Trip to Bermuda in eraly May, should I expect rough seas?

[AlexanderIII]

Hello to all!

 

I booked a cruise with Celebrity for the first time, a decade after my last cruise (with NCL). My trip is from New Jersey to Bermuda on May 6 on the Summit.

 

I am somewhat uneasy about the possibility of rough seas, which I did not quite factor in when booking. Reading subsequently here and elsewhere various posts such as "A Cruise from Hell" and similar experiences has put a read doubt in my mind.

 

I do not have a problem with motion sickness, but with fear itself. I have never been in a storm on the open sea and am not sure whether I can take those violent moves up and down for a day should a storm happen, without having a panic attack. Rough seas was not an issue at all when I cruised in the Caribbean.

 

I understand that it is hard too predict the weather and that storms can happen anywhere. However, can somebody who is more experienced provide info about travelling to Bermuda in the month of May and compare to other months?

 

Also, what does one in fact do in a confined space that is rocking say 30 feet up and down? Do you look in the horizon, or not look at all, do you get drunk, take valium...?

[lvz2cruz]

You jump in the pool which becomes a wave pool. One of our favorite cruise things.

 

You don't need to worry. The Summit is big and can handle the waves. They know where storms are and if they are really bad they go around them. We've been in May a couple times and it's nothing to worry about.

[princeton12321]

The bad weather tends to be at the end of the season in Aug and Sept- you’ll be fine generally in May. They will divert your cruise to Canada (again, usually happens later on in the season than May) before they send Summit into a storm. Bermuda is only a day at sea transit- they know the weather before you pass under the Narrows and will take action to avoid bad seas if it necessitates it.

 

You should try a transatlantic crossing in January sometime- everything else will seem like a piece of cake!

[Corgis mom]

We have found that leaving Bermuda it is sometimes a little rough as the ship gets into the Gulf Stream. Other than that, smooth sailing. We get on as you get off. Great time to sail. Not too hot, children are still in school.

[Keith1010]

You may encounter some rough seas along the way and no one can guarantee what your voyage will be like but in general we have not had stormy weather on crossings we have done to Bermuda that time of year.

 

It's a wonderful cruise.

 

Keith

[phoenix_dream]

No one can say for sure if the seas will be rough or smooth - anyone who replies confidently about that does not know what they are talking about. All anyone can reply about is how the seas generally are that time of year. For example, we have sailed in the Caribbean more than 30 times. Of those 30 times, twice we had seas up to 30' in the same areas where sometimes the seas were less than 5'. It is also true that the ship will TRY to avoid the roughest seas. But excepting for dangerous seas, ships will still sail where they need to sail to get to their destinations. And if the seas are high (but not dangerous), they will sail through them if need be to reach the port on time. Happened to me a month ago. And if the seas are 30' (rare) then forget the pools - they will definitely be closed (and splashing all over the deck:p)

[jeffb1062]

Mother Nature can be bitchy sometimes, always expect the unexpected! If you need to go to the guest relations desk and get some motion sickness pills!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited March 27, 2018 by jeffb1062

[footer6]

May is well before the hurricane season, it's not normally rough. Be aware however that, whenever you cruise to Bermuda, you experience a bit more rolling than in the Caribbean. I think it has something to do with crossing over the gulf stream. It's not rough seas, but you tend to notice it. It's never kept me from enjoying the cruise. I've been on ships in high winds, where they locked the doors to the decks, and I had an experience where the tender platform was going up and down about 3 feet, and we were propelled onto the ship one at a time by crew members. Never had anything like that near Bermuda. Enjoy the cruise. Bermuda is beautiful.

[George C]

Seas were rough on my last may cruise to Bermuda several years ago , we were on a very small Hal ship . Only time I ever was sea sick in my 60 plus cruises was on a tiny ship to Bermuda about 40 years ago, summit is 5 times bigger than that ship

[CruisingChick]

While you can have bad seas leaving out of any port at anytime, we have done 6 Bermuda cruises from NY/NJ area. 1 in August, 1 in July and the rest in May. I don't recall any of them being rocky or having anything except for normal seas.

 

Relax and enjoy your sailing. We are doing the May 13th Summit cruise.

