Rough seas in the Mediterranean?

[pdx4me]

We've never been to the Mediterranean before and are considering a cruise on HAL Zuiderdam on May 8 or May 20 which begins in either Venice or Barcelona and includes Debrovvnik, Corfu, Santorini, Catania, Naples, Rome, Livorno and Barcelona, Are the seas rough in this area this time of year? Are there other Mediterranean ports that you would recommend?

 

Thanks :)

 

Linda

[jmb4534]

Hi Linda,

 

We were in the Eastern Med last May. In fact we did a B2B from San Juan to Rome and then the Eastern Med. We never had any rough seas at all. I was totally amazed at how calm it was. We did have rain in Santorini and Mykonos, but the seas were always calm. Of course, I'm sure it can get very rough out there at any time. It was an awesome trip. We will be on the Zuiderdam on May 8, 2008 out of Venice. Perhaps we will see you on the ship?

 

Janelle

[GMoney]

I agree with Janelle. I was on RCI's Brilliance for 24 days in June and I barely knew I was at sea. The only time we had seas / motion was during the night between Barcelona and the French Riviera, on both cruises, coming and going.

[vivian02]

I have been on three Mediterrean cruises and did not encounter any rough seas until our last trip this last May. We were on RCI Legend of the Seas and I knew something was up when we sailed out of Athens and the crew was securing the lounge chairs up on the top deck. The following night when we were sailing through the straights of Messina it was rock and roll time. We had a inside cabin on deck 2 and really had no problems sleeping. However we later heard folks up on Deck 8 had problems with loose items rolling around on the floor. There were people getting sick. Other than this one incident I would call the Mediterrean like glass. Tim

[Keith1010]

You will likely have relatively calm seas. Only one time did we have some moderately rough seas and that only lasted a few hours.

 

Keith

[maren91]

Just returned last month from the 12 night Brilliance of the Seas, our last night at sea sailing from Naples back to Barcelona was as the previous poster stated, ROCK AND ROLL! Oh my goodness! All outside decks were closed, the pool water was flying everywhere (fun to watch), the DJ in the disco was throwing up in a trashcan (and my sister was too). Even our waiter was getting sick. Always be prepared for rough seas, I too thought only calm seas in the Med. Oh, and there was no storm just very very windy.

[mahdnc]

Obviously the seas can be rough at any time. During our 6/18/07 Millennium cruise, we had very smooth seas in the Adriatic Sea (Venice to Dubrovnik to Athens) and in the Aegean Sea (Athens to Santorini to Naples). The seas were smooth as glass.

 

We hit much heavier seas during our cruise along the western coast of Italy--Naples to Civitavecchia to Livorno and leaving Livorno. The ship motion was enough to make us a little queasy.

[pdx4me]

Yep... that's the itinerary and date we're thinking about. I'm not the best sailor in rough waters so I appreciate the recommendations from those who posted responses.

 

Linda

[CEV426]

Take Bonine (meclazine sp?) at the first sign of rough seas. It works! I get queasy looking at water, and it has been a miracle for me. The active ingredient is the same as in Antivert used to treat vertigo.

[dogged]

Just returned from Norwegian Jewel in western Med - hardly knew we were at sea. Our experience was that the Med was much calmer than the Caribbean. Southern Europe is so hot and dry right now - maybe that influenced the sea conditions.

 

One of our daughters had great luck with Bonine and Meclazine - very prone to motion sickness even with calm seas and both these drugs worked well. Plus they are very inexpensive.

[Capsu78]

It's rare, but double up on the dramimine:

[Culater]

We were two weeks on HAL sailing from Rome to Amsterdam beginning 6/25/07. The first two nights were a bit heavy on the motion. I was just hoping it would be gone when I woke up the next morning. Beig a first time cruiser to Europe, I thought...what did I get myself into. When walking down the hallway you really at times had to hold on to the rail. When in the dining room I looked out the window and saw the horizon go toward the top of the window to the bottom. Several people said it was a bit heavy. We had bought the wrist bands (Sea bands) and I think it did keep us from getting motion sickness. But you just have to grin and bear it. Those were the worst days, after that it was either great or not so bad. Just don't go on thinking it will be "smooth as glass". BUT I am not trying to scare anyone into thinking it's bad to take a cruise, a bit of motion to survive is well worth the experience. Just be prepared that's all and enjoy.

[mochuck]

It's rare, but double up on the dramimine:

 

I remember watching that footage on youtube and thinking "Holy f*&k, what's happening to the people on board. This video gives you an idea. There was nobody worrying about what to wear to formal night on that cruise!

