Question re Regatta-class size and motion sickness

[MarkWiltonM]

I am contemplating a cruise on the Insignia that sails from Montreal to Bermuda to Fort Lauderdale (with other ports in between). I have never sailed on a cruise ship smaller than 2,000 passengers and 85,000 gross tonnage, and I wonder if there is significantly more ocean roll and the potential for motion sickness on a ship the size of the Insignia (700 passengers, 30,000 gross tonnage). We would be in the Atlantic in October when weather has the potential to be stormy and the seas rough. I have only been seasick once in my life, when I was on a whale-watching expedition boat that held about 40 people including the crew. We were in the Sea of Cortez and had one bad storm. I was sick for two or three hours and then fine. I'm not concerned enough to avoid the cruise but would like to know what to expect, potentially, and what areas of the ship would be least likely to be affected by this. Thanks for any advice.

[pinotlover]

The Bermuda Triangle in October. That says enough all by itself. 
 

In bad seas, the Captains normally slow the vessels down and put out the stabilizers which help minimize the pitch and yaw. Things aren’t typically bad unless the seas get up to 10+ feet.
 

No guarantees, the Bermuda Triangle in October.

[alaskaca]

We were told mid-ship (center) and the lower you go in the ship, the less motion you will experience.  
Our cruising experience with Oceania has  been exclusively on R-ships and we are okay with the motion booking mid-ship and usually on decks 7 or 8. 
The R ships also have what I think are good stabilizers. 
YMMV

[marieps]

35 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

The Bermuda Triangle in October. That says enough all by itself. 
 

In bad seas, the Captains normally slow the vessels down and put out the stabilizers which help minimize the pitch and yaw. Things aren’t typically bad unless the seas get up to 10+ feet.
 

No guarantees, the Bermuda Triangle in October.

Sirena's October TA also hits Bermuda before Miami.  You got me thinking, Pinot.

[LHT28]

We have hit some rough seas on the R ships  but as long as I am not  in the Theatre or Horizons  I am OK

 I would try for mu=id ship  as suggested  though we have been in the aft quarter on deck 6 & 7  & it can be a bit bumpy if the seas are bad   but I was fine

YMMV

[bigmjh]

As Pinot said above - it's the Bermuda Triangle ... it's October ... it's anyone's guess how the seas will be but the odds are against "smooth and calm".

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, MarkWiltonM said:

I am contemplating a cruise on the Insignia that sails from Montreal to Bermuda to Fort Lauderdale (with other ports in between). I have never sailed on a cruise ship smaller than 2,000 passengers and 85,000 gross tonnage, and I wonder if there is significantly more ocean roll and the potential for motion sickness on a ship the size of the Insignia (700 passengers, 30,000 gross tonnage). We would be in the Atlantic in October when weather has the potential to be stormy and the seas rough. I have only been seasick once in my life, when I was on a whale-watching expedition boat that held about 40 people including the crew. We were in the Sea of Cortez and had one bad storm. I was sick for two or three hours and then fine. I'm not concerned enough to avoid the cruise but would like to know what to expect, potentially, and what areas of the ship would be least likely to be affected by this. Thanks for any advice.

 

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

The Bermuda Triangle in October. That says enough all by itself. 
 

In bad seas, the Captains normally slow the vessels down and put out the stabilizers which help minimize the pitch and yaw. Things aren’t typically bad unless the seas get up to 10+ feet.
 

No guarantees, the Bermuda Triangle in October.

 

15 minutes ago, bigmjh said:

As Pinot said above - it's the Bermuda Triangle ... it's October ... it's anyone's guess how the seas will be but the odds are against "smooth and calm".

First, not a big deal as to answering the OP's question, but the cruise will end in Miami, not Fort Lauderdale .

Second, if you examine where the Bermuda Triangle is this cruise would spend little time in that area of the Atlantic. The northernmost vertex of the Bermuda Triangle is at Bermuda, so in sailing from Montreal to Bermuda, which comprises about 85% of the itinerary, the ship will not be in the Bermuda Triangle at all. Only on the two sea days from Bermuda to Miami, which is the westernmost vertex of the Bermuda Triangle would the ship be merely skirting...and not even going through the heart of... the Bermuda Triangle.

