Are all cruise ships unstable even on calm seas

My girlfriend and I have recently returned from a cruise on the P&O Ventura (May 4th to May 11th). We were due to visit Vigo, Lisbon, Oporto and Guernsey. We were informed of issues with the ship on the second day (5th May). Due to the technical issues of the ship?? we would not be visiting Oporto, very disappointing. However, for nearly the whole of the cruise, we felt as if we were on a rollercoaster ride. The ship seemed to be really unstable, to the point where the swimming pools were closed on many occasions due to the movement. I have never been on a cruise before but I certainly didn't expect this amount of movement on such a big ship and with relatively calm seas. I am hoping to convince my girlfriend to do another cruise but she was quite seasick and said she would never do it again. I could possibly convince her to give it another go if someone could tell us whether all cruise ships move a lot on calm seas. If they generally don't have this much movement then perhaps it was something to do with the technical fault they had with the ship. I don't know what the fault was because nobody would tell us. Any help would be great. Thanks

On the large new ships of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, we never felt any motion at all. It was like being on dry land. The new stabilizers work very well and the size of the ship makes a big difference, I have found. The only time I have had problems was on older small ships and we don't sail those anymore. It just wasn't worth it. You will see a huge difference on one of the major cruise lines.

Thanks for that info Pattycake.

I did read a lot of reviews about motion sickness at sea because I knew my girlfriend would suffer if it was bad but nearly every review said we would hardly notice it on the bigger ships, unless of course the sea was rough. P&O ventura is a huge ship and carries about 3,200 passengers and about 1,800 crew. I think it is something like 17 decks high. Not sure how that compares to the ships you have been on but I thought it was plenty big enough to avoid such movement on the calm seas that we had.

I even took some video footage of the very calm sea and then panned round to the pool, which was closed and sloshing about quite badly. I am still convinced that there must have been something wrong with the ships stabilizers. A review has just been posted on Cruise critic by a passenger that boarded the ship for the next sailing the day after we got off. They also said the movement was really bad as soon as they set sail. Apparently they got a flight home from the first port of call becasue they couldn't deal with it. That sounds pretty bad.

While the Ventura may be huge to you, it is really a "mid-size" cruise ship. It appears that most of your cruise was crossing back and forth in the infamous Bay of Biscay, which is known for its bad weather. Since you didn't mention whether the motion of the ship was rolling (side to side) or pitching (front to back), I'll explain a few things about each.

First, if the ship was pitching (the bow going up and down), then stabilizers will have no effect on this motion. Next, if the ship was rolling (side to side), then the next question is how fast was the ship moving? Ship's stabilizers work like airplane wings, the faster you go through the water (or air for a plane), the more effective the wing is. In fact, most stabilizers are designed to auto-retract when the ship's speed is less than 5 knots. Next, stabilizers are not designed, nor will they stop a ship from rolling. The ship, by its design would naturally roll from side to side very quickly (10-15 seconds), violently snapping back and forth, and creating a very uncomfortable ride and possibly injuries to passengers. The stabilizers work to dampen this roll period to a slower, more comfortable motion, but they will never eliminate rolling completely.

And actually, this tendency of cruise ships to "snap roll" is a measure of how much stability they have. But I understand your layman's use of the term to mean motion of the vessel.

Then there are the environmental inputs. Depending on the ship's course, the direction of the wind and waves, the direction of any current, the period of the waves (time between them), and the depth of the water in the area, the ship will react differently to the sea conditions.

And finally, unless you take two cruise ships and have them sail at the same speed, in the same direction, in the same part of the ocean, and on the same day to experience the same environmental factors, you cannot compare how two ships handle the seas, or their motion.

On the large new ships of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, we never felt any motion at all. It was like being on dry land..

This reminds me of my first time on Royal's Allure of the Seas, the Oasis class (big) We stayed on the ship in Nassau, and were by the pool relaxing, I thought to myself, shouldn't we have left by now? I got up and saw we were already about 5 miles out of port. I never felt motion on that ship. 2 years later same ship, they talked about 15ft waves, we barely felt it in our deck 12 aft cabin.

"Technical problems" may have contributed but the seas also factor in. It is difficult to judge seas from a largish cruise ship. What may look like small waves can actually be 2m - 3m or more.

Did either of you use something to ameliorate nausea? Many cruise lines offer something that may help at no charge.

If you do decide to give it another try, there are numerous devices, natural, and chemical offerings that may work for you. Sea Bands, Ginger in various forms, Scopolamine (Hyoscine) patch, and Meclizine are the most commonly mentioned.

