Transatlantic in November

[yanks23]

My brother booked a 14 Barcelona / Portugal relocation cruise next November.  I decided to join him on theLegend as this will be family event and I have never been to Spain and Portugal. Their will be the last 6 days at see in the North Atlantic in November. I have never cruised across the Atlantic and in November. How bad are we looking at the weather or should I not be worried. 
 

Thanks

[xDisconnections]

Conditions could be good or bad. You won’t know until it’s closer. It was pretty cold during both of our transatlantics each in November and April.

[yanks23]

How about the seas are they pretty rough.  I can deal with the cold but would not rather have very rough seas.

[xDisconnections]

7 minutes ago, yanks23 said:

How about the seas are they pretty rough.  I can deal with the cold but would not rather have very rough seas.

The seas can also be pretty unpredictable. On our November crossing (Barcelona to Galveston) it was mostly smooth apart from 25-30ft swells after leaving the Canary Islands which lasted a day. For our April crossing (Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen), we picked up a system that mostly followed behind us as we changed course to get ahead of it. The Seas weren’t the best in the North Sea but nothing bad.

 

You’ll most likely have a smooth crossing but prepare for one that can be a bit more rough than a Caribbean Cruise. Our most recent cruise went to Antarctica which required a crossing of the Drake Passage... an even more unpredictable area where swells can be treacherous. A quick YouTube search would probably turn you away from booking a Drake Passage crossing.

[BlerkOne]

The North Atlantic can be rougher than the South Atlantic, but nothing Titanic!

 

Just depends on weather fronts - A Nor'easter here or a late season wrong way hurricane there. I haven't sailed into Baltimore but have sailed into New York a few times and the most memorable weather (if any) was the last day before New York. But certainly nothing the whole way.

[Heidi13]

When crossing the Atlantic, in addition to the month, the direction can also dictate the seas experienced. Being November, the assumption is that you are Westbound. Although the shortest distance is a Great Circle heading to northerly Latitudes, the Westbound ships avoid this routing, due to the Gulf Stream and N Atlantic drift currents.

 

By heading further south, you have a greater chance of experiencing lesser seas. Modern forecasting and Met routing recommendations also greatly assist Masters with finding smoother passages.

 

However, you are still crossing the Atlantic, so be prepared for anything.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Hi Yanks23,

If you are sailing to Florida you will be in the Southern Atlantic.  You should have no problems as hurricane season is over.  There is nothing better than a smooth crossing...most of the time...enjoy...no worries. 

[KonaDave]

Be afraid, be very afraid!!  Once had 6 days of 40 to 60 foot swells and 50 Knot winds. Everything was locked down and many sick people. Not fun. 

 

[cruiserfromohio]

All depends on the route.  If you're going through Bermuda, it's a crap shoot with rough weather.  If you're going through the Caribbean to Florida, odds are the weather will be from OK to very nice.  I have done both routes in November.  The more northern route was probably the roughest I have encountered.  The southernly routes were wonderful.  The same comment holds going West to East in April.  Go south, good; go north through Bermuda, bad.

[Markanddonna]

After about five transatlantics, one in the fall, we had smooth sailing once on the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean can be rather choppy in the fall.  We experienced a Medicane (a hurricane in the Mediterranean) last December around the Straits of Messina.  That was an experience, but most of us didn't get seasick. The buffet and restaurants were closed for a while, as were the elevators. 

 

I've only been seasick once and that was in the Pacific Northwest out of Seattle. The ship, rolled, pitched and "swirled."  I learned to never say never.

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

The ship, rolled, pitched and "swirled."

 

"Swirling":  yes, I have experienced that in a stern stateroom on the Westerdam.  Did not cause any seasickness for me, but it most surely was odd and something that I did not enjoy.  

[Markanddonna]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

"Swirling":  yes, I have experienced that in a stern stateroom on the Westerdam.  Did not cause any seasickness for me, but it most surely was odd and something that I did not enjoy.  

The next day, an officer told me that was his first ever seasickness event. It must have been a doozy for many. 

