What is the smoothest sailing area/ship out there?

[beachdude395]

This applies for all lines, and in the winter time... Just looking, because I have a member of my party who has a hard time walking, and we are trying to find a stable ship:)

[wraithe]

This applies for all lines, and in the winter time... Just looking, because I have a member of my party who has a hard time walking, and we are trying to find a stable ship:)

 

Generally, and that is all it is, generally, the bigger the better. Voyager class is going to be better than Vision class, for instance. I would expect Freedom will be better than Voyager. A given size wave will not have as much effect on the larger ship. That and the stabilizers go a long way toward smoothing out the seas. There's little you can do about the weather other than guess. This last year was quite an eye opener with named storms lasting almost all the way through December. Hope this helps a little.

Wraithe

[phoenixlady]

I cruised across the Pacific to Hawaii in May and that was the roughest. I've sailed to Alaska in August and that was the calmest. I also cruised to the Caribbean in March and that was pretty calm too. But, it depends on the time of year for all. I'm pretty sure that the newer the ship the better the stabilizers.

[beachdude395]

Thats basically what I was guessing, Thanks for the info.

[anniev3]

In my opinion....sailing from San Juan is a good bet....try to avoid the deep winter months (Dec, Jan, Feb)

Avoid anything in the Pacific Ocean (ie: Hawaii islands or Seattle cruises)

Alaska would be very calm however season is limited to summer months if that works for you.

 

Best of luck with your decision!

[GMoney]

I was really impressed how well NCL Dawn handled the trip from NYC to the Caribbean in winter, especially at high rates of speed. Very smooth - even better than the Voyager rides I've been on in the summer / fall.

[beachdude395]

I heard the opposite with alaska- it might just be the boat that is chosen..

[Firefighterhoop]

I would definately agree with the voyager class ship or the Freedom class.. The bigger the better it handles the weight!

 

I would reccomend the western or southern caribbean. The eastern can get rough at times when you are in the stretch between the Virgin Islands and Miami (Bahama Channel)

 

I would also avoid Aug-Nov when it is hurricane season!!! Even though you wouldn't be near an actual hurrican in a ship, some of the smaller storms can make for rough seas.

[badduck1974]

I would definately agree with the voyager class ship or the Freedom class.. The bigger the better it handles the weight!

 

I would reccomend the western or southern caribbean. The eastern can get rough at times when you are in the stretch between the Virgin Islands and Miami (Bahama Channel)

 

I would also avoid Aug-Nov when it is hurricane season!!! Even though you wouldn't be near an actual hurrican in a ship, some of the smaller storms can make for rough seas.

Hey FireFighterhoop,

I noticed you are going on the Conquest on April 30th, Why don't you join our roll call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=5935251#post5935251

[beachdude395]

Does the Norwegian Star in early january seem like a smooth sailing ship?

[Firefighterhoop]

The star is a 90,000 Ton ship, so it would be relitively smooth, (Weather depending) however, The pacific coast, as a lot of people have said has a reputation for being rough.

[Firefighterhoop]

The star is a 90,000 Ton ship, so it would be relitively smooth, (Weather depending) however, The pacific coast, as a lot of people have said has a reputation for being rough.

[VanNess]

Was on the Majesty out of Miami to Nassau, CocoCay and Key West in early February. I swear we were floating on cotton! You barely knew you were at sea if you didn't see the wake. I wonder if that little triangle, so sheltered down there, is always so smooth.

[untailored bostonian]

At the end of August 2004, we took a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise that became a 10 day western Caribbean cruise. That was the year that Southern Florida was hit by the three hurricanes. That was the smoothest cruise we were ever on. Where we were it was a glass smooth ocean. We spent spent 36 hours at the dock in Cosumel. We then spent two sea days going in a big, lazy, very calm, circles with 5 or six other cruise ships off the tip of Cuba.

 

The wakes of the ships was the only “rough water” we saw. ;)

[beachdude395]

So which season is the best for sailing?

