Where's the big waves'?

[Rustyone]

I just know this is in the wrong forum and will be moved but I feel a certain camaraderie toward the Princess bunch. My wife I took our first ever cruise onboard the Dawn for ten fantastic days in the Caribbean last year. Being a landlubber till then I was a little disappointed by the fact that for all intent and purposes the oceans/seas I saw resembled little more than overgrown lakes.

We are planning another cruise in 07 or 08 and I would like to know where they keep those rock-carving-white-foaming waves I see on TV? Shoot! I'd be happy just to have a wave big enough to knock me off my feet! A more Princess specific question would be which of Princess's cruises' offer such waves?

 

Side note: I guess I'm just a little "odd" in that I would love to be tossed about in some of these high seas I read about, and I find myself a little envious of those who have first hand accounts of the Crown incident. Terrifying, but thrilling. Think of the stories!

[ozland]

I just know this is in the wrong forum and will be moved but I feel a certain camaraderie toward the Princess bunch. My wife I took our first ever cruise onboard the Dawn for ten fantastic days in the Caribbean last year. Being a landlubber till then I was a little disappointed by the fact that for all intent and purposes the oceans/seas I saw resembled little more than overgrown lakes.

We are planning another cruise in 07 or 08 and I would like to know where they keep those rock-carving-white-foaming waves I see on TV? Shoot! I'd be happy just to have a wave big enough to knock me off my feet! A more Princess specific question would be which of Princess's cruises' offer such waves?

 

Side note: I guess I'm just a little "odd" in that I would love to be tossed about in some of these high seas I read about, and I find myself a little envious of those who have first hand accounts of the Crown incident. Terrifying, but thrilling. Think of the stories!

 

IF you're really serious ;) then you'll have to do the BIG oceans. Try a Transatlantic, Hawaii, South America, Australia . . . you get the picture.

(Note: I only half think this is a legitimate question!)

[gvre]

Caribbean Islands do have waves. Barbados has great waves on the Atlantic side of the island, Basheba, site to the annual surf contest. Same with the Virgin islands. The waves are on the Atlantic Ocean side but the ships dock on the calm side the Caribbean Sea.

[Toto2Kansas]

Try booking a cruise during the middle of hurricane season and cross your fingers that you will hit the outer edges of one. I guarantee you that you will only want it to happen once. As when it does, it isn't just a few minutes of terrible seas and waves washing up to (on us) the 11 deck of the ship, but it can go on for 12-24 hours or more.

 

Try hurricane season, you might get your wish. Fall is best, say September beginning of October might be your best bet.

[Casshew]

I actually like to know I'm on a ship once in a while with some big waves and rolling, where it's a bit of a challenge to walk straight down the hall! but not too much, a few hours a cruise is plenty. The rest can be nice and calm. :)

[Rustyone]

OK ozland I can see where you might not think I'm serious but I really would like to know where the crashing waves are. They sure weren't in the Caribbean. I'd just like to see and experience the power of the sea I've read so much about all my life. And to experience something like the Crown incident (although terrifying at first) would beat the pants off of any roller coaster ride in the world. I'm sure it wasn't fun to most sane people but I'll bet at least a dozen thrill seekers got a hoot out of it.

[Nliedel]

Transatlantic or pick a destination with big waves. Barbadoes has some wild ones on the Atlantic side to visit. Sometimes the ocean is calm and soothing. That's why I love it, her mercurial moods.

[HurricaneSally]

Try a Bermuda cruise out of New York or Philadelphia in September or October. On our trip we caught the end of three hurricanes together. That made for 20 foot seas and it was hard to walk without holding onto a wall or the floor. It was great fun. There were vomit bags hung all over the ships, just glad I don't get seasick. You would love it.

[Rustyone]

HurricaneSally you may have been the one that got me thinking in the first place. Some one described a rather harrowing experience they had on board a Princess cruise in 2003 I think...pictures showed waves coming over the bow! Made me think of Gary Sinise as Lt Dan Taylor riding high on Forests' shrimp boat in the storm. What doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger.

