Ship movement and ensuing discomfort

[OceanTraveller4ever]

Just wondering about folks' experiences with ship movement, and what ensues.

 

I have taken a TA cruise, and found that pitch was a non issue, but the incessant roll from side to side got to me after a while.

 

It is a bit like being on a carnival ride which is fun at the start, but it just does not end when one is tired of it :)

 

Other instances of ship movement, where I saw persons just fall down at any given instant.

 

Any experiences on this topic?

[sppunk]

I'm unhappy if I'm on a cruise and the ship isn't swaying or rocking.

 

LOVED a cruise back in the late 90s on Carnival outrunning a hurricane wth 30' seas.

[Hlitner]

Not sure what kind of answer you expect. A ship is upon the sea...and when the sea moves so does the ship. If the sea moves a lot...the ship will also move a lot. And if there are high winds...this also contributes to a ship moving. We have spent more then 3 years on cruise ships. Most of the time the seas have been quite smooth. But we have also cruised through a hurricane (Hurricane Bob) with seas over 40 feet and once did a transatlatantic where seas where over 30 feet for 3 consecutive days! But most of our more then 15 TA cruises have been relatively calm,

 

DW and I will often book a cabin near the bow because we find this part of the ship more quiet (there are no major mechanical rooms near the bow..other then the bow thrusters). We also enjoy the extra movement found "up front" which rocks us asleep.

 

Hank

Edited January 31, 2016 by Hlitner

[Krazy Kruizers]

When you are on a ship, you can expect it to move from side to side and up and down.

The water is always on the move.

When it gets exceptionally rough, and we have had that happen many times, with my bad knees and bad back, I know to just stay seated for most of the rough weather just so that I don't fall and break anything.

[Mtn2Sea]

We were on the Zuiderdam earlier this month with another couple who've always sailed NCL. The wife complained about the ship's movement compared to the large NCL ships, which I found interesting since I hadn't even noticed any ship movement. DW and I owned sailboats for over 25 years and don't notice ship movement unless it's really, really rough. Even after the wife started wearing wrist bands and eating green apples, I had to look at the horizon to see that the ship had some roll to it. This all reminded me of a cruise several years ago when a dinner companion started feeling uneasy as soon as the ship got out of the sight of land. Having taken many guests out on our sailboat, I've learned you can't accurately predict how newbies will react to the motion of the sea.

[Keith1010]

Each person is different and sometimes one type of motion will be more bothersome than another one.

 

Keith

[pbnjrockette]

Usually the first 2 days I feel every bump and sway... take my Bonine faithfully. After that, unless the seas are really rough I'm "aware" of the rocking but don't find it as bothersome. But you won't find me on the upper decks during any "rock & roll". DH will say... "I don't feel any movement" when my stomach is turning so it's really each individual's internal gyro!!

[TheCalicoCat]

My first cruise was on a boat (really can't call it a ship) that was made to sail in the great barrier reef. The first night (luckily it was bed time in hind sight) the rocking was so bad that I kept thinking, "Am I going to fall out of bed? No, I'm not going to fall out." as the boat rocked back and forth.

 

The rest of the cruise was fine - even on the tender.

 

My now 7 year old son has been on several cruise ships & has only gotten sick once. But that was the kind where you feel better after the actual physical sickness. (Maybe not associated with the motion - but we were out running a storm...)

[EbayCruiser]

I am prone to sea sickness but I have never gotten sick on a cruise ship.

 

I do start taking Bonine right before my flight and take it religiously every day while on the ship. It works wonders.

 

Our first cruise was to Alaska and we got the patches from our Dr. that you wear behind your ear. The first morning we woke up, the seas were very rocky and you could hardly walk down the hallway without going from side to side. The pools were closed as the water was sloshing out of both sides of the pool. This is the roughest we have ever seen. Most of the ship stayed in their rooms for breakfast but we did not get sick. The patches made our throats very dry so we did not purchase them again. My DH took his off about half-way through the cruise because they made him feel bad.

 

Take Bonine ... you can buy it at Wal-Mart or the drugstore. They will also give them to you for free on the ship but I have always taken mine with me.

Edited January 31, 2016 by EbayCruiser

[Oviedo32765]

J<snip> pitch was a non issue, but the incessant roll from side to side got to me after a while.</snip>

 

When the roll from side to side becomes too much, turn 90 degrees so that it is now a non-issue pitch.

[visagrunt]

Of the three ranges of motion (roll, pitch and yaw), roll is going to be the most uncomfortable, because it involves the shortest radii of movement (the beam and height of the vessel), as opposed to pitch and yaw which move through the length of the vessel. Lifting the bow 3 m creates a very shallow angle; lifting the beam 3m creates a much more pronounced movement. Yaw is further retarded by the forward motion of the vessel.

 

Stabilizers work to diminish roll; they are unnecessary for pitch and yaw.

 

Of the three, yaw is far and away the one that can make me uncomfortable. Fortunately it is the least experienced, particularly at speed.

[Hlitner]

Of the three ranges of motion (roll, pitch and yaw), roll is going to be the most uncomfortable, because it involves the shortest radii of movement (the beam and height of the vessel), as opposed to pitch and yaw which move through the length of the vessel. Lifting the bow 3 m creates a very shallow angle; lifting the beam 3m creates a much more pronounced movement. Yaw is further retarded by the forward motion of the vessel.

 

Stabilizers work to diminish roll; they are unnecessary for pitch and yaw.

 

Of the three, yaw is far and away the one that can make me uncomfortable. Fortunately it is the least experienced, particularly at speed.

