How are the seas going from US to Europe?

We Have only done Caribbean cruises. How rocky is the ride from US to Europe? Do the larger ships smooth out the ride in a big way?

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The North Atlantic Route is typically rougher then the Southern Route.

The actual experience can vary by voyage.

It is best to prepare for the worse and hope for the best.

By this I mean if the seas bother you book a room that is mid-ship and on a lower deck. Avoid being too far forward.

Also bring something to keep you from getting sick.

As to big versus small ships. I have sailed 200 passenger ships and would not recommend something like that for a crossing.

However, big doesn't mean you will be fine. In fact, on some of those mammoth ships they are so high and long that you can feel rough seas more then on a medium size ship.

Keith

Better if you are in the Cunard ships as they are designed for ta crossings, unlike a cruise ship.

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I've been on three transatlantic crossings on Ncl and Rcl , both to the Mediterranean and Baltic regions and all were very smooth. The only rough patch was in the western Mediterranean Sea, not the ocean. The ships have free sickness pills (I had my first bout on a transpacific crossing.) You can bring your own though.

That is only my experience, but don't let this fear stop you.

It really comes down to many factors, time of year, where they cross and type of ship is it a ocean liner, or a cruise?

Ocean liners are designed to transportpassengers from one destination to another, trans Atlanticcrossings etc. Built strong enough to withstand all kinds of weatherso they are built making use of lots of steel in their hull. Bows arenarrow and tapered long so the ship cut through the water. They havecrews who know how to handle open ocean weather and do so goingthrough it not around it. Only a few true ocean liners in cruiseservice today Cunard is the most well know with the largest newerships.

Cruise ships are built primarily forluxury vacations on water bodies. As long as the weather they movewell through the ocean, many times changing the ports or trips socomfort is maintain. I have heard cruise ships being called floatingbathtubs as they are wide top heavy and promote beauty, luxury, andcomfort. Which is great for a Caribbean cruise or summer trip toAlaska . They cannot handle heavy seas like a ocean liner.

On a cruise liner liner RCCL or Carnival it can be ruff in heavy seas, but they are big ships so always safe and the captains do everything to keep the roll and the sea away. If you 100% must have a smooth bathtub like cruise don't do a open ocean crossing.

We did b2b TAs about 9 years ago on the Tahitian Princess. On the way back to NYC, we encountered the remnants of a hurricane off the coast of Nova Scotia. It was very rough for the last day or two.

No way to predict. I've sailed TA in July and it was a LOT rougher (but warmer) than sailing in February when it was colder but much smoother.

We Have only done Caribbean cruises. How rocky is the ride from US to Europe? Do the larger ships smooth out the ride in a big way?

 

 

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Well, we will tell ya :). Sometimes the seas are glassy, sometimes they are blue, sometimes they are gray, sometimes they have small wavelets, sometimes they have medium size waves, sometimes they have large waves, sometimes they have nasty long swells. What I am telling you is that the seas are always changing, there is no way to accurately predict sea conditions (more then a few days in advance).

But seriously, we have crossed the Atlantic more then 2 dozen times and have experienced all the conditions above.

Hank

Better if you are in the Cunard ships as they are designed for ta crossings, unlike a cruise ship.

 

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Queen Mary 2 yes.

The other two are not.

Even on QM2 as good as it does it can get rough as we experienced one afternoon in 2014 on a North Atlantic Cruise but yes she does better then most or all.

Keith

Remember history means nothing if you are on a ship and in very rough seas.

It's a crap shoot but the odds are great on a North Atlantic cruise that you will experience some rough seas. If you don't just consider yourselves lucky.

Keith

Even the largest ships are but "corks" floating on that great ocean...it's a mere speck, in the scheme of things. If it's rough, you'll feel it on the largest ship...no way around that!