I appreciate the tips about Barbados and will certainly check it out.

[ozland]

OK ozland I can see where you might not think I'm serious but I really would like to know where the crashing waves are. They sure weren't in the Caribbean. I'd just like to see and experience the power of the sea I've read so much about all my life. And to experience something like the Crown incident (although terrifying at first) would beat the pants off of any roller coaster ride in the world. I'm sure it wasn't fun to most sane people but I'll bet at least a dozen thrill seekers got a hoot out of it.

 

Having been in a cyclone in the Pacific for 3 days enroute from Australia to NY, dodged a couple of hurricanes, and had heavy seas for two days last Christmas on the way to Hawaii from Los Angeles (to name a few), I've experienced some rough seas. I think I like calm now ;).

 

Oh, did I mention the "list" on the Crown :D

[ozland]

Rustyone:

 

Forgot to say "howdy neighbor"

[Cruisin' Chick]

We had some major waves on our Hawaiian cruise last December (just the first few days) and the cruise before us had rough seas their last few days.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Try a cruise on the Pacific side. By far the roughest seas we've been in were in 2001 on our northbound Alaska cruise. When we came out of the inside passage into Prince William Sound, it got really rough. The crew said it was the roughest sea the Carnival Spirit had ever been in to that point (but, she was only a few months old and it was her inaugural season). They took the crystal off the table in the dining rooms. At our table of six, I was the only one who showed up for dinner--everyone else was seasick.

 

A Mexican Riviera cruise might be to your liking as well...within hours of leaving Cabo San Lucas, it was a rough ride through the night. We were in an aft balcony and boy were we rockin' and rollin'! :eek: I had to clear off the counters as things were crashing to the floor.

 

Personally, I much prefer the calm seas of the Caribbean!! Though I'd do Alaska or the Mexican Riviera again in a heartbeat! :)

 

Cheers!

Jayne

[PescadoAmarillo]

You could try the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand...I've done it twice with fairly big water each time (the first time we had about 40' seas). Cape Horn around the southern tip of South America is notorious for high seas, but we were bath-water calm when we were down there (a bit of a disappoinment that way). Just off the coast of NW Africa we hit some real waves one night...drawers sliding open and closed, had to tuck in the sheets to stay in bed and crawl to the bathroom on hands and knees. But the only time I've ever been seasick was on some mild seas between Seattle and the Inside Passage...horrible!

[NZYU]

Best waves in a small boat were from Cairns, Australia out to one of the islands in the Great Barrier Reef. I LOVED it but over half the seventy passengers on the boat got sick.

 

One silly goose kept screaming for the doctor (who was part of our group) at the top of her lungs. He was on the other side of the boat, sicker than she!

 

The crew said it was like an extreme sport ride that morning and wasn't usually that rough. Return back to mainland in the pm was very calm.

 

P.S. I'm the only one in my family who loves the ride. Rest get sick. :eek: ... so I probably shouldn't be planning cruises for them to rough sea areas...

[Boatdrill]

The Tasmanian Sea/Bass Strait/Hobart Strait. Many cruises go through there from Hobart up to Sydney.

There's also the famous Rolex yacht race:

Bass Strait, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean immediately to its east, are renowned for their high winds and difficult seas. Even though the race is held in the Australian summer, "southerly buster" storms often make the Sydney-Hobart race cold, bumpy, and very challenging for the crew. It is typical for a considerable number of yachts to retire, often at Eden on the New South Wales south coast, the last sheltered harbour before the Bass Strait crossing.

The 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was marred by tragedy when, during an exceptionally strong storm (which had similar strength winds to a lower-category hurricane), five boats sank and six people died. Of the 115 boats that started, only 44 made it to Hobart.

[cruizefan]

you probally would have loved our cruise last year on norwegian dawn when we had to go through the outskirts of Katrina to get to Nassau.

 

or are you looking for something like this :D

[Druke I]

If you think you want to try rough water, I suggest the China Sea during typhoon season.

