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Rough waters Vancouver-victoria-seattle?


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There is a 3 night cruise on ovation of the seas from vancouver to seattle via victoria, bc and i'm wondering how rough it will be? I know some of the cruises from seattle go this route so i'm hoping some one might know.

Edited by christinand
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Years ago I did an Alaska inside passage cruise that had Victoria as a port.  We missed it because of high winds, but at no point was the water rough enough for us to feel the difference even with the winds.  As someone else said your entire cruise is in protected waters so you should be fine.  Enjoy your first cruise! 🙂

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22 hours ago, christinand said:

There is a 3 night cruise on ovation of the seas from vancouver to seattle via victoria, bc and i'm wondering how rough it will be? I know some of the cruises from seattle go this route so i'm hoping some one might know.

I wonder where you go on this cruise. Cruising time from Vancouver to Victoria is only about 5 hours and it's about the same from Victoria to Seattle. It should be very smooth sailing.

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On 6/1/2019 at 8:10 PM, christinand said:

There is a 3 night cruise on ovation of the seas from vancouver to seattle via victoria, bc and i'm wondering how rough it will be? I know some of the cruises from seattle go this route so i'm hoping some one might know.

Being a 3-night, my assumption is the cruise is either an early or late season, with early season being the most likely. While wind and sea state is never guaranteed, if the cruise is in May, the percentage of stormy days is fairly low.

 

While the route is inland waters, contrary to previous responses stating no rough waters, you have remote possibilities of encountering a summer storm. The Strait of Georgia can be very unpleasant with SE or NW winds.

 

I have worked these waters for over 30 years on both cruise ships & ferries and while the probability of experiencing a storm in May - Sept is low, I have experienced more than a few summer storms. Benefit in the summer is the winds are predominantly NW, so following seas.

 

 

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Just an update that I read somewhere Ovation of the Seas wouldn't go through inside passage because it is too big. Not sure what to do now. I had booked an alaskan cruise but having reservations as it goes to Tracy Arm and it sounds like people are saying for first timers to go to Glacier Bay.

 

Glad to see some positive reviews of Ovation though as certainly as someone pointed out they are quite bad.

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8 hours ago, CanWeGoYet? said:

I thought the water was fairly rough on my one Seattle - Seattle cruise to Alaska.  We were going fast after the last port stop in Victoria, and the water was definitely choppy.   

If you look at a map or chart of the route between Victoria and Seattle you will see that you cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  There can be a little chop in this area depending on wind and weather although it can also be "smooth as glass."  Our most recent crossing of the Strait was early March and was definitely glassy water.  You are not sailing the open waters of the Pacific Ocean so no ocean swells and big waves.  We are long-time boaters (24' mostly) as well as being cruisers and know these waters well.

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Lucky you, boating is so enjoyable.  Its been many years but long ago my ex & I would sail quite a bit in the San Juan Islands.  His friends had a 40' sailboat.    He took his friends with him when we split up, so no more sailboat trips for me.  

 

On that particular cruise, I think it was around Vancouver Island - a guy from our roll call who is an avid photographer got a great photo of an orca breaching.  

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3 days from Vancouver to Seattle with a stop in Victoria tells me that you will likely go around Vancouver Island to the west. That would put you into the Pacific so may be a little bumpy out there-  normally not bad at all. This would allow the shops and casino to be open more hours.

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On 6/8/2019 at 7:16 AM, frankc98376 said:

3 days from Vancouver to Seattle with a stop in Victoria tells me that you will likely go around Vancouver Island to the west. That would put you into the Pacific so may be a little bumpy out there-  normally not bad at all. This would allow the shops and casino to be open more hours.

Based on the transit time, I suggest it is highly unlikely they will cruise up the Inside Passage and then down the West side of Vancouver Island. To go around the top of Vancouver Island would take at least 24 hours at top speed.

 

The passage time from Vancouver to Victoria is only 13 hrs,  so will mostly likely route down Georgia Strait and follow the border into Haro Strait. Slow steaming to save tons of fuel.

 

 

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