Wave Height - Rough Seas

[k2]

So we are sailing out of Charleston Saturday and it looks like the South East Atlantic Coast is in for some rough seas. With waves predicted from 15-25 ft. what kind of motion are we to expect on the Ecstasy? We sailed through a hurricane years ago on RCCL Enchantment, but I cannot remember what the wave heights were....

[Homosassa]

You are definitely going to feel motion. Hopefully, your cabin is not on a high deck, forward or aft.

[jefffrompawpaw]

So we are sailing out of Charleston Saturday and it looks like the South East Atlantic Coast is in for some rough seas. With waves predicted from 15-25 ft. what kind of motion are we to expect on the Ecstasy? We sailed through a hurricane years ago on RCCL Enchantment, but I cannot remember what the wave heights were....

 

 

 

Hmmmm. I don't like hearing that forecast, I am going out of Miami on Sunday. I've been on the Ecstacy but it was calm seas. On the flip side I was on the Triumph 9 days after hurricane (don't remember) last year. It was not pleasant for me, and the crew wasn't happy either. Some even missing because of sea sickness. Good luck to us both.

 

 

Can you post your source for the forecast.

[honestguy]

Shouldn't be too bad. She will rock a lil, but you will be heading away from the storm. Hopefully the wind isn't too bad.

[lcpagejr]

Storm is forecasted to be through Philly with improving conditions early sat morning (around 3am)..... You should be OK...Sea may still be a little churned up but the storm will have long passed..... Now for those sailing out of NY/NJ on NCL Breakaway and RCL Anthem of the Seas....a whole different story!!

[jefffrompawpaw]

I just did some searching and from what I see it's the wind speed that's 15-25 knots of wind not the seas at 15-25. Waves are foretasted at max7-9 feet.

But that's also Miami.

[CoastieBMC]

NOAA website has a wave forecast somewhere on there or search wave watch models good luck

 

 

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[salty dingo]

Does not seem like much to worry about. Get some sea sickness pills just in case.

[k2]

So the Waves Saturday and Sunday are forecast down through the Bahamas. Here are some of the predictions along that coast... http://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/raw/fz/fznt23.knhc.off.nt3.txt We are mid ship low (always)... Every time I bring first time cruisers there are some rough seas!

[k2]

And what the heck does Gale Conditions Possible even mean?

Atlantic from 27N to 31N between 65W and 70W-333 AM EST Thu Mar 1 2018...GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE SAT THROUGH SUN....TODAY...S winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 8 to 10 ft in NE swell. .TONIGHT...SW winds 20 to 25 kt N of 29N, and S to SW 15 to 20 ktelsewhere. Seas 6 to 10 ft in NE swell. .FRI...SW to W winds 20 to 30 kt N of 29N, and SW to W 20 to25 kt elsewhere. Seas 10 to 12 ft in W to NW swell, building to12 to 14 ft in W swell late in the afternoon. .FRI NIGHT...W to NW winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 17 to 23 ft in NWswell, building to 19 to 25 ft in NW swell early in the morning. .SAT...W to NW winds 25 to 35 kt. Seas 20 to 26 ft in NW to Nswell. .SAT NIGHT...W to NW winds 30 to 40 kt. Seas 20 to 30 ft in NW toN swell. .SUN...NW winds 25 to 35 kt. Seas 20 to 30 ft in N swell. .SUN NIGHT...NW to N winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 20 to 28 ft in Nswell. .MON...NW winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 19 to 25 ft in N to NE swell. .MON NIGHT...NW winds 25 to 30 kt. Seas 18 to 24 ft in N to NEswell.

[Micahs Grandad]

I believe the direction of the waves in relation to your course is a major factor in movement of the ship

[Homosassa]

We are mid ship low (always)... Every time I bring first time cruisers there are some rough seas!

 

Then you are in relatively good shape motion wise.

 

Our cruise in January had gale force conditions (wind speeds of 60 mph, wave heights of 20 ft). We were low and amidships (always ;);)) so we just could tell and enjoy the fact that we were on a ship at seas.

 

Others who had paid for the so called premium areas (high, aft and forward)were not as happy.

[ProgRockCruiser]

Hmm. We leave on a 4-day to the Bahamas out of Canaveral on Sunday. We have interior cabins in the aft area of Deck 7. I will probably enjoy the extra wave motion. Not sure about my wife or Mom. I bought Sea Bands for everyone, so maybe I'll tell them to put them on, just in case...

