Star - aft or midships for TA

[cruiserdru]

We are currently booked on a FLL to Rome TA and then Med on 5/3/11 in a Star Princess AC cabin, D210. No, I don't mind the exposed balcony

 

Would it be wiser to change to an AB to get a more midship location?

 

I am not familiar with the weather patterns crossing the Atlantic from the south and I don't want to set myself up for potential 'mal de mer' (although I have sailed aft on QM2 in the north Atlantic with sea state 7 and gale force winds and forward on the Island Princess (B215) going to/from Hawaii in the Pacific without any problems).

 

Don't know what the additional cost would be and am waffling about calling my TA to check.

 

Anyone with experience with this kind of transatlantic in a similar location??

 

Thanks for any thoughts you have to offer.

 

Dru

[califgary]

3 words....."AFT AFT AFT!" An unsurpassed view, quiet and peaceful.

[Coral]

While a personal opinion - I prefer rooms in the 400 range and higher. I would never book towards the front.

 

My preference would be in the 600 and 700 range. I prefer to be more aft. Midship next and towards the front is my least favorite.

[shoreham01]

There is less movement at the centre of the ship. We were in D605 on the Grand and it was definately calmer than at the aft of the ship which seemed to be far more bumpy.

[Druke I]

I usually try for midships.

 

We've done some half dozen or so Trans-Atlantics, and it can be rough out there at times.

 

That said, our two eastbound Trans-Atlantics were smooth, late March.

[helpmesailaway]

We were way forward C219 on the Star from FLL to Copenhagen. We did not have any problems and there were some rough seas. I guess it just didn't bother us - and we got alot of exercise getting to and from that room:D

[FritzG]

I agree with a previous poster. We like to be in 600's or further back. We were in Baja 607 and 611 on our last two TA's, and we loved the location. The only time I've ever been seasick on a cruise was when we booked a last minute guarantee to Alaska and ended up in the second cabin from the stern on the Diamond. I hated the cabin, and from now on we only book specific cabins with no upgrade.

[mezza]

On our rough Antarctic cruise we had B623 and loved it

[Pam in CA]

If you want to stay in an AC, see if you can get a cabin further aft. There shouldn't be a price difference. There will be less movement than where you currently are and you won't get the sounds of the anchor dropping in tender ports.

[ssbeagle]

If you are going east to west in the fall then you may have one or two days of rough seas. We've done a ta 3 times and each time had a storm somewhere along the way. We usually book in the 300s for our cabin. It is close to mid-ship without the mid-ship prices. I don't like to stay in the 600 cabins because you get some weird smells from the kitchen at times. I don't know what they were cooking one night but it smelled terrible. I don't think it was coming from the main kitchen but probably the crew area. One lady at our table was aft and she said it was awful that night we had a bad storm after we left Cannes.

[Pam in CA]

One lady at our table was aft and she said it was awful that night we had a bad storm after we left Cannes.

I wouldn't base my opinion on one person's, or even several people's perception of whether the seas were rough or not. On our recent Crown cruise, one person said that the waves were over 20' high yet in the Captain's log, the highest waves were 10'. One person's "rough" seas are someone else's "good night for sleeping." :)

 

The stabilizers help only if the ship is rocking from side-to-side; they are less useful if the ship is sailing into the seas, i.e., forward to back movement. Most seas are a combination. I figure that since the ship is moving forward in the water, the forward cabins will feel the wave effects first. Think of a speedboat moving through the water (at slower speeds); the bow of the speedboat will bounce up and down more, the back less so.

[captainron]

I wouldn't base my opinion on one person's, or even several people's perception of whether the seas were rough or not. On our recent Crown cruise, one person said that the waves were over 20' high yet in the Captain's log, the highest waves were 10'. One person's "rough" seas are someone else's "good night for sleeping." :)

 

The stabilizers help only if the ship is rocking from side-to-side; they are less useful if the ship is sailing into the seas, i.e., forward to back movement. Most seas are a combination. I figure that since the ship is moving forward in the water, the forward cabins will feel the wave effects first. Think of a speedboat moving through the water (at slower speeds); the bow of the speedboat will bounce up and down more, the back less so.

 

I agree Pam. Your stateroom preference should be based on your personal comfort level onboard and therefore positioning of a stateroom is irrelevant in others' eyes.

 

Just came off the last southbound Diamond out of Whittier on 4 Sep. Capt Oliver (Bob) noted that our first night out, we had transitted the Gulf of Alaska in a Force 9 (that means a damn good one) storm. We were on Baja in the 500s and felt no movement whatsoever.

 

I do however think that the vessels design has a lot to do with how she handles in seas. The Japanese sisters (Diamond and Sapphire) with the extra beam tend to handle better and seem more stable than the Grand, Star and Golden.

 

Did the trans Pacific on Star (SYD/LAX) in 2009 on Star and she handles well in open water. I'm sure Capt Ed Perrin will give you a smooth ride across the pond and cabin location will mean little difference.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[cruiserdru]

We were way forward C219 on the Star from FLL to Copenhagen. We did not have any problems and there were some rough seas. I guess it just didn't bother us - and we got alot of exercise getting to and from that room:D

 

Thanks, your info is very specific and relevant to my situation as it was a south to north crossing on the Star and probably at the same time of year. I have not had problems before but we were on different ships and I needed some reassurance.

 

And I will surely need the exercise on a long cruise.;)