Looking at a cruise to Bermuda but worried the ship will be too small and not stable like big ships

[codeyell0]

We recently sailed on carnival sunshine and it was horrible.  I know she is an old ship built in 96.  Not sure what stabilization tech she had but the water was not that bad but the ride was just horrible. 
I have been on oasis of the seas which was not bad.  one night it was noticeable. But I know she is a big ship and less effected by wind and waves like smaller ships.  I am looking at sailing to Bermuda and I noticed only the smaller ships sailed here.  I think it was mariner of the seas (i think it holds 3000) and another sister ship about the same size.  
The other ships i have been on have been fairly big 6K+ passengers. 
So I'm leery of booking one of the smaller ships.  My wife was taking Dramamine like tic-tacs.   

What are your experiences? 

 

[njkruzer]

3 minutes ago, codeyell0 said:

We recently sailed on carnival sunshine and it was horrible.  I know she is an old ship built in 96.  Not sure what stabilization tech she had but the water was not that bad but the ride was just horrible. 
I have been on oasis of the seas which was not bad.  one night it was noticeable. But I know she is a big ship and less effected by wind and waves like smaller ships.  I am looking at sailing to Bermuda and I noticed only the smaller ships sailed here.  I think it was mariner of the seas (i think it holds 3000) and another sister ship about the same size.  
The other ships i have been on have been fairly big 6K+ passengers. 
So I'm leery of booking one of the smaller ships.  My wife was taking Dramamine like tic-tacs.   

What are your experiences? 

 

We've sailed to Bermuda on small and medium ships. The issue isn't the ship size but the north Atlantic which can be rough. It doesn't bother us. Understand you can rough weather in the Caribbean even in January.  Our favorite class of ships is the Radiance class, which are 90,000 gwt.  We love Bermuda and love cruises.  No guarantees on smooth sailing, even in a big ship.  Just enjoy. 

[Sunshine3601]

We have sailed to Bermuda numerous times with Royal and HAL.  We have had some rough seas which can happen anywhere, anytime of the year.

I'm not sure bermuda can handle Oasis or Quantum class ships.  

If sea sickness is a regular occurrence maybe she should try a patch or something other than OTC dramamine.   Do you pick a cabin on lower decks in middle of the ship?   Location of your cabin can be a game changer.

[Charles4515]

17 minutes ago, codeyell0 said:

I think it was mariner of the seas (i think it holds 3000) and another sister ship about the same size.  

 

Sheesh. Mariner of the Seas is not a small ship!!! It is almost 140,000 tons. I have sailed to Bermuda on 28,000 tons. I have sailed on Mariner of the Seas. Quite stable. 

[Crazydancemom]

We took Anthem to Bermuda out of Cape Liberty and there was a little motion forward in the Solarium on the first sea day, was August 2nd. Further back we didn’t notice it much and the lower you got it wasn’t noticeable. We sailed onto San Juan so coming back was closer to the east coast. A little motion the last night as well the further north we got. 
 

We are looking possibly going out of Cape Liberty next summer on Liberty OTS.

[codeyell0]

The last cruise was a huge difference from the bigger ships.  It was windy but the waves didn't seem big IMO. some white caps.  But the ship would pitch and roll the whole time. 
I just figured it was because the ship was small and old

[Broons77]

7 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have sailed to Bermuda numerous times with Royal and HAL.  We have had some rough seas which can happen anywhere, anytime of the year.

I'm not sure bermuda can handle Oasis or Quantum class ships.  

If sea sickness is a regular occurrence maybe she should try a patch or something other than OTC dramamine.   Do you pick a cabin on lower decks in middle of the ship?   Location of your cabin can be a game changer.

 

My first ever cruise was to Bermuda on Anthem in October of 2018.  Only the last night was there any noticeable movement.  Bigger and newer ship helps, but it really is up to what the ocean happens to feel like doing that particular day.

 

May want to look into a relief band if the seasickness is that bad...

[BND]

We've cruised to Bermuda three times at the end of July and had great seas.  Of course, time of year can make a difference.  End of July, absent of tropical weather tends to be calm.  Once on Enchantment, once on Grandeur and once on Celebrity Summit.  None of which are large.  Oh, and I'm prone to sea sickness so I take Bonine regardless of seas.

Edited March 4, 2022 by BND

[Charles4515]

4 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have sailed to Bermuda numerous times with Royal and HAL.  We have had some rough seas which can happen anywhere, anytime of the year.

I'm not sure bermuda can handle Oasis or Quantum class ships.  

If sea sickness is a regular occurrence maybe she should try a patch or something other than OTC dramamine.   Do you pick a cabin on lower decks in middle of the ship?   Location of your cabin can be a game changer.

 

Oasis class can not do Bermuda. Quantum class was built for Bermuda. Anthem of the Seas. Super Quantum could also do Bermuda. I don't think Oasis or Quantum class would be more stable than Voyager class. I have been to Bermuda on much smaller ships. My last cruise to Bermuda was on Oceania Insignia, 950 passengers. No problem at all.