[iwantsomesun]

According to our last Cruise Director, waves really only contribute to pitch (front/back motion) of the ship. The side to side rolling is almost all because of wind hitting the side of the ship. So the motion really is a combination of wave height and wind. Also wind direction will matter quite a bit.

[bakersdozen12]

We’ve sailed in the gulf when there were storms and rough seas related to Hurricane Patricia, and more recently we sailed right through Tropical Storm Philippe. From my experience, while you certainly can and probably will feel some movement, the ships have stabilizers that are pretty darn good with keeping motion to a minimal. You will be fine, and are in safe hands. Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

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[dolita22]

Hmm. We leave on a 4-day to the Bahamas out of Canaveral on Sunday. We have interior cabins in the aft area of Deck 7. I will probably enjoy the extra wave motion. Not sure about my wife or Mom. I bought Sea Bands for everyone, so maybe I'll tell them to put them on, just in case...

 

We had some rougher seas leaving San Juan on the Glory last week (at least rougher than I was used to) - we estimated maybe 12-15 foot waves. Knock on wood, I've never gotten sea sick, but I did put on the Sea Bands and took a Bonine just in case. The combo worked great for me! We were in the steakhouse for dinner that night and a poor woman next to us was so seasick she couldn't enjoy her meal at all.

 

Have fun, and hope you'll have smooth sailing!

[tap_out]

7-9 wont be to bad. 20-25 WOW. We were on a rc freedom class ship one time out of ny and hit 15ft and for a big boat you could really feel it. Good thing we dont get sea sick. I can imagine 20-25ft on a smaller ship

[buddylover]

I concur w/tap-out....7-9 ft swells not bad.....but if truly 15ft...then you will feel it no matter where you are on the ship. They typically cannot use 'stabilizers' with really big waves. We were on the RCI Harmony last month with almost constant 15 ft waves and that ship is HUGE....and we felt it A LOT (we were shocked that such a huge vessel would be tossed around so much)....shows were cancelled etc due to safety of personnel there was so much motion. You should be OK with the predictions of 7-9 ft waves....just prepare in advance by taking Bonine or Sea Bands etc.

[LostPuppy]

We were on the Vista late Jan and the Beaufort scale was at 7 on the cruise map channel. That translates to 13' to 19' waves with a 30 knot wind. I agree as I saw 15' to 20' rollers with about 300' crest-to-crest. We were in a Cove balcony up front and thought it was fantastic watching the ship muscle all that water aside so easily, (120,000? shaft HP will do that)......

 

AFA motion on the ship?; Negligible, never noticed it.

[Pellaz]

We’ve sailed in the gulf when there were storms and rough seas related to Hurricane Patricia, and more recently we sailed right through Tropical Storm Philippe. From my experience, while you certainly can and probably will feel some movement, the ships have stabilizers that are pretty darn good with keeping motion to a minimal.

 

The fin stabilizers will help with side-to-side motion IF they deploy them, but there is nothing stabilizers can do if you are encountering waves (or long-period swells) dead-on.

 

We had that happen on Conquest when sailing away from Grand Turk. There was a hurricane in the Atlantic about 400 miles out and moving away from us, and we were encountering long-period swells. The ship bucked fore-and-aft, and it was fun watching the bow splash down into the swells and throw spray 80-100 ft. to each side. We had no problems with seasickness and since our beds were oriented sideways, we were rocked to sleep nicely, but there were others who said they felt it more. There weren't seasickness bags placed everywhere, though.

[Don Kehote]

A nice tool you can use is at windy.com - they have wind, waves, swells, sea temperature. Just mess around with the selections at the sidebar, and you'll have tons of information at your fingertips, and quickly!

[AD5ZA]

I believe the direction of the waves in relation to your course is a major factor in movement of the ship

 

 

 

You are correct. If you have a good Captain' date=' he will set a course that will lessen wave impact on the ship. Stabilizers help control roll but pitch can be bad sometimes.

 

 

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[Homosassa]

Stabilizers also don't help with yaw (that's the motion when the ship seems to be shaking from side to side).

[coevan]

There is a huge north swell coming into the Caribbean, peaking Sunday. Expect rough seas for this weeks cruises and possibly some missed ports. The Baths in BVI is closed until further notice due to high seas. They are expecting 12-15 seas and high winds.

[marshhawk]

We cruised through tropical storm Sean, a few years back-20 foot waves. The first night on the lowest deck in the front, both DH and I clung to the mattress so that we were not thrown to the floor. We loved it, the next day every one was green, and we had the ship to ourselves. :D