Seabourn World Cruise

[kevinh100]

Hello.

 

My family and I are interested in taking a Seabourn Grand Voyage on the Seabourn Spirit from Hong Kong to Rome this winter. We have heard great things about Seabourn's service and accommodations. However, we are concerned about getting seasick on such a small ship. I've gotten seasick on a large vessel once before I started using Seabands. I fear that Seabands may not be enough if the seas are rough on the Grand Voyage. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on this, especially former Seabourn cruisers. If you have any experiences with Seabourn Grand Voyages, please share them with me as well. Thank you!

[GrannyLorr]

Kevin.......we did the Cairns (Australia) to Rome cruise this year on the Spirit (55 days)....and most of the time the seas were like a millpond. There were a couple of times we got a slight rocking, but I was hoping for a little bit more movement! Those that joined the cruise in New Zealand apparently had some nice rough seas! Next cruise will be around The Horn, so am expecting that to get a wee bit rough!

[kevinh100]

Hi Grannylorr.

 

What were the waters like in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea? I've heard people say that those waters tend to get a little bit rough, especially during winter time. Did the Spirit seemed cramped at all?

[Seabourn-nail]

You can never predict the weather! It all depends - where ever you are - on the weather system that you are facing. You can have calm seas all the way, or - even on a short voyage, on normally calm waters - you can have a storm, that causes motion. Take it as it comes and be prepared. It is not very likely that you won´t be moving at all on a grand voyage though.

I suffer land sickness more than sea sickness! I´ve been off the ship for nearly two weeks now and I still have not found my balance. My brain got used to the movement of the ship and now slowly by slowly it has to re-adjust again. Getting used to my body not moving. And this is no story!

I would certainly go for it if you have the chance!

[ex-crew]

I've sailed this trip a number of times on the Spirit and once on Silverseas. Interestingly we had a wee bit more movement on the bigger Silverseas ship. The crossings with on the Spirit were a doddle. All said though, it was just for a few hours out of a few months....

 

 

.............you at sea though.

[blackbird71]

Just IMHO, if you are in the US go to any GNC and pick up 500mg caps. of Ginger Root. From some studies Ginger Root is the best non-prescription sea sick aid out there. There is a reason your "grandmother" told you to drink ginger ale to settle an upset stomach. ;)

[Iamboatman]

Ship movement has a lot more to do with it than the size of the ship. There are large ships with poorly designed hulls, or hulls meant to carry more cargo, that will roll more than a well designed smaller ship. Of course in 20 foot seas the smaller ship will generally rock more than a larger ship, but she may not roll as much - as she is lower to the centerline.

 

Engineering aside, anytime you go to sea it is sort of a gamble as to what the seas will be. I do not think you will find the Seabourn ships to be any worse overall than other ships (and possibly better) if this is the sort of cruise you are looking to take. I would not let the "fear" of a "possible" bad sea determine my cruise, however.

 

Take Seabands, Bonine, ginger...a good attitude...and I am sure you will be able to happily handle what most "probably" will be a fantastic cruise.

[Keith1010]

Kevin, if you are concerned about the seas, you might want to also get a prescription for a patch from your doctor. On our recent Seabourn cruise we had one rough day at sea and the patch seemed to work well for those who took it. I am going on a long cruise in January and this time my wife and I are bringing the patch, along with Bonine.

 

I normally do not have a problem with getting sea sickness whether it be on a ship the size of the Seabourn triplets or large ships. But, on the last Seabourn cruise I did get sea sick; a first for me. The captain had advised the night before that we would have very choppy seas as we would encounter gale winds and that should have been my cue to take bonine ahead of time. Rather the next morning I work up fine and the seas were choppy and I went to the computer room feeling fine but by the time I left the room I was starting to feel ill and while I took Bonine it was too late at that point. So, the lesson learned is to be prepared and to take it ahead of time.

 

And I also that sometimes how the boat rocks can have an impact on how one feels. I thought that we had been in rougher seas when my wife and I had sailed on the Seabourn Pride the year before and went around Cape Horn in South America but I think the motion was different than this last time.

 

So, just prepare for the cruise and you'll be fine and I would give this same advice whether you sailed on a small ship or a large ship. And, expect to have a wonderful time sailing with Seabourn. It is a very unique and wonderful experience.

 

Keith

[bgood]

Please be careful with the transderm patch. It is scopalamine (truth serum) and difficult to adjust for dosage ( i.e. big guy and small woman get the same dose.) I have seen people absolutely hallucinating on the patch--especially watch conflicts with other medications. One charming couple started off down the road toward a colorful market -- that didn't exist in my world!

 

One thing that really helps is to get where you can watch the horizon. Seasickness is visually cued--as long as what your eyes see agrees with what your inner ear feels, you have a lot less discomfort.

