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Crossing the Atlantic


glo3479
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Has anyone done an Atlantic crossing in either SeaDream, Oceania, Windstar, Silverseas, Seabourn or Viking Ocean. We love the smaller ships, but I was wondering how they handle out on the ocean.

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Has anyone done an Atlantic crossing in either SeaDream, Oceania, Windstar, Silverseas, Seabourn or Viking Ocean. We love the smaller ships, but I was wondering how they handle out on the ocean.

 

 

 

We've done a transatlantic on Oceania Riviera (1100 passengers) and are about to do a transpacific on Oceania Insignia (670 passengers). We've also done Valpo to Tahiti.

Bottom line on all "smaller" ship transoceanic cruising is that the sea is calm unless it's not. And when it's not, you definitely will be "rocked to sleep." (Of course, the same is true for larger ships.)

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We've done several TAs (in both directions) on Oceania -- Marina and a couple of the "R" ships as well. Barcelona to Rio, Miami to Barcelona, NY to Dover, etc.

 

I can't really remember any problems ... certainly, if we ran into rough seas, they were only for a day or two. On occasion we've had rougher seas in the Caribbean!

 

There is no predicting what Mother Nature is going to send you ...

 

Mura

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Yes they are - my point being that, if it really is rough weather, any ship will become a "rail grabber."

 

All true, but as any documentary on Tsunamis will tell you, the waves to worry about are not the surface irritations, they are the ones which build up from the Ocean floor.

 

Therefore, although it seems counterintuitive, shallow areas such as French Polynesia get more roughness than the center of the Oceans where the water might run three miles deep.

Edited by JimandStan
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Yes they are - my point being that, if it really is rough weather, any ship will become a "rail grabber."

 

DING DING DING

 

Worst I've ever been thrown around(literally, stuff flying around the cabin) was on an S class (about 3000 pax) Celebrity ship in the med. Freak tornado hit Italy that night.

 

A close second was Regatta on the way back from Bermuda to Norfolk. Table set for 8 dumped on the floor in the middle of dinner.

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All true, but as any documentary on Tsunamis will tell you, the waves to worry about are not the surface irritations, they are the ones which build up from the Ocean floor.

 

Therefore, although it seems counterintuitive, shallow areas such as French Polynesia get more roughness than the center of the Oceans where the water might run three miles deep.

Interesting. Never thought of it that way. Thanks

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Greetings from South Beach, Everyone. Veterans of TAs, we have sailed in both directions at least 20 times. The smallest ship carried 350 passengers, the largest around 4000. From our perspective, QM2 is the most stable, even in very heavy weather. IMHO, at the present time, all ships are subject to the vagaries of the Seas. QM2 is constructed with a double hull that certainly increases its weight. Built to perform well in all weather, perhaps her stabilizers just do a better job. We experienced all kinds of weather. When we sailed her, Cunard had a thread on the TV that showed wave conditions, even the worst. To us, the picture was usually worse than the reality. This is not a commercial for Cunard. We sailed QM2 so much because she left from Brooklyn, and we lived in Manhattan. Our last TA was Explorer's 2017 TA Miami/Barcelona. Great trip!

Mary

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I have sailed 3 TAs...two on Queen Mary 2 and one on Oceania Marina. Smoothest was from Newfoundland to Belfast on Marina...then after we arrived in Europe the Irish Sea provided us with some of the roughest weather ever. Roughest of the 3 TAs was QM2 in July with QM2 crossing in October almost as smooth as the Marina cruise. Roughest seas I have ever experienced in 50 cruises was on the Crystal Serenity between Azores and Lisbon with a close second the QM2 in the English Channel. The point is...one never knows.

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We have sailed 10 TA's mostly on Celebrity and Holland America. On only one do I remember a rough sea for a couple of days. Often, the middle of the Atlantic is as smooth as glass. Looking forward to our first Oceania TA on the Riviera this November from Barcelona to Miami.

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I'm not surprised to find that I'm not alone in the "you never know" camp.

 

This is not about the Atlantic crossing, but when we did Buenos Aires to Santiago on the NCL DREAM (1750 passengers, no longer in the NCL fleet) in January '02 we had quite rough seas through the Chilean fjords whereas we had really smooth seas in the Falklands and Cape Horn. I have seen many reports from people who found the Chilean fjords smooth as glass and the Falklands, etc., quite the opposite.

 

In fact, when we were at the Falklands on that cruise, we had wonderful weather. The captain said it was the best he'd seen in 25 years of sailing. But the cruise before ours -- Santiago to Buenos Aires -- couldn't even stop at the Falklands because of rough seas. We were there only 3-4 days later.

 

So I guess we all take our chances! As I said earlier, we had some of the roughest seas we've ever encountered going to Aruba from the Canal. The captain actually took us further out to sea to avoid the worst weather ... Once we got to Aruba, it was smooth waters all the way.

 

Mura

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