[FinelyCruising]

We were on Jewel during Gale force winds near Nassau last April (when Dawn took a bath) and this ship handled like none other in this very rough weather and seas), it barely resonated movement. We also were on Voyager class twice, one from SJU for deep Carribean in March and once from NYC to Carribean in July. Both of those ships/trips were wonderful...but must say there was also no rough weather, in fact the Atlantic in July was like a glass mirror, flat and absolutely unbeleiveable.

[ger_77]

The smoothest cruise we were ever on was the Mediterranean/Black Sea during the month of June - we were on the Prinsendam, which is a very small ship (only 790 passengers), so if we had any kind of seas, we'd have been bobbing like a cork. I'm prone to motion sickness of any kind, and didn't have even a twinge on that sailing.

 

Our roughest experience came last February on the Coral Princess during a Panama Canal cruise - we had 17' to 20' seas one evening and everything was rocking and rolling, including us. I took a lot of Bonine and both DH and I hung onto the bed to keep from rolling off. Walking down the halls was a trip in itself, as we went to our friend's cabin - and watching others trying to navigate the hallways was a real giggle. I actually had fun because I wasn't seasick, and could enjoy the experience. I'm thinking of booking it again because it was such a lot of fun.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[OPSoccermom]

One way to measure stability in rough water is by how much water a ship drafts (displaces), which means how deep the hull reaches into the ocean. This info is usually available with the "specs" on a particular ship. Ships designed for transatlantic travel should have more stability than those design specifically for southern route cruising.

 

Heavier may not always be more stabler if a ship is boxy and rides higher on the water. Many years ago, when the Sovereign OTS was brand new, we cruised out of Miami in rough January weather on the Norway. We cruised parallel to the Sovereign the entire week. When we got back to Miami, a large number of the passengers from the Sovereign complained about seasickness and and rough seas. Folks from the Norway felt the motion for sure, but did not see the incidence of seasickness seen on the Sovereign. Norway and Sovereign were approx the same gross tonnage (Sovereign I believe was a little heavier), but Norway's draft was much deeper than Sovereign.

[surfklutz]

OK- I will disagree with everyone here. A smaller ship that rides closer to the water and is stabilized will be smoother. In bad current - big ships just sway bigger - and that can be a problem. I have always had great stability on SeaDream ( only 4900 tons ) in the Caribbean - never felt a thing - and have sailed with them 4 times in the Eastern Caribbean. If a storm hits, those little ships can also seek refuge in a bay somewhere - larger ships just can't. And the smaller ships stay to the Leeward side of the islands. SeaDream generally only sails at night as well.

 

Spring Caribbean is usually very smooth - stick with Eastern Caribbean - out of St. Thomas. Don't attempt a cruise on anything out of Florida - you have to go through the straits where cold water meets warm - and it can be rough anytime.

[Druke I]

Surfklutz above makes some cogent points - those who believe a large ship rides better are often proved wrong.

 

Fineness of hull (length/breadth ratio) and shape of hull directly impact smoothness of ride. The late great Royal Princess, now Artemis of P&O, is a great rider in heavy seas, as is the late Sky Princess, now P&O Australia's Pacific Sky.

 

Many of the mega-ships are relatively flat bottomed, and tend to roll when the wind is abeam.

 

Those who put all their faith in stabilizers get rude awakenings in heavy seas, when they are retracted. Stabilizers can act like diving planes on a submarine, pull the ship down by the bow in heavy seas - and that is not a good thing for a surface ship. Additionally, stabilizers create a lot of drag, and increase fuel consumption, so often are retracted when the ship is going faster than cruising speed.

[FinelyCruising]

Without being argumentative, once again having been on Jewel in awful winds/seas as noted on this thread already, I can say for certain, that ship handles the water superbly and I give it very high marks.

 

Being a boat owner, hype about specifications is great, take it out for a ride in a variety of conditions and see what it really does, is how you decide about the ride IMHO.