Rough Seas- what's the worst?

[B-52]

I think it was the same year as Katrina....very active year...

 

Port Canaveral on the Mariner....there was a storm bearing down on the Florida Coast....Miami...which later turned up into the gulf....ALL ships left PC 2 hours early, as soon as everyone was onboard.

 

We headed straight down the coast of Florida as fast as possible all the way to Cuba...water too shallow for stabilizers hugging the coast as close as we did...could see lights on shore the whole way.....What a night that was....

 

Next day we headed east towards St. Maarten, had to pass under the storm, but very close....

NO ONE was permitted out on deck...very high winds and HUGE waves....

I remember sitting in the viking crown lounge watching the crew trying to stack and tie down the deck chairs...they wore harness and tethers and I am still surprised no one was blown over board...I did see one or two get blown down and pushed by the wind along the deck about 30 feet....

 

The ship was empty all day...the newbies did not come out of their cabins....MDR deserted, theater closed that evening...

WE LOVED IT...IT WAS GREAT! Everyone that was out and about got along with one another great and there was a real party atmosphere....bartenders crew were in the best mood I ever saw and joined in the fun....

 

It did turn out to be one of the best cruises we have ever been on....

[impatientlywaiting]

On the Legend, crossing east to west through the Panama Canal. It was a sea day from Costa Rica to Alcapulco, Mexico. At 8:00 a.m. the captain came on and told everyone to go to their cabins as we were in for very rough seas four the next 4 hours. The halls and stairs were lined with barf bags, everything outside was shut down, the Windjammer and MDR were closed. We slept through most of it and by 12:30 were back to smooth sailing.

 

On the Rhapsody, leaving Sydney, Australia heading to Hawaii. The first 3 days out of Sydney you wouldn't know there were people on the ship. The seas were rough and it was very hard walking down the halls, much less getting the food in your mouth during meals! Plus it was cold! By day 4, it was smooth sailing and lots of sun and warm weather!

[LAngle]

My friend and I were on this cruise too!!!! It was insane. We were the only 2 people in Viking Crown Lounge when it got the worst, right before they ordered everyone to their staterooms! Every single bottle of liquor and wine fell off the bar and onto the floor while we were there! We tried helping the bartender clean up, but he wouldn't let us and looked at us, with that fear in his eyes, and said we ought to make our way to deck 4 (where the life boats are)!!! As soon as we left, that's when the announcement was made to go to our stateroom. People were holding onto the railing to keep from falling over. Lol we started video taping a red bull can rolling back and forth on the floor in our room! The only time I was thankful for an inside cabin so I couldn't see how bad it was outside.

 

That's funny we and another couple, our dear cruising friends, were almost the only ones left in the Diamond Lounge when everything crashed to the floor. I think one other couple got up then and left. We stayed until they told us to go to the cabin. The crew we saw and talked to were so scared. When I realized the elevators weren't working, my knees actually shook for the first time in my life. What an experience - we will never forget it for sure.

[edjny]

Maybe. That would more than double the strongest gust recorded on the NJ/NY coast line during Sandy, though.

 

Keep in mind that we were roughly a hundred miles off the coast. The winds are stronger over that much ocean. Also, the 160 knots was not a sustained wind. He said that just prior to seeing the peak wind speed, he was seeing sustained wind speed of 120-140 knots. After seeing that peak speed, the winds gradually declined the rest of the day as we got further south away from the storm. By the next day, we were heading east toward Bermuda and it was a beautiful day.

[kingsgirl]

Coming back out and south after visiting Hubbard Glacier, we had 20-25 ft seas on Serenade. Honestly, when you looked out, it didn't look like much, but boy we sure felt it.

 

We could hear peoples balcony furniture turning over. We went up to the Sea View Cafe, but didn't stay long, LOL.

 

I really wanted to experience that, but once is enough!

[Paul65]

Keep in mind that we were roughly a hundred miles off the coast. The winds are stronger over that much ocean. Also, the 160 knots was not a sustained wind. He said that just prior to seeing the peak wind speed, he was seeing sustained wind speed of 120-140 knots.

 

I had all that in mind. I just know that Sandy wasn't that strong. At it's peak (which was when it was down closer to Cuba and the Bahamas) it had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (100 knots). So, if the ship were headed at full speed directly into the winds of the eye wall during the absolute peak of the storm, the captain may have seen effective sustained winds of 120 knots. (But that is only if the ship were even capable of full speed while heading into a 100 knot headwind.)

