Rough Waters to Bermuda vs Eastern Caribbean?

[jwick]

Hello. My husband and I will soon be planning our first cruise (2005). We will sail out of either Philadelphia or Baltimore. We were going to sail to Bermuda, but I have heard from many people that the waters are often very rough for at least part of the journey. I was told that because of this, Bermuda may not be the best choice for a first time cruiser.

Our other option is to sail to the Eastern Caribbean. I believe that Celebrity offers 10 night cruises out of Baltimore. If we were to go on a 10 night cruise, will there be older crowds? My husband and I are 31/30 respectively.

Basically, I feel like I have to choose between the rough waters to Bermuda or calmer waters to the Eastern Caribbean, but much older crowds. Believe me, I enjoy the company of people of all ages. I was just hoping that my husband and I might make some friends on our cruise.

I'd appreciate any advice that anyone has to offer, as I am new to cruising!

Thanks so much!
Jill

[superjerryw]

In all honesty, you can have rough seaa anywhere at any time so that can't be the only reasoning you use to pick a cruise. You really need to decide if you want to go on a 7 day or a 10 day cruise and which itinerary is more important to you. In you case you also need to decide on the shipboard amenities you lik as well. The ships that go to Bermuda are all smaller, in the 45,00 ton range. The only Celebrity ship that does 10 day cruises out of Baltimore is the Galaxy which is a 70,000 ton ship. We were just on the Galaxy and we had a great time and I would not hesitate to recommend her. As for older passengers this is somewhat true. As the cruise gets longer the crowd gets older. As for making friends, I would not consider this a primary goal for a cruise. I would decide first on the intineray that was the most interesting and then pick a ship. You should also consider Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas that is doing some 10 and 11 night cruise from Baltimore. We sailed on her a couple of years ago and had a great time.

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Donuts, is there anything they can't do....

[marco]

Also, the cruise experience is very different. The cruise itself has a very "different" personality. To Bermuda, you go only to Bermuda and will be there for 4 days. The ship is your hotel, you get on/off 24/7 at will. No rush, no hussle and you have time to explore and "do" Bermuda. On a Caribbean cruise, you will arrive at a new port each morning, get off, run around, get back on by 5, sail. Evenings will be on board, at sea. Next day: repeat.

[Rich&Natalia]

Does anyone know if we're still going to have a Celebrity ship sailing out of Baltimore in 2005?

-Rich

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'til I'm back on the Galaxy

[Giorgi-one]

The problem with potential rough water is in the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, it does not matter if you go to Bermuda or the Caribbean if you sail out of Baltimore. Actually, you will spend more time in the Atlantic on the Caribbean cruise out of Baltimore or Philadelphia than you would going to Bermuda. To avoid the Atlantic, you need to fly to either Ft. Lauderdale or Miami for your Caribbean cruise.

Two completely different cruises. Most ships to Bermuda are smaller and older than ships in the Caribbean. Also, when docked in Bermuda, there is very little entertainment on board and casino is closed.

If you decide to leave out of Florida, book you own air (usually much cheaper) and go a day early to avoid any problems with missed flights and lost baggabe. Use Priceline for hotel in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.

[ecowen]

In March on Galaxy, the Atlantic was smooth as silk from Nassau to Baltimore.

But, we had extremely rough seas between St Martin and Nassau.

Like Superjerry said, you cannot predict rough seas based on itinerary.

If you are prone to motion sickness, as I am, my advice is to start taking Bonine a day or 2 before the cruise and keep on taking it every day. You never know when you will hit rough seas, so it's best to be prepared. The medication doesn't work if you wait until you are sick.

[jwick]

All:

Thanks so much for the responses! I can't believe how quickly I received them! I appreciate all of your advice. Quite honestly, if the chances of rough water in the Atlantic are the same...regardless of itinerary...this allows my husband and me to think about the true important things, such as destination and ship.

Thanks again! Hopefully, I'll soon have some cruising experience and will be able to offer my advice to others!

Jill

[TinLemon]

I am going to Bermuda in Sept, and I am not too concerned about rough waters because I can always pop a dramamine if I need to. Also, the the at sea days are just the first and last day, so one or two days of having a few less beers is no big deal.

If you choose a larger ship(E. Carib), chances are you will have a smoother ride because they have better stablizing technology to handle and rough seas.

Celebrity Zenith to Bermuda - 9/11/04

[jpinct]

Call me crazy but I am looking forward to a little 'rock & roll' on my cruise. My wife & I are heading to Bermuda on the Zenith in July. It will be our first cruise too.
I came across a photo (I believe, on cruisemates.com) of the Zenith's pool during a Bermuda run last year. The weather appeared to be less than desirable. The swimming pool looked like the wave pool at Wild Water Kingdom. AWESOME!!!
Yes, to an adventurist like myself, I say, "Bring it on"! To the average, anxious first time cruiser like my wife....let's just say that the loud noise I heard when I showed her the picture was her jaw hitting the floor

Dramamine IMHO is the best bet for motion sickness. REST ASSURED, all ships regardless of their size, are SAFE AND SECURE. Even a relatively "small" ship like the Zenith is 625 feet long. That's over two football fields in length!

[MBRETT]

We sailed on the Horizon last year to Bermuda. The seas were fine going over but coming home was rough. The pool did look incredible because of the tremendous waves. My friend and I jumped in & were in for 10 minutes & wanted to get out. Everytime we tried the waves would take us back out - luckily a bunch of nice men helped us get out of the pool when a wave came. The officers eventually closed the pool down due to the waves. (of course the couple of drinks I had earlier didn't help me in the pool).

[PatC]

The pool may have looked awesome but if it is too rough they will not let you swim in it. This is for safety purposes. You can actually watch someone lifted out of the pool if the water level rises too much.

We've been to Bermuda 3 times on Horizon and Zenith and only encountered really rough seas coming back 2 years ago. It was early June and not hurrican season. It was like the twilight zone in early afternoon, the seas were like a lake (not a good sign in the Atlantic). All of a sudden it hit us, like a squall and we rocked, rolled, and tossed until at least 1:00 a.m. People were seriously ill. No matter what they took, it was ROUGH. Of course there were those who actually went outside and the captain had to get on and beg them not to go outside. We hit some huge squalls. The Horizon was right with us and those people also were rocking and rolling. It's actually the worst storm we've ever had in 12 cruises but we'd go again. This was a freak storm and you could hit that in any ocean or sea. The weather has been crazy all over. Just got off Summit 11 days and the weather was great. We rocked one night but that puts us to sleep. Some people complained and had to be reminded YOU ARE ON A MOVING SHIP. Dramamine and Bonnine are the best. If you don't have that the ship's guest relations will provide you with whatever you need that is non-prescription. Go on your cruise, don't worry about the weather and just enjoy.

Dolphin - 1990
Horizon - 1994, 1995, 1995
Century - 1997, 2000, 2001
Galaxy - 1998
Zenith - 1992, 1999, 2002
Millennium - 2003
Summit 2004
Summit 2005

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Countdown to Summit 2005