[Sue from Canada]

On 8/30/2020 at 11:44 PM, yanks23 said:

My brother booked a 14 Barcelona / Portugal relocation cruise next November.  I decided to join him on theLegend as this will be family event and I have never been to Spain and Portugal. Their will be the last 6 days at see in the North Atlantic in November. I have never cruised across the Atlantic and in November. How bad are we looking at the weather or should I not be worried. 
 

Thanks

I did a TA from Barcelona to Tampa in either October of November.  We had the calmest seas and temps were in the high seventies and low eighties.  We lucked out but you never know.  I'm doing another TA in November 2022.  Love those seas days.

[Surfguyxxx]

On 8/3/2021 at 1:53 AM, Sue from Canada said:

I did a TA from Barcelona to Tampa in either October of November.  We had the calmest seas and temps were in the high seventies and low eighties.  We lucked out but you never know.  I'm doing another TA in November 2022.  Love those seas days.

I'm doing a 14 night TA leaving Barcelona, Spain on 10/31/2021 and disembarking in Port Canaveral, Florida.  I look at it as if the weather is bad, that's ok because to me,  it's better than being behind a desk or preforming surgery in a trauma OR at 3am in the morning!  It's all good.

[RGEDad]

On 8/24/2021 at 3:34 PM, Surfguyxxx said:

I'm doing a 14 night TA leaving Barcelona, Spain on 10/31/2021 and disembarking in Port Canaveral, Florida.  I look at it as if the weather is bad, that's ok because to me,  it's better than being behind a desk or preforming surgery in a trauma OR at 3am in the morning!  It's all good.

 

I do not look at is a good - or bad - it is just...interesting or not. Have done 6 or 7 TAs now and only one had really interesting weather. Going from London to Fort Lauderdale via Halifax, Boston and NYC. There were three hurricanes running around the Atlantic. Captain came on before we even left the Southhampton port and informed us he would be altering his course considerably southward, and we would probably not make Halifax, maybe get to Boston. He gave us probable wave heights we could expect, and stated if we had a propensity for seasickness to go to the medical center and pick up some medication - and take it before we set sail. He updated us about 3-4 times each day on what to expect. Did we have big waves - yes, Neither my wife nor I got sick - and she is prone to it - always wears a patch. I found it very interesting, I loved to go up to the observation deck (inside) to watch the weather/waves. Walking around the ship was fun. Dining room was...pretty empty. Missed Halifax & Boston, and he had to call in two tugs to get us into the port dock in NYC (He stated $60K per tug - but it was much safer given the wind in the port). Rest of the trip was...boringly calm.

I was taking to my TA after about the cruise and he said he had one client who really, really loved bad weather/big wave cruising and would call him when he could see a cruise that was going to be getting big weather and wanted to get on that cruise.

So - just because it is big weather, does not make it a bad cruise, AND it is still so much better than working.

[Heidi13]

52 minutes ago, RGEDad said:

 

I do not look at is a good - or bad - it is just...interesting or not. Have done 6 or 7 TAs now and only one had really interesting weather. Going from London to Fort Lauderdale via Halifax, Boston and NYC. There were three hurricanes running around the Atlantic. Captain came on before we even left the Southhampton port and informed us he would be altering his course considerably southward, and we would probably not make Halifax, maybe get to Boston. He gave us probable wave heights we could expect, and stated if we had a propensity for seasickness to go to the medical center and pick up some medication - and take it before we set sail. He updated us about 3-4 times each day on what to expect. Did we have big waves - yes, Neither my wife nor I got sick - and she is prone to it - always wears a patch. I found it very interesting, I loved to go up to the observation deck (inside) to watch the weather/waves. Walking around the ship was fun. Dining room was...pretty empty. Missed Halifax & Boston, and he had to call in two tugs to get us into the port dock in NYC (He stated $60K per tug - but it was much safer given the wind in the port). Rest of the trip was...boringly calm.

I was taking to my TA after about the cruise and he said he had one client who really, really loved bad weather/big wave cruising and would call him when he could see a cruise that was going to be getting big weather and wanted to get on that cruise.

So - just because it is big weather, does not make it a bad cruise, AND it is still so much better than working.

 

When it comes to heavy weather, everything is relative to your experience.