[Fissues]

Heck, I've done it in a 34' boat. You won't have an issue, just a little lumpy 80-100 miles out as you enter the stream. Enjoy!

[Charles4515]

Hello to all!

 

I booked a cruise with Celebrity for the first time, a decade after my last cruise (with NCL). My trip is from New Jersey to Bermuda on May 6 on the Summit.

 

I am somewhat uneasy about the possibility of rough seas, which I did not quite factor in when booking. Reading subsequently here and elsewhere various posts such as "A Cruise from Hell" and similar experiences has put a read doubt in my mind.

 

I do not have a problem with motion sickness, but with fear itself. I have never been in a storm on the open sea and am not sure whether I can take those violent moves up and down for a day should a storm happen, without having a panic attack. Rough seas was not an issue at all when I cruised in the Caribbean.

 

I understand that it is hard too predict the weather and that storms can happen anywhere. However, can somebody who is more experienced provide info about travelling to Bermuda in the month of May and compare to other months?

 

Also, what does one in fact do in a confined space that is rocking say 30 feet up and down? Do you look in the horizon, or not look at all, do you get drunk, take valium...?

 

 

 

I have done many sailings to Bermuda. No way to predict if seas will be rough or not. I have had rough seas, in July. Can happen anytime if there is a storm. I have had very rough seas in the Caribbean. If you have not, you have not been on enough cruises yet or you are just lucky. What I can tell you about early May, Bermuda, is that the water temperature is chilly. Air temperature probably pleasant but pack a sweater. Don’t expect beach weather. I don’t go there anymore until June.

 

For possible rough seas you should have Bonine or non drowsy Dramamine on hand.

[dkjretired]

I have done many sailings to Bermuda. No way to predict if seas will be rough or not. I have had rough seas, in July. Can happen anytime if there is a storm. I have had very rough seas in the Caribbean. If you have not, you have not been on enough cruises yet or you are just lucky. What I can tell you about early May, Bermuda, is that the water temperature is chilly. Air temperature probably pleasant but pack a sweater. Don’t expect beach weather. I don’t go there anymore until June.

 

For possible rough seas you should have Bonine or non drowsy Dramamine on hand.

 

And New Jersey can be cool.

[SbbquilterUT]

We sailed that cruise the end of April last year - no remarkable seas. The weather was very pleasant, warm but less humid than later in the summer. The water was a bit cool for me to swim in but plenty of folks were enjoying it. There were fewer crowds and we really enjoyed the trip.

[SailingSal]

We have done the Bermuda cruise of NY and NJ 7 times and did occasionally have rough seas - but it was no "biggie".

These days were usually spent reading and "people watching" at the Bars. Don't worry - relax and enjoy - someone else will be driving the ship through those rough seas!

[Finabear]

We have done Bermuda several times out of NJ. Generally the seas are calm but at least twice we had a rocky ride the last night heading back. No biggie. On the way to Bermuda on the Anthem we clipped the edge of hurricane Hermine and that ship handled it well. The captain kept us well informed and it was a memorable cruise - in a good way!

[CruisingChick]

We have done Bermuda several times out of NJ. Generally the seas are calm but at least twice we had a rocky ride the last night heading back. No biggie. On the way to Bermuda on the Anthem we clipped the edge of hurricane Hermine and that ship handled it well. The captain kept us well informed and it was a memorable cruise - in a good way!

 

We were on Summit and sailed through Hermine. We got an alert the day before sailing that we would be boarding early at 9:30 am to leave at 2:00 PM (2 hours early) to try and miss the worst of the storm.

 

Wish I could upload the video to CC. It was something.

[Muushka]

OP, you ask an interesting question, what do you do when the ship is going through 30' seas.

 

Our first cruise had 35' seas. At a time of year and location that never has hurricanes. My husband got seasick, but it sounds like you are more like myself, not expecting to get seasick.

 

From my experience on that cruise, not sick but so afraid, I would experience it differently today. If I were on a ship that was having that size wave and winds, I would enjoy it. Now I know that the ship does not break in half (it was a Disney ship and just before the cruise I saw how it was built in 2 pieces!). I know that the captain will put our safety first (bad for PR when a ship sinks!). I know that we will eventually be out of that bad weather and just sit back and enjoy it. Take a walk up and see the waves in the pool (check it out early in case they close the deck). If you have a balcony, try to go out when you can to experience the sea mist and how big those waves really are. Go to a lower deck that has windows to see those wave up close and maybe even see under water!

