Have you ever sailed through a Medicane?

[Markanddonna]

We sailed through a medicane around December 13-14, 2019. A medicane is a hurricane like event in the Mediterranean. There have been a few of them this fall.

 

We did on the NCL Spirit on Dec 13-14, 2019. The captain decided to drop our stop in Crete so he had the time to go slowly through the storm when the ship was around the Messina Strait. He was worried the authorities would not let us through. I saw videos of the pilot boat attempting to board,and I believe he was unsuccessful.

 

It was quite an event with pitching, rolling, and an occasional jolt. The ship actually handled it quite well, but of course all the outside decks were closed off. The buffet was also closed for a while for safety reasons, and even the elevators were temporarily halted during the worst period. 

 

Only one person in our group felt queasy. We spent the day playing games and going about our final day of the cruise. 

 

The first photo is of the steel plates that were put on the oceanview windows to prevent damage to the ship. One woman was very upset because of this plate on her window as she booked an oceanview because of her claustrophobia. I wonder how she survived in the theater? Where is the rolling eyes icon?

 

The second photo is a familiar one when there are rough seas. 

 

I thought the storm was interesting and kind of fun to experience. My husband disagreed. The captain made the correct decision even though a few reviewers took him to task.  Heaven's sake!  All the schools were closed (Rome, Naples, etc.) along the coast of Italy because of the heavy winds!

 

[dogs4fun]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

I thought the storm was interesting and kind of fun to experience. My husband disagreed.

I would vote with your husband. We have never had such an experience - it sounds rather frightening.

[Markanddonna]

38 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

I would vote with your husband. We have never had such an experience - it sounds rather frightening.

I woke up at 5AM so that I could sit in the forward Galaxy Lounge on the 12th deck to experience the storm.  I read through the Book of Acts, chapters 27 and 28 and tried to understand the shipwreck the Apostle Paul experienced in this region. Of course, his ship didn't have the same outcome. The weather as described was much more severe and prolonged and his boat was shipwrecked... 

[cruznjan]

While not in the Mediterranean, we went through a hurricane on my first cruise. I wasn't afraid (maybe because of being high on Dramamine), and I slept a lot.

Edited December 27, 2019 by cruznjan

[Heidi13]

Affirmative, back in Jan/Feb 1976 we encountered a severe storm in the Ionian Sea between Greece & Italy. Did some damage to the Focsle and ripped off the gangway on one side of the ship.

 

The lady complaining about the shutters being installed, would have been complaining even more if the seas broke the window. The glass can be 1/2" to 3/4" thick, but is easily shattered by green seas. Being present when the glass shatters is not a fun experience.

[donaldsc]

I haven't but it does sound like a lot of fun. 

 

We did sail through a category 10 gale {(48-55 Storm Very high waves (29-41 ft) with overhanging crests, sea white with densely blown foam, heavy rolling, lowered visibility} when we came back from Antarctica.  Also has 110 mph winds when I returned from South Georgia Island.  Both were great.

 

I love storms at sea.

 

DON

[Hlitner]

We rarely even notice when a ship hits what some call "rough weather" and often smile when some folks complain about the "ship moving" when we hardly feel anything.  But we have had the experience of cruising through a real hurricane (with winds in the 100 knot range) with 40 foot swells and been in several other situations with swells/waves in the 6-10 meter range.  So what!  It is just part of being at sea and rarely worth mentioning.   Do some folks get mal de mer?  Sure, just like some folks get car sick, air sick or bus sick.  

 

On were recently on an Emerald Princess cruise when we had to skip Sete, France do to predicted high winds.   That morning, around 9:30 our ship (Emerald Princess) suddenly started to list and kept tilting and tilting.  I was sitting next to DW at the International Café and my heavy chair started sliding across the deck as the water flew out of the decorative pool (in the Atrium).  I started to smile until we heard glass and bottles crashing to the floor (my only thought was about the good booze that was wasted).  It was over in a minute and an announcement from the bridge was that we were hit by a sudden 77 MPH gust and all was fine.  Our ship continued to list (in the high winds) for about 30 minutes until the bridge could move enough ballast to get us on an even keel.  Most around us were very experienced cruisers and all of us had one concern, could we keep our cappuccino coffee and tea in the cup :).

 

So my comment to the OP is that after you have been through enough of those rough patches it will become more like a routine and just part of being upon the sea.  

 

Hank

P.S.  When the Emerald Princess got to about a 20 degree list I did start thinking about the Poseidon Adventure 🙂

[Markanddonna]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

 

So my comment to the OP is that after you have been through enough of those rough patches it will become more like a routine and just part of being upon the sea.  

 

Hank, I'm a pretty experienced cruiser with many TA and TPs under my belt, so I've experienced rough seas. Most of the crew said this one was their worst experience.

The only time I got seasick was off the coast of Washington on a TP. Even an officer mentioned it was his first time too.  