 

On your cruise, assuming that the galley was still serving hot meals and you could still sleep on the bed, when I worked at sea, those type of days were simply a regular day at the office. Probably only gale or storm force winds.

 

However, when the galley stopped serving hot meals, furniture started sliding, we had to move the mattress onto the deck and we had green seas hitting the Bridge windows, that was really rough weather and was definitely not fun to experience. I fortunately survived all of those experiences, sadly many ships and mariners did not.

 

One severe storm in the Pacific, we hove to for 2 days, which is placing the head to wind and riding out the storm with minimal power to maintain steering. In 2 days we lost 30 miles. The world's oceans are powerful and when the wind blows, should be treated with a very healthy respect.

 

I've spent 40 yrs at sea and experienced a number of storms where I would have preferred to be ashore.

[RGEDad]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

On your cruise, assuming that the galley was still serving hot meals and you could still sleep on the bed, when I worked at sea, those type of days were simply a regular day at the office. Probably only gale or storm force winds.

 

However, when the galley stopped serving hot meals, furniture started sliding, we had to move the mattress onto the deck and we had green seas hitting the Bridge windows, that was really rough weather and was definitely not fun to experience.

oh - I am quite aware that what I experienced was nowhere near how bad it might have gotten. I was very happy the captain did what he could to mitigate the foul weather and waves. Bad ship motion on a cruise ship with 4000 land-lubbers is a lot different than bad ship motion on a commercial or navy ship. 

I guess I was trying to relate that a cruise ship captain can/and will make modifications to try to mitigate bad weather. And just because it is big waves, does not mean it is not interesting. 

A commercial/navy ship may not have the flexibility. When I was in the Air Force Communications (many, many moons ago) I had Navy friends that I talked to tell me stories about their antenna sets being ripped off of upper decks of their cruisers during storms.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, RGEDad said:

oh - I am quite aware that what I experienced was nowhere near how bad it might have gotten. I was very happy the captain did what he could to mitigate the foul weather and waves. Bad ship motion on a cruise ship with 4000 land-lubbers is a lot different than bad ship motion on a commercial or navy ship. 

I guess I was trying to relate that a cruise ship captain can/and will make modifications to try to mitigate bad weather. And just because it is big waves, does not mean it is not interesting. 

A commercial/navy ship may not have the flexibility. When I was in the Air Force Communications (many, many moons ago) I had Navy friends that I talked to tell me stories about their antenna sets being ripped off of upper decks of their cruisers during storms.

 

We routinely lost aerials, but the power of the ocean is demonstrated when 3/4" steel plate is bent and mangled.

[rkacruiser]

15 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

One severe storm in the Pacific, we hove to for 2 days, which is placing the head to wind and riding out the storm with minimal power to maintain steering. In 2 days we lost 30 miles. The world's oceans are powerful and when the wind blows, should be treated with a very healthy respect.

 

Well said!  

[Shannon Shamrock]

On 10/12/2020 at 1:30 PM, KonaDave said:

Be afraid, be very afraid!!  Once had 6 days of 40 to 60 foot swells and 50 Knot winds. Everything was locked down and many sick people. Not fun. 

 

A few years ago I did a reposition on Oceana from Barcelona to Miami and has similar seas after leaving the Azores. Easily 40 to 60 feet and highest winds of 70 mph. (I am an experienced off shore sailor in the Irish Sea). One lady lost some fingers when an exterior door slammed and someone else broke an ankle. The beautiful designer china was flying and breaking and the crew were mostly seasick (But worked their little hearts out!) as they were coming from several weeks of calm in the Med! My balcony door blew off the bottom track. We were unable to put into Bermuda and I never understood why the Captain did not alter course to avoid the worst of the storm. As the ship was less than 700 ft., while in the dining room you could often hear the propeller cavitation as it was lifted.   I would go again at the same time as I believe this was an exception rather than the rule. I would fear a storm like this in one of the really big ships as they look so top heavy.

