Rough seas on Oceania??

[CD & Family]

Hi

I am actually writing for my sister who is considering a northern Oceania cruise. She is concerned about rough seas given it is a small ship. Any information would be appreciated.

 

My husband and I sailed in the Caribbean for New Year's on one of the largest ships and it was the roughest weather we have ever had. All doors to outside decks were closed, all decks were closed, pools etc.

 

Any information would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Cindy

[orchestrapal]

We have had several cases of very rough seas on Oceania.

These ships do rock, roll and bounce around quite a bit. We may have felt the seas on a larger ships as well.

Come prepared with patches and Bonine and you can't go wrong. Enjoy!:)

[Aussie Gal]

We too have encountered rough seas on two of Oceania's sister ships - the Pacific and Tahitian Princess. They do move around in rough water especially in the Pacific Ocean with its huge rollers.

 

We weren't seasick but our friends were and spent a few days not feeling 100% unfortunately.

 

Jennie

[eandj]

Hi

I am actually writing for my sister who is considering a northern Oceania cruise. She is concerned about rough seas given it is a small ship. Any information would be appreciated.

 

My husband and I sailed in the Caribbean for New Year's on one of the largest ships and it was the roughest weather we have ever had. All doors to outside decks were closed, all decks were closed, pools etc.

 

Any information would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Cindy

 

My DH and I were on the Regatta in the Carib the same time you were. If you felt the movement on the the very large ship, you can imagine how we felt on the Regatta. All outside decks were closed and many pax hunkered down in their cabins. I skipped a lunch and dinner. Even the waitstaff said it was most unusual for that time of year. SO.....you can tell your sister you just never know what the weather will throw at her. Be prepared with Bonine and make sure you take it at the first sign of rough weather. If you wait until you feel sick, it's too late. Take it from someone who figured that out a little late. :rolleyes: That being said, some pax like my DH, weren't that bothered by the movement. Normally I'm not...but I guess my tummy can only take so much.

[meow!]

We just went on a Panama Canal voyage from December 8 to 23, crossing the Caribbean Sea from Categena to Fort Lauderdale the few days before Christmas. Only the very last night was not so good, the other two days were fine. It was on the Silver Shadow, a similar sized ship. Nature is much more powerful than humans. On board we heard fellow passengers said that their trip on the Queen Mary II, one of the largest and a specially designed ocean crossing liner had one of their worst voyages due to bad weather!

[merryecho]

My purpose in life- to spread the word about phenergan to fellow sea-sick sufferers. I got no help from bonine, etc., but finally discovered phenergan (must be prescribed by your doc) and now laugh at heavy seas.

[Ask4Jay]

Cindy -

We have completed two Atlantic crossings on Regatta. On our last cruise the captain announced that we would have to traverse a rather large low-pressure area. For about a day and a half we experienced wind speeds of 60-65 knots and seas 25-30 feet high, according to the captain afterwards. At first the ship would shudder when we hit one of those large waves, then they reduced the speed from 17-18 knots to 11-12 knot, which made a big difference. It actually was enjoyable. The waves came almost head-on and the ship had time to rise up and over, up and over. There was no rolling side to side, just a gentle steady up and down. All doors to the outside were locked, but we had a great time on our aft balcony. Those waves were awesome. To our delight we both found out that we did not get sick. Walking was a challenge, especially in the buffet with a plate in your hand. But the crew assisted everyone. A lot of toiletries and perfume bottles in the gift shop had slipped off their shelves and landed on the floor in spite of the masking tape barrier. Quite a mess. However, we did not see any green faces or worse. Call us crazy, but that was the best crossing yet. Because we cruised at a slower speed, we had to bypass Bermuda and headed straight for Miami. No loss for us.

[meow!]

All doors to the outside were locked, but we had a great time on our aft balcony.

Under those conditions, it may be better that you stay inside your locked cabin doors, rather than on the balcony. You can conceivably be thrown overboard, and nobody will be able to save you!

[Imagineer]

...I've read on the boards here, and have also listened to the experiences of other cruisers and seafarers, that the overall size of a ship has little to do with how well they handle rough seas. My brother was on the QE2 while skirting an active hurricane in the Atlantic a number of years back and said most of the guests and many crew were very green around the gills...

...if you look at the way most modern cruise ships are designed, they have a massive expanse of upper superstructure and a relatively shallow draft, so obviously you're going to experience some movement if the ocean starts acting up, it really has nothing to do with how large or how small a vessel is, the elemental physics remain the same, although some hull designs are better than others in how they handle rolling in heavy seas...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineer

[worldly cruisers]

I can't speak of the Atlantic. However we just returned from Oceanias cruise around South America and Cape Horn. The movement of the ship was no worse then many larger ships. In fact we found the ship to be very stable.

Two years ago we traveled on the Maasdam HAL and coming up the east coast of the USA we had some of the roughest days at sea we had ever experienced.

I recommend a mid-ship cabin and use the patch they really work.

[Ask4Jay]

meow! -

I appreciate your concern. As I said in my previous post, the motion of the ship was really gentle. Even though we were as far aft as anyone can be on a ship, there was no wild jerking or rocking, just a smooth up and down motion, one up/down cycle lasted about 6-8 seconds. With feet planted well apart, I did not even have to hold on. It was the spindrift blowing around the port corner of the ship back onto the balcony that drove me back inside. Didn't want to get my camcorder too wet. It was so non-hazardous, my DW of 50 years did not discourage me one bit. I guess you had to be there to appreciate the situation.

[hybrn8]

seems to be a major factor in how much rocking and rolling one does in rough seas. Our best and easiest crossing was in a Windstar ship - little sailboat scarcely larger than tenders on some of the mega liners!!!!