 

I'm just saying you probably didn't encounter anything near a 120-140 knot sustained wind, nor a 160 knot wind gust. Maybe you heard wrong or maybe the captain embellished a bit, because those are Cat 4 or 5 hurricane eye-wall kind of numbers that would likely cause severe damage to the ship, if not sink it.

[MCC retired]

Of my almost 70 cruises ,the worst seas were

May 1999 , Celebrity Zenith NYC to Bermuda .

35' seas . Lots of damage onboard .

It was mostly the Gulf Stream acting up .

Returning to NYC 3 days later , smooth as glass.

Edited April 15, 2013 by MCC retired

[setsail]

I had all that in mind. I just know that Sandy wasn't that strong. At it's peak (which was when it was down closer to Cuba and the Bahamas) it had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (100 knots). So, if the ship were headed at full speed directly into the winds of the eye wall during the absolute peak of the storm, the captain may have seen effective sustained winds of 120 knots. (But that is only if the ship were even capable of full speed while heading into a 100 knot headwind.)

 

I'm just saying you probably didn't encounter anything near a 120-140 knot sustained wind, nor a 160 knot wind gust. Maybe you heard wrong or maybe the captain embellished a bit, because those are Cat 4 or 5 hurricane eye-wall kind of numbers that would likely cause severe damage to the ship, if not sink it.

 

 

Interesting stuff, just had to google sandys wind gust. At its height in Cuba they had a wind gust of 143kts

 

Just to compare, New Hampshire had a wind gust of 121kts

 

Both of these were in high elevation.

 

The ships always report relative wind speed so it's possible to have a high WS across the bow and maybe that's what the captain reported. I have seen the relative wind speed on cabin tv's many times in the 60s to 70s when it did not seem that rough but it was very windy.

 

 

For us our rough encounter was in Alaska on Rhapsody, 33' waves

[Paul65]

Interesting stuff, just had to google sandys wind gust. At its height in Cuba they had a wind gust of 143kts

 

Just to compare, New Hampshire had a wind gust of 121kts

 

Both of these were in high elevation.

 

The ships always report relative wind speed so it's possible to have a high WS across the bow and maybe that's what the captain reported. I have seen the relative wind speed on cabin tv's many times in the 60s to 70s when it did not seem that rough but it was very windy.

 

 

For us our rough encounter was in Alaska on Rhapsody, 33' waves

 

I was just looking at the maximum surface winds. Another thought was that the captain may have reported the speed in km/hr. They usually seem to talk in knots, but 160 km/hr would at least be a plausible number. That works out to about 86 knots, which would be very high, but a wind that the ship could handle.

[centurycruiser]

If we wait enough time everyone on that cruise will report in. We were there, too.

 

October 9, 2011 on Freedom we left Port Canaveral and ran straight into 86mph sustained winds with gusts to 106mph. The boat listed 12 degrees and a crewman said we had 30 to 40 foot seas. Every cabin got at least a $200 OBC with some getting more because of water damage. We had late seating dinner which got canceled. Those in first seating saw there plates slide onto the floor. I saw all the silverware, chairs and tables from Sorrento's go sliding across the floor. At around 10pm they let us know we could go to the dinning room for sandwiches and pizza. The weather on the rest of the trip could not have been better. A friend was on her first cruise and other then the first night she said she would cruise again.

 

We on the Freedom when it went back out. How bad was it? We were ordered to our cabins (without dinner! :eek:) and the elevators were shut off. THAT'S when I know it was an emergency! Lots of water came in our bacony, and yes it was closed and locked. We don't get seasick, but I remember laying on the bed sort of rolling from side to side as I watched tv!

 

My friend and I were on this cruise too!!!! It was insane. We were the only 2 people in Viking Crown Lounge when it got the worst, right before they ordered everyone to their staterooms! Every single bottle of liquor and wine fell off the bar and onto the floor while we were there! We tried helping the bartender clean up, but he wouldn't let us and looked at us, with that fear in his eyes, and said we ought to make our way to deck 4 (where the life boats are)!!! As soon as we left, that's when the announcement was made to go to our stateroom. People were holding onto the railing to keep from falling over. Lol we started video taping a red bull can rolling back and forth on the floor in our room! The only time I was thankful for an inside cabin so I couldn't see how bad it was outside.

 

 

 

That's funny we and another couple, our dear cruising friends, were almost the only ones left in the Diamond Lounge when everything crashed to the floor. I think one other couple got up then and left. We stayed until they told us to go to the cabin. The crew we saw and talked to were so scared. When I realized the elevators weren't working, my knees actually shook for the first time in my life. What an experience - we will never forget it for sure.

