Bay of Biscay - How Rough?

[Tintown]

Just wondering how rough the Bay of Biscay is? We hadn't anticipated it being particularly bad when we booked our cruise, but after reading things on the boards, we're beginning to wonder if it was a wise move??? We are on the Grand in a cabin near the aft on Dolphin Deck.

[Colo Cruiser]

Grand Class ships don't ride the rough waves real well. I have traveled through there a couple of times and it was very rough once and not so bad the other time. The Grand is a great ship, we have sailed her 6 times. I would not worry. :)

[can786]

We had very rough seas heading southbound last July crossing the Bay of Biscay. I normally have no problems if I take a Bonine when it gets rough but even that didn't help that day. I spent the entire day in bed and didn't get up until after 5pm. On the bright side, it was a great way to get over jet lag! The captain told us that it gets rough about 50% of the time and it was fine on the way back northbound. I would do it again, but perhaps take a double dose of Bonine.

By the way, we were all the way aft on the Sea Princess.

[paul929207]

We crossed the Bay of Biscay on smaller ships - the old Royal Princess & the old Island Princess. We had no problems.

[Dorset Cruiser]

It can be very rough. Only sailed it once, however, and it was flat calm. However, last January we sailed across the Tasman Sea - what an experience that was - Force 8 and huge, huge seas - very exhilarating and not a little scary, especially in the dead of night. Still, would do it again in a heatbeat:D

[Globaliser]

It's just the luck of the draw, really. I've been across the Bay of Biscay half a dozen times now on various cruises, and had it flat as a millpond half the time; on only one occasion was there a "Why have all the other passengers decided not to emerge from their cabins?" moment.

[Druke I]

Yes, luck of the draw, or a crapshoot.

 

The Tasman Sea also has a reputation for being rough. The three times we have crossed it the seas have been calm.

 

Mar 06, we went 'round Cape Horn, another area with a reputation for roughness. We were very disappointed - just a few whitecaps. After we cleared the area, and heading North along the Chilean coast, there were very high winds and some mild chop, but nothing bad.

[Pam in CA]

There are strong tides in the Bay of Biscay which contribute to the "roughness" but like so many other places, it can be relatively calm or quite stirred up. It was pretty rough on our Sea Princess cruise a couple of years ago returning from a R/T Med cruise out of Southampton and some people were complaining but I thought it was fun. You're on a ship and I love knowing I'm on a ship. :)

[RSWBADGER]

The Bay of Biscay is home to some of the Atlantic Ocean's fiercest weather. Large storms occur in the bay, especially during the winter months. Up until recent years it was a regular occurrence for merchant vessels to founder in Biscay storms, and many lives were lost. Improved ships and weather prediction have reduced the toll of the storms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Biscay