Seas from Seattle going 'around the bend'?

[phoenix_dream]

I know it can vary by day, but what is the norm for sea conditions when heading to/from Seattle to/from Alaska in early September? We have sailed the route twice in July with calm seas. Did we just get lucky? I am on some meds which don't combine well with dramamine of either type, nor the patch. Wondering what my odds are to be OK without them. As a frequent cruiser I know about all the other usual motion sickness preventions like ginger, mid-ship cabins etc.. Just wondering what I might encounter. Thanks.

[Keith1010]

The odds say you will have some rough seas but as you know from your other cruises it might be calm but I would plan for the worst and hope for the best.

 

Keith

[phoenix_dream]

Always good advice. I will be prepared with fingers crossed and hope for the best. We have a midship cabin which is always better and ginger can work miracles if the seas are not too bad. Just wondering how often it really gets rocky, which to me means around 10 ft. Or higher (although I know direction and type of waves impacts things as well)

[bonvoyagie]

Not sure about the seas - but today there were 13kt headwinds along the coast. They switched direction around Prince Rupert.

[gottagoacruzn]

I know it can vary by day, but what is the norm for sea conditions when heading to/from Seattle to/from Alaska in early September? We have sailed the route twice in July with calm seas. Did we just get lucky? I am on some meds which don't combine well with dramamine of either type, nor the patch. Wondering what my odds are to be OK without them. As a frequent cruiser I know about all the other usual motion sickness preventions like ginger, mid-ship cabins etc.. Just wondering what I might encounter. Thanks.

 

Hi, have always left out of Vancouver, this trip will be leavin out of Seattle, had heard it was kinda rough the first day out, now I know why. Have a mid ship cabin, so I hope its smooth sailin. Thanks for the warnin.

 

Virginia

[rnargo]

I did an end of Sept cruise a couple years ago. It was pretty rough. The captain actually decided to go up the Inside Passage instead of out to the Pacific heading northbound. Heading south we just had to deal with it- it was pretty rough!

 

My friend took some Ondansetron (brand name is Zofran- nausea drug). It worked wonders for her! It is prescription. It used to only be available for cancer patients, but now you can get the generic pretty easily from your doctor. I would call your pharmacy and ask them about any interactions with your meds...they're the experts! :)

 

 

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[Alberta Quilter]

Try seabands! They work for me and are non medicated. They work using accupressure.

[phoenix_dream]

Try seabands! They work for me and are non medicated. They work using accupressure.

I tried these years ago but they didn't help much. But might be worth a try again under the circumstances. Did you buy the expensive ones with the electrical pulses, or just the regular ones you can buy in any drugstore? (I had tried the latter - until this issue with meds came up I could always count on meclizine/DramamineII to handle all but the worst seas)

[Budget Queen]

You are on water- an yes, it CAN and does get rough, especially, 2 more likely days round trip Seattle routes. BUT, I've also had rough sailing, in the so called "inside passage". So, the claims are one time reports ONLY. You won't know until you are there. :)

 

Be aware- the naive thinking that a message board is a good place for medicinal advice is risky. Ginger- also has drug interaction potential and side effects. In the medical field- the wrist bands are pretty much classified as a placebo from a pharmacy perspective. But anything that works for someone can be of significant benefit. Lots of alternatives available.

[phoenix_dream]

You are on water- an yes, it CAN and does get rough, especially, 2 more likely days round trip Seattle routes. BUT, I've also had rough sailing, in the so called "inside passage". So, the claims are one time reports ONLY. You won't know until you are there. :)

 

Be aware- the naive thinking that a message board is a good place for medicinal advice is risky. Ginger- also has drug interaction potential and side effects. In the medical field- the wrist bands are pretty much classified as a placebo from a pharmacy perspective. But anything that works for someone can be of significant benefit. Lots of alternatives available.

I agree about medicinal advice - it is good to get, but my doctor and/or pharmacist will be where I go for final decisions. Ginger is risky to use for anyone on blood thinning medication - thankfully my doctor told me it would be ok to use it. There is alot of doubt about wrist bands being truly useful or placebo. But honestly if they work as a placebo, then they work - whether the effect is truly medicinal or all in my crazy head who cares:). The good part is that other than a loss of money, there is no risk at all to using them.

 

I was surprised you could experience rough water in the Inside Passage. It is so narrow I can't imagine how that could happen? Were you in a very small ship? Or perhaps the rough waters were just before or after the Passage itself?

[Mary Ellen]

I was surprised you could experience rough water in the Inside Passage. It is so narrow I can't imagine how that could happen? Were you in a very small ship? Or perhaps the rough waters were just before or after the Passage itself?

 

The greatest risk for rough water on the Vancouver sailing is usually while crossing Queen Charlotte Sound at the north end of Vancouver Island. That is open to the Pacific. So if it is is rough out in the Pacific, it will be rough in the Sound. At least the ship is only exposed while crossing the Sound. Those on a ship to/from Seattle will be exposed much longer.

 

Due to the limited number of ships that can transit the Seymour Narrows (this can only happen for a very short time during 'slack tide'), ships sailing from Seattle usually can't opt to sail the portion of the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland should the Pacific be very rough.

[Budget Queen]

 

I was surprised you could experience rough water in the Inside Passage. It is so narrow I can't imagine how that could happen? Were you in a very small ship? Or perhaps the rough waters were just before or after the Passage itself?