We've been regular cruisers from NY to Bermuda for about 35 years...on ships large and small...in every month from April through October...and the seas are sometimes rough, sometimes as smooth as glass. It's weather conditions that will write the story, and it is an area that can be prone to rough seas, but the myth of the Bermuda Triangle has not a thing to do with that.

[LHT28]

We did  a similar cruise  from Miami- Bermuda-Norfolk etc    in April one year

we spent an extra day in Bemuda & missed Norfolk because of the weather

 I think you just have to take your chances  but I would  not go in Sept or Oct  😲

JMO

[mauibabes]

I think Marina and Riviera might be more stable but everyone has their own tolerance with motion sickness, whatever the ship. Midship is is still best but if the weather is bad, lots of people get sick. My wife got sick at dinner on Regatta off the Shetland islands, 25’ waves and 50+ mph winds and watching the waves out the window of the Grand Dining Room. I was just fine, lucky me.🤪

 

We have done 10+ trips on the R class ships and we only had that one negative experience on Oceania.  My only motion sickness issue was on a Princess ship returning from the Caribbean in December. 
Every trip is unique, good luck, wear wrist bands, take meds, eat ginger and say your prayers if the weather gets really rough.  

[lj77346]

We've had about 10 cruises on R class ships and as LHT28 mentioned, on rough days there can be lots of movement in Horizons and the Theater.  We were playing trivia in the Theater on an especially wavy day and by the time the game was over, probably more than 50% of the players (including my wife) left.

Fortunately, days like that have been few and far between.

 

Another place where we've noticed lots of motion on rough nights was in Polo Grill and Toscano - normally we like tables at the back of the restaurants, but on days with lots of movement we ask to be seated as far in the front of the restaurant as possible.

[mexicobob]

Being in the middle of the ship on a lower deck probably helps but if the seas are angry you are on a ship and it will be rocking. As a poster above stated, wear sea bands (definetely help me), take meds.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just now, mexicobob said:

Being in the middle of the ship on a lower deck probably helps but if the seas are angry you are on a ship and it will be rocking. As a poster above stated, wear sea bands (definetely help me), take meds.

It helps tremendously!  DW always walks 3 miles a day, and on cruises she does it on a corridor loop of one of the cabin decks – no matter how low a deck she chooses, she always notices a difference between the front of the ship [most movement in all seas], the middle [least] and the aft [combo].  If you are worried about seasickness, middle and low is the only way to go.  [In theory, an Inside would be the trifecta because it's also in the middle of the beam – but I'm told that having a window is more important since looking at the horizon helps orient your sense of balance.]

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

but I'm told that having a window is more important since looking at the horizon helps orient your sense of balance.]

Looking at the horizon makes it worse for me

it may work for others

[ORV]

15 hours ago, LHT28 said:

We did  a similar cruise  from Miami- Bermuda-Norfolk etc    in April one year

we spent an extra day in Bemuda & missed Norfolk because of the weather

 I think you just have to take your chances  but I would  not go in Sept or Oct  😲

JMO

I didn’t know you were on that trip Lyn. Or maybe it was a different one. We didn’t miss Norfolk, we actually had a unscheduled overnight there as we didn’t get there until 4 pm. Had to adjust and not get the overnight we had scheduled for Charleston though. 
 

I actually flew into Norfolk yesterday and am in Virginia Beach today.  Getting ready to head down to outer banks for a couple of days. Sure has been nice seeing the ocean again. 
 

As to the original topic, I find it’s more about the size of the storm than the size of the ship. I was on a Celebrity ship that is about 3000 passengers that got into a bad storm in the Mediterranean that was tossed around like a dingy. FWIW R ships handle rough weather pretty well for their size. 

 

 

[Harters]

On 5/5/2021 at 3:42 PM, alaskaca said:

We were told mid-ship (center) and the lower you go in the ship, the less motion you will experience.  

I think the physics supports this.

 

A ship will move in two ways. First, pitching from front to back. In which case, the middle is the pivot point and therefore moves least. Secondly, it rolls from side to side, in which case, lower decks move least.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

I didn’t know you were on that trip Lyn. Or maybe it was a different one. We didn’t miss Norfolk, we actually had a unscheduled overnight there as we didn’t get there until 4 pm. Had to adjust and not get the overnight we had scheduled for Charleston though. 
 