I've experienced some moderate weather issues (so called by the bridge crew) that seemed pretty rough to me. Some rocking and rolling, and closing of the outside decks. But, I have yet to feel the motion you described or gotten really sick even though I am prone to motion-sickness. I've been on 8 cruises.

I am very proactive when I go on a cruise, more so than any other trip. I always book far in advance so I can be guaranteed of getting a mid-ship, mid-deck cabin. I take a Bonine (meclazine) every night before bed, stay hydrated. Spend time on the open deck.

In most cases (in my experience), you can almost forget you're even on a ship.

Hope you give it another try. I feel bad for your friend. Being sea-sick is a terrible feeling. But, it can be mitigated if you give it some fore-thought. I also should add, you kind of start getting used to what little motion there is. I guess that's what's called "getting your sea legs".

I have always felt motion when on board a ship, no matter the size. I use Sea Bands, and bring Bonine with me in case I need it. With my motion sickness under control, I enjoy the heavier seas. I like feeling like I am on the ocean. Without the Sea Bands, it's a miserable experience.

Not the one I was on. The MSC Musica

No current cruise ships are "unstable" in calm seas or even in rough seas. When you say that they are "unstable", you are saying that they have a tendency to capsize. None of them have this tendency. As several other people have said, I seriously doubt that the seas were really "calm" and all ships have a tendency to pitch or roll depending upon sea and wind conditions. If your girlfriend is that sensitive to ship movement, perhaps cruising is not for you.

DON

Sidekick - the fact that the cancelled port was Oporto, the furthest from Southampton on your itinerary indicates that perhaps slower steaming might have necessitated its cancellation. You should be aware that much of your itinerary between Southampton and Vigo (and back) was across the broad mouth of the Bay of Biscay - perhaps the roughest part of the Atlantic.

If Ventura hit rough seas (fairly likely on that itinerary) she would have pitched and rolled enough to force the closing of pools --- but certainly not an indication of her being "unstable". A larger, more modern ship would likely have given smoother sailing, but any ship on that route must accept the chance of rough (not dangerous) seas.

Bad luck that your first cruise hit that weather crossing Biscay - let your girlfriend know that she is highly unlikely to have a repeat experience anywhere else. Try to talk her into a Caribbean cruise - she may well feel bored by the mill-pond effect.

...

Bad luck that your first cruise hit that weather crossing Biscay - let your girlfriend know that she is highly unlikely to have a repeat experience anywhere else. Try to talk her into a Caribbean cruise - she may well feel bored by the mill-pond effect.

Don't oversell the Caribbean. :) I recall a January cruise on Valor that literally threw people around the dance floor. Curious experience, moving three feet between one beat and the next.

If you were looking down at the calm seas from the 17 deck the waves were likely far bigger than you've thought. I'm aware of this and I still often think the waves are smaller than they are when I check the TV that says it.

As for motion sickness that all depends on the person. I actually feel the worst when the waves are big enough that the stabilizers almost counteract it all, but you're moving just enough that you know you're moving but not enough that you can see you're moving. I was on one of ncls ship where the waves were rocking and rolling the boat and a lot weren't so happy but I was perfectly fine.

Taking a pill usually works and I know some that just always take a pill.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

My girlfriend and I have recently returned from a cruise on the P&O Ventura (May 4th to May 11th). We were due to visit Vigo, Lisbon, Oporto and Guernsey. We were informed of issues with the ship on the second day (5th May). Due to the technical issues of the ship?? we would not be visiting Oporto, very disappointing. However, for nearly the whole of the cruise, we felt as if we were on a rollercoaster ride. The ship seemed to be really unstable, to the point where the swimming pools were closed on many occasions due to the movement. I have never been on a cruise before but I certainly didn't expect this amount of movement on such a big ship and with relatively calm seas. I am hoping to convince my girlfriend to do another cruise but she was quite seasick and said she would never do it again. I could possibly convince her to give it another go if someone could tell us whether all cruise ships move a lot on calm seas. If they generally don't have this much movement then perhaps it was something to do with the technical fault they had with the ship. I don't know what the fault was because nobody would tell us. Any help would be great. Thanks

Next time try to sail in the Mediterranean from Barcelona or Adriatic seas from Venice in summer where the seas are much calmer.

I sometimes suffer motion sickness as a passenger in a car but have had 46 cruises and only 2 rough sailings.

We prefer the larger RC ships where you wouldn't believe you were at sea.

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Forums mobile app

While the Ventura may be huge to you, it is really a "mid-size" cruise ship. It appears that most of your cruise was crossing back and forth in the infamous Bay of Biscay, which is known for its bad weather. Since you didn't mention whether the motion of the ship was rolling (side to side) or pitching (front to back), I'll explain a few things about each.

