just how rough is it?

We have never sailed out of Southampton and realising that the weather is a very changeable thing I wondered what experiences people have had sailing from there in December. we are heading first for Madeira.

 

We have unfortunately copped for a balcony on deck 7 forward 7007. I have tried to change this but cannot. Thinking that there will be more movement at the front.

 

I want to be prepared as we are taking our 10 year old Grandson who is prone to sickness in the car. I wonder if there is a direct coloration to the two.

 

Anyone any comments?

What ship are you sailing on? If it is QM2 there is very little movement and you won't notice it at all. As for the other Queens, I can't comment.

December crossing the Bay of Biscay. Well you may hit some weather. But these days the stabilisers are so good and the ships so big that yu would have to hit a bit of a belter before it should cause you any worries.

Take some travel calm pills and you will, in all likelihood, be fine.

Personally I wish they would not use stabilisers as it makes the motion very unnatural - not a nice easy pitch and roll which you get used to quickly and I find very relaxing. But then I did 15 years at sea as a navigation officer!!

we have been on the qm2 ny to carib and there were a few very rough days that in certain parts of the ship it was a challenge to walk

It is one of the Vista sisters as deck 7 on QM2 is the Promenade Deck, they don't sail as well as QM2 but they aren't too bad. Get plenty of fresh air and look at the horizon and you should feel fine. Easy for me to say I know. :)

Thanks it is Queen Elizabeth.

I have not been on QE in rough seas, but I have been on QV in a force 9 and she dealt with it quite well.

 

Last time I sailed from Southampton in Decmember was on QE2 in 2007 and we got storm force 11, lets hope we don't get that. I am forward on deck 8 so I am hoping there is not much movement.

 

I will be taking sea sick pills with me just in case.

Yes it can be rough, but the odds are that it won't. It's easy to say don't worry about it but in fact no one can say until you try it. And I think it may well be that there is a big difference between car and ship motion sickness, and I have not noticed much difference where our cabin is situated.

 

And I am sure you know that the best policy is not to mention any of your doubts to your grandson, you may find he takes to the water with no problems.

 

I wish my first cruise had been at age 10! Some chance of that in the.......well a long time ago.

 

David.

What ship are you sailing on? If it is QM2 there is very little movement and you won't notice it at all. As for the other Queens, I can't comment.

 

Sorry, that's not true. As I have posted on here before I've been through a rough Bay of Biscay on the QM2 and you could feel it quite a lot. A member of the family was quite ill for the day.

Yes it can be rough, but the odds are that it won't. It's easy to say don't worry about it but in fact no one can say until you try it. And I think it may well be that there is a big difference between car and ship motion sickness, and I have not noticed much difference where our cabin is situated.

 

And I am sure you know that the best policy is not to mention any of your doubts to your grandson, you may find he takes to the water with no problems.

 

I wish my first cruise had been at age 10! Some chance of that in the.......well a long time ago.

 

David.

this sounds like very good advise

Sorry, that's not true. As I have posted on here before I've been through a rough Bay of Biscay on the QM2 and you could feel it quite a lot. A member of the family was quite ill for the day.

 

I wonder whether the depth beneath the keel makes a difference, the BoB is notoriously shallow whereas I have experienced a force 11 storm with 35 foot seas mid-atlantic and she was pretty stable. I don't suffer from motion sickness though to be fair.

Whatever the ship, enjoy the days and nights and drink plenty of dry ginger/ginger ale.................

One of the noticeable difference on QM2 is that you don't hit as many speed bumps and shudder like many cruise ships do. Unlike modern cruise ship which have wider and broader bows and the waves really smack the bow and the entire ship shudders and rattles. QM2 rides them.

That was one thing I liked about QE2, her long bow really helped cut the waves rather then smack against them.

Sorry, that's not true. As I have posted on here before I've been through a rough Bay of Biscay on the QM2 and you could feel it quite a lot. A member of the family was quite ill for the day.

 

Well that is soley your opinion. I have sailed the Bay many times on RN ships, Cruise ships, and 40ft sailing yachts and the QM2 was by far the most stable. "Feeling it quite a lot" is subjective and not necessarily the "truth" either. In my experience, the Bay is never as bad as people make out. There are of course, exceptions just as there are in any aspects of weather or sea conditions but to answer the OP again. Don't worry about the scare stories.

