Rough Caribbean Seas last two weeks?

[floridatravelersforlife]

We were on the Sirena the last two weeks on a Southern Caribbean cruise to ABC Islands, Grenada, Dominica, St Barts, etc.

 

We had medium to heavy seas and severe head winds which caused us to miss Aruba, and return to Miami 5 hrs late.

 

Any one else personally experience turbulent weather the last two weeks? 

 

Having sailed the Caribbean over the last 25 years, we never experienced this type of weather in January.

 

Just comparing notes.

 

 

[JDincalif]

Although it was a little more than two weeks ago, we left Miami on the Insignia on Jan. 8, and almost immediately were into strong winds and high waves. The Jan. 9 Key West and Jan. 12 Santa Marta port calls were also cancelled due to the adverse conditions.

[stoshb]

We were on Insignia leaving Miami on Dec 28 and met lots of high seas.  A couple going with us were sea sick off and on the whole trip.

 

[Hawaiidan]

3 hours ago, stoshb said:

We were on Insignia leaving Miami on Dec 28 and met lots of high seas.  A couple going with us were sea sick off and on the whole trip.

 

 

Sorry to hear.................BUT ....................... this can be a blessing is disguise.    Reservations for specialties will be wide open and many do not show up... it will be wide open even with a little roll.    

What are high seas to you?   To me  25-35 foot running at less than 5 seconds and winds above 45 kts

[stoshb]

As far as I was concerned these were baby waves, just 10', but I think our other party could get sick in a canoe also.  We did see water splash up to our balcony in room 7002. 

[bbwex]

Heavy seas can happen anytime, anywhere, except perhaps in the middle of Montana.  Unless you are really watching detailed weather reports for a wide area, you are unlikely to have any inkling of what the seas will be like.  As I have noted before, the heaviest seas I ever saw were on a bright, sunny day in the Pacific.  We had seen no bad weather for days.  That being said, the seas were 50'  high, and we were taking green water over the flight deck of our aircraft carrier!  Mother Nature can be unpredictable at time.  A "normally calm time of year" does not apply to every day. 

 

I did hear that those that departed on January 8th did have a rough few days, but then heard that it had calmed down quite a bit.

 

The last night of a week-long visit to the Galapagos saw some somewhat heavy seas comparatively speaking, and as noted by Hawaiidian, it sure kept the number of guests in the dining room to a minimum.

 

For those that find these sorts of days uncomfortable, it is unfortunate, but it is part of the nature of the oceans.

[floridatravelersforlife]

Thanks for the replies. I was suspicious about delays outbound and also inbound.   Weather caused chaos on our cruise, we missed Aruba, arrived at Grenada WITH 2 HOURS OF DAYLIGHT LEFT, and we arrived back at Miami Terminal J with first pax off the ship at 11:30 AM.  Messed up Embarkation.  The seas glassed over the last 10 hours of the cruise. Still a nice cruise, it was Oceania after all.

[kikipug]

19 hours ago, JDincalif said:

Although it was a little more than two weeks ago, we left Miami on the Insignia on Jan. 8, and almost immediately were into strong winds and high waves. The Jan. 9 Key West and Jan. 12 Santa Marta port calls were also cancelled due to the adverse conditions.

 

Key West has been missed by several ships in the past 2 weeks due to wind.  On the 9th NCL Pearl made it in, (which is 4x larger) but Insignia chose not to attempt it, knowing they had 179 more days ahead...  (My company is Key West-based and relies heavily on cruise ship traffic, so I watch the port calendar and updates like a hawk.🛳️)  Low temps last week for a few nights, and lots of wind... but it never lasts long!!  

[susiesan]

I am on Sirena now . We left Miami last Saterday. We made it to Key West, day at sea was smooth, in Roatan now with very calm seas. Waiting to see if the tsunami generated by the earthquake in Jamaica today actually makes it here. The locals here said it rained all last week in Roatan and we were lucky with a sunny day

 

[catsngoats]

We also encountered unpleasant weather conditions on Marina coming out of the Panama Canal on Jan 14.  The crew tried but we could not dock in Puerto Limon Costa Rica.  It poured most of the morning in Roatan, we docked  but no snorkeling. I had a sunny snorkeling tour out from Harvest Caye (Belize) but it poured on our little boat and group of 30 most of the way back and the hour I spent waiting for the tender back to the ship.  I had a Reef Restoration tour scheduled in Cozumel  but the NonProfit org called the ship to cancel due to rough seas.  It was cloudy, cold and seas were very rough the whole day and night from Cozumel back to Miami. Locals were a bit surprised that the December rainy season had continued into January.

 

[don731]

Windy.com has an excellent wave forecast tool.  

[YoHoHo]

3 hours ago, don731 said:

Windy.com has an excellent wave forecast tool.  

Thanks! What a gorgeous site. The colours and patterns reminded me a a painting by Van Goh

If they had historical data it would be perfect for me. (I am interested in some wind patterns in Nov in the Caribbean. I realize history might not repeat and too far away for a prediction but general directional trends is all I'm after)

In any case, thanks for the tip.