Norwegian breakaway Re: rough open water

[manny1125]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has cruised on the norwegian breakaway in feb? We are scheduled on the norwegian breakaway from Feb 1-13 and there are 22 of us....several people have concerns about what the ocean will be like the first few days until we get to the caribbean since we are leaving from manhattan?

Are the waters fairly rough or tolerable?

Thanks so much

[dorito6778]

we havent been on the BA that time of year, but we have been on the Explorer of the Seas on an 11 day S.Carrib itinerary in mid-Feb. I dont recall rough seas at all, but of course, if there is a Nor'easter brewing, anything goes!!!

[kjbacon]

I've done that route a few times and most recently, this past February. You should expect some active seas. We have always had at least one day with decent movement. On our last trip, it was very, very, very, very bad on the way back ... it's not a route to recommend in February for those with concerns about rough seas! Did mention it was very rough on the way home?

[MommySierra]

I have done Caribbean & Bahamas/ FL from NY always from Jan-April...My experience is the sea is not so rough going down (weather always get a lot warmer after 1st sea day) but coming back we have always encountered that 1 day that its just a little choppy, nothing major just a little more rocky than usual...If you have mid ship rooms you shouldn’t feel it as much, however weather is always a factor...The only time I can recall super rough seas was when I went in mid January one of the sea days coming back was pretty bad, with 18 ft swells and barf bags at the elevator banks due to a pending snow storm approaching NY…Even with that experience, I always book the same time of year (getting away from the cold is always fun), just expect a little rocky/bumpy on the way back, hopefully it wont be at all and you get a smooth sail roundtrip…Hope this helps

Good Luck

[cb at sea]

It will really depend on the weather fronts, winds, etc.....could be rough...could be calm! No way to predict!

[skeeter195]

We were on the Gem this past Feb and coming back was the worst ever for us(11 cruises). 16-42 foot seas for a day and a half, the worst being 28-42 foot for about 8 hours. It was beyond rough almost comical to see people bouncing from wall to wall. I was in the casino and we hit a wave when my stack of 15 chips fell over. Some of the casino workers said that they had never seen that, others claimed to have seen it before and cared not to remember that trip. I gave up on putting the stuff back on the shelves in our room until is subsided.

 

Now on the Breakaway last November, it was so smooth that there was actually not even a ripple on the water in the same area(around Hatteras). We saw pods of dolphins all over the top of the water as if they were sleeping for as far as you could see.

 

The 2 trips were like noght and day, but thats what you get in the fall and winter months.

[mugtech]

And no matter how rough it gets, that time of year means zero chance of hurricanes.

[cliffd64]

It will really depend on the weather fronts, winds, etc.....could be rough...could be calm! No way to predict!

 

This is very true :) It all depends on the weather that particular week...

[kjbacon]

We were on the Gem this past Feb and coming back was the worst ever for us(11 cruises). 16-42 foot seas for a day and a half, the worst being 28-42 foot for about 8 hours. It was beyond rough almost comical to see people bouncing from wall to wall. I was in the casino and we hit a wave when my stack of 15 chips fell over. Some of the casino workers said that they had never seen that, others claimed to have seen it before and cared not to remember that trip. I gave up on putting the stuff back on the shelves in our room until is subsided.

 

Now on the Breakaway last November, it was so smooth that there was actually not even a ripple on the water in the same area(around Hatteras). We saw pods of dolphins all over the top of the water as if they were sleeping for as far as you could see.

 

The 2 trips were like noght and day, but thats what you get in the fall and winter months.

 

We must have been on the same Gem sailing in February. Was yours over Valentine's Day? It was really bad!

[skeeter195]

Yes it was the Valentines cruise. I love the show Deadliest Catch and when I looked outside it reminded of it. Those sustained huge waves for so long made me realize how powerful the ocean can be and I have been in 12 footers in my own boat. I have never gotten seasick on a cruise, but I was actually a little queasy for a few hours the last day. Lots of gingerale took care of that though.

[kjbacon]

Oh, I was a mess LOL and after an all nighter, I posted on here, exhausted and emotional, not using my head ... I got cut down to size for pages and pages!!! I can laugh about it now but it was something.

[spidybabe]

Can't predict Mother Nature. We have sailed in all different months, and you can never predict how the waters will be. It can be calm seas one day, and two days later horrible seas.

We always take daily generic Bonine(get it at guest services), without feeling tired, and drinking (heavy) with it without problems ...works great!

Also on one rough sailing we found out why there are pretzels(rolls, sticks) around...they are great when feeling nauseous(another good tip).....some people say green apples work well also(we never tried)

Safe sailing

 

 

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[kcwingwalker]

Thanks for the thread manny1125 and welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Been wondering about the weather too and DD and I will be on the same sailing. I was raised in Maine and certainly know about nor'easters but have never experienced one at sea. The worst nor'easter for me was the Blizzard of 78 in Boston http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_United_States_blizzard_of_1978

 

Usually I'm a good sailor and have never been seasick but anyone can feel the effects of a bad storm. Haven't mentioned this to DD who is also a good sailor but at the first hint of a problem can be a worrier.

 

So we'll hope for the best, but not planning on being put off by the weather.

 

Chime in if you have an answer for me on this. We're planning on arriving in NYC by Friday but with weather wondering if arriving Thursday might be a good idea. Given the time of year it's almost a given you'll hit some weather either coming or going and if you are unlucky both! I'm coming from Louisiana probably with DD. But DD might be flying in directly from Seoul. DS is a maybe at this point and would be coming in from Germany.

[brikee]

I'm on the same ship. Feb 1 breakaway. It sounds like we should bring ginger ale and motion sickness tablets.

 

Also judging the weather from past five years February is a brutal month to travel via plane. There are usually delays due to storms. You can't predict 100%. This is judging from my experience traveling in the past couple years.

 

Glad I'm not flying!

 

 

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