A question about the ship's motion

[jlsdunn]

I've sailed on the Caribbean Princess and notcied the motion of the ship. Not bad.....but it was noticable. More than I thought there would be, and we had calm seas.

 

For those who've sailed on the different classes of ships.....Grand, Sun and Explorer classes, can you detect even more movement in the smaller ships?

 

Jend

[spongerob]

We all have different sensitivities to motion. To me, anything other than the stabilizers biting to correct roll becomes negligible under average conditions. It is only when the natural motion is corrected artificially that I take notice. There has been no differnce in my perceptions of motion from big ship to even bigger ship.

[christinelee]

Sailing both classes we noticed the most motion on the Caribbean Princess and the least on the Sun......seems to work in reverse of your theory....that's just what we noticed......big time. :eek:

[LARGIN]

I would think that the flat bottom hull design on the grand class ships would lead to more motion as the ship cannot cut through the water smoothly.. The extra height from the waterline can also increase the motionespecially at the upper decks.

[Toto2Kansas]

For us it has all depended on the conditions of the sea at the time. There have been cruises where we felt none at all on the Grand Class ships and other times that it was very noticable on that class of ship. Same for the Smaller Sun Class.

A lot of it will depend on the motion of the ocean.

This isn't just Princess ships but all of the lines.

[Druke I]

Grand class flat-bottomed (to reduce draft) and very wind prone.

 

In sea states of 8 and higher, Grand class can really buck and shudder.

 

Royal Princess, with a liner-like hull, rides very well in sea state 8 and higher.

 

In heavy seas, the stabilizers are often withdrawn, as they can act like a diving plane on a submarine, and pull the bow down! They are designed to counteract roll, not pitch!

[argosy]

I don't know what I experienced on the Millennium, but it was horrendous.

We were in calm seas, so I don't think it was the ocean. Horrible vibrations and shuddering, with an overwhelming roaring sound. I'm guessing it was those pod things that don't ever seem to work right for the larger Celebrity ships.

 

That's one type of 'movement' on a ship.

 

As for the motion of the ocean, that kind of thing does not bother me much, even when it's extreme. Still, I guess I have been 'lucky' in this aspect, as we only experienced one night of wobbly walking per cruise, on both the Coral and the Golden.

[hstrybuf]

I've experienced more movement on the larger ships especially on the aft. It was barely noticeable on the smaller ships. Actually, the only time I experienced any real "motion of the ocean" was during a tropical storm.

[jlsdunn]

Thanks everyone.

 

Vibration. Yes. I noticed a lot of that on the Caribbean Princess last week. Not much rocking.....but some. Thursday and Friday there was more, even though the sea was calm.

 

So, I guess I can sail on the smaller ships without any detection of more motion.....maybe even less........than the larger ships.

 

JenD

[Pam in CA]

There are so many variables that it's very hard to compare one size or type with the other, other than by generalities based on engineering. The wind and seas can vary from one minute to the next, even for two ships near each other. All you have to do is to take the America's Cup race excursion to see how much of a difference a little breeze can make.

 

If you're on a cruise ship, you're on water and subject to wind. The size of the ship will matter less than the design of the ship, particularly below the waterline, to determine how it handles the wind and waves.

 

I really like motion on a ship, so I don't notice the differences between ships very much. One night last year, we went to dinner and the dining room was half empty. I wondered where everyone was and was told, "Didn't you notice the motion? Lots of people don't feel well." It never even occurred to me. Lucky me. :)

[bdjam]

The roll of the ship is what it’s all about… :D

[BJS]

I've sailed on the Caribbean Princess and notcied the motion of the ship. Not bad.....but it was noticable. More than I thought there would be, and we had calm seas.For those who've sailed on the different classes of ships.....Grand, Sun and Explorer classes, can you detect even more movement in the smaller ships?

Like others say depends on sea conditions BUT comparing similar sea conditions we felt the most motion on the Tahitian Princess.

[ahracer]

If have been on 116,000 ton ships and 16,000 ton ships. I never noticed much difference if anything I would say the older smaller ships seemed to be more stable than the new ships.

 

We were on the Island Princess last year during a tropical storm and I thought she handled it pretty well.

 

Scott

[LARGIN]

If have been on 116,000 ton ships and 16,000 ton ships. I never noticed much difference if anything I would say the older smaller ships seemed to be more stable than the new ships.

 

We were on the Island Princess last year during a tropical storm and I thought she handled it pretty well.

 

Scott

We were on the Coral this past September and were hit by 75 knot winds in the early morning before we hit Juneau. Minimal rocking. I was surprised..

[kruisey]

Its strange how people react differently to others......does it all go to that very modern word that everyone uses for everything these days.It depends on ones genetic makeup?

I love the rough seas it rocks me to sleep.On the calm days on a long trip its like being on land.

Let me add I have not encountered a Hurrican ......maybe my 'genetics' will feel differently about that one ????

[gatour]

I think genetics probably has something to do with it along with expectations. Another thing that could influence movement is the pivot point. The closer you are to it the less movement.

 

Another variable is the kind of motion. For example in the 75 mph winds that were mentioned above was coming across the bow and you were hitting the waves head on, then most of the motion would be up and down. Whereas if you are being hit on the side of the ship, you would get more rolling side to side.

 

My guess, in light to low moderate conditions, would be that the larger ships have an advantage. But if I was crossing the North Atlantic I would want to be on the QEII or QMII.

 

IMHO, it is all a crap shoot, when you book a cruise many months ahead it is hard to predict what the conditions will be and which ship will be "perfect" movement wise. Because of this, I don't let size of ship affect my decision just because one size is "better" at the movement question.

[LVIGGIANI]

On the Oct 30th sailing on the CP. The ship rocked from FLL to San Juan. But by reading the boards, so did other Cruise Lines those few weeks. But on the CP there was lots of vibration, or noise, the waves were hitting the ship bad and making a terrible loud noise. I asked a crew member and he told me it was the waves hitting the ship. I did ask Captain Romano when the rocking would stop, and he told me when we got to San Juan, and it would be nice the rest of the trip. It was, but I still heard that noise but not that much. On the Grand, the ship last year same time, did hit a day of rough waters and she rocked, but never made that noise. I will take the Grand anytime over the Carribbean Princess.

[LARGIN]

Another variable is the kind of motion. For example in the 75 mph winds that were mentioned above was coming across the bow and you were hitting the waves head on, then most of the motion would be up and down. Whereas if you are being hit on the side of the ship, you would get more rolling side to side.

gatour.. We were getting hit on the side on the Coral.. still very little roll..

[teach223]

Caribbean Princess definately had more motion in calm water than the sun class ships. The height of the ship appeared to cause more motion due to winds. If you were in rough seas and high winds you would certainly have a bumpy ride.

[garycarla]

Yes, there are many factors that contribute to motion sickness.

Side to side.

Slow roll vs hard movements.

Front to back.

Vibration

Smell

 

I have though about those West Coast to Hawaii trips, but avoid due to my navy days, the swells hit the ship sidways causing long slow left to right rolls. On the other hand, have gone through the eye of a typhoon and not been bothered, mainly because we were always headed DIRECTLY into the waves.

 

On cruise ships, the vibration of the engines causes concern vs rough riding.

 

Way too many factors and different people react differently.