Any stories of rough weather????!!!!

[patnjohn]

That's a pretty frightening picture. You can't even see the front of the ship. Yikes!:eek:

[patnjohn]

That has got to be the scarriest picture I've seen. You can't even see the bow of the ship. Yikes! :eek: Hope I have smoother sailing gong to Bermuda in Sept.

[lukegr]

This is from http://www.strangedangers.com/content/item/102022.html.

 

 

 

WOW that must have been so scary

[Seago2]

How can that photo be real? Don't you think that if there had magically been a helicopter there to take that picture, it would have been shown all over the news? And why would there have been speculation about the size of the wave if there was a picture of it?

[STiVo]

How can that photo be real? Don't you think that if there had magically been a helicopter there to take that picture, it would have been shown all over the news? And why would there have been speculation about the size of the wave if there was a picture of it?

 

Maybe the ship was seeing rough weather for a while and that wave was one of many. Who knows. Perhaps the "helecopter" or whatever took a series of pictures and that was the most dramatic. All I know is that there's not a lot of people out and about on the ship :)

[celbercrz333]

all i know is that i wouldn't have wanted to be on that ship.

[celbercrz333]

carla,

I was thinking the same thing about the helicopter. How could it take pictures if there is a storm? Perhaps the picture is "touched up" to look worse than it is??? hhhmmmm...........

[villager]

A few years ago we were on a repositioning cruise when the Vision first went into service. Dense fog when we left England and things went down from there. We had gale force winds and 50 foot seas from the Faroe Islands to Iceland. We could set in the Windjammer and watch the waves hitting the windows. Couldn't go out on the decks. They drained the pools & water features because the movement keep pushing the water out and all over the floors. Some entertainment was cancelled for safety reasons. Windows were blown out of three stateroom one night. Funny thing was, we had great table mates and it turned out to be one of the best cruises we've ever taken! Attitude is everything.:D

[Barkingowl]

All these stories are so cool. It makes mine seem tame by comparison. I was travelling with a group of friends on the Fascination heading to Nassau from Miami on Superbowl weekend 2005. From the moment we left port the winds were getting stronger & stronger. At dinner we had received 6 free bottles of wine & we had them clustered in the middle of the table. The ship started rolling from side to side & as the motion increased people started turning green & bolting from their seats towards the nearest bathrooms. The folks at our table just ate & drank & happily chatted away. Negotiating the stairs after dinner was interesting but no injuries ensued. I really liked being rocked to sleep by the waves.

[bangzoom6877]

In August 1991, when I was 14, we were on our way back from Bermuda on the Meridian (no longer in service, but it was Celebrity Cruises). We hit a tropical depression that turned into Hurricane Bob after we got home. It was stormy outside and you couldn't go out on deck. The ship rocked so much. In the lounge when we were at Bingo, on one side of the ship, if you looked out the window you saw only the ocean, while on the other side you saw only the sky! Unbelieveable. Dining room not full that night but we all went and ate like pigs!

 

In August 2000, I took my husband (then fiance) on his first cruise, 5 nights from NYC to Canada. It was a little rough the first night, but we had literally 10 minutes of sun the entire cruise! At night the fog horn was always on also, so no romantic nights out on deck! One afternoon the sun came out and my husband and my father ran out on deck. 10 minutes later they came back in because it got cloudy and started to rain. My husband hated that cruise and thought he would hate all cruises, until we went on the Norwegian Sea to the Bahamas in July 2002, and he loved it! He sat in the sun all week and stayed at the private island for 8 hours! Now he loves cruising.

 

On the Norwegian Dawn last April, on the way to the Bahamas, we hit rough water the first night, with gale-force winds and the TV screen at one point said 12-75 foot swells in the ocean! We were rockin' and rollin'. My aunt and a friend got sick that night but were fine the rest of the cruise. The rest of us were fine.

