Okay- how rough are "rough seas"?

[ptk55369]

Hi there,

Never cruised at all before. Taking first DCL Feb 27th 7 day on the Magic. When I hear people say the boat is rocking or that the seas are rough what does can anyone tell me what that means on a boat of this size?

How much do you feel it? Are glasses and things moving around or are you sliding around in bed or is it hard to stand or is it just more "noticable"?

I really have no point of reference for anything like a boat of this size so I am just wondering. I've never really been seasick on ferries or even smaller boats but I just find it hard to imagine what 5 foot waves vs 13 foot waves are going to feel like.

Any of you experienced cruisers out there who can provide a frame of reference or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

PeteK

 

[clawmachine]

I've been on some pretty rough seas on cruise ships, but only once have I ever felt like I might fall over in the hallways while walking. For me, walking in interior hallways is what bothers me the most because you can't see any point of reference. I've slept through a storm at sea and the doors on the closet and bathroom will definitely bang all night, but you don't fall out of bed or anything. Honestly, for many people like me, the more subtle ordinary movement of the ship can just as easily cause nausea as the rough stuff. If you are concerned, most of the time motion sickness pills work well!

 

[clawmachine]

Oh - and I'll tell you this- I cruised while pregnant and was sick more than half the time from nausea, but you know what?I still loved it! Cruising is just that great, IMO!

 

[Princess Row]

When we went on a cruise in April the very last night was VERY rocky. To the point where things were falling over, you couldnt stand up strait, thi was about four am. To me i never got sick and somewhat liked the rockyness. I guess its to each there own but it didnt seem to affect many people.

 

[kcashner]

When the servers are finding things to hold on to, it's rough. Most of the time, the stabilizers keep things pretty manageable, but there have been a few nights.....I haven't seen glasses sliding off tables, but I've seen experienced crew hanging on to walls and tables!

There are rails along the hallways if you need something to hold on to. I've had bits of nausea, but never anything to make me not want to do the next cruise!

 

[pjfreeman21]

Hey! We will be on this cruise, too. This will be our 4 cruise on the Magic and the Eastern is our favorite. You will absolutely love it!! We have always had good weather. We have cruised in January, June and October. The seas are usually rougher in the winter, but I really can't tell that much. i forget i'm on a ship most of the time. I can remember a few times where I could feel the movement. It seems like it is usually rougher when we are crossing the gulf stream current (this will be Sunday and Monday...I think). I usually will take some motion sickness meds the first couple of days and usually stop taking it. Everyone is different though!!!! I'm sure some more experienced cruiser could tell you some good stories. I usually don't worry about the weather because you can't control it. I'm sure if one cruises enough he/she will experience some bad weather/rough seas. The January cruise said 16-20 foot waves on the tv, but I really couldn't tell. The ship has stabilizers that help, too

I have been checking the weather each day and the 10 day forcast for Saturday the 27th in Cape Canaveral is 64 the high and sunny, St. Maarten and St. Thomas is 82/83 high and lows 76/77, and I can't check Castaway Cay yet, but it is supposed to be in the mid 70's for highs all next week. The water will probably be chilly when we are there. Just hope that we will be able to dock there because if it is too windy we will not be able to. A cold front came through there this past weekend and it was cold and windy.

 

[inkkognito]

We've sailed a LOT and only once wasit viciously rough, to the point where our ice bucket fell off the counter and shattered on the floor. We've had times where it was rocky enough to make the doors bang but only once did something ever fall down.

 

[happypooh]

It was real rough on the 13th-14th this month sailing back from CC to port. We could barely stand straight! Had to lie down as I felt real sick. Good thing it was around 11pm at night and we were tired so went to sleep and tried not to think about how big the waves were!

 

[DBBN]

We've sailed several Easterns and they all seemed to be quite rough. Luckily we've never been sick, thank goodness, but after 12 hours of this we felt exhausted and drained. Although not funny at the time it does now seem comical when I recall walking down the hallways weaving from side to side with other passengers ahead and behind us...we all looked like skiers negotiating a slalom course. The photo below was taken on our last Eastern in December 2007 when we experienced 20' to 30' seas which is as high as a two to three story building. For a short period of time the seas were higher than 30' but I never did get to photograph it. On the very worse day the dining rooms were less than half full and it's a good thing since some of the wait staff were absent as well. We had to look up to see the tops of the waves when looking out the portholes on decks 3 and 4.

Sadly, there was a report of a child being injured when she tried to enter he pool but didn't time her entry correctly. Apparently she jumped in after the wave had moved to the other side of the pool and hit the bottom fairly hard. They did eventually close the pools.

I couldn't get the photo any smaller...sorry.

 

[Lyndz]

We are on the Magic also for 2/27...thanks for the weather report...
Last year on the same cruise the first week of March...had a few nights of rough seas....but, nothing too terrible...did get to cc on two attempts last year...the water was very cold.....but, had a nice sunny day...very enjoyable.

