TransAtlantic Hitting very bad seas!

[Flossbolna]

We are very excited, too, about stopping at Newfoundland! And about returning to a port we can drive home from and not fly!!!!

It is really a rather interesting itinerary. Lisbon is wonderful. I was there for a long weekend recently and fell in love with the city.

Unfortunately our plans are to go to Japan and Hawaii in the next two years, so vacation funds need to be mainly allotted to those trips. Will need to do a little less cruising therefore. I would love to book this WBTA, but need to be sensible. And it is even more appealing since it looks like there would be nice company on this cruise!

 

[RedSox68]

Disney was apparently listening to the people saying they wanted more ports in the Atlantic crossings.

AKK

And, apparently, less sea days. But we do like the addition of the ports and splitting up the sea days.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

And, apparently, less sea days. But we do like the addition of the ports and splitting up the sea days.

and Redsox you know sooner or later someone will post and not be happy!..........LOL

AKK

 

[belac]

We leave the Azores at 2pm. Cadiz and Lisbon are full port days. This years TA has I believe had two stops in Canada, and no stops in Spain or Portugal.

not being picky but the Azores is technically Portugal, granted an island off of the coast of mainland Portugal but, it is Portuguese or rather part of Portugal. So if someone wanted to cross off Portugal on their travel bucket list they could. IMHO they should have kept Madeira as they have done in past TA.

 

[Ofinn]

not being picky but the Azores is technically Portugal, granted an island off of the coast of mainland Portugal but, it is Portuguese or rather part of Portugal. So if someone wanted to cross off Portugal on their travel bucket list they could. IMHO they should have kept Madeira as they have done in past TA.

I like next years better than this years. If I didnt have to kennel a dog I would book the med cruise before it for a b2b.

 

[belac]

I like next years better than this years. If I didnt have to kennel a dog I would book the med cruise before it for a b2b.

Now that would be grand... and I hear you about the dog kenneling too. Anything over 2 weeks has ours all vindictive for weeks after we get home. Poor fur babies.

 

[gismo1554]

And, apparently, less sea days. But we do like the addition of the ports and splitting up the sea days.

I think last year there were only 6 sea days mind. It's only 11 night remember

CORRECTION - I was getting confused with the 2014 one last year was 8/9 sea days and the year before was less! See all these TA's become a blur of islands

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

not being picky but the Azores is technically Portugal, granted an island off of the coast of mainland Portugal but, it is Portuguese or rather part of Portugal. So if someone wanted to cross off Portugal on their travel bucket list they could. IMHO they should have kept Madeira as they have done in past TA.

pssst............actually 9 islands if I remember correctly.

AKK

 

[belac]

pssst............actually 9 islands if I remember correctly.

AKK

pssst..... You are correct I believe they stop only at Sao Miguel, Ponta Delgada

Would be nice to do all the islands tho...

 

[MinnieMomMe]

I'm definitely of the opinion rough seas can happen at any time and we've had some nutty weather/seas on the Bahamas/Caribbean sailings. I also think it's a matter of perspective as ten people can be on the same ship and opinions/experiences vary from "we almost sank" to "it was nothing at all". I don't mean to take away from anyone's experience but I've seen it happen and that's ok as people just have a different comfort and threshold. On our Norway/Iceland/Scotland sailing after we had left Iceland and were in the North Sea (as my memory recalls) we hit some pretty rough seas. The waves splashed up against our deck 2 window and it was pretty wild. My DH was LOVING it however walking around the ship there were several people sick, kids having to sit down as they were too ill to walk, people looking green, etc. We were totally fine and not bothered at all but it was a little challenging to walk.

I wouldn't let the itinerary scare anyone away if you had your heart set on it, as again, we've had some pretty choppy seas on our Bahama and Caribbean cruises as well. The ocean is pretty fierce and mother nature is amazing. Ships are made for this and that's what I say when I need to.

Heather

We've been on several Caribbean and Bahamas cruises and never had an issue with sea sickness. But we are on the June 17 (Scotland/Iceland/Norway) cruise and wondering now if we should be better prepared. I wasn't going to pack Bonine as we never needed it before, but should we for this trip? Also, we have Palo brunch reservations on the sea day going from Scotland to Iceland. Do you think that will be a bad day? Should I try to change it? Would be a bummer if we were feeling sick! We have a veranda cabin on deck 6 midship so hopefully that's a good location if the seas start to get rough.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

We've been on several Caribbean and Bahamas cruises and never had an issue with sea sickness. But we are on the June 17 (Scotland/Iceland/Norway) cruise and wondering now if we should be better prepared. I wasn't going to pack Bonine as we never needed it before, but should we for this trip? Also, we have Palo brunch reservations on the sea day going from Scotland to Iceland. Do you think that will be a bad day? Should I try to change it? Would be a bummer if we were feeling sick! We have a veranda cabin on deck 6 midship so hopefully that's a good location if the seas start to get rough.

We did this cruise last year. The North Sea was a bit rough one direction, and some people were ill or medicated. Not like a hurricane or stormy seas, but if you're concerned, definitely pack some meds you think will help you. it is all beautiful scenery, so I'm sure you will enjoy!!

 

[Ofinn]

We've been on several Caribbean and Bahamas cruises and never had an issue with sea sickness. But we are on the June 17 (Scotland/Iceland/Norway) cruise and wondering now if we should be better prepared. I wasn't going to pack Bonine as we never needed it before, but should we for this trip? Also, we have Palo brunch reservations on the sea day going from Scotland to Iceland. Do you think that will be a bad day? Should I try to change it? Would be a bummer if we were feeling sick! We have a veranda cabin on deck 6 midship so hopefully that's a good location if the seas start to get rough.

