What is the biggest swell (in metres) anyone has encounted on a cruise ship?

[qualifiedcruiseologist]

Also where was this?:)

[GUT2407]

About 40 foot waves, not sure of the swell, when we hit the tail of Cyclone Monica on the way to Cooktown.

[qualifiedcruiseologist]

Also where was this?:)

 

Sorry, and also please name the cruise ship.😱

[GUT2407]

We were on Pacific Princess, only 30,000T waves hitting our balcony on deck 7, a cabn just down from us gotr a broken window.

 

680 PAX one night about 300+ lined up at med centre for shots.

[qualifiedcruiseologist]

We were on Pacific Princess, only 30,000T waves hitting our balcony on deck 7, a cabn just down from us gotr a broken window.

 

680 PAX one night about 300+ lined up at med centre for shots.

 

Cheers, love the details

[GUT2407]

Cheers, love the details

 

It was our 2nd cruise and the one where DW realized that sea sickness wasn't a real issue for her. As long as she took precautions.

[Hlitner]

In metric terms we encountered 15 Meter swells/waves when cruising through Hurricane Bob (1991) on the old Meridian.

 

Hank

[Magnum60]

Met this angry lady while sailing aboard the QE2 in the South Pacific. Her name was Sara ('Typhoon Sara' ) ;). Sara was supplying waves that averaged in the mid to high 40s (feet) and wind speed that was over 90 mph most of the time. The ship was running at 14 - 16 knots to maintain safe steerage. The 'breeze' across the bow had to be well over 100 mph. All lifts were closed and 75% of the passengers and crew were "rather" ill. On each staircase landing was a crew member with a case of 'doggie bags' just in case your sea legs weren't as mature as you thought ;). The green faced crew members on the stairs were being kept quite busy as I remember :rolleyes:. Keep in mind that QE2 was designed as an trans Atlantic liner and performed as she was designed to perform. The ride during those two days running through Typhoon Sara got most passengers full attention but I for one never felt at risk having been through some pretty tough weather aboard QE2 before. Sara was unique in that QE2 had fully intended to stay away from her projected path but Sara decided to [quickly] change her course and nailed us, right on the nose :eek: I would not been so flippant had I been on one of the extremely high cruise ships that we see these days. I never fully understood how the Pacific Ocean got her name because it's usually pretty bumpy sailing on it?

Edited July 22, 2015 by Magnum60

[LHT28]

25 ft waves sailing from Bermuda on the Alexandr Pushkin (now Marco Polo)

 

very large waves sailing in the Caribbean from Grand Cayman to Cartagena on Regatta ..wave came over walking track above pool deck

[blackpool belle]

QM2 on a Transatlantic from Southampton to New York.

 

30' + waves smashing into the windows. I was terrified they were going to get smashed.

[biker@sea]

35 ft. following seas M/S Norwegian Dream / Bermuda .

 

Twice the propellers came out of the water with a horrible shake and shudder.:eek:

 

I had in my mind the video of that ship cut in Half and extended.

[kelmac]

We had 12 -- 15 meter waves between Malta and Barcelona on the Splendor of the Seas, October 2002. Large storm for the Med. All outside doors were locked; pools emptied as the water was flowing into the hall where the elevators were; barf-bags on all the stair cases; chairs moving all over the ship; we went to diner that evening and there were about 30 people total; that's where I found out that Bonine (Meclizine) works very well indeed!:p:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[SuiteTraveler]

Bay of Biscaye, Celebrity Eclipse April 2012 Force 11 winds, 28 foot swells, roundtrip Southampton. Extremely rough seas - so bad the outside decks had to be shut down and it was difficult to move about the ship. This was way worse than the high seas we experienced going up to Alaska. Looking out our forward cabin window, we could see waves breaking over the bow. Getting dressed and showered that morning was a real challenge - in fact walking around the cabin was tough and could only be done by bending the knees and holding on. I got pitched head first into the closet and showering involved holding on for dear life to the safety bar while struggling to stay upright and then dining involved holding down your glass with one hand and your plate with your arm and trying to eat with the other hand and sometimes grabbing our waiter or assistant waiter to steady them so they wouldn't fall. It was, without a doubt the most miserable day I've ever spent at sea. So bad, at the time I began to wonder if I would ever want to cruise again. Thank goodness I had trans derm scops with me. We just stayed midship in the coffee and tea shop all day reading our IPads and holding on to our tea with one hand and our IPads with the other. The next day we reached the Med and it was as smooth as glass. On the return trip, the BoB was no problem at all.

