Speed of Ship 4 day vs 7 day

[Abatts]

Very random question. We have been on 2 cruises previously (not DCL) and had no trouble with sea sickness. However, I feel like I'm reading quite a bit on here about it, especially on 4 day sailings with people mentioning the ship moving faster on departure night and the last night to get home. So my question is, should we expect a different experience on our 4 night? Is it more susceptible to feeling the motion than say our precious 7 night?

 

[Sytrace]

On our last 4 night cruise (December 2015) they put the hammer down and we were HAULING towards Nassau on departure night. So much so, that the wait staff were working extra hard to balance those trays. We were in Animators Palate that night and we were all pretty much trying to walk a straight line back to our cabin. Lol
That being said, we weren't feeling queasy, but many other passengers were looking a tad green around the gills.
On the night before debarkation day, there was a sea day and thus no excessive motion or speed.

On our 7 night cruises, we never notice an excessive speed at all. I definitely noticed a difference but again, it was just for that one evening and then it settled down for the rest of the cruise.

 

[kdecroo]

Ship sails at 22 NMPH at most times. The only time they seem to slow down is when they are killing time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Very random question. We have been on 2 cruises previously (not DCL) and had no trouble with sea sickness. However, I feel like I'm reading quite a bit on here about it, especially on 4 day sailings with people mentioning the ship moving faster on departure night and the last night to get home. So my question is, should we expect a different experience on our 4 night? Is it more susceptible to feeling the motion than say our precious 7 night?

Part of the issue on departure night is crossing the (sorry can't recall what it's called) where the tidal flow is along the coast into the actual ocean. That can be fairly rough in of itself. And they try to get out of the area fairly quickly.

Coming back from Castaway Cay to Port Canaveral 3, 4, & 7 night cruises are all making that same trek overnight, so the speeds on that trip would be the same, regardless of how long the cruise is.

 

[Sytrace]

The Florida Straits (edited for spelling)

The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys (U.S.) and Cuba. It is 150 km (93 mi) wide at the narrowest point between Key West and the Cuban shore, and has been sounded to a depth of 6,000 feet.[1] The strait carries the Florida Current, the beginning of the Gulf Stream, from the Gulf of Mexico.

 

[truck1]

Part of the issue on departure night is crossing the (sorry can't recall what it's called) where the tidal flow is along the coast into the actual ocean. That can be fairly rough in of itself. And they try to get out of the area fairly quickly.

Coming back from Castaway Cay to Port Canaveral 3, 4, & 7 night cruises are all making that same trek overnight, so the speeds on that trip would be the same, regardless of how long the cruise is.

Gulf Stream. Basically its a big loop of a current that runs along the US east coast, up across the northern Atlantic, down Europe, (it has different names at different points) and at some point crosses back over around Africa and comes up around Texas, then down and around Fl to start again.

Ive been thru it times when the whips are rolling and pounding and other times its flat calm. Its luck of the draw. Sometimes the current is farther off shore, and the winds and everything else play nice and its relatively calm. Other times, if the winds are from the right direction and the current is closer to shore, it can get a little rough. Theres any number of factors that will dictate what kind of sea state you will get. Typically though, on a 4 night cruise, it takes about 14 hours or so to get to Nassau, and 12 hours or so to get back from CC. On the other hand, it takes about 2 1/2 days to make it to St Maarten overnight to St thomas on the eastern so they run pretty much flat out. Same thing coming up. It takes about 36 hours or so to make it to CC from St Thomas.

 

[Abatts]

Thanks! We will hope for it to be calm then! We have sailed out of PC before, but sounds like it can vary quite often!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

On the other hand, it takes about 2 1/2 days to make it to St Maarten overnight to St thomas on the eastern so they run pretty much flat out. Same thing coming up. It takes about 36 hours or so to make it to CC from St Thomas.

On our eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy last June, there were two medical emergencies which delayed our departure from St. Thomas by almost 2 hours. We could tell they were pushing hard to make up time. I definitely felt a lot more movement on that leg from St. Thomas to CC. It was more vibration than rocking. I didn't get to feeling quite seasick, but it was bothersome. Even with the extra speed, we were about an hour late docking at CC.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Gulf Stream

Thank you.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Part of the issue on departure night is crossing the (sorry can't recall what it's called) where the tidal flow is along the coast into the actual ocean. That can be fairly rough in of itself. And they try to get out of the area fairly quickly.

Coming back from Castaway Cay to Port Canaveral 3, 4, & 7 night cruises are all making that same trek overnight, so the speeds on that trip would be the same, regardless of how long the cruise is.

Hi Shmoo,

The water between Florida and the Bahamas and Cuba are the Florida straits. In the middle of the straits is the start of the Gulf Stream Currant which begins as a flow of water exiting the gulf of mexico and though the Yucation passage and flows northerly up the strait , along the u coast , past Cape Hatteras and up toward Newfoundland, then across the Atlantic. Yes, when combined with weather and seas, out of the Bahamas and flowing southerly out of the Sargasso sea, the seas and swells can be rough.

AKK

 

[The Sasquatch]

our 5th cruise was April 15th and we had pretty big seas and wind on both our 1st and last night going through the straight. Prior to that the 4 cruises were like glass. No movement at all. I think its all luck and we had zero rain or storms going through the straight. I said in one of my other posts, it was at night and we all found it oddly calming and we slept like babies. We take a bonine a day on our cruises and were fine