[Schmuppie's Mom]

Does anybody recognize this ship, or know when this video was taken? Yikes, that looks horrible!:eek:

[SoCalGal]

Does anybody recognize this ship' date=' or know when this video was taken? Yikes, that looks horrible!:eek:[/quote']

 

I believe that video was taken off the coast of Alaska on an educational (college) cruise.

[Capsu78]

I saw it posted as the "Voyager in the Mediteranean" but that info was still coming in third hand.

Anyway, the Med, like any big body of water, even the Great Lakes sometimes like to wake up grouchy and show mankind just who is the boss.

The Med is normally a pretty calm and inviting place compared to the North Atlantic or any number of other nautical locations.

You stand a better chance of getting boarded by pirates than coming across really heavy seas during most med cruise seasons.

[doog442]

Just got back yesterday 31st July 2007 from a weeks cruise in the Med.

 

We hit bad weather on 30/7 between Corsica and Mallorca. Although clear blue skies and warm temps the wind got up to gale force 7-8 with a 12 metre swell and boy was it rough.

 

I was in a balcony cabin on deck 10 and was getting soaked by sea spray.

 

I was on Ocean Village 2. The sea state lasted for 10 hours. My understanding is that half the crew were ill as were alot of passengers. I was informed that this sort of weather can strike a cruise on average in the Med every 2 weeks.

[RHefley228]

Motion sickness is an odd thing. On my transatlantic cruise the ocean was so smooth that even the captain said it was like being on a lake. Nevertheless, two of our party of fourteen were violently ill the whole way across.

[Kindlychap]

Motion sickness is an odd thing. On my transatlantic cruise the ocean was so smooth that even the captain said it was like being on a lake. Nevertheless, two of our party of fourteen were violently ill the whole way across.

 

The best way to deal with motion is to be on the right ship. Queen Elizabeth 2 and (especially) Queen Mary 2 are built to withstand the North Atlantic at 25+ knots. They deal with rough weather better than a lot of other ships which sit on the water rather than in the water.

 

Other than that, the general rule is the bigger the better.

 

Matthew

[coxswain]

The best way to deal with motion is to be on the right ship.

 

 

Oh do explain - i'd love to hear this lol

 

 

 

 

jj......

[Travel 4 Ever]

Just returned from the Emerald and the seas were very calm the whole trip. I did take a Bonine almost every day but that was for the driving in the cars along the winding coastline (esp Almalfi). The one day I didn't take my meds in Kusadasi I got sick. I didn't anticipate the road being that curvy on the way to Euphasus. I suppose the motto is, be prepared for the worst, and hope for the best.

[wifey_ali]

We had a inside cabin on deck 2 and really had no problems sleeping.

 

we are booked on deck 2 oceanview for next april.

 

is it gonna be noisy? what are the disadvantage? last to embark/disembark?

[WonderMan3]

We just got back from the 8/21 Emerald Princess Greek Isles cruise. Seas overall were pretty good. They were either smooth as glass or very minimal motion from Venice all the way to Mykonos. Around Mykonos though the winds were intense with 6 foot swells. I almost threw up after coming back on the ferry from Delos. It was a very rough departure from Mykonos with the wind and waves splashing up on the side of the ship. I could feel lots of spray from my 11th floor balcony cabin. The rough seas continued as we sailed on to Rhodes so much so that they cancelled that port of call. And then it was rough onward to Kusadasi. Sailing back then towards Santorini it actually calmed down, then rough again for a few hours, then calm. It remained calm then all the way to the Straits of Messina. After that it started to get rough again and remained so all the way to Civitavecchia.

[corkpopr]

three out of three smooth as glass. but with modern cruise ships it's almost impossible to get sick they are so stable. Now, try a coast guard ship in the north atlantic in january some time to see rough seas

[English Tim]

three out of three smooth as glass. but with modern cruise ships it's almost impossible to get sick they are so stable. Now, try a coast guard ship in the north atlantic in january some time to see rough seas

 

 

We had a torrid time on our recent CP cruise. There was a moderate to heavy swell from leaving the shelter of Southampton Water, on the Saturday, to departing from Lisbon on the Tuesday. It was particularly bad on Saturday night/ Sunday and many people were confined to their cabons with sea sickness. I found it difficult to sleep for the first three nights as the ship was pitching, as well as rolling. Our cabin was on deck 12, adjacent to the Captain. He found it difficult to sleep! One staff member said it was the worst sea conditions he had encountered, cruising all around the world.