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Is the northern route very rocky?


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I'm taking a transatlantic pretty soon through the northern route is the ocean usually rocky. I only took the northern route once and the sea was very rough. Is it like that all the time?

Not all the time, but probability wise the northen route tends to have more motion than farther south.

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The odds are that you will encounter rough seas on the Northern Route.

 

My advice is to come prepared just in case with something to deal with preventing sea sickness and to book a room that is mid ship and on a lower deck.

 

We prepare for the worst but always hope for the best.

 

Keith

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Not all the time, but probability wise the northen route tends to have more motion than farther south.

 

Actually, no. The southern trans-Atlantic route this time of year is subject to the effects of more tropical depressions which move west across from Sarahan Africa. Only the very few which develop into tropical storms/ hurricanes and move up to,the northeast will impact the northern route.

 

We have sailed Southampton to New York three times in the September- October period, and those were among the calmest ever. On one the ocean was flat calm virtually all the way - nothing more than 1 to 2 foot swells.

 

Anyone who predicts ocean sea conditions more than a couple of days in advance is better ignored than listened to.

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The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Because of it there is the potential for weather that could make things rocky and/or affect your scheduled itinerary.

I have done multiple westbound TAs, and know from personal experience that it's best to expect the unexpected. I've been stuck sitting on a ship that won't sail out of the port in Southampton (bound for FLL) for almost 3 days because of the effects of the tail end of a hurricane, and when we finally did sail, 3 of our ports were dropped so we could make it to FLL on time for the ship to begin the Caribbean season.

Another time, what was scheduled to be a northerly route became a southerly route, with port changes, because of a hurricane in the Atlantic. However, there was a real bonus for us passengers .... the southerly route gave us warmer than usual, sunny days all the way across.

 

I'm not trying to be negative or deter your plans, just saying that as wonderful as TAs are, it's important to be flexible in case things change as a result of the weather.

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This thread is a good example of careless naming: my first thought about a route being "very rocky" was about the Costa Concordia taking a rocky route up the Italian coast.

I think it's just you, actually. "Rocky" is a perfectly normal adjective for the movement of the ship.

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I'm taking a transatlantic pretty soon through the northern route is the ocean usually rocky. I only took the northern route once and the sea was very rough. Is it like that all the time?

No. Have you seen the film "Titanic, or for that matter "A Night to Remember"? They both accurately show the ship sinking in an absolute flat calm. The lifeboats could have been sailing on a park lake.

 

I've crossed the North Atlantic four times, and three were calm, the other had a force 12 but oddly flat seas. The Mediterranean and South Atlantic have been where I've found the roughest water.

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