Have you ever encountered severe weather on a cruise.

[Paul B]

The worst weather we ever experienced was on Vision of the Seas during early October 1998 on "The Route of The Vikings" All I can say is "poor Vikings."

 

The route took us across the North Atlantic on the way from England to Boston. including two stops in Iceland. On four days on the cruise, the waves were at least 40 feet high, and each evening the captain would tell us to "take your pills." Our cabin was on deck four, and the waves hit above our window each night. Of course, the outer decks were closed and the chairs were all lashed together. During much of this time, the elevators were not working.

 

On our worst night, the seas were 55 feet and the winds were at 80 knots. The captain did his best to keep our ship headed into the waves. Vision is over 800 feet long, and when the bow went into the waves, the screw on the back would come completely out of the water. The blades would then stop moving until the stern crashed completely into the water. If you have been on a ship with a display of the weather on the TV, it normally shows little to medium waves and a description of the weather. On this night, the condition was not gale or strong gale, but the description said "phenomenal!"

If they had a description of "Oh my God," they would have probably used it.

 

On one of the 40 feet plus nights, a cabin four rooms down the corridor suffered the window breaking and water pouring in. There were two English ladies inside. One, the daughter managed to get out, but the mother was momentarily trapped inside. After a few minutes , crew members finally got inside an put some kind of giant patch over the window. The room was totally demolished and the rooms on each side suffered great damage. Amazingly, they were totally rebuilt and the carpet outside replaced within two days. The daughter suffered some slight injury from the mirror breaking.

Everyone advised the two ladies to not sign any papers until they had consulted an attorney.

 

Our captain, Lief Otto Bang did a wonderful job handling the ship in the bad weather. We had the honor of dining with him on a subsequent voyage and he told us that , while he had been sailing in various types of ships for over 40 years, this was the second worst weather he had ever experienced.

 

As a side note, Silver Cloud was also making its voyage through the same waters and remained in Reklavik, Iceland after we departed. We heard a rumor that a grand piano the the atrium area was turned upside down and thrown across the room among other major damage. Also, we heard that all the passenger were flown home from Iceland.

 

Neither my wife nor I got sick, and we were among the passengers making our way, crawling or otherwise, up and down the stairs. This was one of our most memorable cruises, and I loved it. In the event thant anyone reading this was on the same cruise, perhaps you can add to my description.

[arcanium]

1.] Alaska cruise before all the great weather gadgets were available. Heading back south and out into the Pacific we ran into a storm. It was rocking so much that waves from the POOL would fly completely over the side without getting water on the deck!

 

Heh, awesome. :)

 

My own rough weather memory comes from a 2004 cruise on the Conquest, trying to dodge the hurricane of the moment. We were rocking and rolling in some pretty rough waters out there on the Gulf. There was one stiff wave that smacked the ship so hard it felt like being rear-ended by another car -- everything shook and shuddered for a second and everyone let out a collective gasp/scream.

 

After that, it was fine. Lots of dramatic rolling. I ordered Bloody Mary after Bloody Mary, relaxed on a seat near a window in the lounge and enjoyed the ride!

 

We didn't get to any of the ports we were supposed to, but we did go to Progreso which meant that we could go on the Chichen Itza tour, which was something I had wanted to do for years so I was happy.

[buddyjo143]

Does sailing out of Boston in December count as wild weather? In December you are almost guaranteed a nor'easter. That didn't deter us from booking a two day cruise to nowhere on the new NCL Gem back in Dec. of 2007. We had a ball.

 

And if a picture is worth a thousand words, check out the pictures and videos.

 

 

 

http://travel.webshots.com/video/3023607870100084953UMCqMF

[dan40]

The worst weather we ever experienced was on Vision of the Seas during early October 1998 on "The Route of The Vikings" All I can say is "poor Vikings."

 

The route took us across the North Atlantic on the way from England to Boston. including two stops in Iceland. On four days on the cruise, the waves were at least 40 feet high, and each evening the captain would tell us to "take your pills." Our cabin was on deck four, and the waves hit above our window each night. Of course, the outer decks were closed and the chairs were all lashed together. During much of this time, the elevators were not working.

 

On our worst night, the seas were 55 feet and the winds were at 80 knots. The captain did his best to keep our ship headed into the waves. Vision is over 800 feet long, and when the bow went into the waves, the screw on the back would come completely out of the water. The blades would then stop moving until the stern crashed completely into the water. If you have been on a ship with a display of the weather on the TV, it normally shows little to medium waves and a description of the weather. On this night, the condition was not gale or strong gale, but the description said "phenomenal!"

If they had a description of "Oh my God," they would have probably used it.

 

On one of the 40 feet plus nights, a cabin four rooms down the corridor suffered the window breaking and water pouring in. There were two English ladies inside. One, the daughter managed to get out, but the mother was momentarily trapped inside. After a few minutes , crew members finally got inside an put some kind of giant patch over the window. The room was totally demolished and the rooms on each side suffered great damage. Amazingly, they were totally rebuilt and the carpet outside replaced within two days. The daughter suffered some slight injury from the mirror breaking.

Everyone advised the two ladies to not sign any papers until they had consulted an attorney.

 

Our captain, Lief Otto Bang did a wonderful job handling the ship in the bad weather. We had the honor of dining with him on a subsequent voyage and he told us that , while he had been sailing in various types of ships for over 40 years, this was the second worst weather he had ever experienced.

 

As a side note, Silver Cloud was also making its voyage through the same waters and remained in Reklavik, Iceland after we departed. We heard a rumor that a grand piano the the atrium area was turned upside down and thrown across the room among other major damage. Also, we heard that all the passenger were flown home from Iceland.

 

Neither my wife nor I got sick, and we were among the passengers making our way, crawling or otherwise, up and down the stairs. This was one of our most memorable cruises, and I loved it. In the event thant anyone reading this was on the same cruise, perhaps you can add to my description.

 

Funny! Our cruise on Navigator of the Seas [2006] with 40 foot waves was also captained by Cap. Bang. Probably the same Cap.

 

Dan