 

Bonnie

[missjean]

We ran into rough waters as we were beating Hurricane Katrina to the Gulf of Mexico. We were going from Belize back to Galveston, and on that Friday (8/25) we were experiencing rocking all night long. It seemed to get worse as the night wore on. I am so glad we had the early dinner because all those with late seating ended up going back to their rooms before ending or immediately after. My bf went to the Lido deck and noticed that it was windy and the swells were so high!

 

I heard we were in front of the storm the whole time by a matter of hours. On Saturday, the ship was more calm but the higher decks were closed due to high winds. Luckily we had 2 sea days. If another port was included, it may have been worse. Kudos to our captain for steering us away from disaster!

[leebug1219]

I was on Carnival Miracle 8/21-8/28. Home port is Tampa but they made the descision that we could not sail back to Tampa bc we would be sailing at the same speed and direction in Katrina. Instead we went to Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale. At about 9am Saturday morning we were informed that we were within a very close range to the eye of the storm and that everyone needed to stay put. For most of the morning into later afternoon, we had winds of around 70mph. The boat was coming up out of the water and slamming back down and if you were to walk down the halls, most people ended up in a wall (I know I did). This was my first cruise, my parents 3rd..although it was the first hurricane for all of us. Overall the cruise was awesome, however on Saturday being locked into the interior wore on everyone because the kids were running up and down the halls screaming and playing tag and you couldn't get anywhere without nearly being run over. Porting in Fort Lauderdale sucked....we ported at 5am, customs wouldn't come clear us- they said that since we didn't belong there we would have to wait. Then they did a full ship inspection since they had never seen our boat. My tag color was the 2nd group called and we were done with the boat at about 1....got on a greyhound bus and rode to Tampa. Those being bussed from Tampa had much nicer busses and received a $50 credit...but oh well. LUKEGR- you said you were on the Conquest and survived Katrina....we were in Cozemel at the same time as ya'll...I have pictures of the Conquest and the RC ship getting on it getting the hell out of dodge. MissJean, what ship were you on?

[BuckGuy]

I went on an Alaska cruise in the beginning of August a few years ago, on the Carnival Spirit, everything was calm and fine. A friend of mine went on the same ship the same year at the end of the season in September, and she told me that it was so rough on the seas that water started splashing out of the ship's swimming pools. Normally the stabilizers will cause a ship to roll slowly from one side to the other, but this was pretty choppy.

 

I was on a tour ferry ship on the San Francisco bay once, going under the Golden Gate. I dont know how tall that three deck ship was, but the ocean swells that day were about 25-30 feet maybe, so when the nose of the ship was pointed downwards at the bottom of a swell, you could see the next wave coming toward us, and the top of the next wave was 2-3 times the height of where I was standing at the ship's bow. The water never came splashing down on top of us, we just hit the wave head-on and the nose of the ship would point upward at that point and we'd ride it out to the summit of the wave, then it'd start over again -- the nose of the ship downward and the next wave coming toward us 3 times our height, etc etc etc.

 

I noticed that the captain couldn't turn the boat around, though, because one of those waves would have capsized us if it had hit the side of the boat. So the captain put it in reverse and backed us up until the opportunity came for him to turn the tour ship around.

 

We really had to do some holding on, and it was quite an experience.

[BEARFACE]

We recently got back from the Dawn eastern Caribbean in the bizzard of "06". At about five o'clock the ship started rolling a little more than normal our last sea night, by 9:00 she was pitching and rolling pretty good. The wind had picked up to near 50 mph over the course of the night and at around 1:30 we were rock'n and roll'n and lucky for us to be on deck 5. From what we were told the Garden Villa suites were in shambles along with some of the rooms on the upper decks. At 6:30 I went up to deck 7 to see the water conditions :eek: to see that the sea was breaking just about deck level. It was and awesome site to witness. It was as if I was watching a movie. While I had a blast :D watching, not everyone shared my eagerness to watch. My guess is about 35 to 40 foot seas with a force 10 northeasternly wind. All in all a great cruise with a free twist of adventure added in the mix.

