Alaskan Cruise Out of San Francisco

[DENNSDMNCE]

I've booked a cruise on the Golden Princess RT from San Francisco. We selected a cabin quite forward on the ship. I'm beginning to wonder if that was smart since I'm prone to seasickness.

 

Questions: Does the route Golden Princess takes on this itinerary follow the Inside Passage at Victoria or does she stay off shore until she approaches Alaska? Although I understand it's hard to say at this point, is the Pacific in this area prone to storms in late May?

 

Thanks,

 

Dennis

[bhopal21]

Are you on the August 10 cruise? If so, join our roll call.

 

This will be our first time to AK from SFO as well so I can't answer your questions, sorry.

 

Mike:)

[Thrak]

I'm also quite prone to seasickness. (I get carsick on winding roads if I'm not the driver.)

 

Our first cruise was the 10 day SF - AK round trip. We were in an inside cabin (A323) which was quite far forward on deck 11 of Sea Princess which is a smaller ship. The first night out and all the next day we had very rough seas with the ship pitching and rolling and also booming and shuddering as it broke the waves. People were staggering all over the place.

 

I had gone to my doctor before the cruise and gotten the Transderm Scop patch. I did not get sick at all!!!

 

Many people love the patch. Others hate it. It works really well for me. You can also try other remedies that are over-the-counter and may not have the possible side effects of the patch. If you are prone to getting seasick get something in advance. Don't take a chance on having your cruise ruined.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Thrak

[shepp]

It's usually not the storms so much as the Pacific currents. I've been on four SFO-Alaska cruises. On two, not much action at all. On one, a spot of moderate roughness. On the fourth, it was so rough that it threw our waiter against a wall while he was carrying a pile of dishes. Crapshoot, really...

 

If you don't want to get the patch, you can try taking bonine before you go to bed. Sleepiness wears off by the morning, while protection lasts 24 hours. And if you don't want to do meds, candied ginger is often effective after the fact. That's what I carry when I ride roller coasters. Works for me, and tastes better than the patch.

[scrappydoo]

I can't tell you what route was taken, but just speak from experience.

 

We did the round-trip SF 10nt to Alaska on the Sea Princess the last week in June several years ago.

 

The first night as we went to sleep, you could feel the boat starting to move big time and the hangers were clanging in the closet. I started feeling the tiniest bit of uneasiness in my stomach, and immediately took my Bonine. I don't know if it was mental, but I literally felt better right away. (This was my first time taking Bonine, too) My mom who's never been on a cruise, loved the rocking and rolling. She didn't take anything but wore the sea bands on her wrist.

 

My sister and brother in law refused the Bonine and said they would be fine... Big mistake, my sister had terrible sea sickness for the next day and half. My brother in law, tried to keep it together, but ended up tossin' his cookies at the breakfast table the next morning. People were having such a hard time... I had to carry a cup of hot water to my sister who stayed in her cabin cuz she just couldn't make it through breakfast... both she and my BIL were out for a day and a half. I remember other people in the buffet area also getting sick, and having a difficult time. It was so sad, but yes we still make jokes about my brother in law at the breakfast table. (Too proud to take Bonine! jaja) I had to help a poor lady carry her food/drink because she was not going to make it, she was so sick from the movement.

 

I totally felt all the rocking and rolling, even had some fun trying to walk in a straight line (couldn't do it)... but after starting on my regimen of nightly Bonine before bed each night, I had no sickness whatsoever! I felt great!

 

Those first two days, my mom and I ended up taking care of their 18mo son, who like my mom, didn't mind all the motion... :)

 

I think those first two days were definitely the worst, after that, I think it was much better.

 

Hope that helps some...

[TinaLee]

As others have said, those first tow nights out if SFO are the roughest. I was worries about our newbie cruiser SIL, but he did fine. If motion sickness is an issue, definitely talk to your doctor and be prepared. generic meclizine can be purchased from your pharmacy much less expensively than buying Bonine OTC.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Kingofcool1947]

I've booked a cruise on the Golden Princess RT from San Francisco. We selected a cabin quite forward on the ship. I'm beginning to wonder if that was smart since I'm prone to seasickness.

 

Questions: Does the route Golden Princess takes on this itinerary follow the Inside Passage at Victoria or does she stay off shore until she approaches Alaska? Although I understand it's hard to say at this point, is the Pacific in this area prone to storms in late May?

 

Thanks,

 

Dennis

 

It tends to be choppy once out of the San Francisco Bay. In May, anticipate mostly rough seas all the way up and back. The ship movements I consider, are similar to what one would experience in a relatively minor 3.0 earthquake. Just a subtle but constant rocking motion. Most people get use to the rocking motion after the first few days.

 

What kind of stateroom and what deck did you book? That can make a difference. Can you change to mid to aft, and a lower deck?