 

 

[Hlitner]

35 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

 

I have gotten queasy  a few times, when on cruise ships and it never made any sense.  The two times I remember where in relatively calm seas when I started feeling like I was going to be quite ill.  A quick trip to the cabin and a Bonine headed of the trouble (both times).  When in really rough seas I actually find it exhilarating and fun.  It generally breaks up the monotony of a sea day :).  I have also seen folks turn green and get sea sick before the ship has even left the pier....which makes wonder about the psychology of the mal de mer.    As to the crew, when we have been in really rough seas we have usually seen more sick crew members then passengers.  In all cases this was among the hotel staff (waiters, stewards, etc) and we have never noticed anyone from the Marine Department who appeared ill.  I suspect those folks would rather die then let anyone see them sea sick.

 

Our experience with rough seas is the perfect example why you just never know.  We have crossed the Bay of Biscay at least a dozen times and never had really rough seas.  We have done more then 2 dozen trans atlantics and only had 2 rough crossings (most have been very calm).  All of our transpacifics have been calm.  Our roughest cruise was in August of 1991 on the Celebrity Meridian when we ran into Hurricane Bob on our way from NYC to Bermuda.  The nasty storm took an unexpected turn right into our path and caused 12 hours of hell (for many folks).  Another ship (Nordic Prince ) was also caught in that storm and had problems dealing with the high seas (over 13 meters) and winds.  We later learned that their Captain had radioed our Captain to please stay in the area in case they would need help.  As a result, our deep hulled vessel had to slow down which did not help.  We reached Bermuda with no damage other then to glass wear and booze bottles, but the Nordic Prince arrived with a large dent in her bow (about 1/3 of her passengers opted to fly home).  So having spent about 45 years cruising all over the world the irony is that our worst seas were encountered within 200 miles of Long Island.

 

Hank

[Tapi]

9 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I woke up at 5AM so that I could sit in the forward Galaxy Lounge on the 12th deck to experience the storm. 

Maybe not the smartest idea to watch the storm on a forward lounge...😉

https://youtu.be/ZsTOZ6sI3OY

[Markanddonna]

9 hours ago, Tapi said:

Maybe not the smartest idea to watch the storm on a forward lounge...😉

https://youtu.be/ZsTOZ6sI3OY

Yet I lived to tell about it! That video is quite dramatic!

[shipgeeks]

On what deck was that video?  We love watching storms from the forward lounge, but they are usually on deck 14 or thereabouts.

[Essiesmom]

Louis Majesty was a 32000 ton ship, so in todays standards, that would not have been a particularly high deck.  EM

[Tapi]

10 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

On what deck was that video? 

Pretty low. As mentioned above, Louis Majesty was a small ship. See photo attached:

Edited December 29, 2019 by Tapi

[Markanddonna]

That's why the crew on the NCL Spirit put those metal plates on the oceanview windows on decks 4 and 5. I didn't feel unsafe on Deck 12. There may have been more movement up there, but I'm was one deck directly above the captain's bridge. BTW- the captain closed the bridge viewing area during the storm.  

[shipgeeks]

Thank you for the picture of the metal plates.  I've never seen that, although we have been in porthole cabins, all the way forward on deck 2, in which an engineer came in and locked the built-in porthole covers shut.

More recently, we've noticed that oceanview cabins on Grandeur of the Seas now have double panes of glass, with several inches of space between.  I can no longer sit on the windowsill to watch the sea!

[Heidi13]

On 12/28/2019 at 7:32 AM, shipgeeks said:

On what deck was that video?  We love watching storms from the forward lounge, but they are usually on deck 14 or thereabouts.

On the older ships we often had Prom Deck lounges immediately aft of the Focsle. The Island/Pacific Princess had this arrangement and had the same windows. In any seaway we had to install the steel shutters, which were stowed adjacent to the windows.

[K32682]

I haven't been through a medicane but similar events in the Caribbean and South Pacific with swells around 10 meters.  I'm not prone to motion sickness so enjoy the rough weather and secretly hope we run in to it.    

 

Also amusing is the litany of complains in the aftermath from other cruisers about missed ports, why the captain didn't avoid the storm and one women who announced she would seek a full refund because her travel agent said not to worry about seasickness because the ship had stabilizers.  

[Malleykatt]

Our cruise from Palma Majorca had a rough start in July. We caught the back end of a storm en route to Corsica. We were on Marella Discovery 2 and people were dropping like flies. Passengers and crew alike all suffered from the pitching and rolling. Hubby and eldest spent the day in bed and they were ill! Later in the cruise we missed Roses in Spain and diverted to Barcelona as the sea was deemed to rough to tender ashore. Just goes to show even in the middle of Summer the weather can throw something at you.

[MicCanberra]

Never been through a medicane but then we have been through (mostly avoiding the most of it) cyclones, typhoons, tropical storms and hurricanes.