[gointostpete]

My honeymoon in Aug 95 --- Majesty (now part of NCL). We ran into/around hurricane Felix for 3 or 4 days. We were supposed to go to Bermuda, but instead waited off Cape Cod for a few days to see if we could go, then made a run to Freeport, Bahamas (yay.) and then to Nassau (that was ok). 8 day cruise and we got off the boat just a few hours at those 2 stops. Think the seas were 30-35'. Lifeboats were banging into the wall by my head for at least 2 nights. Ice sculptures were falling over. Pools empty. Elevators off. As the ship went up, the stairs felt like walking with a 100# pack on your back - on the way down, you just moved your feet as the ship fell and you climbed the stairs. My favorite was the bags stuck everywhere (and boy did they get used). Then there was the sewage smell. And the icing...because they could not make full speed in the seas, we got off in New York and had to ride a bus to Boston (right past my house!) to get our car. Never thought I would cruise again --- been twice since, and I leave Saturday for Canada (along with Cindy and Dennis --- the lovely hurricanes down south). Guess I am seasoned now though.

 

Hey, I was on the cruise right after that. Had to be bussed to NY to get on the ship. What a nightmare. Bus driver didn't speak English, didn't know where he was going, seemed to be falling asleep at times. Our fellow bus passengers insisted on having a sit-down meal at a rest stop rather than grabbing something to bring on the bus (Don't worry, the ship won't leave without us.) We circled round and round NY, stalled the bus in a not-so-nice neighborhood and thought we'd never get it started again. SEVEN hours to drive from Boston to NY! We finally got to the ship only to find that they'd already pulled in the gangway and were preparing to leave (knew they were missing one bus but didn't know where we were). Cruise itself turned out to be great though!

 

But my actual worst weather was the following year. Same ship, same itinerary. In the days before we were to leave, a hurricane was making its way up the East Coast. Kind of hard to get to Bermuda with a hurricane in between. Watching the news, ships leaving NY for Bermuda had to turn back it was so bad. We get to the port and had to fill out a form choosing either 1) We choose to sail knowing there is a hurricane in our way or 2) We choose to cancel and sail another time. Seemed ominous. We went. Stayed in Boston harbor an extra day and left when the Coast Guard cleared us to leave. I spent the entire day sitting in one of the wide picture windows on the 5th deck watching the waves crashing against the window. Once I realized I wasn't getting seasick and the ship wasn't going to sink, it actually seemed to be quite an adventure. People were sitting/laying all over the place. Motion sickness bags everywhere. Formal night and the Captain was pacing around because there was hardly anyone lined up to meet him. Probably one of my favorite cruises ever! Once in Bermuda, we were docked next to the Zenith, which had made it from NY. The front of that ship was caved in and we heard horror stories of their trip.

[mrs.tate]

DH and I, along with some friends, were on the Inspiration out of Tampa during Hurricane Wilma. It was a 4 day cruise to Cozumel that turned into a 5 day cruise to nowhere. Had to skip Cozumel due to the fact that it was being ravaged by the hurricane at the time we were to be in port, and at the time we were to arrive back at Tampa, they closed the port there because of the hurricane and tornadoes that had popped up suddenly. We got an extra day on the ship! At various times throughout the voyage, the captain would announce over the PA system our coordinates along with those of Hurricane Wilma. At one time, he said we were in 60 knot winds and 40-50 foot seas, and laughingly said he was trying to find the most comfortable route possible. The upper decks were closed completely, and the wind was so strong it would lift the coffee out of your cup if you didn't cover it with a saucer! The little white bags were out all over the place, though I didn't see many getting sick. After taking the meclizine provided by the ship, we quite enjoyed the rocking motion and it produced the sensation of being rocked to sleep in those comfy Carnival beds. At various times, only sky was visible out the windows, and then a few seconds later, only ocean was visible. We had a wonderful time anyway, proving that a cruise is what you make it! Winning at the casino seemed to take our minds off the discomfort of the heavy swells!