 

First, if the ship was pitching (the bow going up and down), then stabilizers will have no effect on this motion. Next, if the ship was rolling (side to side), then the next question is how fast was the ship moving? Ship's stabilizers work like airplane wings, the faster you go through the water (or air for a plane), the more effective the wing is. In fact, most stabilizers are designed to auto-retract when the ship's speed is less than 5 knots. Next, stabilizers are not designed, nor will they stop a ship from rolling. The ship, by its design would naturally roll from side to side very quickly (10-15 seconds), violently snapping back and forth, and creating a very uncomfortable ride and possibly injuries to passengers. The stabilizers work to dampen this roll period to a slower, more comfortable motion, but they will never eliminate rolling completely.

 

And actually, this tendency of cruise ships to "snap roll" is a measure of how much stability they have. But I understand your layman's use of the term to mean motion of the vessel.

 

Then there are the environmental inputs. Depending on the ship's course, the direction of the wind and waves, the direction of any current, the period of the waves (time between them), and the depth of the water in the area, the ship will react differently to the sea conditions.

 

And finally, unless you take two cruise ships and have them sail at the same speed, in the same direction, in the same part of the ocean, and on the same day to experience the same environmental factors, you cannot compare how two ships handle the seas, or their motion.

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Forums mobile app

Thank you everyone for your very informative replies. Obviously many of you are seasoned cruisers with lots of experience and as this was our very first cruise, we know nothing.

Having said that, some replies came across as very defensive. Almost as though I was trying to say that cruising was horrible and the ship was rubbish. This could not be further from the truth, I was simply asking for people with lots of cruise experience to give us some advice and helpful tips, which many of you kindly did and thank you for that.

I do not want to get into any arguments with anyone about cruising, I just wanted to have some discussions about it so I can try to convince my girlfriend to give it another go at some stage.

So going back to my point about the movement we experienced. We both fully understand that the sea can be deceiving and looking down from above is not the best way to judge how big the waves are. The main word there is 'WAVES'. There were no waves most of the time only the swell from the ship (I think it's called swell but I'm sure someone will correct me).

I was also aware from research I did prior to our cruise, that the Bay of Biscay can be rough and we could experience some heavy movement. The problem was, we didn't notice any difference going through the bay compared to the rest of the journey. The movement was pretty much the same, every day and every night. I also need to point out that we did speak to quite a few people on board that had done a number of cruises before and each one said that they thought it was an unusual amount of movement.

I noticed that another person has posted a review today, stating that she set sail on the Ventura the day after we left and before they set sail, an announcement was made that the ship had a technical fault (still) and she again mentioned that the movement was really bad and lots of people on the cruise were suffering from sea sickness. so maybe the 'Technical fault' that they still hadn't fixed really had a lot to do with the movement.

By the way, when I mentioned about the ship being unstable, I wasn't saying that I thought it was going to sink, it was just a word I used to describe what it felt like. A bit like if your wheels on your pushbike were buckled, it would feel unstable. is that perhaps a better way to explain it?

Thank you again for all the tips and advice, please keep it coming as it may well help to get us back on board another ship.

Finally, I received a call from P&O today in response to the email I sent them. They were very apologetic about the missed port and explained in detail the reasons for the decision to change the itinerary. The lady also confirmed that, based on the weather reports from the ship, the amount of times the pools were closed, and the movement we experienced, she felt that it was very unusual and could have been due partially to the fault with the engine etc.

I don't think it has been discussed yet. For those quite sensitive to motion cabin location can make a difference. Ship movement is more noticeable as one nears the bow and stern. Picking a cabin nearer the middle reduces this feeling. Similarly, cabins on upper decks tend to have more noticeable side to side movement. Although given the physics, the differences are quite small.

This reminds me of my first time on Royal's Allure of the Seas, the Oasis class (big) We stayed on the ship in Nassau, and were by the pool relaxing, I thought to myself, shouldn't we have left by now? I got up and saw we were already about 5 miles out of port. I never felt motion on that ship. 2 years later same ship, they talked about 15ft waves, we barely felt it in our deck 12 aft cabin.

Hi BillOh,

Maybe I should have got in touch with you before we booked our first cruise. You have obviously got a vast amount of cruising experience and perhaps you could have pointed us in the right direction of which cruise ship to book and where to go.

maybe if we decide to go on another cruise I will pick your brains. Good luck on your next cruise and I hope you have a fantastic time, which I am sure you will.

I don't think it has been discussed yet. For those quite sensitive to motion cabin location can make a difference. Ship movement is more noticeable as one nears the bow and stern. Picking a cabin nearer the middle reduces this feeling. Similarly, cabins on upper decks tend to have more noticeable side to side movement. Although given the physics, the differences are quite small.

