Eastern or Western Itinerary - Which Has Calmer Waters?

[cyberfilly]

Trying to decide between the Eastern or Western itinerary. Wondering if the waters on the Western itinerary, in general, would be calmer and therefore better for those sensitive to motion than the Eastern itinerary. Looking at April-May timeframe, if that has any bearing.

[-Lew-]

We've done both and can tell you it's pretty much of a tossup. On an eastern you cross the gulf stream and its currents pretty quickly; on a western you're sailing with or against the gulf stream for a longer period. Other than that, I think you have the possibility of experiencing the same sea conditions on either.

 

We prefer an eastern because we like the ports of call better. I'd recommend you go with the itinerary that most appeals to you.

 

Lew

[BoardwalkBabe]

It also depends on what's going on for weather conditions in those areas. What time of year are you thinking of sailing?

[Toto2Kansas]

We have had very calm seas and very rough seas on both itinearys. I would just choose the one that interests you the most as you can never predict what the condition of the sea will be on any given week or day.

[texanslovetotravel]

We've done both and the seas were about the same. We loved the ports on the Eastern Caribbean though.

[O2B@Cagain]

April-May is after the North Atlantic winter storm season and before tropical storm season. Any weather would be localized with no way to predict. ;)

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree you can get rough or calm on either.

[Pam in CA]

I agree you can get rough or calm on either.

Yup. Depends on the day and the weather/seas. No matter what, you'll be on a ship so you can expect some movement.

[vmom]

We've done the eastern route 3 times and the western route 3 times, and the southern route once.

 

For us, the first day of the eastern route is a bit rocky but after that its always been smooth sailing. I had wondered if it was because the ship goes out into more open waters where the Atlantic and Caribbean come together. Other than that first day, I found the sailing to be smooth on either route unless there is a storm.

 

If motion sickness is a real issue, I'd suggest looking at a cabin low and in the middle. I think that will have a bigger impact on how much motion you will feel.

[-Lew-]

 

For us, the first day of the eastern route is a bit rocky but after that its always been smooth sailing. I had wondered if it was because the ship goes out into more open waters where the Atlantic and Caribbean come together.

That's the gulf stream you're experiencing.

 

Lew

[vmom]

That's the gulf stream you're experiencing.

 

Lew

 

Thanks....I thought that was what it was called and what you were referring to, but wasn't 100% positive and didn't want to give false info.

[mdmomof7]

No expert here, but two Eastern cruises in August (hurricane season) had very smooth waters. One Western cruise in January (non storm season) had a bad storm and very rough waters the first two days.

 

Agree that you should pick a route more for the ports. I prefer Eastern, but Grand Cayman (Western route) was fun for the kids w/ an inexpensive trip to Stingray City/snorkel and 7 Mile Beach looked nice. I'd do that route again if it included some other ports I'd be interested in, but most include Jamaica and Cozumel and I'm not so interested in those.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We've done many Caribbean cruises in that time frame that you're looking at for your cruise.

 

The two I remember most were on the same ship during the same week (the first week in May.)

 

The first year, the seas were calm and more importantly, so was the wind. It was an Eastern itinerary. Princess Cays (PC) was hot, the water was warm and it was gorgeous. The seas never got higher than 7.5'.

 

The second year, it was the complete opposite. The wind and waves were so rough, we almost didn't make it to PC. Finally got tendered in, only to have sand blowing everywhere - into our burgers and drinks and we had ketchup packets sticking to our legs. :eek: The water was so cold, even I wouldn't go in it (and I swim in just about anything). Not a single person was in the ocean that day. This was a Western itinerary. The wind was as high as 55 mph and the seas were at 20-25' high.

 

Two years later, we did a Panama Canal itin. that included Western itin. ports and it was so calm, our pool at home had bigger waves that what we experienced.

 

Bottom line - you never know what you're gonna get. ;)