Rough Seas in Eastern Caribbean

[mabell2]

I have been reading a lot on these boards about the seas being very rough in the Eastern Caribbean. Is this normal for this time of year? We will be on the Crown in March and have never cruised this time of year before. I still have 4 weeks to go but getting a little nervous after reading all the postings. Thanks:):):)

[Toto2Kansas]

I have been reading a lot on these boards about the seas being very rough in the Eastern Caribbean. Is this normal for this time of year? We will be on the Crown in March and have never cruised this time of year before. I still have 4 weeks to go but getting a little nervous after reading all the postings. Thanks:):):)

 

There is just no way of telling how calm or rough the seas will be for your cruise. We cruised for years the end of March, beginning of April to the Eastern Caribbean. Some years we had smooth seas, other years we had days where it became quite rough. It all depends on what Mother Nature decides for you that week. Good luck, go prepared for the worst, and hope for the best. ;)

[catergirl]

just off 2 weeks ago and the seas there and back VERY rough! and in the carribean went from calm to somewhat rough. i always take bonine at night for sea sickness and was fine. the ship sure slammed on the trip back to ft lauderdale.:eek: had extra bonine for my DD,DS and DMiL. none of them needed it though.

[Joe & Kristi]

There is just no way of telling how calm or rough the seas will be for your cruise. We cruised for years the end of March, beginning of April to the Eastern Caribbean. Some years we had smooth seas, other years we had days where it became quite rough. It all depends on what Mother Nature decides for you that week. Good luck, go prepared for the worst, and hope for the best. ;)

 

You just never know! I went on an eastern carribean cruise in march of 2004. couldn't even tell i was on water! just make sure to pack something for sickness just in case! enjoy your cruise :D

[crsn102]

We just returned from the eastern carribean on Sunday, having sailed on the Crown. This was the roughest cruise we had been on to date, we bounced day one and two. Then on Tuesday we had a full gale (high pressure- clear skys) with winds of 50 mph and seas of 12 ft. They closed off part of the upper deck and cancelled the show in the theater. Actually the Crown takes the heavy seas well. Crew members told us that it had been calm until three weeks ago and then became bumpy and stayed that way. My Mrs takes non-drowsy dramamine and was fine the whole trip. After we left St Maartin it calmed down and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing (no pun intended)

[tikcho]

We cruised on March 7 last year Eastern Caribbean and except for the first night and sea day when it was a little rough (nothing major though) we had a super smooth trip and clear skies. We are scheduled to go on the Crown this sunday (Feb 22) and I am also freaked out by all the reports I have been reading. The reason we book this time of the year is because my understanding was that the sea is usually pretty calm...but I guess it varies. Last year I was prepared with all kinds of pills and never needed them but this year...I don't know. We are travelling with our 2-year old son so I'm pretty worried.

[rcacace]

I've found it to be a little windier this year then in the past years but it's still not bad enough to worry about. Use the bonine, dramamine or patch & don't worry.

[pjs9876]

Weather can be really different from week to week. Remember those cold fronts that crossed the country? They went all the way to the Bahamas. It lowered temps. (a little) and had a lot of wind that pushed the water and made waves. Ya just never know:D

[RoseH]

Just returned from Crown Princess cruise on Sunday - our first ever cruise. Yes the sea was quite rough but wasn't a problem for us - maybe we have developed our sea legs over the years by many trips across the English Channel on the ferries and also 7 years of travelling 4-6 times a year on the overnight ferry from UK to Holland where we experienced force 10 gales several times in the winter. We had to hold onto our kids in bed so they didn't fall out!

 

It was fun on the Crown doing the line dancing classes during the rough weather especially doing the grapevine on a sloping floor!

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and would certainly travel on the Crown again. We were amazed that it didn't seem more crowded with over 3,000 passengers on board. We did 'anytime dining' in the Michaelangelo and Da Vinci dining rooms and went in to eat between 8.30 and 8.45 each night without reservations and just walked straight in each time - never had to wait at all.

 

Maybe someone can tell us if the ship ever leaves a port without late returning pasengers. We had some late returners at St Thomas and also a couple at Grand Turk and the Costa Fortuna had some very late people at Grand Turk which delayed their sailaway quite a lot. We were wondering in these days of strict security whether or not the ship would sail without passengers when their baggage was on board and if not, how long would they wait. Some people said they don't usually wait but we just wondered if anyone had experienced this.

 

All in all we were very pleased with our first cruise and will certainly be doing it again. We were on Caribe deck cabin C430 and it was an excellent position as it was very quiet, central so less movement in the rough seas and midway between the restaurants and the sun decks and close to the elevators and stairs. We didn't use the elevators once during the trip apart from disembarkation when we did a walk off so had to take our baggage. Using the stairs all week was our exercise to help walk off all the food that we ate!

