Rough Seas?

[Hottubmomma]

Hi 

We are thinking of booking the Cities of Antiquity and the Holy Lands in January 2022. Concerned that the seas might be rough then, does anyone having thoughts on this? The cruise starts in Rome and ends in Athens. I am especially concerned about the Mediterranean Sea, thank you!

[Heidi13]

I have sailed in those waters extensively over many years. Some times it has been very smooth sailing and at others not so much. Did experience a good outflow storm down the Adriatic, when off the Greek Coast in January/February 1976. In 1977, I also did the Haifa/UK citrus shuttle between January & April and experienced nothing but smooth seas.

 

Therefore, best to prepare for any sea conditions. Have experienced the periphery of 3 TRS on Viking Sun and she handled the seas rather well.

 

If concerned with motion, book a cabin on a lower deck, preferably around midships. During the day, avoid the pool deck, explorers, world cafe and favour the living room. If using the MDR, ask the host for a table closest to the entrance.

 

 

[Twitchly]

2 hours ago, Hottubmomma said:

Hi 

We are thinking of booking the Cities of Antiquity and the Holy Lands in January 2022. Concerned that the seas might be rough then, does anyone having thoughts on this? The cruise starts in Rome and ends in Athens. I am especially concerned about the Mediterranean Sea, thank you!

You might want to wait on this. We are booked on that cruise, but it’s looking pretty unlikely to happen unless Israel dramatically changes their entry requirements very soon. Right now they require quarantine upon arrival but are expected to change their policies within the next few days. https://hamodia.com/2021/10/11/foreign-tourists-to-be-allowed-back-in-israel-from-november-1/
 

Nothing is certain yet, but Israel is considering changing its requirements to:

- Allow US tourists only from certain states 

- Require booster shots

- Require antibody testing (and quarantine) upon arrival

 

Any one of those options would probably result in a canceled cruise. So I’d wait a bit before booking. Or maybe book a later cruise.

[Hottubmomma]

Thank you for these responses very helpful!

[coljack]

We have cruised the Med many times on Regent in ships similar to Viking's.  Every cruise was perfectly smooth except for one, in May of 2015.  On May 22, we were sailing from Malta to Barcelona on the last leg of a 23 day Middle East cruise.  It was very rough and the captain slowed down to make it a little better ride and we were several hours late into Barcelona, causing flight misconnections.

 

The ride was MUCH worse at the front of the ship and best on lower decks midship.  In short, the odds are in your favor and modern ships have effective stabilizers so don't miss out on cruising a wonderful area.  But you should get a lower, mid-ship cabin and absolutely have motion sickness meds with you just in case.  Hopefully these actions will mitigate your worries.

 

Also keep in mind that river cruises are great fun and you hardly know you are moving.

 

Good luck!

[rbslos18]

2 hours ago, Twitchly said:

You might want to wait on this. We are booked on that cruise, but it’s looking pretty unlikely to happen unless Israel dramatically changes their entry requirements very soon. Right now they require quarantine upon arrival but are expected to change their policies within the next few days. https://hamodia.com/2021/10/11/foreign-tourists-to-be-allowed-back-in-israel-from-november-1/
 

Nothing is certain yet, but Israel is considering changing its requirements to:

- Allow US tourists only from certain states 

- Require booster shots

- Require antibody testing (and quarantine) upon arrival

 

Any one of those options would probably result in a canceled cruise. So I’d wait a bit before booking. Or maybe book a later cruise.

The odds of Israel being open then are excellent. My guess is some time in December Israel will relax some of the restrictions. It is one of the most enchanting and fascinating countries we have visited.

https://www.touristisrael.com/when-will-travel-to-israel-resume/31963/

Edited October 12, 2021 by rbslos18

[Twitchly]

4 hours ago, rbslos18 said:

The odds of Israel being open then are excellent. My guess is some time in December Israel will relax some of the restrictions. It is one of the most enchanting and fascinating countries we have visited.

https://www.touristisrael.com/when-will-travel-to-israel-resume/31963/

I very much hope you’re right … and that they announce it soon enough for Viking to make the appropriate arrangements. I would dearly love to go!

[Twitchly]

Well, you may be right! A few hours ago, Israel announced that US tourists could enter Israel. (They already announced a little while ago that they would accept Europeans.) 

 

https://m.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/coronavirus/covid-jabbed-us-tourists-to-enter-israel-with-personal-health-declaration-681739

 

The hitch: we have to have had at least one jab within the past 6 months. That means a booster. I’m getting mine next week, but I don’t know how that will work for folks who got non-Pfizer vaccines. Like my husband. 
 

But I’m more hopeful than I was this morning!

[Hottubmomma]

great news, thank you everyone for sharing!

 

[rbslos18]

50 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

I very much hope you’re right … and that they announce it soon enough for Viking to make the appropriate arrangements. I would dearly love to go!

I know Israel pretty well having visited 36 times and served as the Board Chairman of a Foundation that supports Israel. Israel is open for group tourism (5 or more) not individual tourism. I will get an update from people on the ground.

