Got scared by something I read on an Explorer review

[Ocruise]

Hi. Since we are now considering the Explorer of the Seas for July I was reading some reviews. I was reading one review and they were having rough weather & I read the following & got scared:

"While sitting there you could feel the ship rising with a wave, then the wave coming out from under it and the ship becoming airborne. I took a Dramamine and went to bed about 1:30 a.m. It was a night I NEVER forget!"

I was surprised to hear this since the ship itself is gigantic. Should'nt they have used stabilizers to control it? (Note: The review was an awesome, helpful review and the reader was cruising during Hurricane Claudette).

I just wanted feedback if anyone had sailed on the Explorer, does it tolerate rougher weather well, is there a lot of motion (more so than other ships)even in calmer waether.

I ask this because we were on the Horizon last June & experienced 12-15 foot waves & I was so sick. I also was very scared during the rough weather, the same way I get scared when I am on a bumpy flight. I was very seasckick, but on my other cruises with calm seas, I was fine.

Thanks for any feedback,
Marina

[GinaDucey]

No experience with this ship but only 1 out of the 7 have been rough. It does not matter how large your ship is - the ocean is bigger. You can never fortell rough seas - but the odds are for smooth sailing (no pun intended).

Fantasy 11/91
Ecstasy 1/98
Fascination 11/99
Paradise 2/00
Imagination 4/02
Ecstasy 5/03
Paradise 10/03
Sovereign of the Seas 4/04

[yarlenna]

I agree. Even a large ship will still let you feel the motion of the ocean. Stabilizers smooth it out some, but if the ocean is moving a lot, you will be reminded that you are at sea.

Work like a dog. Live like a pauper. Save all your money. Then Cruise!

[cruisinisforme]

That must have been an old review, I was on the ship during that week. I have to tell you that I get extremely seasick and wear the patch for every trip, that was definitely a rough night, but it was only one, they sailed around the hurricane and we had good weather for all of the trip except that one night, I just went to bed. Have you tried anything for seasickness? Like I said I use the patch,I put it on the night before and it even helps with the airplane bumps, I dont even feel them anymore. As bad as that night might have been I have booked another cruise during hurricane season. Dont worry about it until you get to that week and hopefully you wont have a hurricane.

Janet

Mariner of the Seas 3/04
Enchantment of the Seas 9/03
Explorer of the Seas 7/03
Carnival Triumph 2/03
Imagination 7/02
Jubilee 4/02
Sensation 2/98
Carnivale 10/91

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Until we sail again on the Mariner

[cmason]

I was on Explorer 3 yrs ago, and one night we had a terrible rain storm and 40 mph winds. Depending on where you were on the ship, you could tell this was not "normal smooth sailing". At the front of the ship, it was quite a ride and some folks said they were qweazy in the theater with the show. But in the back, in the dining room, there was only slow motion noticable. One thing I noticed is that the ship did not roll, it was all pitch (up and down, not side to side). I suspect this is what they do to smooth the ride when they deploy the undewater fins (can't remember what they are called at the moment). On the top deck, you were too busy fighting the wind and rain to notice the ship. I get sea sick easily, and felt a bit qweazy myself after a few hours of this, but granted, I was all over the ship trying to see if I could notice the motion, and checking the sea, etc. Half a bonine later, and I was back in business.

Bottomline, though the ship is big, the ocean is bigger, and very powerful. Ships will toss a bit, but on the bigger ones you almost never notice. In bad weather, you will notice, but much less so than on smaller ships. You are really at the mercy of the weather: it happens, and ships move on the water.

One tip if the safety aspect worries you: Check out the Making of Voyager on the Discovery Channel, which runs from time to time. RCCL sells an expanded version of this in their gift shop as well. There is extensive coverage of the safety features on the ship, and one dramatic scene where they purposefully allow the ship to list something like 15 degrees, which it "weathers" with ease. Your ship will never get beyond 5 degrees or so, so it is assuring to know that it is designed for much much more weather than you will likely experience on any cruise.

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...left until Navigator of the Seas 11/13/04

[Bonnie Voyager]

I just got off Explorer yesterday. It was very windy all week. We could not stop at Cayman due to the extreme wind and choppy seas. The ship handled the rough seas very well! I had no problem at all with the slight movement on the ship. A few people here and there mentioned feeling seasick, but most were oblivious to the movement. Two years ago I was also on Explorer during a very calm week. I had to remind myself that I was onboard a ship at sea. It was so smooth!

