wind - freaking out a little bit!

[DisneyMom2000000]

We don't leave for our cruise (7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy, stopping at Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay)for another 18 days but I am concerned...

Accuweather states 25 MPH winds at all three of our ports, with gusts in the 40mph+ range.

How accurate are wind predictions? What happens if this stays this way?

I have a husband who get seasick and kids who will want to be outside :-(

It's been a long time since we've been on a cruise, and never a Disney Cruise.

 

[sunmoon620]

The ships have stabilizers that really minimize movement. Especially the dream class ships. My husband is very prone to sea sickness, but stopped using scopolamine after our first cruise because he found he did not need it. The only place I have ever noticed movement is at the restaurants on the lower decks (Usually deck 3). Those wind conditions are pretty normal...focus on the whether it will be sunny and have a good time! You don't notice the wind on deck of the ships unless you are on the very upper decks...12 and 13 in my experience. The wind is blocked around the kiddie pools for the most part by the clear plexiglass
on the railings. Unless you go out to the front of the ship...you probably won't notice it very much. It will be there, but not to the point that it makes you uncomfortable.

I'm jealous, we won't be on the Fantasy until May....Have a fabulous cruise! The Fantasy is one of my favorites!

 

[quickcat]

No way can they predict the weather 18 days out. I wouldn’t worry about it at all now.
I am prone to getting very seasick as well. I am a fan of Bonine and start taking it a few days before we leave and continue taking it until a few days after we return.
Have a great cruise!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Thanks to you both. I’ll keep watching the weather! I know we will have a great time but would love to not be wind blown also really want to be able to enjoy the islands!

 

[cgolf]

The only time we encountered a rough ride on the Fantasy was when we were delayed leaving CC and they had their foot on the floor to get back to Port Canaveral. It has seemed to be a windy year late winter season, but we have found that once you get out over deeper water the ride smooths out some. The 2 times my wife did get hit pretty bad by it when we were leaving ports which unfortunately coincided with mealtimes.

My wife uses the seasickness meds on the trip as needed, for sure takes one on the flight down before hand, and she also drinks ginger ale when possible. In the past this was available in the mdr at mealtime for no extra charge, hopefully this is still the case, hoping the added it to the machines on deck. If it is needed midday, you could possibly stop in the mdr offering lunch and see if they would get him a glass and if they offer breakfast in a mdr he could start out the day with a glass of ginger ale.

I have only seen the upper decks closed maybe once at night, when they pick up speed, but it has seemed pretty rare in our 15 cruises. I have seen them close the pools though if the weather is too rough.

One warning too, is to not forget about the dangers of the double doors on the lower decks. We got reminded this year when my wife was walking ahead of me and opened the outer door as I just came through the inner door. The inner door slammed shut so hard that it sounded like a gunshot! Thankfully I was out of the way and nobody was behind me.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

The only time we encountered a rough ride on the Fantasy was when we were delayed leaving CC and they had their foot on the floor to get back to Port Canaveral. It has seemed to be a windy year late winter season, but we have found that once you get out over deeper water the ride smooths out some. The 2 times my wife did get hit pretty bad by it when we were leaving ports which unfortunately coincided with mealtimes.

My wife uses the seasickness meds on the trip as needed, for sure takes one on the flight down before hand, and she also drinks ginger ale when possible. In the past this was available in the mdr at mealtime for no extra charge, hopefully this is still the case, hoping the added it to the machines on deck. If it is needed midday, you could possibly stop in the mdr offering lunch and see if they would get him a glass and if they offer breakfast in a mdr he could start out the day with a glass of ginger ale.

I have only seen the upper decks closed maybe once at night, when they pick up speed, but it has seemed pretty rare in our 15 cruises. I have seen them close the pools though if the weather is too rough.

One warning too, is to not forget about the dangers of the double doors on the lower decks. We got reminded this year when my wife was walking ahead of me and opened the outer door as I just came through the inner door. The inner door slammed shut so hard that it sounded like a gunshot! Thankfully I was out of the way and nobody was behind me.

Thank you so much for the tips!

I feel like the wind may be fine on the boat, but I am curious to see how it plays out in port.

We went to Hawaii a couple of years ago and it was unusually windy. We had fun but it definitely put a damper on things, to a degree.

I hate wind!

 

[dclpluto]

Just have plenty of bonine.

 

[cgolf]

Thank you so much for the tips!

I feel like the wind may be fine on the boat, but I am curious to see how it plays out in port.

We went to Hawaii a couple of years ago and it was unusually windy. We had fun but it definitely put a damper on things, to a degree.

I hate wind!

We made the best out of the wind and waves on our Hawaii cruise, they left the adult pool open and I would say the water was changing +- 3 feet, so we had our own personal wave pool. We were just amazed at how cool that sailing was, thankfully we had packed coats.