Edited October 12, 2021 by rbslos18

[Cienfuegos]

That's very helpful thanks.   If Israel does decide to ban travelers from certain US states, I suspect my current state of residence would be the bullseye.

 

On the other issue, my wife and I traveled through the periphery of Hurricane Lorenzo in the Bay of Biscay on Viking in 2019. Waves breaking on the sides of six deck and Mamsen's. The ship was rocking and rolling for the better part of the day.  Staff was deployed to stairwells and corridors to assist guests, messages were periodically issued about safe movement.

 

It was a good experience, much better than the folks in the Norwegian issue.

[Twitchly]

We had rough seas on Biscay, too. At one point as DH and I sat outside on an upper deck, the ship tipped in a huge swell and we heard a bunch of smashing and crashing of dishes from inside. Then the ship tipped the other way, and we got another round of smashing and crashing. For some reason we found this extremely funny. I imagine the restaurant staff were less amused.
 

Viking put out green apples everywhere, which are supposed to help with seasickness. I didn’t like the wrist bands, found them uncomfortable, but ginger capsules worked well for me. Any time I started to feel the least bit oogly I just popped a couple ginger pills and felt fine. Oh, and I watched the horizon, which also helped. I did a bit worse when I couldn’t see outside.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Twitchly

[KBs mum]

I've seen a video of Sky crossing Biscay, filmed by crew in the Explorer Lounge. Seas coming over the bow hitting the windows. Apparently the captain ordered passengers to stay in their cabins.

We enjoyed a slightly rough tasman crossing, and are hoping for a bit of bad weather off Norway. 

No idea why, but I notice pitch and roll more on the lower decks than higher up. 

My seasickness remedies are looking at the horizon, closing my eyes for a minute and tablets brought from home. 

[Mrs Miggins]

The cruise from Rome to Athens that is mentioned by the original poster is in the Mediterranean and therefore goes nowhere near The Bay of Biscay which is in the Atlantic Ocean.  

I have cruised extensively in the Med, twice in January and am on Viking Venus from Rome again this New Year.  Most of the time calm conditions but of course one or two rough days.  Once we ran a storm from Corsica to Nice, but that was on the wonderful Star Clipper sailing ship.  One of the most exciting days of my life.     I doubt I would have noticed it if I had been onboard Viking.

[KBs mum]

We know Biscay isn't in the med, but the med rarely does anything worth mentioning weather wise🙂

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, KBs mum said:

We know Biscay isn't in the med, but the med rarely does anything worth mentioning weather wise🙂

 

This isn't consistent with my experience. While in the summer months it is smoother, I have experienced many rough nights off the Greek Coast. Lost a gangway one night on SS Uganda when a wave swept along the Prom Deck and tore it loose.

 

I've experienced similar seas in the Meddy as we got in Biscay.

[KBs mum]

28 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

This isn't consistent with my experience. While in the summer months it is smoother, I have experienced many rough nights off the Greek Coast. Lost a gangway one night on SS Uganda when a wave swept along the Prom Deck and tore it loose.

 

I've experienced similar seas in the Meddy as we got in Biscay.

Can't argue with you on matters nautical. Comment withdrawn. 

[cruzzzinma]

16 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

It was a good experience, much better than the folks in the Norwegian issue.

There’s a reason we are called Viking Sky Survivors!

[Cienfuegos]

The message that I draw from these observations is that a good ship and a good Master will manage weather and seas regardless of where they are.

 

My reference to Lorenzo and the Bay or Biscay was to emphasize that huge rollers are not something novel to Viking.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

The message that I draw from these observations is that a good ship and a good Master will manage weather and seas regardless of where they are.

 

My reference to Lorenzo and the Bay or Biscay was to emphasize that huge rollers are not something novel to Viking.

 

Totally agree with your comment that a great ship and Master can ease the passage through rough weather, especially when they have accurate weather forecasts and routing information. However, one constraint in the Meddy is the lack of searoom, or the proximity to navigational hazards.

 

Regardless, even when the Master can't avoid heavy seas, they have a number of options to ease the passage. Reducing speed is critical, especially with modern cruise ships. The other factor is that many pax believe modern stabilisers will reduce/eliminate all ship movement, but they only work to reduce rolling. Stabilisers do nothing for pitching, and except for some high speed craft, ships are not fitted with technology to reduce pitching.

 

The Master can reduce pitching by reducing speed and altering course, so the seas are not from ahead or astern. Unfortunately, weather courses result in delayed arrivals and/or missed ports.

[Mrs Miggins]

Looking forward to my New Year cruise.  On our last one it was decided, because of weather, that we would spend an extra day in Naples rather than head down to Trapani in Sicily.  Viking arranged a new free excursion which included a visit to the  wonderful Archeological Museum which houses most of the original artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum.  It was a treat.  I was sad to miss Trapani as I had never been there but I trust Viking to make sensible decisions.  We had a smooth crossing to Cagliari in Sicily.

The experience of winter in the Mediterranean is very different to our usual summer voyages but still wonderful.