Bonnie Voyager...a.k.a. "Bon Voyage"

“Enjoy whatever cruise you choose....just be sure and choose to cruise”

Inspiration 9/99
Triumph 6/00
Victory 8/00
Victory 6/01
Regal Empress 7/01
Explorer 4/02
Triumph 6/02
Carnival Legend 10/02
Norwegian Dawn 12/02
Disney Wonder 3/03
Pride 7/03
Explorer 4/04
Victory 6/04
Voyager 7/04
Carnival Legend 10/04
Adventure of the Seas 4/06
...and more in the works :-)

[heathernijoli]

It is better than some ships, I have heard. So keep in mind that ALL ships will get that way in bad sas. I was on Explorer two years ago in GREAT conditions and felt NO movement. I was also on her a month ago and had TERRIBLE seas - but it was a GREAT cruise. The ship knocked aruond abit like ships will do bbut we all got used to it and had a great cruise.
Good luck and have a great time...

Explorer of the Seas 2/04
Explorer of the Seas 9/02
Mariner of the Seas 8/04
PLANNING FOR:
Alaskan cruise for 2/05

[Ocruise]

cmason,
just curious, what does "half a bonnie later" mean, what type of medicine.

When we were in the Bermuda during our rough patch I took a mezaclanine (spelled wrong) and it took about 3 hours to work. It finally made me drowsy and I napped. By the time I woke up, the weather was much calmer, thank God! (I think the medicine did not work right away because I was so nervous/keyed up. This has happened before I fly I took one xanax, but it did not work at all, I was still tight as a drum the whole flight.)

I just got a litte freaked out reading the part of the review when she said the ship felt "airborne", I pictured a dratic ship list.

Thans everyone for calming my fears!

[opus1261]

We were on the cruise right after Hurricane claudette.The cruise director had made some comments about the previous week and how rough it was.But on our cruise it was smooth sailing. Its just hit and miss as far as the weather goes.

[trebblehook]

If you are concerned or scared to cruise there is only one thing to overcome this, cruise, cruise, cruise and it will become second nature.

[Chuck & Phyllis]

I think that the feeling of the ship being airborne is because a second wave hit fast causing that impression. Seas would have to almost be higher than the ship to cause it to actually go airborne. Swells may clear the first quarter of the ship off the water in real bad seas but that would result in a tie down (everything that could move secured). Next time you get nervous, remember that rarely will rough seas sink ships of the size we cruise. Fire is the ship's greatest danger.

Chuck & Phyllis

Doing Voyager on 5/21/04

Doing Empress om 9/18/04

[cmason]

Ocruise"

Bonine is a brand of seasickness drug. Benefit of Bonine is that it does not cause as much drowsiness as others. I am not sure, but I think Pfizer replaced the brand name, as they now have a Dramamine "less drowsy" now.

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...left until Navigator of the Seas 11/13/04

[bakal]

We just returned yesterday from the Rhapsody. We had 8-10 foot seas almost every day. Rained on and off for the 1st 3 days. Sun did not come out till Wednesday. Some people were very bothered by the movement. We were all fine (of coarse since I bought a ton of dranimine). Many people had the patches on. Our pool was closed 1 day due to the water splashing out and Grand Cayman port was cancelled so we did not get to go. We talked to some people on the smaller Carnival ship & they were able to go the same day we were cancelled. The larger Voyager had 2 ports cancelled. The only time they got off the ship was in Cozumel on Friday. So maybe sometimes smaller may be better?

Deb
Rhapsody of the Seas 4/11/2004

[TPKeller]

A little clarification of several posts here.

Meclizine is the active ingredient in several anti-nausea medications, including Bonine, Antivert and Dramamine II. It's all the same stuff.

[url="http://www.usadrug.com/IMCAccess/ConsDrugs/Meclizinecd.shtml"]http://www.usadrug.com/IMCAccess/ConsDrugs/Meclizinecd.shtml[/url]

Theron

[email="TPKeller@rocketmail.com"]click to e-mail me[/email]
Explorer of the Seas 9/27/03 Western
Celebrity Century 9/28/02 Eastern (Thanks to Lili)

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[alexkrn46]

On our Navigator cruise, the captain mentioned during the muster drill, if you get motion sickness you better take precautions. For 2-3 days the ship was rocking. The first night all I heard was sweaking, it was the hangers in the closet moving back and forth. When you when to a store you ccould here the merchanise clanging. For example in the general store you could here the bottles rattling each other.
The captain later explained the stablizers can neutralize the side to side motion but nothing can help when the ship goes over a big wave.
The was my 6 cruise and had the most motion.
I didn't get sick, I had a patchon ( actually I cut the patch in half) and didn't here too many complain.

[The Shopping Sherpa]

I always have a bottle of ginger beer with me when I cruise (ginger calms the tum and the sugar replaces stuff that you lose when you puke). Haven't needed to use it yet.

Perhaps if we all took ginger beer with us the weather would always be perfect?

One night I woke up because the ship was squeaking and rattling - but it was more my "eathquake senor" kicking in and once I convinced my subconscious it was OK I went back to sleep no problem.

Anna-Maria

Legend of the Seas Sydney-Auckland March 2002
Grandeur of the Seas Baltic May 2003
Star Leo Sydney-Sydney cruise to nowhere January 2004