 

 

Orv

it was a few years ago  maybe 2018 

We did miss Norfolk as it was one on my bucket list   but the extra day in Hamilton  was nice

Enjoy the beach

Stay safe

 

[LHT28]

18 minutes ago, Harters said:

I think the physics supports this.

 

A ship will move in two ways. First, pitching from front to back. In which case, the middle is the pivot point and therefore moves least. Secondly, it rolls from side to side, in which case, lower decks move least.

I like deck 4    for the best location on the R ships 😉

[cotto22]

We were on Insignia for a TA (northern route) that hit a fall storm. The outside decks were closed for several days, and things flew around our cabin (deck 😎 as if there were poltergeists in the room. I wore the patch, so I was basically fine, although I walked like a drunken sailor. I am very prone to motion sickness, but love cruising (yes, I know), and do not have any side effects except for thirst, which is not problem since it is good to stay hydrated anyway. Considering the wave height, I think Insignia did a great job staying as stable as she did. I would not hesitate to sail on her again.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, Harters said:

I think the physics supports this.

 

A ship will move in two ways. First, pitching from front to back. In which case, the middle is the pivot point and therefore moves least. Secondly, it rolls from side to side, in which case, lower decks move least.

Basically correct, except that the fulcrum for pitching is aft of the midpoint because of the weight of the engines in the rear.  I've never seen any deckplans that show exactly where this point is.

[d9704011]

13 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Basically correct, except that the fulcrum for pitching is aft of the midpoint because of the weight of the engines in the rear.  I've never seen any deckplans that show exactly where this point is.

And you won’t see that on the deck plans.  

 

Pitching is rotation around the axis through the transverse centre of gravity which is usually located near midships and often a bit astern of there.  As you noted, it is dependent on weight distribution and the machinery plays a big part of that although it’s often compensated for by ballast to get a good trim.

 

Rolling, is rotation of the ship around the axis through the  longitudinal centre of gravity.  Once again, that is dependent on weight distribution but is typically located on the centre line of the ship so that there is no list.

 

There are also four other (somewhat uncommon) ways a ship can move:  yawing (rotation around the vertical axis) heaving, surging and swaying (translational movements).

 

Although cruise ships don’t move all that much, if a landlubber is looking for the least exciting ride a lower-deck, midships inside cabin is their best bet.

[avalong]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

And you won’t see that on the deck plans.  

 

Pitching is rotation around the axis through the transverse centre of gravity which is usually located near midships and often a bit astern of there.  As you noted, it is dependent on weight distribution and the machinery plays a big part of that although it’s often compensated for by ballast to get a good trim.

 

Rolling, is rotation of the ship around the axis through the  longitudinal centre of gravity.  Once again, that is dependent on weight distribution but is typically located on the centre line of the ship so that there is no list.

 

There are also four other (somewhat uncommon) ways a ship can move:  yawing (rotation around the vertical axis) heaving, surging and swaying (translational movements).

 

Although cruise ships don’t move all that much, if a landlubber is looking for the least exciting ride a lower-deck, midships inside cabin is their best bet.

I got the tiniest bit queasy reading the 2nd to last paragraph......

[Host Jazzbeau]

46 minutes ago, avalong said:

I got the tiniest bit queasy reading the 2nd to last paragraph......

Then you probably need to use 6 patches – each one placed in the correct body area to counter that particular ship movement.  Or, just drink enough that you are horizontal and unaware of any movement!  🤣

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Then you probably need to use 6 patches – each one placed in the correct body area to counter that particular ship movement.  Or, just drink enough that you are horizontal and unaware of any movement!  🤣

I’ll drink to that! 🥂

[Roccaforte]

The patches work great for seasickness but they make me a little fuzzy and affect my appetite.  Also, alcoholic beverages are not recommended while using them.   Not a good thing on an Oceania cruise.  I always take them with me but use them only when stormy seas are predicted.  Having been on both Riviera and Insignia there has never been a day rough enough to cause a problem.  Maybe just knowing that you have a solution will help.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Roccaforte said:

The patches work great for seasickness but they make me a little fuzzy and affect my appetite.  Also, alcoholic beverages are not recommended while using them.   Not a good thing on an Oceania cruise.  I always take them with me but use them only when stormy seas are predicted.  Having been on both Riviera and Insignia there has never been a day rough enough to cause a problem.  Maybe just knowing that you have a solution will help.

That's a buzz kill.  Writing them off.