 

We were very impressed with embarkation and disembarkation. We were off the ship by 7.20am, took a taxi to the airport, picked up a hire car and were on the road back to Orlando by 8.00am.

 

I wish we were back on the Crown now as it is cold and damp in the UK with colder weather forecast for the weekend,- all we can do now is look longingly at our photos!

[sunsurf]

I have been reading a lot on these boards about the seas being very rough in the Eastern Caribbean. Is this normal for this time of year? We will be on the Crown in March and have never cruised this time of year before. I still have 4 weeks to go but getting a little nervous after reading all the postings. Thanks:):):)

 

 

I'm leaving next week on a 10 day and I'll I can say is that as long as I have hot weather, lots of sunshine and a drink in hand that's good enough for me!! I'll take rough seas over rain and overcast skies any day. not sure if my hubby would agree though :D

[rcacace]

 

Maybe someone can tell us if the ship ever leaves a port without late returning pasengers. We had some late returners at St Thomas and also a couple at Grand Turk and the Costa Fortuna had some very late people at Grand Turk which delayed their sailaway quite a lot. We were wondering in these days of strict security whether or not the ship would sail without passengers when their baggage was on board and if not, how long would they wait. Some people said they don't usually wait but we just wondered if anyone had experienced this.

 

 

We were told by on officer on the Crown that they don't usually wait unless they know there's a busload of people who are on tour & just minutes away. As far a waiting for 2 individuals who are late shopping- no way. (Unless they see them running down the dock as their taking in the walkway) which happened on our cruise.

[woodofpine]

OP - you'll note that folks keep talking about day 1-2 (or the end). Of course mother nature is fickle; but, ships leaving Lauderdale for the eastern Carib typically arc out into the open Atlantic to beat down to the Antilles chain. That's where it's rougher usually.

Once there the ships typically sail leeward of the open Atlantic (inside the islands) and its flat. Just like on the islands themselves, the Atlantic side is rough, the Caribbean side is flat. Itineraries that include Barbados may have a bit more motion because Barbados is a good 100 miles east (out in the Atlantic) from the rest of the islands.

 

Coming and going from FL to the Antilles, if the weather is rough, some Captains will avoid arcing out as much and they'll take the 'Old Bahama Channel' which is a shot within the Bahamian chain which may be flatter but means backing off the throttle a bit since the surrounding banks are shallower water.

 

But, Mother nature still calls the big shots...

[rebeccalouise]

The Caribbean can be rough. If you are prone to seasickness I highly recommend you book a cabin midship and on the lowest deck posible. We were on Deck 2 (aft) on my last Eastern Caribbean cruise and we felt zero motion there. You could feel motion higher up on the ship and many people said they had been queasy.

[A&L_Ont]

I have been reading a lot on these boards about the seas being very rough in the Eastern Caribbean. Is this normal for this time of year? We will be on the Crown in March and have never cruised this time of year before. I still have 4 weeks to go but getting a little nervous after reading all the postings. Thanks:):):)

 

 

We have done the Eastern numerous times and this was the first time that we found it rough. I have also read how others are reporting in the same details. Mother nature is a curious thing.

[rcacace]

The Caribbean can be rough. If you are prone to seasickness I highly recommend you book a cabin midship and on the lowest deck posible. We were on Deck 2 (aft) on my last Eastern Caribbean cruise and we felt zero motion there. You could feel motion higher up on the ship and many people said they had been queasy.

 

If you believe the Caribbean to be rough then don't ever take a cruise to Bermuda leaving from NJ/NJ. You're in for an experience at times. :eek:

[leeza]

What about the western side? Is it as rough as the eastern side? Thanks.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Just saw an interesting feature on The Weather Channel-apparently there is quite a big storm area in the Atlantic Ocean off Nova Scotia (with pressure nearing that of a major hurricane) that is really stirring up high waves in the Carribbean. The weatherman said the waves will continue to be unusually high in the areas of Puerto Rico and St. Thomas through Friday, due to this system.

[kerrytens]

OP - you'll note that folks keep talking about day 1-2 (or the end). Of course mother nature is fickle; but, ships leaving Lauderdale for the eastern Carib typically arc out into the open Atlantic to beat down to the Antilles chain. That's where it's rougher usually.

Once there the ships typically sail leeward of the open Atlantic (inside the islands) and its flat. Just like on the islands themselves, the Atlantic side is rough, the Caribbean side is flat. Itineraries that include Barbados may have a bit more motion because Barbados is a good 100 miles east (out in the Atlantic) from the rest of the islands.