[TinAngel]

Was a "Nantuckett Sleigh: ride as the hurricane crossed over into the Gulf.

 

Too late to wake the Mrs but I cannot recall the ship, did sail out of New Orleans I recall. Did get the satelite photos of the storms position as to show what a monster it was. You can likely do the same just do a search on the hurricane on Google or Yahoo.

 

Only a few in dining rooms that day. We had an aft cabin, scared the wits out of my Milli, Most rocking our bed had seen well since were were 25 years younger. Trust me I have weathered a Pacific typhoon, they did sprinkle water on the dining table table cloth as to keep the glasses and plates stable. Buffetts were destroyed. Maybe it was Commodore?

 

As to the 1955 typhoon: fifty years ago and I still recall the USS General Morton in vivid detail: two passengers in dining room and the Captain. My dad was with me and he was the duty oficer for the second watch as I recall.

Food was not menued but made to order for a few days: nobody showed up to eat except officers. We were traveling back from Japan and the slow boat (12 knots at best) got waxed, no high tech stuff then. Dad was a "passenger" but as a Naval officer with 16 years service he was tasked to assist. Non watertight doors were lashed open and such. Lots of broken bones for a few days. I was so impressed I joined the Army. 19 days Yokohama to San Francisco. We would have flow but, no bs, the Pacific swallowed up two passenger (military) air transports the weeks before we were to return from my dad's posting in Japan. Vowed or whatever never to do that again. Guess what ended up on a troop ship a few years later.

 

Joe

 

PS

 

Have photos of Carnival Ecstasy leaving New Orleans ahead of Rita: taken by a freighter. Just crew onboard.

[bikn4fn]

It was our first cruise (Nordic Empress). We are sitting at dinner and the guy acroos the table looks out the window and says "Look, you can see the tops of the waves". Then I say, "Yea, and we are on the 4th level". Most of the staff was sick that night. They cancelled the show. The dancers were bouncing on the stage too high. The captain didn't seem to mind. He was out jogging around the ship.

[PADutchman]

On the Dream in the Baltic Sea, waahooo hang on, watch for flying anythings and hold on to the walls they keep moveing. Engine problems and no power for 5 hours, everything shut down. 1-1/2 days of Rock and Roll.

[STiVo]

Browsing YouTube for cruise video and came across these two videos of "choppy seas" in the pool. I thought that they would be an appropriate addition to this thread.

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CG2SrWaCuY

[Lady Patriot]

Norwegian Majesty 11/17-11/25/05. For 3 out of the 7 days we had rough seas, but then Hurricane Gamma kicked up, and that caused us to have some rough swells. Grand Cayman was cancelled because of rough seas and high winds. They closed the port because it wasn't safe to operate the tenders and the winds were too fierce, so we turned out of the harbor and headed on to Cozumel. There were about 9 other cruise ships docked and waiting for the harbor master to clear, but the bad news came down, and you could see us all turning away in unison.

Hubby and I went straight to the spa and got massages. The rocking motion actually added to the experience! The massage therapist, a nice Jamaican lady in her 40's, told me of some cruises where they had to clear objects off the tables and tape drawers shut because the rocking was so bad!

After that, I went back to the cabin and took a nap. The creaking made me a little nervous, though.

We averaged about 10-12 foot swells and ate at the dining room in the stern. We did a little jumping in the surf, and because the dining room was astern, some glasses fell over. A couple of us were doing the technicolor yawn, and yes, there were barf bags strategically placed.

That pack of Dramamine was the best investment I could've made on that cruise!

 

I have to admit that I'm very proud of my fellow cruise critics and your upbeat attitudes about things like this. You're absolutely right--a situation like this is what you make of it. :D

[celbercrz333]

Mrs. Tate,

Yikes that sounds horrible. Glad I wasn';t on that cruise. And I thought our first cruise was bad.

[MonaCK]

I can't remember the cruiseline.

I can't even remember exactly what year I went.