 

[tvguy]

There's no real way to answer your question. Some people get car sick almost literally just sitting in a car, others can take twisting winding roads at 70 mph and not get the least bit sick.
I'm in the school of thought that, as long as the stabilizers are working, you barely feel anything on the Wonder and Magic.
My basis is having been on a cruise ship half the size of the Magic without stabilizers on a 2 week Caribbean cruise in rough seas.

Then there is this.
http://www.break.com/index/are-we-having-fun-yet1.html

It's interesting about 1:40 in.

 

[NancyIL]

I've been on a few cruises that had some rough seas - most recently a Transatlantic in September crossing from Scotland to Iceland to Newfoundland. You know it's rough when there are barf bags on every stairway landing! It's rough when the production show has to be postponed because it isn't safe for the performers.

 

[lilosurf11]

During the last couple of nights on the 7 day Western was interesting for me. I was wearing these brand new heels that were far higher than my other ones and with the waves causing the boat to rock and me trying to walk in new heels, it was quite a show. My parents got a kick out of it.

I did start to feel a little "seasick" towards the end. It wasn't terrible but enough to make me want to skip dinner. Of course, I'm not as used to it as my parents since they cruise frequently. I think if you take a dramamine or something, you should be good to go!

 

[rahrah]

I will be on that cruse too.

There are all levels of rough seas. So it is hard to say what we will actually experience. When I was training to be a Third Mate, the training ship encountered lots of rough weather. It was a freighter, so had no stabilization. The ship was a little over 500 feet long (smaller than the Magic).

In one set of rough seas I was alone in the forward hold/class room. The up and down motion was so great that when we were going down, we were close to weightless. There was not enough traction to be able to walk, so you just stood there until the ship started to rise again. Unfortunately (in this case), I do not get sea sick. So I am feeling fine and decide to "play" with this. At the next crest, I jump as high as I can. I found myself about 15 feet in the air and sailing across the room toward some desks and a chalk board! Fortunately I landed fine.

This was in the North Atlantic, The Caribbean is much calmer at this time of year.

 

[ptk55369]

Wow! Tons of great information. Though I don't think that I am likely to get seasick I will probably bring some dramamine just in case. I am surprised to hear that there is that much motion but am sure it will be fine. Really really looking forward to it!!

 

[Gigi22]

As far as I have observed, Disney takes a lot of care to make sure that your cruise will be a smooth one. But, even with all the technology, and the care in the world, you can still experience rough seas. So, prepare yourself with all the anti-seasickness medications/devices you feel you require, go on your cruise, relax and enjoy! JMHO here!

 

[dvc deernut]

WE HAVE CRUISED A LOT IN THE CARIBBEAN. I THINK THE ROUGHEST AREAS ON THE CRUISE YOU ARE GOING ON WILL BE GOING AND COMING FROM PORT CANAVERAL. YOUR IN THE ATLANTIC ITS ROUGHER THAN THE CARIBBEAN WATERS UNLESS YOU HIT A STORM BUT THEY TRY TO AVOID STORMS. WE JUST GOT BACK FROM A NON DISNEY CRUISE OF THE CARIBBEAN, WATERS WERE NICE MAYBE 6 TO 10 FOOT SWELLS AT WORSE. DEPENDING ON WHERE U ARE ON THE SHIP YOU FEEL IT MORE OR LESS. FUNNY THE FIRST NIGHT WHEN YOU SIT FOR DINNER ON THE DISNEY CRUISE WHEN YOU LEAVE PORT CANAVERAL YOU WILL FEEL THE SWAY AT THE TABLE. YOU HAVENT GOT YOUR SEA LEGS YET ONE SEPT ON THE MEMBER CRUISE THEY TOLD US IT WAS GOING TO BE A LITTLE ROUGH HEADING BACK FROM CC TO PORT CANAVERAL. DOORS BANGED I GOT OUT OF BED ENDED UP RUNNING ACROSS ROOM> WE HAD BALCONY SO I WENT OUT TO TAKE PHOTO OF WAVES. NEXT DAY OUR FRIENDS TOLD US THEIR ROOM WAS GOING UP 10 FEET AND OVER 10 FEET BUT THEY WERE NEAR THE FRONT AND LOWER DECKS. THE BEST PLACE IS MIDDLE OF THE SHIP.

 

[dvc deernut]

Those ships can take a lot as long as they have power. Onetime we were doing cross atlantic a few years ago and got hit in the side by a 70 ft wave which came from nowhere. The ship tipped but righted itself. If you feel seasick look out at the horizon it usually goes away.

 

[tjbaggott]

Wow My goodness Just showed DH that video link in a previous post. I'm glad I never saw that before our 1st cruise! I probably wouldn't have gone
First thing DH said was "thats not a Disney Ship is It?"

Good Funny video though (though I'm sure it was NOT funny to those people at the time).

Yes, both cruises we've been on so far, the rocking was only noticeable leaving port Canaveral and returning to PC. In our family of 6, I was the ONLY one who needed medication for the motion sickness on those nights.

 

[Oreillk]

That video just scared me to the bone! Ok. . . after reading the reports of "rough seas" I have a question. How do kids usually handle the rocking/sea legs/naseau. I will have an 8 year old and a 3 year old. We are just doing the 4 night on the Dream next year but am getting a little nervous after seeing that video.