Well that is soley your opinion. I have sailed the Bay many times on RN ships, Cruise ships, and 40ft sailing yachts and the QM2 was by far the most stable. "Feeling it quite a lot" is subjective and not necessarily the "truth" either. In my experience, the Bay is never as bad as people make out. There are of course, exceptions just as there are in any aspects of weather or sea conditions but to answer the OP again. Don't worry about the scare stories.

 

All irrelevant anyway - because the OP is sailing on QE!!! I am sure that the OP is not interested at all as to whether the QM2 is stable or not :D

 

We did 32 days on QE, QV and QM2 in May/June this year - crossed the BOB 4 times , sailed in the Med and Baltic and English Channel . In all of those 32 days, the seas got no bigger than about 6 inches !! :D:D

 

BUT - In Jan 2011, we sailed on P&O Arcadia (a Vista class ship very similar to QE) headed for the Azores . We struck a Force 11 /gusting Force 12 storm for 24 hours that we had to run head into . The Captain had to slow the ship to 10 knots to prevent damage. IT was horrendous! But it just went to show that you never know. If it is that rough , keep horizontal on your bed - works for me!! :D

 

Barry

One of the noticeable difference on QM2 is that you don't hit as many speed bumps and shudder like many cruise ships do. Unlike modern cruise ship which have wider and broader bows and the waves really smack the bow and the entire ship shudders and rattles. QM2 rides them.

That was one thing I liked about QE2, her long bow really helped cut the waves rather then smack against them.

 

Refer to my previous post -- these Vista class ships are OK - as long as you are not headed direct into BIG seas - big as in 14 metres. "They don't like it up 'em like that, Mr Mannering!!!"

 

Barry

I wonder whether the depth beneath the keel makes a difference, the BoB is notoriously shallow whereas I have experienced a force 11 storm with 35 foot seas mid-atlantic and she was pretty stable. I don't suffer from motion sickness though to be fair.

 

I think it may have been the difference between pitching and rolling. The captain did explain something about this at the time.

Sorry, that's not true. As I have posted on here before I've been through a rough Bay of Biscay on the QM2 and you could feel it quite a lot. A member of the family was quite ill for the day.

I fear that a significant part of being sea sick is in the mind and yes... YES, a thousand times yes, sea sickness is NOT a psychological ailment, it does have to do with the ships movement but sadly lots of folks cannot stop themselves from thinking about being ill and eventually this becomes a reality. So much so that it is NOT uncommon for some poor souls to be ill before the ship leaves the estuary.

 

 

I endorse the wors of mallorcasaint.

 

Look at

and then try to study the horizon... This is allegedly the Queen Elizabeth and those seas are definitely not what i would describe as being a mill pond but the ship is hardly being effected by those waves, hence those waves that are crashing into it, she is definitely NOT being thrown about by them.

 

I have read countless posts of folks that have been across the Bay of Biscay or North Atlantic and claim the ship (Cunard line) was extremely unstable. Is there any footage of these enormous Cunard ships being thrown about like a cork? I would suggest these ships are extremely stable and the amount of movement in reality is negligible but unfortunately some passengers will get ill. It is NOT nice, it is NOT pleasant and lots of folks will recommend numerous remedies, all I will say is whatever works for them is the right thing to take but what is good for the goose might not be good for the gander.

 

I have NEVER cruised before but I have served on small ships that did get thrown about like that proverbial cork and trust me, the Queen Elizabeth will NOT get 'chucked about'. Lifting 90,000 tons is not easy, far easier for the water to crash over the bow as opposed to lifting it.

 

On big ships like these Cunard vessels the front is obviously prone to the most up and down movement but is the middle the most stable location (on a big ship)... I would state quite firmly that it is not!!

 

Regarding the degree of roll then don't forget these ships are far more stable than their predecessors thanks to the modern stabilisers.

My knowledge of geography is woeful and I had no idea that the Bay of Biscay was a potential trouble spot anyway.

