N Europe - Rough Seas?

[skandls]

We want to do the northern Europe cruise next summer (2007). I have heard the water can get very rough later in the summer. Does anyone know the best time to go - when the waters have the best chance of being calm? I can't wear the patch. We are hoping for a Milli class ship or maybe Holland America (I am going to check in to their new cooking classes.)

[Druke I]

Both the North Sea and the Irish Sea can be rough on occasion, as can the English Channel.

 

I think sea-state is always a crapshoot - you never know what you will have. I've been in that area when it has been very smooth, and been when it has been rough.

[tom_uk]

And the British Isles and northern Europe have weather, not just a climate! So (I'm afraid) it can be as smooth as a millpond in mid-winter, and rough as you like in mid-summer. Not always, of course, but it can be.

 

Actually, there may be some justification to the likelihood of rougher weather in autumn (rather than summer). The remains of tropical storms often do come across the atlantic, generally tracking north as they go, and hit the northwest coast of europe. I remember standing on Tennyson Down (south coast of the Isle of Wight) on a sunny, warm day in early autumn and watching the waves crashing over the sea wall in Freshwater Bay below. The reason was it was the tail-end of a tropical storm that was now driving up the channel. Great fun to watch! - but maybe not so great to be slogging through. So perhaps there is a greater possibility of rough seas, at least in the western approaches, during the hurrican season.

[DaneViking]

The North Sea can be rough, but will normally be calm. I have crossed the North Sea on board ferries during all seasons (one fifth the size of Millie), and only once have I experience what I would call rough seas. But of cause, this also depends on your sensibility to motion. The Baltics are almost always calm, since these waters are confined. The best season is July and August.

[Nitemare]

We did Northern Europe/Norway on the Connie in 2004 and the whole 2 weeks was like floating in a bathtub, it was so calm.

[skandls]

Thanks for the info. We will try to book closer to June than Sept to avoid the travelling hurricanes mucking up the water. I avoid the Caribbean from June thru October because of the chance of hurricanes. Most of the cruises that visit St Petersburg seem to in the summer months Would like to do the London round trip if they offer it next year.