 

 

We were aboard the little Golden Odyssey, (a 10,000 tonner), 11-86, between Hong Kong and Manila, and trying to outrun a typhoon. We had green water over the bridge, screws out of the water, and the inclinometer was pegged several times. It was very rough for about 24 hrs!

 

Halsey's Fleet lost three destroyers (or DEs?) to capsizing in those same waters in the closing days of WW2.

 

A couple of other posters suggested the Tasman Sea or Cape Horn. We've crossed the Tasman three times, and it has been relatively smooth each time for us. We did Cape Horn (Buenos Aires to Valparaiso) this past March on Regal Princess, and it was pretty smooth also.

 

The North Atlantic has been pretty bumpy for us on 3 out of 5 crossings.

[Surfgirl]

I just know this is in the wrong forum and will be moved but I feel a certain camaraderie toward the Princess bunch. My wife I took our first ever cruise onboard the Dawn for ten fantastic days in the Caribbean last year. Being a landlubber till then I was a little disappointed by the fact that for all intent and purposes the oceans/seas I saw resembled little more than overgrown lakes.

We are planning another cruise in 07 or 08 and I would like to know where they keep those rock-carving-white-foaming waves I see on TV? Shoot! I'd be happy just to have a wave big enough to knock me off my feet! A more Princess specific question would be which of Princess's cruises' offer such waves?

 

Side note: I guess I'm just a little "odd" in that I would love to be tossed about in some of these high seas I read about, and I find myself a little envious of those who have first hand accounts of the Crown incident. Terrifying, but thrilling. Think of the stories!

 

Try tall ship sailing.. that's what I do! You want a floating hotel.. take a cruise ship (and I do that too).. but you want rocking and rolling and thrills.. crew on a tall ship.

 

I have sailed in Force 9's... stood watch in December with snow and ice pelting down on me.. climbed 180' masts. Here's a look from the top!

 

[Jules1]

Druke,

Our first cruise was on the Golden Odyssey in 3-86 sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong (went to see Halley's comet). The China Sea was definitely a rough one!

[Quadsd]

We had very rough seas on the Carnival Victory in January all the way from Miami to San Juan and then back from St Thomas to Miami. They were listed anywhere from 8-10' to 14-18' our last night. Our 9th floor balcony was totally encrusted with salt when we docked in Miami.

 

There were many sea sick passengers most of the trip. Didn't bother my husband or I at all. I liked the rocking ship at night.

[elmtree]

Try crossing the Irish sea in March...That will "put hair on your chest" as my father used to say..it was amazing! Scary and took over 8 hours...Supposed to take about 3 or 4...

[FredS]

It seems to me that cruise ships attempt to avoid the big waves. The results are not beneficial to the cruise industry. So, you might try going on a freighter voyage. Pick the place, time, season for the worst waves and book you thrill trip.

[sgriff17]

Try a Bermuda cruise out of New York or Philadelphia in September or October. On our trip we caught the end of three hurricanes together. That made for 20 foot seas and it was hard to walk without holding onto a wall or the floor. It was great fun. There were vomit bags hung all over the ships, just glad I don't get seasick. You would love it.

 

Oh no, that's what I'm doing in September! I kind of agree with Rusty (I know for a fact I just cursed myself)....something out of the ordinary would be pretty awesome (when it's all over and we're all safe of course).

 

On our HM cruise last May we did the Mexican Riviera...and WOW...we had some good sized waves. Barf bags were everywhere. Didn't phase my wife or I though, thank the Lord.

[CaptainKevin]

Crossing the Tasman Sea on an Australia - New Zealand cruise often yields wild waves, with the ship's bow moving up and down seven stories at a time.

 

As someone else mentioned, though, while fun it also gets very tiring. You had to wait until the ship hit the top or bottom of a peak, then take two steps, then wait until either the G-forces (or lack of them going down!) stopped and let you take another two steps.

 

It took forever to walk anywhere on the ship! :)

 

Cheers, Kev