[BruceMuzz]

Royal Viking Star, late 1970's. Off the Coast of Brazil. Observation Lounge windows on Deck 10 were smashed and the lounge flooded by heavy seas.

 

Renaissance III, 1990. Indian Ocean. 30 meter swells for 3 days between Sri Lanka and Yemen.

 

Norwegian Dawn, 2005. Off Carolinas. 35 meter rogue wave washed completely over the ship.

Edited July 23, 2015 by BruceMuzz

[qualifiedcruiseologist]

Royal Viking Star, late 1970's. Off the Coast of Brazil. Observation Lounge windows on Deck 10 were smashed and the lounge flooded by heavy seas.

 

Renaissance III, 1990. Indian Ocean. 30 meter swells for 3 days between Sri Lanka and Yemen.

 

Norwegian Dawn, 2005. Off Carolinas. 35 meter rogue wave washed completely over the ship.

 

Whoooa 30m swell!😱 is that the highest swell ever recorded?

[kelmac]

Whoooa 30m swell!😱 is that the highest swell ever recorded?

 

That would be 100 foot swells. 29.1 meter swells is the largest ever recorded.

 

Bruce, did you mean 30 foot seas?

 

Kel:)

[navybankerteacher]

Several at least 10 meters - possibly one or two at 12 - in January 2007 on Noordam heading south from New York to Caribbean. Seeing solid green water outside my window as I woke was interesting.

[Magnum60]

Aboard the QE2 walking through the Kings Ball Room very late one night while sailing on the Pacific (not sure if I got the name of the ball room right) I watched the white baby grand piano in that room go airborne. Pianos on ships are lashed down for obvious reasons but the heavy seas that night were too much. I watched that piano break free of her tie downs and fly half way across the width of the ball room never touching the floor :eek:. The piano smashed into and destroyed two of the large windows in the room. Surprisingly the piano fared pretty well and was still playable - once the front leg was replaced :). Needless to say the two windows had to be boarded up. To keep passengers from becoming anxious should they see the two boarded up windows the crew sewed the curtains closed which hid the damage from view. Only a handful of passengers knew what had happened. Luckily the room was empty during the 'flight' so no one was hurt. Two new windows were awaiting us in Hong Kong ;).

I'm always amused by new cruise passengers who are lead to believe that their huge new cruise ship will not be affected by heavy seas. They would be wrong of course. Only seas are huge - not ships ;).

[CaveDiving]

The biggest waves we’ve ever encountered were on the Holland America Prinsendam in the Drake Passage just south of Cape Horn in February of 2007. We were hit by two “Rogue” waves.

 

I need to tell you that it’s a bit unnerving to be sitting in the main dining room on the 7th level of a ship and looking out the window UP at the approaching waves.

 

The first wave hit starboard side so the ship rolled to port. Then, just as the ship righted itself, the second wave hit, again from starboard, as if in resonance. The second rolling to port was the most severe.

 

Virtually ALL of the glassware on the ship was broken, along with much of the china and most of the liquor. All four pianos on the ship were reduced to kindling.

 

We were told that the seas were around 45 feet and the waves were about 25 feet on top of that. The waves came over the 10th level balconies. We were also told that the ship rolled nearly 20 degrees to port. The picture below was one of the lounges on the 7th level.

 

Of course that night, we needed to abandon the schedule of cruising for a few days in Antarctica and instead turned around to return to Ushuaia to replenish supplies,

 

It was definitely an “E” ride.

 

Scott & Karen

2Ocean Bar.pdf

[TravelinGert]

Quantum of the Seas transatlantic maiden voyage experienced some waves reported by the Captain to be 20 ft. At time our cabin window on deck 3 was well below the level of waves. Had dinner with a lady in a balcony cabin two or three floors above us who'd had her window washed by waves.