 

Coming and going from FL to the Antilles, if the weather is rough, some Captains will avoid arcing out as much and they'll take the 'Old Bahama Channel' which is a shot within the Bahamian chain which may be flatter but means backing off the throttle a bit since the surrounding banks are shallower water.

 

But, Mother nature still calls the big shots...

Wow! You just described my first cruise to a tee!!! Great explanation. Thanks for really explaining the 'why' of our rough'ish weather at the beginning and end of our time at sea. And to the OP, honestly it wasn't that bad either - you will have a great cruise. Just relax and enjoy the motion of being on a boat. You will be rocked to sleep.

I loved it!!!! :D

Miriam

[IScubaSlo]

We just got back a couple hours ago from the above 10 day eastern cruise. The first two sea days were very rough 50-60 mph winds. Third day we were supposed to stop at Antigua but couldnt because of the winds, so we missed our first port also. Three days at sea to start out the cruise and being rough didnt make for a good start. Once we got to Dominicia seas were calm.

 

I've been on a lot of Eastern Carb. cruises and never anything as rough as this was. The only good thing on those 3 days was that it didnt rain......

[Kamloops50]

I have been reading a lot on these boards about the seas being very rough in the Eastern Caribbean. Is this normal for this time of year? We will be on the Crown in March and have never cruised this time of year before. I still have 4 weeks to go but getting a little nervous after reading all the postings. Thanks:):):)

 

:cool::cool: When we sailed the Mariner from Port Canaveral on the first and last day

 

where rough . On our western the first and last 2 days where rough.

 

That was Jan 2008.

[ocntscha]

Coming and going from FL to the Antilles, if the weather is rough, some Captains will avoid arcing out as much and they'll take the 'Old Bahama Channel' which is a shot within the Bahamian chain which may be flatter but means backing off the throttle a bit since the surrounding banks are shallower water.

I don't follow you, why do they have to slow down when the surrounding banks are shallower? Because they are more manueverable when going slower and can weave between the islands, is that what you are getting at?

[DrivesLikeMario]

"Rough" is a relative term. I know people that think 10' waves are rough. To me, that's not bad at all, in fact it's normal in some areas.

 

It would be helpful if people could remember what the wave size was and the wind force and give that information instead of "it was rough".

 

We've cruised many times in late March and early April, and twice during the first week in May. Even when we've gone the same exact week, we've had totally different experiences with weather. The first time, we had waves from 4'-7.5' with Force 3-4 winds and sunny skies. The next year, we had 15'-18' waves with winds above 50 mph and cloud cover 90% of the time. You just never know what you're gonna get. ;)

[Host Caroline]

Water esp. between Princess Cays and St Maarten was, as the other poster said, about 50 mph winds and high seas (10-12 feet).. have pics of our window on Plaza Deck completely obscured by waves! It was a really smooth ride on deck 5 however and even on upper decks the motion was not that bad.. we did see some people circumventing the "closed off" areas on Promenade deck.. they didn't lock doors, just put the yellow tape stuff up..

 

The fronts this year have been esp. strong going south according to a weather friend and account for a lot of these rough sailings.

 

We did America's Cup yacht race in St Maarten in the wind and seas there and I can tell you that it was fun but a little more excitement than I need being a primary grinder and being tossed about.. I have some spectacular bruises to show for all that fun:rolleyes::rolleyes::eek:

[Pam in CA]

I don't follow you, why do they have to slow down when the surrounding banks are shallower? Because they are more manueverable when going slower and can weave between the islands, is that what you are getting at?

Whenever a ship is in shallower water, they don't go full speed even though cruise ships have a relatively shallow draft.

 

"Rough" is a relative term. I know people that think 10' waves are rough. To me, that's not bad at all, in fact it's normal in some areas.

 

It would be helpful if people could remember what the wave size was and the wind force and give that information instead of "it was rough".

 

We've cruised many times in late March and early April, and twice during the first week in May. Even when we've gone the same exact week, we've had totally different experiences with weather. The first time, we had waves from 4'-7.5' with Force 3-4 winds and sunny skies. The next year, we had 15'-18' waves with winds above 50 mph and cloud cover 90% of the time. You just never know what you're gonna get. ;)

Exactly. I've been on cruises where I thought it was remarkably smooth and others have said they were afraid to venture out from their cabin. IMHO, a rocking ship is a reminder that I'm on the seas, and to me, it's great for sleeping. After all, whenever you're on a ship, regardless of the itinerary, you're on the seas and waves/wind "happen."