I only know that it was out of Philadelphia, and it was just my mother and I. I am also pretty sure it was not a full week's cruise, and that it was a trip to Bermuda only. My mother wanted to show me where she had honeymooned with my father.

 

Well, I also remember that we sailed in May. And we sailed right into a gale. 7 - 10 foot waves. 50% of the ship got sick, and I was the 50% of my party that got sick. People came down to formal night in their pajamas.

 

Luckily, it was not my first cruise, so I knew it was not the norm. I will never forget the way I felt during that cruise - and it has made it so I will never cruise without Bonine again. ;)

[jeph]

My first cruise was my worst cruise-- in fact, one of my worst-ever travel experiences of any kind. I'd booked it over the summer, and three weeks before sailing day came the Sept 11th attacks. The passenger ship piers on Manhattan's west side (from which the cruise had been intended to depart) were commandeered by the authorities for use as a makeshift mourgue; the trip would now start from and return to Boston. The CNN news onboard was all anthrax, all the time-- oh, and the bombing of Afghanistan, which must have commenced minutes after I left my home in western Mass for Boston. When we got to Hamilton, a ship's tender with machine-gun toting guards trolled back and forth all night. I guess this was supposed to make us all feel safe, but it just made me feel sad and creeped out. So, as you can well imagine, all these "current events" didn't exactly put everyone in the mood for CAREFREE VACATION FUN.

 

Adding to my personal fun, I think a was suffering from some sort of energy-sapping low-grade flu, which, combined with a dash of hypochondria, left me thinking I was gonna die at sea.

 

But the biggest contributor was the weather. If not for the bonine, "I'd be a dead man!" On the way down, the winds were up close to 50mph, with waves running up to 20 ft from trough to crest-- and this on a 20,000 ton vessel-- a quarter the size of a typical "Panamax" cruise ship, and a seventh the size of something like one of RCI's new too-big-for-Panama behemoths. (The officers casually mentioned that the two previous voyages had been considerably worse!)

 

When we got to Bermuda, we enjoyed a day or two of nice weather, then a tropical storm with hurricane-force gusts rolled right over the island, downing trees and knocking out power to tens of thousands. Ships in less-sheltered St. George were torn from their moorings; I still have the newspaper front page showing photos of Norwegian Majesty being kept in control only with the aid of tugs, after ripping the bollard, and a tabletop-sized chunk of concrete, right out of the pier. We never made it over to the West End/Royal Dockyard area, and the ship was delayed a day in departing, as tugs were needed everywhere.

 

The trip back was nice and bouncy, too. But my most vivid memory was of the trip down. The Pacific Princess, originally Flagship Cruises' "Sea Venture", from about 1971, was one of the last ships to have its dining room down low, like the earlier ocean liners. The portholes in the dining room were about 15 feet above the waterline. At lunch, we would sometimes see all the sun on one side of the dining room briefly dimmed as waves of green water sloshed across, completely covering the portholes. This was very disconcerting, to say the least-- it was like looking at, or maybe being inside, some giant washing machine!:eek:

 

After I got back, my friends and family wondered why I'd EVER get back on a ship-- but I've traveled on nine more since, and am headed for number eleven in less than two weeks!:D

[ParadiseBound]

2004 NCL Hawaii Cruise- We were on our way from Christmas Island to Maui but the weather was so bad we had to skip Maui and continue on. I remember sitting in the dining room at night looking out the window. Wow the waves were crazy and ship was rocking (luckily I love roller coasters) and was able to eat. Then getting to our room we went thru by the pool BIG MISTAKE!!

1998 SS Norway 14 day cruise-tried to tender back to the ship- trying to get all the people from the tender onto the ship was almost impossible. We had people getting sick-passengers fighting to get back on-and when you finally were being helped on they had to "time" the rocking of the ship to get you in by throwing you from one crew member to another. Needless to say when we got to the French Rivera and they encountered rough waves they wouldn't tender us to the ship we had to wait 2 hours for busses and drive to a safe location! I supposed terror tender rides might be for another Thread LOL

 

Happy Cruizin:p