 

I can say though that on my first ever cruise I felt nauseous and unwell one day. The sea seemed pretty calm and I did not even consider the thought of sea sickness. However when I told someone how I was feeling they pointed out that we were crossing the BOB and suggested I took a sea sickness pill - which I did and then felt better.

 

There was no question that it was "all in the mind" since I didn't know to expect anything amiss.

My knowledge of geography is woeful and I had no idea that the Bay of Biscay was a potential trouble spot anyway.

 

I can say though that on my first ever cruise I felt nauseous and unwell one day. The sea seemed pretty calm and I did not even consider the thought of sea sickness. However when I told someone how I was feeling they pointed out that we were crossing the BOB and suggested I took a sea sickness pill - which I did and then felt better.

 

There was no question that it was "all in the mind" since I didn't know to expect anything amiss.

 

An interesting post which will ask far more questions than it answers. I am no medic but my lay person's idea on what causes sea sickness are optional tick whatever box applies.

 

Eyes seeing lots of movement which the brain may or may not sense, Sensors in our ears, sending signals of a moving environment. The whole body then starts sending out contradictory signals and the digestive system then starts playing games which then gets unpleasant fluids moving about.

 

I am surprised you have never heard of the Bay of Biscay especially when on a cruise and sailing through that area. Is it a notorious area? I personally think not and can name dozens of areas that are more prone to riugh weather but of course I have heard of it as has my family none of whom have ever cruised before.

 

If the sea was

pretty calm

then I cannot even begin to think the ship was moving enough to either roll or move up and down so much as to cause the body to swish the various fluids about.

 

If you had not even thought about sea sickness 'at all' on that very first cruise then I guess I can understand why you have never heard of such a significant shipping area that has such a significant reputation.

 

As I said in my original post... sea sickness is a very real ailment and everyone will always accept it is NOT 'in the mind' of everyone that suffers from that condition but to deny that this can be a significant cause is once more burying our head in the sand (or ocean)

 

My old shipmate Horatio Nelson suffered horribly from this condition and never came to terms with it. , Other folks tend to keep busy and by keeping themselves occupied, they get used to the ship's movement and eventually they nare as right as rain.

 

Taking just one sea sick tablet is not the cure but if that works then obviously it worked..

 

I wonder if anyone has ever taken their sea sick tablets back and demanded a refund if they failed to work?;)

Actually I may not have been entirely factually accurate.

 

I have heard of the Bay of Biscay but had no idea where it was in the world or that it had a reputation for causing problems.

 

I have heard of many countries but have no idea where they are - my OH is incredulous at my geographical ignorance on occasion (usually during University Challenge :D) but I am just entirely disinterested in the subject.

 

I had, of course, considered that sea sickness might be an issue on a cruise but I certainly didn't on the day concerned because the sea was pretty calm.

 

I have been told since that the BOB has a particular type of swell which causes some people to feel unwell.

 

The fact remains though that, for the reasons given in my original post, my symptoms were definitely not caused by being "all in the mind".

Some interesting debate here on the subject.

 

The only time I was sea sick was leaving Genoa Is it the bay of Lyons? It was my first cruise and I was dreading the Atlantic crossing but once away from here I was okay.

 

I did wonder though in the case of my Grandson weather there was any relation to car sickness and if others suffer from this does the sea affect them.

 

The advice is good not to mention it.

 

I also found that on that first trip the only good thing was to lie down

 

Anyone recommend tablets available to buy in the U.K. I know a lot of threads suggest bonnaire (sp) but this is in the US don't know what the equal is

here in the U.K.

 

Just hope that the sea is kind to us.

My mother (a retired pharmacist), who manages to feel queasy in the mobile library van, recommends Sealegs.

 

Mary

Anyone recommend tablets available to buy in the U.K. I know a lot of threads suggest bonnaire (sp)

Bonine. :)

 

The generic chemical name for Bonine is Meclizine(mek' li zeen). The normal Bonine dose is 25 mg per pill.

 

I can see that meclizine is available from amazon.co.uk, so I think that means you can buy it without a prescription at your retail chemist.

My mother (a retired pharmacist), who manages to feel queasy in the mobile library van, recommends Sealegs.

 

Mary

 

Sealegs contain Bonine.