 

Edited July 24, 2015 by TravelinGert

[qualifiedcruiseologist]

The biggest waves we’ve ever encountered were on the Holland America Prinsendam in the Drake Passage just south of Cape Horn in February of 2007. We were hit by two “Rogue” waves.

 

I need to tell you that it’s a bit unnerving to be sitting in the main dining room on the 7th level of a ship and looking out the window UP at the approaching waves.

 

The first wave hit starboard side so the ship rolled to port. Then, just as the ship righted itself, the second wave hit, again from starboard, as if in resonance. The second rolling to port was the most severe.

 

Virtually ALL of the glassware on the ship was broken, along with much of the china and most of the liquor. All four pianos on the ship were reduced to kindling.

 

We were told that the seas were around 45 feet and the waves were about 25 feet on top of that. The waves came over the 10th level balconies. We were also told that the ship rolled nearly 20 degrees to port. The picture below was one of the lounges on the 7th level.

 

Of course that night, we needed to abandon the schedule of cruising for a few days in Antarctica and instead turned around to return to Ushuaia to replenish supplies,

 

It was definitely an “E” ride.

 

Scott & Karen

 

Wow wow wow. Was anyone injured?

[chengkp75]

That would be 100 foot swells. 29.1 meter swells is the largest ever recorded.

 

Bruce, did you mean 30 foot seas?

 

Kel:)

 

I remember the Norwegian Dawn incident quite well. It was reported as a series of 3 70' (21mtr) rogue waves that took out forward windows on decks 9 and 10, and flooded 62 cabins.

[Capt_BJ]

NTSB report on that incident never uses the term 'rogue wave'

 

what can happen is a ship driven into the seas falls into 'step' with the swell period and buries the bow ..... dealing with this situation ... high seas versus course and speed falls under the definition of seamanship IMO

 

http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAB0503.pdf

 

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the damage to the Norwegian Dawn and of the injuries suffered by its passengers was waves breaking over the bow during the shipís unavoidable encounter with severe weather and heavy seas.

 

in my experience sitting in the Captain's chair in heavy sea in the Bering Sea .... if you slowed and altered course, and the seas still break over the bow .... you didn't slow/alter enough. There was a lot of discussion at the time of this incident of pressure from the 'company' to get the ship back to NY because of a full ship charter . . .

 

 

***********

on my last command, when waves hitting the front wall of my Captain's Cabin (just below the bridge) woke me up, I knew I'd better do something ASAP or the forward gun mount would soon be gone! We were burying the bow. The SHIP would be FINE ... but there would be damage.

***********

 

btw

 

 

those ain't 20 feet .... but the ship is being driven straight in . . .

Edited July 24, 2015 by Capt_BJ

[chengkp75]

NTSB report on that incident never uses the term 'rogue wave'

 

what can happen is a ship driven into the seas falls into 'step' with the swell period and buries the bow ..... dealing with this situation ... high seas versus course and speed falls under the definition of seamanship IMO

 

 

 

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the damage to the Norwegian Dawn and of the injuries suffered by its passengers was waves breaking over the bow during the shipís unavoidable encounter with severe weather and heavy seas.

 

in my experience sitting in the Captain's chair in heavy sea in the Bering Sea .... if you slowed and altered course, and the seas still break over the bow .... you didn't slow/alter enough. There was a lot of discussion at the time of this incident of pressure from the 'company' to get the ship back to NY because of a full ship charter . . .

 

***********

on my last command, when waves hitting the structure which formed the front wall of my Captain's Cabin woke me up, I knew I'd better do something ASAP or the forward gun mount would soon be gone!

***********

 

btw

 

 

those ain't 20 feet .... but the ship is being driven straight in . . .

 

While I completely agree with everything you've said (and having told the guy up in the Captain's chair to slow down or I would, as the engines were taking a beating), I don't think "rogue wave" was an accepted phenomenon at that time, but I do agree that 3 rogue waves is unlikely, though the 10th sea phenomenon could have played into it.

Edited July 24, 2015 by chengkp75

[Capt_BJ]

rogue wave

 

is a term used from WAY back

 

actually I got a call from a prior CO of the ship I was to take command of, heading to Alaska and HE warned me of 'rogue waves'

 

He'd lost a gun .... a BIG gun washed over the side and reported as "rogue wave"

 

Funny .... I never had that problem