 

bgood

[xplrcrzn]

My own experience is that the least expensive suites on Seabourn are the most comfortable in rough weather. Deck 4, mid-ship suites (e.g., 110,111, 112, etc.) are usually the most stable while the expensive suites on deck 6 toward the front (303, 305, etc.) experience the most side-to-side motion as well as forward pitching. These should be avoided by anyone with a sea sickness problem.

[Keith1010]

In terms of the patch, discuss with your doctor before you consider the patch. The folks on our recent cruise did well with the patch; with some saying it was the first time they had used the patch. And, two different people mentioned to us that rather than using the full patch that they cut it in half to reduce the doseage.

 

The only side affect they mentioned was that they had dryness in the mouth which is a side affect.

 

And, it is important to wash your hands very well after applying the patch and not to touch your eyes.

 

My wife and I will try the patch on our upcoming cruise so we'll know more after that.

 

Keith

[lola loves cruising]

I use the patch every time I cruise. I am very suseptible to motion sickness. I have never suffered from hallucinations, but have on occasion had dry mouth. Didn't seem to be a big deal. I would advise you not to wait until you feel sick to put on the patch. It takes a few hours to get into your system for it to work. For me, the patch is great. A real cruise-saver.

Nancy

[Daneite]

I am the worst sailor ever born, I get sea sickness when the ship is in dock!! I take pills BEFORE I embark to be on the safe side but the best thing that I have found is a Relief Band, an electronic wrist band that you can use after you feel the sickness coming on. It really does work for me but not for everybody. I gave one to Andrea the Sommelier on the Legend to try and it worked for her too. These can be purchased from most drug stores in the states, there are no drugs involved so prolonged use is not a problem. As previously said it all depends on the weather as to if you suffer the rough seas or not, there are some places such as the Bay of Biscay and the Sea of Lions where you know it will be bad but in the majority of cases it is all down to the weather. We sailed QM2 and I was much worse on there than on Seabourn. So I would not worry about the size, just ask for midship as low as possible!!

[Two4Sea]

Welcome, we would love to have you along for this long cruise, we signed up for it last spring. A truly unique voyage, I’m aiming for your “World Voyage” label one leg at a time by taking this trip. I take it you’ve seen the little detail about Libya having being dropped from the brochure itinerary.

 

Motion gets asked about every 6 months but few complaints ever come up. The small size makes the ships different rather worse. We got along with just some caution this spring and that was in the worst of wind and a disreputable location at the time. Some past threads are http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=378956 “Rookie” which links to http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=375623 on New Zealand and http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=280564 on Seabourn vs Crystal.

 

I drew myself a route map and the first two weeks of this cruise are sheltered. Two days across to Sri Lanka then it’s the Indian coast and a short crossing to the Gulf of Oman where we are sheltered again for nearly a week. Along to the Gulf of Aden then sheltered up the Red Sea. There are only 2 open seas days during the last two weeks in the Med.

 

By the way, when Granny Lorr made this trip last spring she wrote an extensive description in the “Granny at Sea” thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=317282 and also covered it in her blog http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Granny. Some more picts are in http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=358507 on Bodrum, Ephesus. As an Australian of course she is too modest to mention this.

 

Bill

[GrannyLorr]

Granny modest Bill? LOL....its just seems so long since we were on the Spirit I had forgotten all about writing all that stuff!

 

We were on Deck 6 (306) so were towards the front....still didnt move much for us. We also took lots of ginger stuff from home (Queensland Home of the Ginger Factory)....and brought it all home again UNOPENED. There is always a big platter of ginger in the Dinig Room.

At the same time we were on the "little" Spirit....my brother was on one of those HUGE Princess ships....think it was the Diamond....and they rocked very badly.

As this was our very first cruise I was a bit worried...had no idea if we would have sea sickness or not...think we passed the test.

 

As to the Spirit seeming cramped Keith....no not at all.....with only around 200 guests there is plenty of room for everyone. We loved the Horizon Lounge on "sea days"....hubby would read, I would sew, we would be served delicious teas....and quite often we would be the only ones there! The only place I found a bit cramped was the Verandah at lunchtime.

I am sure you will enjoy your long cruise.......wish we could be there again! :(

[GrannyLorr]

Bill....are you going to post anything in here during your cruise? If not PLEASE write a BIG report when you get home....would love to hear all about it. I must get you to give big hugs to some of our favourite crew members (if they are still there!) especially Daniel and Ben (the two Malaysian brothers) and Andrew (from South Africa)...oh dear now I am going to leave people out...Donna....Karl.....Giles....darn...forget how to spell some of them...oh well you will know which ones were there at the time...and they were all favourites anyway!