Enjoy your trip

 

[Lisa F]

it's really the swells/waves and how fast they are going that will determine how rough the ride is - the wind blows smaller craft around but 25 sustained or gusts of 40 is not really enough to blow something that huge and heavy around. I live on Martha's Vineyard and take the ferry (much smaller vessel) in bad weather often - that is not ferry stopping winds so I've been out in similar... sometimes you are rockin' and rolling in much less wind and sometimes the winds are up near where they would stop running the ferries and the ride is smooth as glass. Sometimes you're like "holy crap this is a rough ride" but then they slow it down and it's no big deal (when you hit a huge wave while making a fast turn and the whole boat shudders.) I think cruise ship captains are adept at maximizing comfort for the guests even if they have to book it overnight. The wind is more of an issue when docking (smaller boats) because it blows them around while trying to make precision moves... once docked it's not a huge issue either even for smaller boats (again that wind is not enough to blow something the size of a cruise ship around.) As others mentioned a lot of the outdoor decks are fairly sheltered so you can still enjoy outside activities even in wind.

I think wind is pretty common on islands because of their exposure on all sides to the water. I barely notice wind anymore unless I have to go somewhere and then I pay attention

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Thanks! I'm glad we will be able to enjoy the boat even though it looks like it'll be windy. I still hope accuweather is wrong

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Leaving PC and heading south, there will be chop as the ship crosses the gulf stream. It happens and neither stabilizers nor the displacement of the ship (135,000 tons) eliminate that. However, the movement is usually restricted to lateral herks and jerks (yeah, technical term ) not the plunging action nor the corkscrew which usually sends people to the restroom. For our cruises, it's usually during our walk from dinner (2nd seating) around 9-ish that it's the worst. Next AM, easy-peasy. Just like a ball across the pool table.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Leaving PC and heading south, there will be chop as the ship crosses the gulf stream. It happens and neither stabilizers nor the displacement of the ship (135,000 tons) eliminate that. However, the movement is usually restricted to lateral herks and jerks (yeah, technical term ) not the plunging action nor the corkscrew which usually sends people to the restroom. For our cruises, it's usually during our walk from dinner (2nd seating) around 9-ish that it's the worst. Next AM, easy-peasy. Just like a ball across the pool table.

Eeeek! Can’t wait

 

[pixiedustedme]

We don't leave for our cruise (7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy, stopping at Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay)for another 18 days but I am concerned...

Accuweather states 25 MPH winds at all three of our ports, with gusts in the 40mph+ range.

How accurate are wind predictions? What happens if this stays this way?

I have a husband who get seasick and kids who will want to be outside :-(

It's been a long time since we've been on a cruise, and never a Disney Cruise.

During our Fantasy Eastern Caribbean cruise (late December of '16), the waterslides closed for 2 out of 3 sea days due to high winds. So be aware of that possibility. The whole pool deck was not a place you'd want to venture out to with those extreme winds. It was also the rockiest cruise we ever sailed on, by far.

Our ports of call during that same cruise had no issue with extreme winds, though. Weather was great.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

During our Fantasy Eastern Caribbean cruise (late December of '16), the waterslides closed for 2 out of 3 sea days due to high winds. So be aware of that possibility. The whole pool deck was not a place you'd want to venture out to with those extreme winds. It was also the rockiest cruise we ever sailed on, by far.

Our ports of call during that same cruise had no issue with extreme winds, though. Weather was great.

Good to hear! Well except for the pool deck.

 

[diznymom]

IMHO do not wear loose skirts up on deck. JS

 

[Numtini]

Accuweather states 25 MPH winds at all three of our ports, with gusts in the 40mph+ range.

Living on the coast, this is our daily forecast.

 

[Lilsia]

Oh wow, I never thought to look up the winds before I go. I mean, it is not like I am going to cancel my cruise because of it. I just know that it is windy on the ship, especially the higher decks. I don't care if it is windy, I actually sleep better when the boat is rocking. LOL

 

[bumbershoot]

Leaving PC and heading south, there will be chop as the ship crosses the gulf stream. It happens and neither stabilizers nor the displacement of the ship (135,000 tons) eliminate that. However, the movement is usually restricted to lateral herks and jerks (yeah, technical term ) not the plunging action nor the corkscrew which usually sends people to the restroom. For our cruises, it's usually during our walk from dinner (2nd seating) around 9-ish that it's the worst. Next AM, easy-peasy. Just like a ball across the pool table.

Good description of the normal first night!!!

IMHO do not wear loose skirts up on deck. JS

Or hats.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Oh wow, I never thought to look up the winds before I go. I mean, it is not like I am going to cancel my cruise because of it. I just know that it is windy on the ship, especially the higher decks. I don't care if it is windy, I actually sleep better when the boat is rocking. LOL

I didn’t look up winds. The weather forecast says “windy” and lists the wind speeds.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

IMHO do not wear loose skirts up on deck. JS

Bahahaha