 

If you are sensitive to effects of motion sickness, have your Dr. prescribe a patch, or motion sickness medication. You can also try a pressure point bracelet device you wear on your wrist.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your Alaska cruise.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Kingofcool1947

[Nancyquilts]

The cruises from SF as well as from Seattle go to the west of Vancouver Island. I believe the only ships that do the true inside passage -east of the island - are from Vancouver.

[Coral]

I would switch cabins if you can.

[CruisersfromSD]

We did an NCL cruise from LA to Alaska in May of 2011...I remember day 2 and 3 being very rough..my wife was a bit seasick. It was so bad one night that I was barely able to walk when I got up to go to the bathroom at 2AM (they also put in the stabilizers late night so it's rougher, but they can go faster). I'm assuming that it's rougher in the spring weather, but I don't really know the weather patterns up there.

[Cruiserkenn]

Yes, Coral is right. Switch cabins if you can. It is often rough in May, when going past Oregon and Washington. Try for a mid ship cabin, lower rather than higher.

 

Get motion sickness pills or the patch, no matter what. Some even need these on the true inside passage.

 

But go for sure! Alaska is awesome.

 

Enjoy!

[metairiegal]

Never thought about it being rough out of San Francisco. We live close to Fort Lauderdale and cruise frequently but it's never bad out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

We are considering Alaska on the Golden in July for 10 nights. Second choice is Alaska on the Ruby for 7 nights. Any advice? Would hate to have really choppy seas for the first and last days of the 10 night round trip San Francisco.

[Hawaiidan]

The question really is will in be calm. The ocean from Point Conception north to Vancouver and the straits of Juan De Fuca are consistently some of the nastiest sea as it sticks out further into the pacific current that any other.

 

Big seas, fog, rain squalls very common.. its a collision of sea and weather.

 

For calm sailout of Vancouver or Seattle because the ride getting to either is not at all that nice.. I have sailed this route several times with the navy and every time was grim 20'+ sea common and your sailing right into the teeth of the wind and current....

[IECalCruiser]

Your two sea days between San Francisco and Juneau will be in the Pacific Ocean as will most of the sea day between Ketchikan and Victoria and the sea day from Victoria to San Francisco. It can get rough. We had fairly "active" seas between San Francisco and Mexico on our 10 day cruise last year. I don't need to use the SCOP patch much any more but I used it both ways while sailing the along the coast on that cruise.

[metairiegal]

Oh my. Maybe we should go with the 7 night out of Seattle. I would love a 10 nighter. But, not if the extra days are wasted in rough seas. (Again, we are going in early July.)

[RickEk]

Oh my. Maybe we should go with the 7 night out of Seattle. I would love a 10 nighter. But, not if the extra days are wasted in rough seas. (Again, we are going in early July.)

 

In general, sailing north is much rougher than sailing south. You'll be sailing with the current southbound so it is usually smoother.

[SadieN]

Thing is, there's no telling what the seas will be. We've done two northbound repos and one RT SoCal to Vancouver. The 3day mid April northbound was horrible, hit a horrible storm off the coast of Oregon (this was our kids' favorite cruise).

The seas were like glass for our 6day mid April and the RT beginning of June.

[RDC1]

Last year in June we had rough seas the first night going north out of San Francisco. Then it all smoothed out and was pretty good the rest of the trip. As I understand it the primary cause is the California current that comes south down the coast. Tends to make the trip north a bit rough.

[Nancyquilts]

We've sailed out of SF 5 times to Alaska and twice that to Mexico. The seas have always been so calm you don't know you're on the ocean rather than in a hotel. We'd like a bit of rocking so we can know we're on a ship.

[RickEk]

We've sailed out of SF 5 times to Alaska and twice that to Mexico. The seas have always been so calm you don't know you're on the ocean rather than in a hotel. We'd like a bit of rocking so we can know we're on a ship.

 

My cruise last year out of San Francisco wasn't too bad, but a few years back on Sea Princess, it was pretty rough. During the night, I swear the ship dropped from underneath me and I *fell* into the mattress. :eek:

 

Here's a shot out our window...

 

122 by RickEk, on Flickr

Edited April 25, 2015 by RickEk

[sassyredhat]

We've sailed out of SF 5 times to Alaska and twice that to Mexico. The seas have always been so calm you don't know you're on the ocean rather than in a hotel. We'd like a bit of rocking so we can know we're on a ship.

 

 

 

This has been our experience too. The very early season cruises seem to be a bit rockier, but July and Aug should be fine. We even prefer Sept.

 

I wear the sea bands I get from off the shelf at CVS. Also, plain ginger capsules and green apples help. The trick is to use those before you need them. I put on my bands at embarkation. Usually, a few days in, I don't need them.

 

Patti