How bad are the winds at sea?

[Neptune's Fork]

This may seem like a silly question but I've never been on a cruise before and scheduled for my first in a few months, so don't have any experience with this. Are the winds at sea on the top deck bad? It seems to me that since winds in the open ocean are normally a bit stronger than land, and then add to that the fact that the ship is moving along at around 20mph, the open deck could be extremely windy. You hear stories of sailors getting blown off of carrier decks quite a few times.

 

[Gilland18]

It varies, of course, depending on the weather. It is often quite windy clear to the front. If it gets too windy, they close off the open decks and don't allow guests out there. Even so, there is no danger of being blown off the ship. The railings are tall enough that there is no need to worry about going over.

 

[2prettygirl]

I would recommend taking a jacket, especially if you plan to walk outside at night. Depending on the month you sail really plays a huge part in temps but most generally it will be breezy. We sailed in January and it was pretty chilly at night.

 

[lbus42]

You really compare a carrier deck to a cruise ship. The carrier has a large flat top (nothing to block the wind). The top deck of the ship has structures to break up the wind. The Fantasy has the funnels. Forward of the pool, around the eating areas, the sides have plexiglass. The back of the area has Cabanas. I didn't think it was very windy around the pool area. It was more so on the forward sun deck and on the jogging track on deck 4.

 

[Jess_S]

I've experienced wind bad enough to be annoying on a day where it was overcast and otherwise unpleasant out. Even then, it was nothing bad enough to knock me off balance. As others have noted, definitely pack a jacket in case it is breezy in the evenings. (I find that I need a jacket indoors sometimes too depending on what I'm wearing and how high the AC is set, so it will serve multiple purposes).

 

[RedSox68]

This may seem like a silly question but I've never been on a cruise before and scheduled for my first in a few months, so don't have any experience with this. Are the winds at sea on the top deck bad? It seems to me that since winds in the open ocean are normally a bit stronger than land, and then add to that the fact that the ship is moving along at around 20mph, the open deck could be extremely windy. You hear stories of sailors getting blown off of carrier decks quite a few times.

It all depends on the direction they are sailing, where the winds are coming from, speed and weather. We've had a large variety of conditions -- from perfectly calm to slightly breezy to wind gusts that made it uncomfortable to be up on deck. We always pack a sweater or light jacket, however, for evening walks as no matter where you are, it can get chilly at night. When we sailed the WBTA in 2007, the seas were so calm that you could not tell the ship was moving and while out in open ocean, the winds were minimal. So you never know.

 

[arlopop]

I would describe it as breezy; not windy. Comfortable, pleasant. If the weather gets bad then it can pick up, but otherwise nothing you would find worrisome.

 

[DSMVP]

I have been on a cruise where the wind was so bad our food flew off the plate as we walked from the counter to the table lol That trip was in Nov. It was windy enough to make it difficult to walk. If you are worried about whether you should bring a light jacket or not then I would say bring one. Even if it's not cool/windy on the decks, it was freezing in the movie theater on the Dream and I was chilly at the MDR's on the Magic & Dream.

 

[diznymom]

Advice: Do not wear loose skirts on the upper decks. Just saying.

 

[Quellman]

I have been at Satellite Falls on the Dream and they have turned it off due to prevailing winds. This was on the sea day. The officer did try to turn it on while we were there , but still too windy. Glad he gave it a try though.

 

[ImDMous]

Most of the time it's just a cooling breeze that is lovely. A few nights after dinner it has been 'don't go outside in a skirt' windy.

 

[Markonefive]

On the ship, the TV info page will show you the wind direction and the relative wind speed over deck. So, if sailing into the wind, plus added wind speed, it can can a bit breezy on deck 10 on the Wonder, but there are railings. Perfectly safe. Just uncomfortable. Deck 9 has plexiglass all the way around which does block some of the wind. Deck 4 is open and you can do a circuit. On the windward side or into the wind, it is noticeable. Depending on time of year and location, can be chilly, especially at night. But other days were quite pleasant. Can easily move around the ship without going outside if need be. We hit unusually high winds on our Pacific coast cruise (53 mph wind over deck) but most of the time, winds over deck in various directions were around 15 knots or 20 mph. Probably if tail winds, become hardly noticeable. Headwind, definitely noticeable. Cross wind, not so much.

 

[PollyBrit]

Depends what you eat

 

[CurtisB]

People get blown of carriers from jet exhaust and prop wash not the wind. I worked on the flight deck of one and it was something you always had to be on the lookout for. Cruise ships can be a little windy at times. If they ship has to hurry and get somewhere then it can be a little windy. If they are just meandering from say Nassau to Castaway Cay then they aren't going very fast and the winds are light.

 

[Starwind]

On the 4 cruises we have taken, most of the time the wind was fairly mild, especially in daytime.

We have experienced stormy weather where they closed off most of the outside decks because of a combination of high wind and rain. We've also seen them for example, close some of the doors leading to open decks (eg on deck 4) on say one side of the ship because of high winds (which affected how well or not the doors worked). I have experienced winds strong enough coming at the side of the ship that you could not physically open a door that opened outward onto the deck (they soon closed all the public doors on that side of the ship).

Mostly though, the strongest winds have been when I've gone up to the Satellite Falls area (which would be windy but not too bad) and more so the very front in that area -- a couple times I was not strong enough to walk around the zig-zag barrier you have to to get to that front observation area and took it as a sign that it was way too windy to be standing out there Other times it has been really peaceful with just a gentle breeze.

Whenever I go out on an open deck I make sure hats and such are secure, just in case.

SW

 

[phinz]

I've been in 55 mph apparent winds and I've been in 5 mph apparent winds (tail wind). I've never felt like I'm going to be levitated over the chest-high plexiglass walls and hurled into the sea, though going all the way forward on Satellite Falls in high winds can be a real experience. Hang on to your hat!

 

[CM Dad]

On our first cruise, the winds on deck did make playing Ping Pong "interesting". I haven't been interested in repeating that, so I can't remember if the still have the tables on the upper decks.

 

[jlynch924]

On our last cruise, one day it was windy enough that they had to secure all the chairs on the upper deck. They were blowing all over the place.

 

[Neptune's Fork]

I can update this now to say that on one particular windy day at sea, I saw a woman's beer at the Currents smoking area get blown right off the table. But that was just one evening at sea and the rest of the days were fine.

 

[Capt_BJ]