Cruising out of Baltimore in December - rough waters?

[tikcho]

My family and a bunch of friends are cruising on the Enchantment out of Baltimore for New Years. I have been on many cruises before, mostly Europe or out of Florida, never from this far north. So I was wondering if anyone has done done this in the winter and what the seas were like? So far we have been lucky to never hit rought seas for more than a day, not even that, but since we have four full days of cruising on this one I'm worried of being sick all the time.

[LovesCruising]

The Atlantic Ocean is unpredictable and typically rougher than the Caribbean or the Gulf. Its really going to depend on the weather as to how rough the seas get. Cruised out of Cape Liberty in March and weather was good. I didn't think it was rough but some others on board did. Cruised out of Baltimore in February - snow storm on the east coast - seas were bad! I was OK as I don't get motion sickness but I have to admit it was probably the roughest I have ever done out of 20 cruises. So having said that - hope the weather is mild.

[tikcho]

Thanks for the feedback. Was it rough the whole way to the Caribbean or just until you got our of this area? I think I'll be OK with a bit of shaking but if it's like thyat for the two sea days I will not be a happy camper.

[LovesCruising]

Thanks for the feedback. Was it rough the whole way to the Caribbean or just until you got our of this area? I think I'll be OK with a bit of shaking but if it's like thyat for the two sea days I will not be a happy camper.

 

In March from Jersey it was only rough 1 day going and 1 day coming back but like I said - I had no problem with it but my adult daughter did.

 

In February out of Baltimore it was rough most of the trip however we only went to the Bahamas.

[cb at sea]

How rough it may be isn't season dependant...could be nice and calm...or not! You just never know!

[WOWJr1]

So I was wondering if anyone has done done this in the winter and what the seas were like? So far we have been lucky to never hit rought seas for more than a day, not even that, but since we have four full days of cruising on this one I'm worried of being sick all the time.

 

We are Baltimore natives and have cruised from our city twice, to Bermuda in June 2009 and New England / Canada in September 2011. I realize neither of those qualify as "winter."

 

That said, the other responders are correct: The Atlantic is always unpredictable, especially if you get into the Gulf Stream. It really depends on weather conditions. Your best strategy, in my opinion, is to assume the cruise will be rough and plan accordingly. Bring along whatever motion sickness remedy works for you. If it's something like meclizine (Bonine), be sure to take it before you feel sick because it doesn't work if you are already sick.

 

In our case, we had rough seas for about 1 to 1-1/2 days each way on both of the two previously noted cruises. My wife has no problems with motion sickness but I do. I paid close attention to bridge announcements. The captain is usually pretty good about forecasting sea conditions. I was pro-active based on those reports, taking meclizine several hours before we hit rough waters. As a result, I enjoyed both cruises without having to spend them with a bag in my hand. ;)

[bradpole]

How rough it may be isn't season dependant...could be nice and calm...or not! You just never know!

 

EXACTLY! You are a floating object on a vast ocean! You can never tell exactly how much "motion on the ocean" there will be. Best to be prepared, bing along a box of Bonine as a "just in case" and you'll be fine.

 

We occasionaly do some full ship charters, and two years in a row we were on the same Holland America ship the Eurodam. I remember one morning up in the Lido buffet someone was complaining to some first time cruisers, "I can't belive how unstable this ship is! I wish we could be on last years' ship, that ship never bounced around like this one!"

I turned around and said, "this is the exact same ship from last year, we are a moving object floating on the surface of the ocean!"

[tikcho]

Thanks! I undrestand there is no 100% certainty on the water. For those of you that have traveled out of the East Coast, when you say rough weather, how rough is it? I do take Bonine every day on a cruise so will of course continue that but there is a difference between "I feel kind of wobbly" weather and "stuff falling from shelves and water spilling" weather. Can you continue to do daily stuff like eat dinner, play games, be in the pool or are you pretty much confined to your room?

[Animal Rescue]

The ocean is unpredictable any time of year. This past May, we sailed on the Carnival Miracle out of New York. We had crappy weather for part of the sailing and just plain out and out rough seas for all 4 sea days. The balcony curtains were swaying and coffee was spilling out of our cups. It was just NON-STOP movement that got irritating quickly. Thankfully, I brought the non-drowsy Bonine AND ginger pills. I took both daily, which is what saved me. Ginger pills tend to take about 30-45 minutes to really kick in, so I took them as a preventative as well as a treatment to help with nausea.

 

Unfortunately, the constant motion was just part of a really disappointing cruise on that particular ship. At least you'll be on a nice ship even if the seas aren't so cooperative.

 

Hope you have smooth sailings.

[jt58203]

Thankfully, I brought the non-drowsy Bonine AND ginger pills. I took both daily, which is what saved me. Ginger pills tend to take about 30-45 minutes to really kick in, so I took them as a preventative as well as a treatment to help with nausea.

 

How many milligrams of ginger did you take? And was it ginger root?

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

We sailed on Enchantment last year for the New Year's Cruise then stayed on for the next 2 cruises. We did not experience much in the way of rough seas at all. It's the luck of the draw.

[Animal Rescue]

How many milligrams of ginger did you take? And was it ginger root?

 

 

The brand name is Spring Valley and each pill is 550mg. The directions say to take 1 tablet two to four times per day. I never took 4 per day. I would take one or two daily. You can get this at any drugstore or WalMart, etc. Located in the vitamin section.

 

The label does say "ginger root" and the capsules are clear plastic.

[Cshgrand]

We sailed on Enchantment last year for the New Year's Cruise then stayed on for the next 2 cruises. We did not experience much in the way of rough seas at all. It's the luck of the draw.

 

We were on the NYE cruise too. There were a couple of choppy days coming back into Baltimore which had my husband in bed but didn't affect my son and I at all. No things falling from shelves/crashing/banging etc. It did make for very good fun for my son in the solarium pool on the sea last day. It was like a wave machine!

All in all, I loved the port and ship and can't wait to go back.

[wackerman666]

My family and a bunch of friends are cruising on the Enchantment out of Baltimore for New Years. I have been on many cruises before, mostly Europe or out of Florida, never from this far north. So I was wondering if anyone has done done this in the winter and what the seas were like? So far we have been lucky to never hit rought seas for more than a day, not even that, but since we have four full days of cruising on this one I'm worried of being sick all the time.

Did the same cruise last year out of baltimore. Cold and icey the first 2 days then it was beautiful. No rough waters while cruising down the coast. The bay bridge was fun to go under .:eek:

[tikcho]

It's great to see that some people actually had calm waters this time of the year. I am sailing with abut 20 family/friends, most of them first time cruisers and I also did not want them to have a negative experience because of the waters. I'll make sure everyone stocks up on Bonine. For those of you that had rough waters on most sea days - what did you do on the ship? Are there still activities going on? Can you still eat a normal dinner/lunch? Is the kids club open?