how rough are the seas traditionally when doing a transatlantic from florida to spain during may...thanks in advance

[retired dude]

thinking of doing a transatlantic sailing in may of next year and we have never ventured out of the caribbean when doing our past sailings...The ship would be a small one(90K tons) if that makes a difference..Just wanted to glean some good knowledge from all of the veteran cruisers that have been fortunate to do these transatlantic sailings..thanks so much for any help...stay safe

[MommaBear55]

There is no "one size fits all", as there is no one weather pattern. It's going to be calmer than later in the summer and if there is significant weather the ship's route will be changed to avoid the worst. There's a great predictive site that you can find by searching "wave heights Atlantic". I have been very disappointed how flat the ocean has been on our Transatlantic crossings. 

[HicksRA]

Did the Vision TA in late April 2019 and seas were like glass most of the way. 
But no one can predict what the weather will do. 

[smokeybandit]

James Van Fleet has been tweeting out the weather for the 3 ships currently doing crossings (one PATL, two TATL). For the most part it's been fine but there have been rough patches they had to navigate through or around.

[gumshoe958]

On the Wonder TA right now … the first 48 hours were quite choppy (though, for me, never even close to uncomfortable). Ever since it’s been calm seas and beautiful sunshine.
 

I believe we’ve taken a more southerly course than planned to avoid some bad weather so I’d assume that, whenever possible, captains on TAs will alter course to provide the smoothest sailing they can. But the Atlantic is what it is and you can’t expect a millpond all the time.

[shipgeeks]

We've done that route three times.  Only had a bit of rough weather one time (one evening) in all the days.  No guarantees, of course, but we found the weather quite pleasant.

[Another_Critic]

My only Spring crossing was Port Everglades to Copenhagen (Star Princess 109k GT) - smooth as glass until we got to the Azores.  Was choppy in the English Channel.

 

BTW, I've had some rough Fall crossings, but I've also had smooth ones.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Another_Critic

[topnole]

I’ve done a few.  All on either freedom class or oasis class.  
 

You will likely have a few days of windy weather with some big swells.  You will definitely know you are out at sea.  
 

It can vary greatly cruise to cruise.  We aren’t prone to sea sickness and we never experienced anything bothersome to us in about cumulative 40 days of crossings.  I could see the more sensitive folks being bothered by it on a few of the days however.  If you have decent sea legs you should be fine.  
 

Florida to Spain is probably the calmest route possible on average.  

[Wineaux007]

Carry some Dramamine and/or Bonine just in case. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Wineaux007

[Another_Critic]

6 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

Carry some Dramamine and/or Bovine just in case. 

You can't carry-on Bovine, but you can get it at the Windjammer.  😛 

 

I know you meant Bonine.  🙂

[Wineaux007]

4 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

You can't carry-on Bovine, but you can get it at the Windjammer.  😛 

 

I know you meant Bonine.  🙂

LOL. 

[topnole]

11 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

You can't carry-on Bovine, but you can get it at the Windjammer.  😛 

 

I know you meant Bonine.  🙂

Holy Cow!   Never herd of this.  Really feel like milking this one.  

[Oceansaway17]

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

James Van Fleet has been tweeting out the weather for the 3 ships currently doing crossings (one PATL, two TATL). For the most part it's been fine but there have been rough patches they had to navigate through or around.

umm

what do you mean PATL and TATL. Best to spell out acronyms first time used.

[smokeybandit]

1 minute ago, Oceansaway17 said:

umm

what do you mean PATL and TATL. Best to spell out acronyms first time used.

Heh, typing too fast for my own good.  TPAC and TATL.  Trans pacific and trans atlantic

[Oceansaway17]

2 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Heh, typing too fast for my own good.  TPAC and TATL.  Trans pacific and trans atlantic

ya know I kinda thought but the letters did not match.

 

That weather man is great and tracks all the ships.

Right not Wonder of the seas is doing better taking a southern route than the X Edge.

Edge is rough, Wonder is moderate.

[Jasukkie]

Like a mill pond on my sailing between Miami and the Azores, then more choppy to Gibraltar, then heavier in the Mediterranean. You just never know. 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

22 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Heh, typing too fast for my own good.  TPAC and TATL.  Trans pacific and trans atlantic

TA and TP are the terms I use. 