 

Personally, we find "yaw" to be the most uncomfortable whether it be in an aircraft or ship. On ships, this seems to be most pronounced towards the aft...which is one reason why DW and I generally avoid aft cabins.

 

Hank

[Tampa Girl]

We have almost always had a cabin mid-ships. When considering a long cruise; i.e. world or Grand Voyage, and if only fore or aft verandah cabins were available, which would be the preferable?

[Hlitner]

We have almost always had a cabin mid-ships. When considering a long cruise; i.e. world or Grand Voyage, and if only fore or aft verandah cabins were available, which would be the preferable?

 

No right or wrong but simply personal preference. DW and I prefer cabins in the bow quarter of the ship for a few reasons, one being lesser yaw. Towards the bow you do tend to get the maximum up and down motion which does not really bother us...and actually rocks us asleep. But we are also aware that the major engines are arrayed around mid-ship and the motor/props are towards the aft. Up front there are few mechanical systems (which minimizes noise and vibration) other then the bow thrusters...which are a great alarm clock to tell you a ship is in the process of docking :). There is also less foot traffic as you move further forward which also helps keep it quiet.

 

But we know others who hate being forward because they do not like the up/down when the bow is moving. And this can be a real problem for those with mobility/balance problems when they try to walk in heavy seas.

 

 

Hank

[OlsSalt]

We have had cabins all over the ships and have not noticed any major effects one way or the other, mainly because when it gets really rough we are in bed anyway - prone and conked out on Bonine. During those times, which often don't last more than a few hours, we don't expect to be ambulatory either in our cabin or out and about.

 

Agree, nothing cozier than being rocked to sleep - flat out in bed. However I have also noticed after a few rounds of full cruise Bonine, whether I needed it or not on earlier cruises I no longer feel any effects at all now with or with out it.

 

When the bags come out in the hallways, and the dining room is empty DH and I are still there making our dinner choices in the far quieter room. Sea legs now I guess, and certainly better living through modern chemistry after those first cruises when I too was feeling all those unhappy affects of being at sea.

Edited January 31, 2016 by OlsSalt

[SilvertoGold]

Instances of ship movement:

 

Several days of 15 - 25 foot seas banging into the side of the bow under our cabin made some incredible sounds. This put my DH out of commission for much of that time. There was quite a bit of pitch but it was the creaking that disturbed him personally.

 

I spent a fair amount of time those days walking the deck. Off and on huge pitch made me stop and hang onto the railing. It felt as if my feet were certainly going out from under me. It was fun to be aft and watch the ship go up, up up and then come crashing down.

 

We made it to the MDR for lunch one of those days and you could see the water then the sky out the aft windows. The movement was quite spectacular to watch for the aft DR!

[Hlitner]

Feel the need to share a tale of woe (for some folks). Experienced cruisers are all aware that the most expensive cruise ship cabins are normally on the highest passenger decks (which actually suffers the most movement) usually amid ships. This is quite true on the Queen Mary 2 where those premium cabins cost a huge differential over the the lower price cabins. About 6 years ago we took a 6 night QM2 crossing from Southampton to NYC and booked the cheapest inside cabin. Our cabin was very good, quiet, and we had a terrific crossing. Our friends (on the same cruise) purchased one of the more expensive "grill" suites which was near mid ships on the top passenger deck. They had a huge cabin, Concierge, large balcony, etc. During the 6 day crossing we had very heavy fog (and drizzle) during the entire voyage). Our friends could not use their balcony (it was always chilly and wet) and could not sleep because the ship needed to sound the "fog horn" all day and night. Being on an upper deck that fog horn was quite audible. Meanwhile, those of us in "steerage" slept like babies (the seas were glassy) and never heard the fog horn! Perhaps there is a message here somewhere!

 

And I should add that our total cruise fare was far less then the business-class airfare from London to NYC. And at our lower fare we had 6 delightful days with OK food, very good entertainment, and great company.

 

Hank

Edited January 31, 2016 by Hlitner

[OlsSalt]

Good reminder about the fog horns and upper decks. Another difficult passage is off Vietnam where they sounded the horn on the Volendam every few minutes, because there were so many small fishing boats out at night.

 

We must have crept through those waters at 5 miles per hour (if ships went mph). But it was a lost night of sleep. I should have been up on deck to see what the Captain was having to sort out in those murky waters - it would have been an interesting sight. Plan accordingly when visiting this fascinating part of the world, by sea.

[DeepWaterMariner]

I've been cruising for nearly 50 years and have never been sea sick but I never say never. There are very likely seas that I haven't encountered that could do me in. Every ship I've sailed has had motion, from small ships all the way up to the Royal Caribbean monsters. Is yaw that kind of corkscrew motion? If that's it, I don't like it. My choice is a midships cabin on a lower deck when there is an ocean to cross. I'll be doing a roundtrip Atlantic crossing on this years Grand Med and midships and low down is where I'll be sleeping.

[OlsSalt]

I believe "cork-screwing" is rolling, pitching and yawing all at the same time. An onboard medical doctor lecturer laughingly (gallows laugh for sure) told us there was no cure for that combo.

 

Stabilizers don't help, keeping your eye on the horizon doesn't help, so you just have to ride it out anyway you can with what ever medicine or devices you want to try. Good news is the captain and crew want to get out of that sort of turbulent water as much as you do.

 

Agree, it is that stomach lurching bad ride in an elevator feeling that I hate most - when it feels like the bottom of the floor is dropping out from underneath you as you try to walk forward. Sometimes it amazed me the rest of the crew could function as well as they did - no soup course tonight.

[fourkittys]

When the roll from side to side becomes too much, turn 90 degrees so that it is now a non-issue pitch.

 

LOL! Great answer!