Windy Forecast = Scared Cruiser

We are embarking on a seven night Disney cruise out of Galveston tomorrow. We are headed to Castaway Cay, Nassau and Key West. There are winds from 15-28mph forecast for our entire journey. I get really scared the moment the ship starts rolling. Wondering if these wind speeds will equate to rough seas or if I have nothing to worry about. Thank you!

We are embarking on a seven night Disney cruise out of Galveston tomorrow. We are headed to Castaway Cay, Nassau and Key West. There are winds from 15-28mph forecast for our entire journey. I get really scared the moment the ship starts rolling. Wondering if these wind speeds will equate to rough seas or if I have nothing to worry about. Thank you!

15 to 28mph winds are not that bad and I would expect they would have a minimal impact on the cruise.

I agree...a 15 MPH wind is just a breeze....and I can almost assure you that it won't be a steady wind.... You'll be fine.

You very well may feel motion on the ship...it is, after all, floating on the sea....it's natural and common. A 30 MPH wind will NOT "blow the ship over"!

We are embarking on a seven night Disney cruise out of Galveston tomorrow. We are headed to Castaway Cay, Nassau and Key West. There are winds from 15-28mph forecast for our entire journey. I get really scared the moment the ship starts rolling. Wondering if these wind speeds will equate to rough seas or if I have nothing to worry about. Thank you!

that ain't nothing. if there were NO winds at the ship would generate a bigger gust just by virtue of being in motion.

however. it will depend on the direction of the ship in relation to the direction of the external wind.

it can be gale force outside but if the ship is pointed a certain way you won't even get a slight breeze.

We are embarking on a seven night Disney cruise out of Galveston tomorrow. We are headed to Castaway Cay, Nassau and Key West. There are winds from 15-28mph forecast for our entire journey. I get really scared the moment the ship starts rolling. Wondering if these wind speeds will equate to rough seas or if I have nothing to worry about. Thank you!

At the higher edge of your stated range, you may see white caps in the water. But, no cruise ship will be "rolling" from winds like that.

Let's understand this:

The ship is cruising at, say, 20 knots (23 mph), now you have the winds that you have on the ground and over the sea. Depending on their direction the wind affecting the ship will change. So even if winds are calm, you still have 23 mph of wind over the decks. Of course they have sheltered areas along with "wind break" barriers to deal with this.

I once experienced force 12, 75+ knot winds / sea conditions on the open decks on the north Atlantic on QE2 / QM2 (the captain confirmed this). The decks were closed off, and we were in "force 12" conditions (start of hurricane). Guess what? The Queens Room was packed to capacity for afternoon tea!:D

You need to learn the "Beaufort scale" which deals with winds and sea conditions.

It is shown here, however this chart only goes to force 11, not 12:

Otherwise, you will experience wind due to just the ship moving, surface winds will affect what is experienced.

Don't worry about it!

We are embarking on a seven night Disney cruise out of Galveston tomorrow. We are headed to Castaway Cay, Nassau and Key West. There are winds from 15-28mph forecast for our entire journey. I get really scared the moment the ship starts rolling. Wondering if these wind speeds will equate to rough seas or if I have nothing to worry about. Thank you!

Let me add this, you might feel motion, pitching and rolling but not much. This is NOTHING to be frightened of, no more than turbulence on an airplane.

If you are afraid of becoming sea sick, use the patch, the pill, wrist band, etc.

Yes, you will likely feel some motion.

I am sure you will be fine. Have a wonderful cruise.

Keith

Those are low winds. Not to worry. You'll be fine.

Enjoy. :)

It shouldn't be a problem. Almost all cruise ships have stabilizers, which reduce sideways roll. You may feel a little rocking, but nothing severe.

You might want to bring seasick medicine with you just in case.

It shouldn't be a problem. Almost all cruise ships have stabilizers, which reduce sideways roll. You may feel a little rocking, but nothing severe.

 

You might want to bring seasick medicine with you just in case.

A little, dirty secret:

While most cruise ships have stabilizers, they do not always use them.

Why? Because they create drag and increase fuel consumption. Do not assume the ship will always have them extended!

I will offer this piece of advice, based on personal experience. If you opt to wear a lanyard with your ship's card on it, tuck it inside your shirt before you go up on the top deck. Otherwise, the wind will whip it around and you'll get slapped in the face with it. It's not painful, but it sure is annoying. :eek:

Thank you all so much! I did find/read the Beaufort scale this morning...along with lots of weather forecasts and the NOAA wave map :D The version with the pictures was super helpful loubetti! The image of the Beaufort 6/7 in my mind after reading the scale initially was definitely not even close to what it will actually look like! I appreciate the info...this is probably the last Disney cruise we'll take where our kids are still buying into the "magic" and interested in hanging out with mom and dad. I wanna be able to treasure it!

Well, for anyone who might find this post helpful, I wanted to follow up and say we ended up having some pretty miserable weather/movement. The captain addressed it before one of the shows one evening, saying we had 12 foot seas, high winds and were following a cold front so to expect the motion to continue for most of our voyage.

It was rocky enough that there was one day/night when the pools were all closed and we had a couple of heavy rain showers that kept everyone indoors. It was also impossible to enjoy eating on the rear decks or walking around on deck much because it was so terribly windy. On the wind side of the ship the push doors would feel like they weighed 100s of pounds they were so hard to open and taking the stairs was an adventure. One minute you'd be climbing and feel so heavy and the next you'd feel like you were able to float up off the stairs. I found it most uncomfortable in the dining and entertainment facilities which are all forward or aft on the 3rd and 4th decks.

Overall, it was a pretty sad outcome for a vacation that cost about $6000 and took us almost two years to pay for. Hard way to learn a lesson about traveling in mid-November I guess. If the movement doesn't bother you, I'm sure you'd have enjoyed yourself more than I did....but all transportation makes me nervous and that heavy rocking motion made it very difficult for me to relax.

Sorry you had such an unpleasant cruise. Even in my short period of cruising I find I've gotten more comfortable with windy, rocky conditions but I can definitely see it being a problem for some.

Whenever you are at sea the ship's motion alone will generate an apparent wind of about mph. If there is a 20 mph wind and the ship is sailing into it, you will feel a 40 mph wind on deck; if the wind is from the stern, you will feel no wind on deck. Waves are a different thing - they are the result of winds which may have been blowing days ago and a hundred miles away - so you can have fairly heavy seas with very little present wind; or, if the wind has just kicked up, there could be a 50 mph wind over flat calm water.

Wind and waves are part of cruising - and largely unpredictable.

Sorry your ride was rough, but how were the ports? Hope you at least had good weather when you were off the ship.

Sorry it's not been great weather for you.

Have you been able to enjoy some things on the ship?