Hi broberts,

Thanks for that. when I did my research initially I did find out that the best cabins were midships and that is exactly what we went for. I booked an inside cabin almost dead centre of the ship from front to back and top to bottom. Forgive my ignorance of the correct terminology but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Yes, there's been quite a lot of discussion about your particular cruise on social media; I read that the technical fault caused discomfort and about the missing port.

Ventura is a Grand Class ship, which is used by Princess for many ships; they all seem to be very stable in average seas. V had her dry dock in December, and returned to do two Transatlantic cruises soon after, with no reports of trouble, so it does seem that the reported fault was the cause of your discomfort.

We've sailed on that very ship for many days, including across the Atlantic without any problems.

Have a look on the P&O UK page on this site, as you may find others commenting about your particular cruise; as I say, we were all hearing about it from passengers on social media.

EDIT: I've just looked on P&O UK on Cruise Critic, and there's 2 posts about this cruise, and the next cruise, when Ventura didn't leave Southampton until late evening. They are presently on page 2 of that site.

Hi again Sidekick......I feel so bad for your girlfriend, there is no more miserable feeling in the world than constant motion sickness. I was scared to take my 1st cruise because of it. I just got off my 19th so have learned a few things. I second the opinion of Allure of the Seas...my favorite cruise to date. Any RC Oasis class would be good. Time of year is very important too, as is the area cruising. For the Caribbean I like the southern route best. We just got off the Norwegian Epic from Barcelona for our 1st Med. cruise and felt no motion at all. Hope you give it another try. If you are from Europe, the Epic or RC Symphony would be great choices. Good luck..Patti

You can get unlucky on any cruise with technical faults/crazy weather or a mix of both.

However, the newer larger ships will handle any bad waves the best. Since you are from the UK and have sailed out of Southampton may I suggest a Independence of the seas Med cruise?

This will allow you to be on a huge, generally stable ship (that has was more to it than P&O) an the Med is less open ocean so will generally have better weather/waves.

Any area near open ocean (like your cruise) has a higher risk of being rocky...areas than are surrounded by land are a better bet (Med or Baltic). There is a never a guarantee but thats the nature of cruising.

There will be cruisers here (like myself) who have been on many ships in different areas and not had any seasickness. Give it another go!

As Jo's post, the basic ship design of Ventura is the same as Azura and a number of Princess ships, and other than steering / propulsion not a lot different to a great many cruise ships. She's certainly no less stable than most.

And although BoB has a reputation it's calm more often than rough.

The number of times that particular cruise and the subsequent one, and "mechanical issues", have been discussed rather suggests a particular problem with the ship, hopefully short-term before it's fixed.

So don't let that unfortunate experience put you off.

Yes, the Caribbean is almost always calm in the winter, which is out of hurricane season & when P&O operate there. Just once in a dozen Caribbean cruises have we experienced any movement at all and that was on a Thomson ship - some folk struggled with it, tho it was only a slight swell.

Main thing about the Caribbean is that each island is worth a day but few are worth longer, which makes it ideal for cruising. Both P&O and Thomson (now called Marella) offer fly-cruises direct from regional U.K. Airports with seamless transfers.

Give that some consideration - I think Ventura's problem was a one-off

JB :)

Hi again Sidekick......I feel so bad for your girlfriend, there is no more miserable feeling in the world than constant motion sickness. I was scared to take my 1st cruise because of it. I just got off my 19th so have learned a few things. I second the opinion of Allure of the Seas...my favorite cruise to date. Any RC Oasis class would be good. Time of year is very important too, as is the area cruising. For the Caribbean I like the southern route best. We just got off the Norwegian Epic from Barcelona for our 1st Med. cruise and felt no motion at all. Hope you give it another try. If you are from Europe, the Epic or RC Symphony would be great choices. Good luck..Patti

Hi, thnak you again for your input and nice to connect with people who offer positive hints and tips. From all the reponses I have had, it's now making me think seriously about going for a Med cruise next on one of the bigger ships. Might get lost on the ship for a few days but hey ho, that could be exciting in itself.

Hi, thnak you again for your input and nice to connect with people who offer positive hints and tips. From all the reponses I have had, it's now making me think seriously about going for a Med cruise next on one of the bigger ships. Might get lost on the ship for a few days but hey ho, that could be exciting in itself.

This year Symphony 7 nights from- to Barcelona.

Next year Oasis does that intinerary.

These are fantastic ships and they are Oasis class ships which are the world's biggest and because of their width they are very stable.

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Forums mobile app