 

We might have been that other couple. We were sitting in the DL having a drink and watching the water pour off the roof each time the ship listed to that side. Amazing flow, like a water fall.

 

All of a sudden bottles and plates crashed to the floor and soda cans cascaded.

 

DW and I returned to our state room figuring our chance for dinner was over for that evening and we retired.

 

The next day we found that the FOS had lost over 2000 bottles of liquor and over 8000 dinner plates. Amazing they still were able to feed everyone the rest of the cruise.

 

We were also told each state room was visited over night to check on the occupants. If so, we slept through that. And we missed the sandwiches and sodas served in the atrium. But, we had a memory that will last a lifetime.

 

While intense, this probably only lasted 1/2 hour or so and one dramatic tilt caused all the damage.

[edjny]

I had all that in mind. I just know that Sandy wasn't that strong. At it's peak (which was when it was down closer to Cuba and the Bahamas) it had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (100 knots). So, if the ship were headed at full speed directly into the winds of the eye wall during the absolute peak of the storm, the captain may have seen effective sustained winds of 120 knots. (But that is only if the ship were even capable of full speed while heading into a 100 knot headwind.)

 

I'm just saying you probably didn't encounter anything near a 120-140 knot sustained wind, nor a 160 knot wind gust. Maybe you heard wrong or maybe the captain embellished a bit, because those are Cat 4 or 5 hurricane eye-wall kind of numbers that would likely cause severe damage to the ship, if not sink it.

 

At no point were we heading directly into the wind. The winds were coming out of the north (stern) most of the night. By daylight, the wind was coming out of the west (starboard side) after the storm turned toward NJ. The Captain did not say if the wind he saw on the instruments was 'actual' or 'effective'. But, at the time he saw the 160 knot peak wind, it was hitting us directly off the Starboard side. With the winds hitting us at a 90 degree angle on the side of the ship, I don't think that the forward speed of the ship had too much effect on the effective wind speed.

 

Our cabin was on the Port side and because of that, we could get out on the balcony to take pictures/videos. The ship is a very effective wind block.... The Starboard side was getting the brunt of the wind and rain. The photo I posted earlier that was taken from the MDR window was looking to the Starboard side.

 

The Captain has had a lot of years at sea. I really don't think he 'embellished' the wind speed just to impress us lowly passengers. He already had enough grief from water damage in the ship and some unhappy passengers....

 

BTW, the Captain definitely stated the wind speed in knots.

Edited April 15, 2013 by edjny

[pepsicruiser]

There are a few videos on youtube of ships in storms. There is one in particular I watched quite a while ago where the cameras showed dining rooms being unset and people falling all over but the funniest part was in the casino where you see blackjack tables falling over, everything falling over and people running ...then there is a woman (who had no idea what could have been going on) but trying to collect as many coins from the machine that pushes the coins forward as you put coins into it. The machine had coins spilling out all over and shes filling her bags and pockets meanwhile it could have been a ship going down lol.

[debshomespun]

We were also on the Explorer for the 10/28/12 cruise into Hurricane Sandy. Yes, the captain did report wind gusts up to 160K. The waves were 45ft. It definitely was a bumpy ride. We had a corner aft balcony. All the balcony furniture had blown up against the sliding door, and it looked like the hurricane was right on our balcony with the wind and water blowing around. We did not get any water in our cabin, but some people along the side of the ship did get damage and water in their cabins. We were not allowed outside from shortly after we left port (Sunday 4:00), all through Monday, until Tuesday morning sometime. Monday they closed the windjammer towards the end of breakfast. Lunch was served in the MDR with a very limited menu (hamburgers, hot dogs, soup and a beef/potato dish), and they were also handing out sandwiches throughout the promenade.

We took bonine, wore wrist bands, and took pure ginger tablets. None of the 4 of us got sick. I felt really sorry for the people that this was their first cruise!

 

Here are some pictures:

#50 is the waves from our balcony

#46 is the general store Monday late morning

#33 is a shot of the tv showing the radar for Hurricane Sandy

#55 is the waves later Monday afternoon

 

It definitely was a very bumpy ride. We did arrive in Bermuda Wednesday morning on time.

[SamFritz]

With 12 cruises behind me, I have to say that I've been very fortunate with the seas. The most I've ever felt the ship move was last year on the Jewel during a port day at Costa Maya. I couldn't believe the ship moved so much when it was tied to the dock.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please excuse all the typos.

