cruising from california to hawaii

[cruisenuts4life]

Is weather always rough my sister is on Mercury now and said that it is very rough seas.I was supposed to go but cancelled and glad I did.

[Toto2Kansas]

Is weather always rough my sister is on Mercury now and said that it is very rough seas.I was supposed to go but cancelled and glad I did.

 

Most times the first couple of days and last couple of days of the LA to Hawaii cruise can be quite rough.

[raydon]

We found first and last days a tad rough, but it was not enough to take away from the wonderful cruise RT La/Hawaii! Would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Donna

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree leaving San Pedro it is not only a little rougher for the first day or two but cooler too. :)

[flamomo]

Maybe we just got lucky, but both times we have taken this cruise, there was never any rough seas. The first time we went it was in mid-January 2006 and the 2nd time we went in mid-March 2008.

[FritzG]

In mid-Jan 2008 it was perfectly smooth the whole way to Hawaii, but it was a bit rough on the way back. It wasn't enough to bother either of us, but it was rougher than the outgoing trip. We loved the cruise, and we'd do it again in a flash.

[Pam in CA]

Is weather always rough my sister is on Mercury now and said that it is very rough seas.I was supposed to go but cancelled and glad I did.

Any time you cruise out of San Pedro, whether it's to the Mexican Riviera or Hawaii, you are likely to experience some rough seas the first day or two out of San Pedro and the same returning. You're traveling through currents that are going south while the ocean or winds are traveling east which is what makes it rough. Besides, we've had some pretty strong weather systems come through SoCal out of the Gulf of Alaska over the last week or so.

 

You're on the Pacific Ocean so you can expect some movement and perhaps rough seas. That's what cruising the Pacific (or even the Atlantic) is like. :) I LOVE this itinerary (LA > HI > LA), have done it twice, have cruised once T/A across the Pacific, and have another LA > HI > LA cruise booked for next January. I could do it again and again; love the sea days and even the rocky motion of the seas.

[mauiedin87]

As Pam in CA says, the current that flows along the entire West Coast is what makes the first couple of days somewhat "choppy". It has nothing to do with the weather or the season of the year. Cruising across the Pacific or the Atlantic is not always as calm as paddling across a fishing pond. You might get lucky, but it's unpredictable. So be prepared with whatever motion sickness meds you need and "roll with it". ;)

[Putterdude]

We also experienced some rough water in among the Islands themselves.

[beannie]

Never felt a thing when we sailed in May 07. But we did sail out of Ensenada instead of San Pedro. And flew back.

[Kineticoh20]

Maybe we just got lucky, but both times we have taken this cruise, there was never any rough seas. The first time we went it was in mid-January 2006 and the 2nd time we went in mid-March 2008.

 

We also did the Diamond 15 day in March 08 and it was awesome all 15 days.

[JWJs]

Even though the seas may be a bit rough the 1st 2 days out of San Pedro, the cruise to Hawaii is sure worth it.:) So neat that your sister is on the Mercury! I haven't sailed on the Mercury but she's on my list.

[flamomo]

Kineticoh, you were on the same sailing as we were. I remember you posting on the roll call, but we didn't get to meet you onboard.

[MSBerliner]

OK old salts, here's the real question I have: can you compare an Atlantic crossing in the 50s on an old style passenger ship to a current day Pacific voyage on a modern, stabilized ship? My (future) wife and I met on the MS Berlin sailing from Bremerhaven to New York in 1955. We also met hurricane Ione at sea! THAT was a rough ride, but since we were young and excited we were not seasick! The swells were higher than the ship!

We are booked on the Golden November 22nd cruise to Hawaii (our 50th celebration). I would like to have an idea of what it is that experienced cruisers are really talking about. MULTI-THANKS.:):):)

[Buddy604]

OK old salts, here's the real question I have: can you compare an Atlantic crossing in the 50s on an old style passenger ship to a current day Pacific voyage on a modern, stabilized ship? My (future) wife and I met on the MS Berlin sailing from Bremerhaven to New York in 1955. We also met hurricane Ione at sea! THAT was a rough ride, but since we were young and excited we were not seasick! The swells were higher than the ship!

We are booked on the Golden November 22nd cruise to Hawaii (our 50th celebration). I would like to have an idea of what it is that experienced cruisers are really talking about. MULTI-THANKS.:):):)

I'll be able to compare to Hawaii next week, but I have done a fair amount of west coast cruising, as well as crossed the Atlantic in a 60s era liner (the QE2), and my experience was the Pacific has been rockier than the Atlantic. On the Atlantic, we had more side to side motion (to ensure I saw both sides of every corridor, I'm sure), but I found the Pacific to have more up-down porpoising, which had the advantage of allowing me to wait for the direction I'm heading to be downhill before I walk.

 

Remember too that the transatlantic ships of the 50s were heavier and studier liners, whereas today's cruise ships tend to move a bit more because of their shallower draft.

 

I think you may have a romantic recreation on your hands. :D

[mimisandy]

We must have been on a cruise with some of you because we, too, went in mid March 08 on the Diamond Princess. Three of us were fine the entire time, but one DH got a little motion sick and had a little loss of appetite because of it. Not much though. Nothing I would have classified as rough seas really.

Several years ago though coming from Cabo to San Diego at the end of a Panama Canal cruise, the last wonderful day we were to have at sea, it was really WINDY and cold. Not one single solitary person braved the outside deck. Must be those currents the CA person was talking about.

[mauiedin87]

Having come to the U.S. as am immigrant across the Atlantic in July 1966 on the SS United States, (a sleek, sharp-hulled and fast liner), as opposed to having cruised to Hawaii two years ago (and again next week) on a modern, shallow draft, round-bottomed cruiseship with stabilizers, it's actually quite easy to make comparisons. In 1966 I was in a shared cabin on the lowest deck far forward (steerage I call it:D). We ran into a storm in mid-Atlantic. It was so rough with side to side motion that they tied the chairs to the tables in the dining room and hardly anybody was around. Two years ago on the way to Hawaii at the end of March , the Island Princess also hit the tail end of a storm with 16-20 ft and even though we were on the Caribe Deck (Deck 10) in a balcony cabin, amidships, it was more comfortable, with more "porpoising" front and back motion. Glad to report I did not get sea sick either time. Just very lucky I guess!:)

[Pam in CA]

OK old salts, here's the real question I have: can you compare an Atlantic crossing in the 50s on an old style passenger ship to a current day Pacific voyage on a modern, stabilized ship?

Absolutely. My first time to Europe was on a freighter in 1957 from Newport News to Rotterdam. Even though we were on a freighter, it was a fantastic voyage: the cabins were very spacious and elegant, we ate all meals with the Captain and Officers, and there was nowhere on the ship that was out-of-bounds to me, including the engine room and propeller shaft (I was given a tour of everything.) Going to Europe, I don't remember any significant storms but returning two months later on the same freighter out of Rotterdam, we hit big storms in the English Channel. The bow of the ship dipped into the water and the aft of the ship, with the propellers, actually came out of the water so that the whole ship shuddered. Being a teenager, I thought it was pretty exciting and actually stood at the back of the ship as it rode up and down (kind of like going up and down on the Empire State Building elevators over and over); boy, was I an idiot but what do kids know? Obviously, the freighter was tiny by today's ship standards but having cruised on "small" cruise ships, even in pretty violent seas, cruise ships are much better designed and are more stable today.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The sailing before us had rough seas on the way back (was looking at the bridge cam every day), but ours was during the first couple of days. It was relatively smooth the rest of the time. It's best to be prepared with remedies.

 

We're waiting inpatiently to see which Princess ship is doing this run 2010-11. We may go again!