[jeh10641]

Never done a west to east transatlantic nor a spring crossing. In 1959 I did a late June N. Atlantic on the 1938 edition of the Nieuw Amsterdam. Waves were higher than our porthole and it had to be sealed (deck 3). Have done two transatlantic trips in November, 2008 (Barcelona - Tampa) and 2016 (Rome - Ft. Lauderdale) both using a southern route. Hardly any ripples.

[johnjen]

It won't be November, you'll do just fine, OP.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

On 4/25/2022 at 1:07 PM, retired dude said:

thinking of doing a transatlantic sailing in may of next year and we have never ventured out of the caribbean when doing our past sailings...The ship would be a small one(90K tons) if that makes a difference..Just wanted to glean some good knowledge from all of the veteran cruisers that have been fortunate to do these transatlantic sailings..thanks so much for any help...stay safe

Your fears of storms in the Southern Atlantic are greatly exaggerated.  They are rare when compared to Northern Atlantic crossings.  If you are going to sail on a TA all you need is some Bonine just in case.  90,000 tons is nothing to sneeze at.  That is 50% bigger than QE2.  We experienced 135 mile an hour winds off of Bermuda one night onboard RCI Jewell Of The Seas…90,000 tons.  Usually these storms do not last more than 12 hours at the most.  This storm was the remnant of a hurricane and we only had about 6 hours of rough sailing.  We slept through it.  We have been through some hairy storms in the Northern Atlantic but never in the Southern.  There is a big difference between the North and South Atlantic.  Put your fears aside and enjoy.

[Markanddonna]

We have done five transatlantics mostly on the southern route. They were all smooth as glass but I know that is not typical. I'm thinking yoy need to pay for me to be onboard for good luck.😁

[Hlitner]

This question (about sea conditions) is a constant issue here on CC.  Having done dozens of crossings (both ways and in many different months) our answer remains the same:  It is not possible to predict sea conditions more than a few days in advance!   Yes, folks can post anecdotal comments but they really are near worthless since what happened on their cruise has little to do with what will happen on any future cruise.  

 

I will add that cruise lines go to great lengths to minimize discomfort of passengers.  The lines all subscribe to sophisticated weather services that use the latest technology to forecast weather and sea conditions and dispense course suggestions intended to minimize problems for each vessel.  We recently (March-April) took a two week crossing (Miami to Lisbon) on a relatively small ship.  When we departed Florida the sea conditions were awful in many parts of the North Atlantic.  The normal route (which would have had us passing relatively close to Bermuda) had rain, wind, and high seas (swells over 20 feet).  Our Captain was able to adjust to a more southern course and avoid the worst of the weather (although we still have long swells).  

 

My advice to the OP (and others) is that if you are going to obsess on the chance of bad sea conditions you simply fly to your destination :).  The fact (which some do not want to hear) is that a ship sails upon the sea and sea conditions can vary from glassy to awful.  On our many crossing we have experienced everything from calm glassy seas to 12 meter waves/swells (that lasted for days).

 

Just a few words about so-called "long swells."  While i will leave the details to mariners I can try to put this in easy to understand language.  Long Swells are generally caused by weather disruptions (i.e. storms) that can actually be hundreds and even thousands of miles distant.  Swells make even the largest vessels move and there is little that can be done since ships are on a schedule and their ability to re-route is limited.  Ship movement is simply a part of cruising and if one is going to cruise they must simply accept that having bad days is part of mariner world.  

 

Hank

[ProfessorEFFE]

I agree with HANK!  Generally May is not hurricane season, so the odds are you won’t see bad storms.  But the sea is a fickle mistress anything can happen!  The cruise lines constantly track all bad weather happenings and are always going to avoid the bad weather if possible.  Relax, the only cruise ship that was lost sunk in very shallow water off the coast of Italy.

[Heidi13]

20 hours ago, ProfessorEFFE said:

 Relax, the only cruise ship that was lost sunk in very shallow water off the coast of Italy.

 

Sorry, not even close to being factual.

 - Prinsendam - Engine room fire caused sinking in Pacific Ocean in early 1980's

 - Achille Lauro - another fire resulting in sinking off Somalia in mid 1990's

 - Oceanos - flooding and sank off South Africa in early 1990's

 - Sun Vista - Engine room fire caused sinking in Malacca in late 1990's

 

Just a few that I recall since I went to sea.