[sonvoltken6]

We were on the Grandeur between Cozumel and Tampa in December of 2009. We were in an Aft JS, and the waves were so strong that the magnetic catch doors were opening and closing on their own. It is the one and only time any one of us got sick during a cruise.

[CruiseKeeper]

Found it! Here's the commemorative pic from our cruise. It wasn't the biggest storm, but it was big enough for me!

 

[CruiseMor]

Reporting in from the October 9, 2011 Freedom cruise. We were at the first seating for dinner and I had to keep my back to the window to keep from seeing the waves crash against the ship. The Promenade shops looked like a tornado went through that first night but by morning you wouldn't know anything happened. The crew did a great job cleaning up. We had fantastic weather for the remainder of the cruise!

[sassy12]

Carnival Triumph - 9-11-2002. Captain announced at 6:00 p.m. after everyone was back on board ship in Sydney, Nova Scotia that we would not be going to Halifax but were heading east to try to outrun Hurricane Gustav. At 8:15 p.m. waves were splashing over our sixth deck balcony. We sat in one position for 28 hours (according to the info on the TV screen) rocking and rolling. Not many at formal night dinner. Over 600 of the crew were sick. Over $10,000 damage reported to lighting in the main theater. No show that night or the next. It was a very quiet ship the next day. Not as many people out and about as is usual on a sea day.

 

Me, I sat up in the fitness room looking out the front of the ship watching all the waves. It was fantastic to see.

 

My DH only got a headache for a while and missed dinner the day after. He is prone to motion sickness and the sea bands really worked for him.

[holden0301]

Had to look up our cruise history to find this date! We cruised on the Empress to Bermuda on 8/7/2004. On our way back to the states, we encountered Hurricane Charley (I think that's the one). Our last night at sea, I looked at our balcony door. All I remember was that it looked like someone had a fire hose pointed directly at the door! Not sure what deck we were on, but the rain was that hard.

 

I remember that I didn't eat dinner that night for fear I would be sick. DH did and he was ok (he never gets seasick; I have occasionally). It was a rough night back to NY, but we made it.

 

8/28/11 we left for our cruise out of FL. Thankfully we flew out the day before Hurricane Irene hit our home! I was in constant contact with neighbors as she blew through our area (in PA). I vowed we would never cruise in hurricane season again.

 

Fast forward to today...where are we going in August? Turks & Caicos! Hurricanes...please stay away!

[julesbeara]

Tropical Storm Olga - December 8, 2007 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Olga_(2007)

 

We sailed out of San Juan without a thought of there being a potential Tropical Storm in December. I knew it started raining hard after we departed San Juan on board the Serenade of the Seas. I didn't have a clue it was a tropical level storm until I went back to the cabin shortly after midnight and looked out our balcony door. I went to open the balcony door, the curtains were sucked out by the wind and I realized the waves were level with the top of our balcony railing. We got up the next morning in sunny beautiful St Thomas. Our parents were sailing with us and asked if the ship always rocked that much at night. I smiled and told them it was a little rougher than normal. Hurricane Season does not end on November 30th. :-)

Edited April 16, 2013 by julesbeara

[sarahleebones]

Cruise last month. Captain said 30 ft waves and 24 ft swells ( or the other way around lol). Crew was saying it was worse than hurricane Sandy. It really didn't look that bad but I will say it was rather tough walking around and sleeping was nasty the first two nights going through the storm due to rolling back and forth in bed.

[Jenn31708]

This was the pool on day 8 on the way home.... there wasn't really any bad waves, but the swells were so bad that they couldn't open the pools.

 

 

 

The black thing in the second picture? My camera lens was swinging all over LOL

[lalalisa]

Fascinating thread! More stories, please! :)

[jamesr3939]

They say the worst are north bound California coast. I would tend to agree with that observation as we did a 15 day Panama from FLL to San Francisco and the last night from San Diego to San Francisco the closet door was flying open/close and the drawers were sliding in/out. Had it been the first part of the trip it would have been really bad. However, since it was the 14 day "no problem" just rolled over and went to sleep. It was way worse than our TA on the "small" Oceania ship in March out of Barbados.

[Jsim2011]

We haven't been on many cruises but the worst seas we have faced so far was last year on Rhapsody sailing to Alaska.

 

I don't know how big the waves were, they weren't huge. I do know that we went upto Windjammer for breakfast, and I had to come straight back down to our cabin , we have a lower deck cabin for a reason:)

 

I took dramamine and lay ont he bed and stayed there until dinner time. I missed the M & M :(

 

That was the second day. I told my husband I wouldn't cruise again, but the rest of week was fine and we are embarking on our next cruise in a few days.