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, Shannon Shamrock said:

A few years ago I did a reposition on Oceana from Barcelona to Miami and has similar seas after leaving the Azores. Easily 40 to 60 feet and highest winds of 70 mph. (I am an experienced off shore sailor in the Irish Sea). One lady lost some fingers when an exterior door slammed and someone else broke an ankle. The beautiful designer china was flying and breaking and the crew were mostly seasick (But worked their little hearts out!) as they were coming from several weeks of calm in the Med! My balcony door blew off the bottom track. We were unable to put into Bermuda and I never understood why the Captain did not alter course to avoid the worst of the storm. As the ship was less than 700 ft., while in the dining room you could often hear the propeller cavitation as it was lifted.   I would go again at the same time as I believe this was an exception rather than the rule. I would fear a storm like this in one of the really big ships as they look so top heavy.

 

For an experienced sailor, surely you know that marine wind speeds are quoted in "Knots", not mph. Sorry, but yet another armchair Captain, 2nd guessing the qualified Master responsible for safety of the ship and her pax/crew. With the quality of weather routing advice provided to the Masters these days, I would be very surprised that the Master did not follow that advice, especially when the shore office has access to the information.

 

Please provide your evidence that the Master didn't follow the routing advice provide.

 

As an "Experienced off-shore sailor" surely you have at least a minimal understanding of basic ship stability and would know better than to make the "Rookie" comment of top heavy.

 

BTW - the length of the ship has nothing to do with prop cavitation, when the ship is pitching significantly the wheels can broach the surface on any ship.

[Scubamaiden]

We are doing a TA from Southampton down to Canary I and across to Miami this November. Two questions…does anyone know how long it takes to get from Southampton to the English Channel and then to the Atlantic?

Hoping for good weather but knowing there will be some cooler days, when might we expect it to start to warm up as we come across closer to Miami? It’s a six day trip. 
thank you!!

[TheOldBear]

35 minutes ago, Scubamaiden said:

We are doing a TA from Southampton down to Canary I and across to Miami this November. Two questions…does anyone know how long it takes to get from Southampton to the English Channel and then to the Atlantic?

Hoping for good weather but knowing there will be some cooler days, when might we expect it to start to warm up as we come across closer to Miami? It’s a six day trip. 
thank you!!

Doing some measuring on Google Earth, it looks like 420 statute miles from Southampton to the edge of the continental shelf south of Ireland.

On our last crossing, that was about the point where the QM2 abruptly turned north and went to full speed to meet an Irish medevac helicopter.

After that, we resumed the normal great circle route.

There was a variety of weather for the next six days, none of it tropical 😉

 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Scubamaiden said:

We are doing a TA from Southampton down to Canary I and across to Miami this November. Two questions…does anyone know how long it takes to get from Southampton to the English Channel and then to the Atlantic?

Hoping for good weather but knowing there will be some cooler days, when might we expect it to start to warm up as we come across closer to Miami? It’s a six day trip. 
thank you!!

 

The timing to clear the IoW, entering the English Channel depends on the amount of time to depart the berth, whether she has to turn around, tides, speed, other marine traffic, etc. Allow about 3 to 4hrs.

 

You are normally entering the Bay of Biscay the following late afternoon/evening after departure. Again very dependent on the ship's speed. Many of my Southampton departures were at 20 - 25 kts, so the modern ships take a little longer.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

The sea can rear its ugly head anytime but October-November can be dicey.  We have experienced 110 mile an hour winds on QE2 mid Atlantic with a huge trench wave that must have been 75’ or more.  The ship dropped more than 50’ in just seconds.  We had 135 mile an hour winds off Bermuda on RCI Jewel Of The Seas.  The seas were so severe that two of the aft cabins snapped off their steel girder supports!  We hit the tail end of a hurricane onboard the Bremen headed out of New York for the Bahamas.  The waves were so strong they bent the fore rails on the bow…50’ above the waterline.  We hit all these storms in October.  Generally speaking the safest route is the southern route from the Azores or the Med and South to Florida.  The North Atlantic routes can be the worst but you never know.  We once made a crossing in the North Atlantic in October from New York on the SS France that was so smooth we forgot we were on a ship.  We were leaving the theater and I caught myself reaching for my car keys before I realized we were mid Atlantic!  

Edited March 8, 2022 by CGTNORMANDIE