What does "rough" feel like on a cruise ship?

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Anja H

How rough it gets depends on the weather conditions. The wind, the waves and the swells.

Every ship, regardless of size can be affected by weather. Only that smaller ships are easier affected than bigger ones.

Depending on the direction of the wind and waves, and which direction the ship has to go, you will either go up and down (pitching) or side to side (rolling) - and in some cases you will do all at once. It is kind of a slow washing machine motion in a washing machine with is not fixed to the ground.

It can be scary if you get into truly heavy weather. Mostly it is inconvenient, since you can't walk straight and might get seasick.
Getting seasick depends on the individual. Some people do, some people don't. Some get seasick easily, others don't.
A lot depends on your bahaviour as well. As a smoker, do not smoke when it is rough - it will get you seasick faster.
Don't overeat (creamy stuff, heavy food) - but also don't eat nothing.

The port of Baltimore is known for under sea current, which will cause the ship to move, yet you will not necessarily see a lot of waves.
But once in open water it should get better.
Plus, as always a lot depends on the weather - which just comes with the territory.

Juan

Well, really, unless it is a small ship, they will all feel about the same. Sure, RCL has heavy ships but not that much longer or wider than others. Modern ships have stabilizers and these prevent the rocking that went on years ago. I have been in heavy seas on a modern ship and it really isn't too bad. Mostly the ship slowly rocks back and forth and many actually find this makes it easy to sleep, like being rocked like a baby. I was once on a sail ship and it went through terrible weather. It sort of made your insides float back and forth. Eventually, you want to throw up, but can't and get that green in the face look, then you throw up and after, it feels so much better. Not long after that the sickness goes away and you are fine for the rest of the trip.

By the way, any captain on a modern cruise ship will steer around major storms, even changing the itinerary, so you won't have too bad a time.

Kriztofer

Ever see the intro to Gilligans IslandÂ¿

now THATS rough

Paul in San Diego

For the most part, cruise ships are very stable. Not only are they so huge that they're hard to move, but they have automatic stabilizers built to counteract the effects of high seas.

The roughest cruise I was ever on was during a storm with about 40 MPH winds and about 10 foot seas. The ship was sailing north from Mexico to San Diego, with the wind coming in at about a 45 degree angle to the front bow. This caused a jerking and lurching kind of feeling, instead of the gentle rocking I had experienced on an earlier cruise when there were just large swells.

The rocking wasn't too bad, but it does take a bit of getting used to. If you were inside or closed your eyes, it would make it worse. I found that I was really more comfortable just lying down in the stateroom. But, that jerking motion was the worst, because it wasn't relaxing at all. It was like someone was shaking me to get out of bed or something, which was really annoying.

Funny thing, too. When the ship started rocking, you would start to see strategically placed barf bags all over the ship (on shelves, in elevators, in corners of rooms, etc.). At first I thought someone had dropped them on their way somewhere. But, I eventually realized that they were placed there by the ship's staff.

palmyrafan

The ship goes UUUUUUPPPPP and DDDDDDOOOOOWWWWNNNN and from SSSSIIIIIIIDDDDDEEE to SSSSSIIIDDDDDEEE. And so does your stomach.

That is why picking out the best stateroom is so very important. Just because the weather is clear doesn't mean the water is calm.

Larger ships don't rock as much but they do still rock. Think of your worst case of stomach flu that you have ever had. All you want to do is sleep. And that is probably all you will do. Once it passes, it is cool.

We went on a cruise last year to the western caribbean and the last day coming back up the east coast was the worst day at sea we have ever spent on the water. Most of the passengers were sleeping, laying down, or holding onto anything they could to keep their balance. We heard that praying to Ralph, the porcelain God, was extremely popular that day and the doctor's office was overrun by people looking for relief and the store sold-out of Dramamine and Bonine in about 20 minutes.

The best thing to do is to buy Dramamine or Bonine, get a patch from your doctor or find the wrist bands BEFORE you get on the ship.

Jackson R

alright. so how rough it is depends on the ship size...for example, liberty of the seas (a royal caribbean ship) doesnt rock at all because its so huge

the 2 disney cruise ships get rough because they are smaller.

rough pretty much is usually just rocking back and forth. sometimes, you swear the ship is going to flip over. it is really entertaining to watch people, or yourself, get off of the ship and walk on something thats not moving...its funny.

sometimes the ship makes you sick and sometimes not. i personally think its fun when the ship is rocking and the ship usually only is rocking the night you leave. and, people make it fun...usually when it rocks further to one side than usuall, everybody you can see starts laughing...hint of advice - don't get drunk your first night because a rocking ship and drunkness will totally stink.

if you don't get sick on planes, you won't get sick on a ship...and its really not that bad.

also, the higher on the ship you are, the less rocking.

good luck

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