tip of India back in 2009. I was on the Reagan and we had waves hitting the bow and coming up and just drenching our helos with saltwater... It was entertaining watching everyone try to maneuver around the ship doing their day to day jobs. On a side note, I slept GREAT that day.

 

 

Not sure if this has been posted or not yet, but here is another Navy ship (kitty hawk) and high waves

[LMaxwell]

Makes you realize it would be pretty much impossible to safely and efficiently abandon ship in case of an emergency in weather conditions like that.

[Shelley61]

Our first cruise back in 2011 had us going across the Bay of Biscay... I was nervous beforehand as being a first cruise I didn't know what to expect and was worried about seasickness. As it was, it was flat calm! Then we hit the Med... Wowsers. The Gulf of Lion off of France gave us waves of about 40 feet and force 9 or 10 gusts of wind. As for seasickness, I didn't suffer but there were plenty that did. Kids were making the most of being able to jump from the top of the stairs to the bottom in between wave crashes (I was quite tempted to join them!)... I gave up on trying to wear my high heeled shoes and just walked round without them in the end. The show in the theatre in the bow was interesting! The drummer was literally holding on to his drum kit at one point and you could hear the waves slamming into the ship. I loved it!! :D

[barbyj]

I was on a TA crossing from Venice to New York on the Norwegian Gem, I think it was the fall of 2010. We had 70 ft waves, balcony cabins on the 10th deck were flooded and we had to stay in our cabins for 3 days. It was terrible. We were very close to New York and ran into a N"Easter.

Edited March 15, 2015 by barbyj

[runner15km]

I have been lucky with all my cruises having mostly calm seas. The highest wave height I encountered was in the North Atlantic heading to Bermuda, one day we had 12-15' seas. :)

[Dave85]

We hit some 30 foot seas one night the first time we were on Oasis (in 2011). Happened to be Captain's Cocktail Party night. Crew said it was the worst seas they encountered on Oasis since her initial non-rev TA over from Europe when they ran into the remnants of a hurricane.

 

Only Captain Trym was walking straight that night :p

Edited March 15, 2015 by Dave85

[momphoto]

March 2013 on the Explorer out of NJ. I think the waves were 25 feet and more, Captain said winds were of a category 1 hurricane. Ship was so quiet that day, and of course all outdoor areas were closed. We went up to the viking crown lounge to watch the waves, saw a few deck chairs come loose and go flying. Overnight a rouge wave hit hard and broke a few windows in dining room, which they then had boarded up for the rest of the cruise. After those 2 days we had smooth sailing! Am glad that rough seas do not bother myself or hubby, but feel bad for those that it does.

Edited March 15, 2015 by momphoto

[danp]

Last year while on the Explorer ,sailing out of NJ. On the first night we got hit about 5am off the south Jersey coast with what the Captain said we were hit with a rouge 50 foot wave. Two of the life boats were knocked out of service with one down on the deck. The wave broke the door near the lifeboats and entered the fourth deck. The water rushed in and hit the Aque bar area. They had to close that area down and for days removed the rugs and furniture. The water also ran down the steps to deck 2.

As the captain said it was a good thing that it hit early in the morning with no one on the deck.

[danp]

Just another short note. The Captain[i forget his name]kept coming up on the speakers and let us all know what was going on at the time and areas to avoid.

[BND]

Makes you realize it would be pretty much impossible to safely and efficiently abandon ship in case of an emergency in weather conditions like that.

 

Not really. They load the lifeboats from the evacuation point on deck and then lower them to the water. Waves wouldn't prevent that. The lifeboats can handle the waves (although your stomach's really can't).

[Desert Cruizers]

Our Capt Syndre reported, leaving Wellington this past March, we would be hitting gale force winds and seas up to 30 +. The ROS rode the storm out beautifully most likely because we had turned South so the storm was behind us. We noticed some rolling but nothing we hadn't experienced before.

[LMaxwell]

Not really. They load the lifeboats from the evacuation point on deck and then lower them to the water. Waves wouldn't prevent that. The lifeboats can handle the waves (although your stomach's really can't).

 

If a ship loses propulsion and ends up beam to the waves and starts rocking and rolling that could be a real problem for loading and launching.

[Little Buddy's Mom]

Not really. They load the lifeboats from the evacuation point on deck and then lower them to the water. Waves wouldn't prevent that. The lifeboats can handle the waves (although your stomach's really can't).

 

Sorry, but I really don't think you know what you're talking about.:rolleyes: The life boat would be swinging and wouldn't be able to be lowered into the water, even if someone could crawl into it.:eek: On the Rotterdam, since we had no power, we had no stabilizers and the ship was rocking from one side to the other.

[kinesiologynerd]

Between Falmouth and Labadee a few days ago on Indy we had 50mph winds and the navigation channel said 9 Beaufort. A quick googling says that corresponds to 20-30ft seas??? I wouldn't have guessed that, but there were quite a few motion sick passengers (including my GF). I thought it made cruising way more fun than a silly hotel!

 

Side note- seemed like especially after we were south of Cuba every evening got quite windy and choppy. Is that the norm?

Edited March 15, 2015 by kinesiologynerd

[evelyn51]

Can't have a post about big weaves with out videos.

 

Keep in mind that videos on YouTube are mostly amateur videos and the titles and descriptions may not match reality.

 

 

SORRY - CC's YouTube Tagging is not working, you will have to click on the individual links!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMG just watching the first video raised my blood pressure. I've been on 4 Cruises. On one I'd watched a cooler careening towards me while eating in the WJ the crew were able to stop it by closing the door; We took our Dinner in our statrm later that day, and stayed put for the next 12 hrs. That was the only time I've experienced anything "remotely" like what the first video showed. :eek:

[Life is Good Cruising]

March 2013 on the Explorer out of NJ. I think the waves were 25 feet and more, Captain said winds were of a category 1 hurricane. Ship was so quiet that day, and of course all outdoor areas were closed. We went up to the viking crown lounge to watch the waves, saw a few deck chairs come loose and go flying. Overnight a rouge wave hit hard and broke a few windows in dining room, which they then had boarded up for the rest of the cruise. After those 2 days we had smooth sailing! Am glad that rough seas do not bother myself or hubby, but feel bad for those that it does.

 

 

We were on the same sailing and they said waves were over 30' high and it was a good thing it happened when it did around 3-4 am, when no one was in the room dining room.

 

 

Last year while on the Explorer ,sailing out of NJ. On the first night we got hit about 5am off the south Jersey coast with what the Captain said we were hit with a rouge 50 foot wave. Two of the life boats were knocked out of service with one down on the deck. The wave broke the door near the lifeboats and entered the fourth deck. The water rushed in and hit the Aque bar area. They had to close that area down and for days removed the rugs and furniture. The water also ran down the steps to deck 2.

As the captain said it was a good thing that it hit early in the morning with no one on the deck.

 

 

We were also on that sailing and when that wave hit us, that jolt and the sound of the wine glasses and bottles rolling and breaking woke us up. Thank goodness no one was on Deck 4 as there could have been many serious injuries when the lifeboat fell onto the deck.