 

Have a few drinks, you'll probably walk straight!:)

[riclop]

Hello to all!

 

I booked a cruise with Celebrity for the first time, a decade after my last cruise (with NCL). My trip is from New Jersey to Bermuda on May 6 on the Summit.

 

I am somewhat uneasy about the possibility of rough seas, which I did not quite factor in when booking. Reading subsequently here and elsewhere various posts such as "A Cruise from Hell" and similar experiences has put a read doubt in my mind.

 

I do not have a problem with motion sickness, but with fear itself. I have never been in a storm on the open sea and am not sure whether I can take those violent moves up and down for a day should a storm happen, without having a panic attack. Rough seas was not an issue at all when I cruised in the Caribbean.

 

I understand that it is hard too predict the weather and that storms can happen anywhere. However, can somebody who is more experienced provide info about travelling to Bermuda in the month of May and compare to other months?

 

Also, what does one in fact do in a confined space that is rocking say 30 feet up and down? Do you look in the horizon, or not look at all, do you get drunk, take valium...?

So now you want someone to predict the weather for May??????????

[BlueLobster]

We sailed the Summit last July 23rd from NJ to Bermuda. We've also sailed on the Summit in the Caribbean. Crossing to Bermuda is definitely a little more rocky, but it was not bad at all. However, we hit a N'oreaster on the way back. The ship rocked pretty good that night with howling winds. Even then, it was not as bad as what you might have seen with the NCL ship this past winter. As another poster said, we went up to the pool and watched the waves in the pool, and then went to one of the bars. Celebrity's service and quality will make up for any rough seas you hit. Enjoy.

[ShakeDaddy]

Good luck rookie. I'm sure the 1 poster specials get rough seas and storms !!!

 

Hopefully you didn't book an inside room? :eek:

[andrew2346]

This was also my experience in early May. I too was surprised it was not really warm,

 

I have done many sailings to Bermuda. No way to predict if seas will be rough or not. I have had rough seas, in July. Can happen anytime if there is a storm. I have had very rough seas in the Caribbean. If you have not, you have not been on enough cruises yet or you are just lucky. What I can tell you about early May, Bermuda, is that the water temperature is chilly. Air temperature probably pleasant but pack a sweater. Don’t expect beach weather. I don’t go there anymore until June.

 

For possible rough seas you should have Bonine or non drowsy Dramamine on hand.

[twinsbur]

On the way down to Bermuda last June, the ship encountered a severe storm. The ship was rocking, and the outdoor pool was closed. The indoor pool was open, and it looked like a wave pool. I have always been prone to seasickness, but I was fine ( I was wearing the Scopalamine patch). It rained so much that we were not able to sit on the veranda but we had a great time. I did have a little trouble walking because of the rocking. Once we made it to Bermuda, the weather was beautiful, and the water was warm. We loved the cruise so much we are heading back again in June.

Edited March 29, 2018 by twinsbur
added info

[phoenix_dream]

I would also add to my previous post, that I understand anxiety and panic attacks (they are no fun and I am very familiar having had issues myself and a lot in my family). That said, please try to remind yourself - when was the last time you read about a cruise ship sinking due to rough seas? The answer is never in our lifetimes (that I can recall). I think it might be scary to have really, really rough seas, but also keep in mind that in almost all cases the roughest the seas would get on this type of cruise would produce some rocking and rolling but nothing really dramatic. Try not to worry and enjoy your cruise!

[wwcruisers]

Our May Bayonne to Bermuda experience was somewhat different. We had very smooth seas, on the way down. But, when we got to Bermuda, we encountered gale-force winds, for the whole three days we were there (May 2015). It was so bad that all of our water-based activities had to be scrubbed. Even the ferry from Dockyard to St. George was canceled -- resulting in overcrowded buses, leaving Sandy's Parrish. The locals all said that the wind-storm was unusual, for that time of year. Even so, we'll probably pick a different time of year to return.