We are on your cruise. I always pack meds. I am the only one that has motion sickness issues. I would take bonine which is meclizine. I would also take original Dramamine which is dimenhydrinate. Original Dramamine works for just about everybody, but it makes you sleepy. Bonine works for some people. You have to take the meds before you get sick once your sick it's too late. I've cruised a lot if it starts to get rough I take the Dramamine. Meclizine does not work for me.. I've never gotten seasick .. maybe a little queasy, but never sick. I've been in really rough seas. It's better to be prepared. I'm happy I'm the only one with motion sickness issue, because I can easily manage myself. I would hate to have to deal with a kids or a husband(same thing as a kid when their sick) with sea sickness.

 

[MinnieMomMe]

We did this cruise last year. The North Sea was a bit rough one direction, and some people were ill or medicated. Not like a hurricane or stormy seas, but if you're concerned, definitely pack some meds you think will help you. it is all beautiful scenery, so I'm sure you will enjoy!!

Thanks! Some more items to add to my packing list! I get motion sick pretty easily and our first few cruises I took Bonine religiously, but it made me sleepy and I'd be in bed by 10 every night. Then one day I realized I didn't need it (hooray!)! But better to be safe than sorry though so I guess I'll go back to my old routine, at least until we're through the North Sea.

We are on your cruise. I always pack meds. I am the only one that has motion sickness issues. I would take bonine which is meclizine. I would also take original Dramamine which is dimenhydrinate. Original Dramamine works for just about everybody, but it makes you sleepy. Bonine works for some people. You have to take the meds before you get sick once your sick it's too late. I've cruised a lot if it starts to get rough I take the Dramamine. Meclizine does not work for me.. I've never gotten seasick .. maybe a little queasy, but never sick. I've been in really rough seas. It's better to be prepared. I'm happy I'm the only one with motion sickness issue, because I can easily manage myself. I would hate to have to deal with a kids or a husband(same thing as a kid when their sick) with sea sickness.

Thanks! I'll definitely pack both. Hopefully DH doesn't get sick as I agree with you about being as bad as a kid when he's sick (I think he's actually worse! LOL). Plus, he's a warm weather guy and is already lukewarm about taking this "cold" weather cruise. I won't tell him about the seas...just yet.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Good luck!
With regards to drowsiness, I took it right before bed. That way, I slept through the drowsy stage and felt fine (awake) throughout the day. The only downside to that was that I could feel it wear off later in the evening - closer to the 24 hour mark.

I had a small packing cube dedicated to motion sickness remedies, not knowing what I might need in addition to Bonine and if kids/husband would need anything. Happily, just Bonine worked for me (rest of family was fine) with a few short-lived queasy spells on the rougher days.

 

[gismo1554]

The seabands I find work amazingly well - not sure if its all psychological but hey they work!

I found the medication made me feel sicker but you could always test that before you go.

 

[RedSox68]

We've been on several Caribbean and Bahamas cruises and never had an issue with sea sickness. But we are on the June 17 (Scotland/Iceland/Norway) cruise and wondering now if we should be better prepared. I wasn't going to pack Bonine as we never needed it before, but should we for this trip? Also, we have Palo brunch reservations on the sea day going from Scotland to Iceland. Do you think that will be a bad day? Should I try to change it? Would be a bummer if we were feeling sick! We have a veranda cabin on deck 6 midship so hopefully that's a good location if the seas start to get rough.

I never go without Bonine. I take it first thing in the morning with breakfast -- no drowsiness and only need it once a day. It's a good precaution. I also use it on excursions so I don't motion sickness -- especially if I'm in the back of the bus.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Reports that the Magic left Dublin, and left 30 people there, on a DCL tour, thry left due to the tides and getting stuck there. The 30 went by ferry to Liverpool.

So DCL cannot now say if your on a DCL tour they will wait for you, as thry didn't!

This is the main " hard selling " point DCL has to get cruisers to purchase DCL tours and not private tours.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Reports that the Magic left Dublin, and left 30 people there, on a DCL tour, thry left due to the tides and getting stuck there. The 30 went by ferry to Liverpool.

So DCL cannot now say if your on a DCL tour they will wait for you, as thry didn't!

This is the main " hard selling " point DCL has to get cruisers to purchase DCL tours and not private tours.

Actually I never found DCL saying they will always wait for you.....What they say is if they cannot wait for you and you miss the vessel on a DCL tour, they are responsible to get you to the next port to meet up with the ship. In this case if correct, they could not stay and let the vessel ground on the bottom or miss the next port and inconvenience all the other passingers.

The ferry ride seems the best solution.


AKK

 

[lanejudy]

It's always been my understanding that DCL will try to wait for a late excursion to return, but if they must leave before those guests return then DCL will get them to where they can meet the ship. That is on DCL. I've never heard DCL guarantee they will wait, even for their own excursions.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Actually I never found DCL saying they will always wait for you.....What they say is if they cannot wait for you and you miss the vessel on a DCL tour, they are responsible to get you to the next port to meet up with the ship. In this case if correct, they could not stay and let the vessel ground on the bottom or miss the next port and inconvenience all the other passingers.

The ferry ride seems the best solution.


AKK

It's always been my understanding that DCL will try to wait for a late excursion to return, but if they must leave before those guests return then DCL will get them to where they can meet the ship. That is on DCL. I've never heard DCL guarantee they will wait, even for their own excursions.

I think everyone who has been on the ships and the CD speaks will feel it's very very much implied.

The standard CD speech in the first night show, go on your own tour, ensuring you have your camera, so you can take a nice photo of the ship as it leaves port, really does underline that. This has been the standard speech on every cruise I have taken.