[joeyancho]

It's a ship in the water.   It moves around.  That is part of the beauty of cruising.  Maybe cruising is not for you.   

[Charles4515]

14 minutes ago, codeyell0 said:

The last cruise was a huge difference from the bigger ships.  It was windy but the waves didn't seem big IMO. some white caps.  But the ship would pitch and roll the whole time. 
I just figured it was because the ship was small and old

 

Some ships just don't handle well because of poor design . You mentioned Carnival Sunshine. Never been on her but she is not a small ship. Mariner is a Royal Caribbean ship.Mariner has Azipods which I don't think Sunshine has. Azipods help make it stable.  I have been on all the Royal  ships in the  class Mariner is in . They are about as stable as a ship can be. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

2 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Just to add if you are prone to motion sickness get a cabin in the middle and lower in the ship. 

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Charles4515

[smokeybandit]

Even the small ships are still really big ships for everyday ocean weather. Even the "old" ones have stabilizers to calm the ride. Though Carnival Sunshine has had stabilizer issues

Edited March 4, 2022 by smokeybandit

[twangster]

10 minutes ago, Heymarco said:

Mariner is still bigger than all Carnival ships except Mardi Gras.

 

Bigger than the original Mardi Gras 🤣

[codeyell0]

17 minutes ago, joeyancho said:

It's a ship in the water.   It moves around.  That is part of the beauty of cruising.  Maybe cruising is not for you.   

I've been on multiple cruises. I think your missing what I said. 
I know ships move. I grew up on boats.  
The movement of the ship compared to the size of the waves we had was crazy.

I'm asking how the class of ships that go to Bermuda are.  Its not just waves and wind,  there are many factors in why a ship rocks. 

[Another_Critic]

I've sailed to Bermuda on the following ships:

 

From NY/NJ:  Nordic Prince (2x) (23,149 GT), Celebrity Summit (90,940 GT), Anthem OTS (168,666 GT)

From Philadelphia: Nordic Empress (48,563 GT)

From Norfolk: Carnival Triumph (now Carnival Sunrise) (101,509 GT)

From Baltimore: Celebrity Horizon (46,811 GT), Grandeur OTS (73,817 GT)

 

Some were rough, some were smooth.  With the exception of two June sailings (Summit, Triumph), all were in Sept/Oct/Nov.

 

[codeyell0]

13 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Even the small ships are still really big ships for everyday ocean weather. Even the "old" ones have stabilizers to calm the ride. Though Carnival Sunshine has had stabilizer issues

I was standing at the back of the boat and would watch the bow rise and fall. this is maybe why
thank you.  

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, njkruzer said:

We've sailed to Bermuda on small and medium ships. The issue isn't the ship size but the north Atlantic which can be rough. It doesn't bother us. Understand you can rough weather in the Caribbean even in January.  Our favorite class of ships is the Radiance class, which are 90,000 gwt.  We love Bermuda and love cruises.  No guarantees on smooth sailing, even in a big ship.  Just enjoy. 

 

What counts as "North Atlantic"?  Bermuda is off the coast of South Carolina.

[Another_Critic]

1 minute ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

What counts as "North Atlantic"?  Bermuda is off the coast of South Carolina.

[poocher]

Nordic Empress out of New York in May 2002, daughter was so sick she couldn’t leave the room.  Due to a medical condition, my son can’t take Dramamine so we took the pressure bands, no help at all!  Our first cruise was VERY ROUGH!  Took 16 years to try again.

Edited March 4, 2022 by poocher

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

What counts as "North Atlantic"?  Bermuda is off the coast of South Carolina.

 

Technically  Bermuda is in the North Atlantic. It is in the Bermuda Triangle.😁

I would not say it is off the coast of South Carolina. It is about a 1000 miles from the east coast. It is out in the open ocean so the seas tend to be  rougher than the Caribbean. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Charles4515

[ticketsunlimited]

1 minute ago, codeyell0 said:

I was standing at the back of the boat and would watch the bow rise and fall. this is maybe why
thank you.  

I get sick watching my grandson ride the merry go round. I can’t even do a water slide anymore. I get the prescription patch and I would be fine on the Anthem in an Atlantic nor’easter. Miracle for me.

been on serenade twice and anthem once to Bermuda with movement that was above average after a September hurricane had just blown through. We were on serenade it was still very manageable.

We are booked on Mariner in September to Bermuda and are looking forward to it. We did Mariner well before the amplification and do not remember any motion issues.

I highly recommend the patch to take away any worries of motion issues.

My wife uses the armbands if it gets a little rough and she is fine.

[Merion_Mom]

7 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

Thank you for educating me.  I found an even cooler picture.

 

[Merion_Mom]

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I would not say Bermuda is in the North Atlantic. It is in the Bermuda Triangle.😁

I would not say it is off the coast of South Carolina. It is about a 1000 miles from the east coast. It is out in the open ocean so the seas tend to be  rougher than the Caribbean. 

 

 

600 miles  

[Charles4515]

4 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

 

600 miles  

No. it is not 600 miles. Charleston to Bermuda is 880 miles.