High winds=danger?

[bride928]

I was on a cruise out of Tampa many years ago- it was the roughest sustained waves I've ever experienced (been in worse, just not for very long, whereas this cruise we had pretty heavy rocking for 3 solid days)... we were all making fun of each other, because no one could walk in a straight line due to the rocking! The CD came on the PA making jokes about it, and I think that really helped everyone calm down. As he put it, if this thing was gonna sink, you'd all have to stand in line BEHIND ME!!!

 

 

Wow! Three days would have made me so anxious! I do like when cruise directors come on to acknowledge the rockiness and reassure everyone. That definitely helps. Kind of like when the pilot warns you about turbulence beforehand. It just makes it less of a big deal when you actually hit the turbulence.

[ray98]

It's my post so I have vested interest in the replies here. Why even respond if you don't intend to contribute to answering my question?

 

There was no sarcasm necessary. I just posed a genuine concern because of a prior experience of rocky seas while cruising. Others have reassured me a bit about my upcoming trip however, which is greatly appreciated.

 

I wasn't looking to offend anyone or be offended by anyone. Just looking for opinions of other experienced cruisers.

 

People contributed, some in a sarcastic way to show just how overblown the 'concern' was. The industry is putting 25m passengers a year at sea on 10's of thousands of voyages. How many have you heard that had serious weather related problems?

 

As I said earlier.....you might as well worry about getting struck by lightning because it is more common.

[billslowsky]

People contributed, some in a sarcastic way to show just how overblown the 'concern' was. The industry is putting 25m passengers a year at sea on 10's of thousands of voyages. How many have you heard that had serious weather related problems?

 

As I said earlier.....you might as well worry about getting struck by lightning because it is more common.

 

Don't say that, we'll get a new thread about High winds + Lightning = Double Danger.

[Ralphinsc]

It's my post so I have vested interest in the replies here. Why even respond if you don't intend to contribute to answering my question?

 

There was no sarcasm necessary. I just posed a genuine concern because of a prior experience of rocky seas while cruising. Others have reassured me a bit about my upcoming trip however, which is greatly appreciated.

 

I wasn't looking to offend anyone or be offended by anyone. Just looking for opinions of other experienced cruisers.

 

I think he was implying along the lines of your concern not being something that should be worried over. Of course, it's genuine to you. I chuckled at it a bit. But the humor seems to be lost on others. Don't think he meant to be unhelpful. I thought the comparison was a good one.

 

To be relative, an RCCL ship sailed out from New York a couple of years ago into a rapidly intensifying storm system. They ended up enduring 35 foot waves and 120 mph winds over an 18-24 hour period and were forced to return to port. Ship suffered very minor damage and there were four total minor passenger injuries out of about 6,000. Basically, they sailed into hurricane conditions and the ship survived with very minor damage and some ruffled passengers. They can take a pretty good storm.

[Doggielover68]

Rocky seas are common and I can only think of one cruise where we didn't have a bumpy ride for at least one night/day. The first time, I was very nervous. I was up during the night, hearing the waves hit the side of the ship and wondered if the movement was normal. After 9 cruises I am very used to it now.

 

No need to worry. Think about it this way. The same ship that you are on has been sailing week after week, month after month, year after year. The crew is very used to various weather conditions and if they don't seem concerned about anything, why should I?

 

The cruise lines spend way too much money on their ships to put them in harms way. Everything will be fine :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[JayDeeJay]

In 37-and-counting cruises, we have experienced high seas several times (hey, it’s the ocean!) including being chased up the Florida coast by Hurricane Sandy, hooeee, THAT was a ride! We’ve missed port calls because of the high seas, and usually it’s in conjunction with the harbor master closing the port facility. Carnival makes every effort to make a Sea Day as fun as possible - actually we enjoy the aft deck with bar service more than anything. We keep in mind that Carnival wants your continued business and makes an effort to keep you happy. And that includes not sinking, if at all possible. :o

[Pellaz]

OP, there is little to be concerned about when it comes to winds affecting a modern cruise ship. Ship captains -- and cruise-line operations centers working behind them -- are quite adept at reordering ports, rerouting itineraries and as a last resort, delaying departures or arrivals when weather threatens.

 

I said "little" and not "nothing" because sometimes, ship happens, like:

 

To be relative, an RCCL ship sailed out from New York a couple of years ago into a rapidly intensifying storm system. They ended up enduring 35 foot waves and 120 mph winds over an 18-24 hour period and were forced to return to port. Ship suffered very minor damage and there were four total minor passenger injuries out of about 6,000. Basically, they sailed into hurricane conditions and the ship survived with very minor damage and some ruffled passengers. They can take a pretty good storm.

 

Absolutely this. Anthem of the Seas endured hurricane conditions during that storm. Was it a picnic? No. Were guests confined to cabins for their safety? Yes, since the ship was listing a lot and cross-corridors had become dangerous. In the end, the damage was quickly reparable and there were only a few minor injuries. Can't blame the cruise line or the captain; all the weather forecasts had been saying the storm would be much less intense.

 

I was on a charter cruise during that same storm, hundreds of miles further south, with a huge outdoor stage built over the pool-deck area. The captain gave advance warning to the charter operator and the stage-crew quickly took the stage down enough to survive the gusts. We were experiencing 70 mph effective winds across the outside decks (we were sailing into the wind, which is always the best choice) and unless we tried to walk outside, we barely noticed. It was an inconvenience, especially for scheduling performances, but we made it back to Port Everglades fine despite still-strong winds.