 

This is a common myth, and wrong assumption that is made all the time. My experiences are all on cruise ships, none considered "small". Over 50.

 

There are so many variables on routes as well, with people thinking there is only one. Yes there are a lot of enthusiastic people who have sailed sailed Alaska, and you will find, raves for every itinerary. But, sometimes- those single reports get accepted as the "norm" of which there really isn't any. Huge ranges in sailing experiences.

[phoenix_dream]

This is a common myth, and wrong assumption that is made all the time. My experiences are all on cruise ships, none considered "small". Over 50.

 

There are so many variables on routes as well, with people thinking there is only one. Yes there are a lot of enthusiastic people who have sailed sailed Alaska, and you will find, raves for every itinerary. But, sometimes- those single reports get accepted as the "norm" of which there really isn't any. Huge ranges in sailing experiences.

I guess the technical definition of the Inside Passage does in fact include areas that are wider and potentially more exposed to potential wind/wave issues from the Pacific Ocean. People do refer to it meaning any number of different things. For example, our ship has only about a four hour window where it lists 'cruising the Inside Passage'. Depending on what definition you are following, in reality we are probably technically in the Inside Passage from Ketchikan on northbound.

 

I realize every sailing can differ - I am just looking for what the 'norm' is - whatever that is worth:). I have sailed a lot (30+ cruises) but mine are limited to Alaska (only one from Seattle), Caribbean, West Coastal US, and Mexico. My worst seas were 30' seas in the Western Caribbean. And yet, on other cruises, we have sailed there with seas as calm as glass. You just never know. Someone on another thread claims they were in 60' seas on a sailing north from Seattle. That one I find very hard to believe. Are seas that high possible? Yes. In that region? I don't know. Those are huge! But I have to think if a Captain anticipated 60' seas going out of Seattle they would postpone the trip until the seas were more calm - and similarly on the trip back. Why would they deliberately sail into such dangerous seas when they would be so close to shore they could wait a day if needed? I'm more concerned about the 15-30' ones - those would do me in, and would be 'calm' enough for the ship to sail regardless.

Edited August 25, 2015 by phoenix_dream

[Budget Queen]

I guess the technical definition of the Inside Passage does in fact include areas that are wider and potentially more exposed to potential wind/wave issues from the Pacific Ocean. People do refer to it meaning any number of different things. For example, our ship has only about a four hour window where it lists 'cruising the Inside Passage'. Depending on what definition you are following, in reality we are probably technically in the Inside Passage from Ketchikan on northbound.

 

I realize every sailing can differ - I am just looking for what the 'norm' is - whatever that is worth:). I have sailed a lot (30+ cruises) but mine are limited to Alaska (only one from Seattle), Caribbean, West Coastal US, and Mexico. My worst seas were 30' seas in the Western Caribbean. And yet, on other cruises, we have sailed there with seas as calm as glass. You just never know. Someone on another thread claims they were in 60' seas on a sailing north from Seattle. That one I find very hard to believe. Are seas that high possible? Yes. In that region? I don't know. Those are huge! But I have to think if a Captain anticipated 60' seas going out of Seattle they would postpone the trip until the seas were more calm - and similarly on the trip back. Why would they deliberately sail into such dangerous seas when they would be so close to shore they could wait a day if needed? I'm more concerned about the 15-30' ones - those would do me in, and would be 'calm' enough for the ship to sail regardless.

 

I guess the "norm" is, there is more rough sailing potential on round trip Seattle routes. :) My "50+" reference is all Alaska.

[K-Dogg]

Am I the only one who thinks rough seas are sort of fun? I do not get any motion sickness, and think having one day or night of rough seas adds to the fun of cruising. On our roundtrip from Seattle in 2012 we had one evening that my husband got slightly sea sick and took Dramamine, but other than that it was fine. :)

[gottagoacruzn]

I did an end of Sept cruise a couple years ago. It was pretty rough. The captain actually decided to go up the Inside Passage instead of out to the Pacific heading northbound. Heading south we just had to deal with it- it was pretty rough!

 

My friend took some Ondansetron (brand name is Zofran- nausea drug). It worked wonders for her! It is prescription. It used to only be available for cancer patients, but now you can get the generic pretty easily from your doctor. I would call your pharmacy and ask them about any interactions with your meds...they're the experts! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hey, lets hope its pretty rough,:eek: On second thought, maybe not that rough, so then maybe just maybe we can cruise the Inside Passage!!:)

[Budget Queen]

Am I the only one who thinks rough seas are sort of fun? I do not get any motion sickness, and think having one day or night of rough seas adds to the fun of cruising. On our roundtrip from Seattle in 2012 we had one evening that my husband got slightly sea sick and took Dramamine, but other than that it was fine. :)

 

Nope- the rougher the better!

[phoenix_dream]

Am I the only one who thinks rough seas are sort of fun? I do not get any motion sickness, and think having one day or night of rough seas adds to the fun of cruising. On our roundtrip from Seattle in 2012 we had one evening that my husband got slightly sea sick and took Dramamine, but other than that it was fine. :)

 

Well if being dizzy, getting a headache, breaking out in a cold sweat and feeling like losing your lunch is sort of fun then yes, they are sort of fun. Consider yourself very, very lucky it doesn't bother you. :)