Q re: Pacific v. Caribbean cruises

[MiniMom57]

Q for anyone who has sailed one of the Pacific cruises.....I have been on 4 Caribbean cruises.....I am sensitive to the ship's movement. My husband and I are considering a Monarch cruise, but I am concerned about the seas being too rough for me in the Pacific. Will I be OK? Or is it indeed rougher than the Caribbean? I have never been to the Pacific, and all I envision is high waves!

 

I'd love to try a new cruise destination, and since we have 2 US Airways travel vouchers and some RCI Visa card points burning a hole in our pockets, we need to make a decision soon!

 

Thanks in advance!

[scsagh]

We just did the Vision of the Seas out of LA last Mar/Apr. It was our first Pacific cruise after six in the Caribbean. We went to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.

 

When we were on the ship, we did not notice it being rougher or any more movement. The water is definitely cooler on the Pacific side versus the Caribbean. We had windy, cool weather on the way back, but gorgeous weather when we were in the ports. Who ever knows what the weather will be! No matter what, it usually is always better than winter in Minnesota!

 

We really enjoyed the cruise on the Mexican Riviera for different ports, and as usual met lots of great people on the ship. This year we are headed back to the Caribbean, but would do the Pacific side again for a change of pace.

 

If I can answer anything for you, let me know.

 

Sandy

[endi302]

We have been on two cruises out of L.A. We enjoyed both, but did notice a little more wave action. The second was on the Star Princess which is about 110,000 tons, so the wave action did not really affect the ship much. The pacific cruise is different than the Carribean. It was a good change of pace from the Carribean, but we will always prefer the Carribean. My suggestion would be to go on a larger ship if in the Pacific and enjoy.

 

Hope this helps,

Kevin

[jkrislc]

I have sailed in the Pacific seven times, and the Caribbean once. I'd say that there is more movement on the Pacific side, but it was only noticeable to us once when we experience a storm up near Seattle/Canada and during the last leg of a Mexican Riviera cruise. Northboud seemed worse to me. However, I've been on the Monarch three times and really didn't notice a lot of movement. A little bit here and there, so slight sometimes that I had to ask my friend if the ship had just moved or if it was me. Once we did experience some movement in port while clearing the channel, but it got much better once we were at sea. I'm guessing the stabilizers can't be used while in port.

 

If you're concerned about movement, make sure that you book a mid-deck, midship room so you have a place to retreat. Fortunately, the dinning rooms are midship, so movement doesn't tend to be a problem at dinner.