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Fast Gunn · 09-11-2010, 12:31 PM

I've never actually been on a cruise yet, but I've always heard how beautiful and romantic they can be and was actually planning on booking one, but, no one has ever told me about how chaotic things can get when you encounter rough seas!

Has anyone been through something like this?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_707444.html

Damn! About the only things standing still are the columns and I'm not too sure about them if the ship gets hit by a hurricane!

charlestudor2005 · 09-11-2010, 02:50 PM

Didn't watch the video, but it can't be any worse than what I experienced as a pup.

On a luxury liner. First of all, most of them have "stabilizers" which reduces the "seasick" effect, but does not completely eliminate it.

I was on a trip around the world. In the Indian Ocean, we hit a monsoon. Now, my brothers and I weren't effected by it. We rode it. We went to the bow of the ship. When the ship dipped into the valley between the waves, we'd jump straight up in the air, and the ship would meet us as we came down. The feeling was that we jumped a long way up in the air, and fell a few inches before hitting the deck with our feet.

Then we tried it vice versa. Long jump in the air when the ship was at the apex of the wave, and twice the fall to the deck.

Eventually, the bridge officers saw us and chased us off the deck.

Another thing I never understood from a physics perspective: how you can play ping-pong on a pitching and rolling deck and the ball winds up where it should be as if it were on dry land. If the ship is pitching and rolling, shouldn't that throw the ball off???

FG, in answer to your question: take your cruise off the West Coast. Few, if any hurricanes there. Or, in the alternative, book your cruise in (say) the Caribbean well outside hurricane season, like Christmas/January.

Just some random thoughts...

ICU 812 · 09-11-2010, 04:24 PM

Sure: book a cruise. I don't think a cruise ship has actually SUNK since The Andrea Dori (sp?) in the fifties.

Went on a cruise to the Western Gulf several years ago. Had a great time. You can have whatever makes a good time for you. For me this was a relaxed number of days at sea just sitting and reading with some shopping and a Mayan ruins trek while docked.

You can have any type of a good time that you want. Some folks partied, gambled and drank the whole time. I went with someone, so every night was a sure thing.

Charlestutor2005 is right about choosing your cruise date: Over the holidays its more expensive, but the "fun" crowd is out. Spring Break, New Years and so on. Pick an off-season trip and it can be WAY cheaper and the people on board will tend to be older, retired and more sedate . . .OK I'm sure that this isn't ecactly right, but you get the idea.

If you are thinking about it . . .do it!

offshoredrilling · 09-11-2010, 05:11 PM

To bad the cam was not in a gimbal. I would have loved to see how much the ship was pitching.

Fast Gunn · 09-11-2010, 06:32 PM

I may still take that cruise, but it seems that each time the thought crosses my mind, some sort of warning sign flashes on my radar screen to give me pause.

Some years back when I was thinking about booking a cruise, there was a barrage of news about masses of people getting sick on board. Something intestinal, I think.

When you have a huge group of people crowded into one ship it can easily become a breeding ground for disease.

Does anyone have good experiences and/or advice to share regarding cruises?

That idea mentioned of booking on the off-season makes a lot of sense, but still there are some good cruise lines and there are some bad ones, I've heard.

Wily Klitlicker · 09-11-2010, 08:58 PM

Looks like fun and you would be so scared that you would not even notice being sea sick.

As someone said previously the seas are calmer from Jan through May. The gulf has less turmoil than the Atlantic.

A co-traveler who is prone to sea sickness bought two anti seasickness wrist bands. These bands are a form of accupressure and prevent sea sickness.

pyramider · 09-12-2010, 06:08 AM

The ships have hand sanitizer everywhere.

Fast Gunn · 09-12-2010, 12:25 PM

You really are in a state of confusion, pyramider.

Did you even see the video clip I posted?

What in the world does hand sanitizer have to do with the chaos of rough seas on a cruise ship?

I think you could do your own stand-up routine on whacked out humor!

Mokoa · 09-12-2010, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

You really are in a state of confusion, pyramider.

Did you even see the video clip I posted?

What in the world does hand sanitizer have to do with the chaos of rough seas on a cruise ship?

I think you could do your own stand-up routine on whacked out humor!

I believe he was referring to this...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

Some years back when I was thinking about booking a cruise, there was a barrage of news about masses of people getting sick on board. Something intestinal, I think.

When you have a huge group of people crowded into one ship it can easily become a breeding ground for disease.

You need to look before you leap.

iforgot60 · 09-12-2010, 01:35 PM

I've cruised a few times with SO's. I've always had a great time, even on the first where we passed close to a hurricane in the Carrib. When the sea's are rough, the ship has to turn OFF the stabilizer system, which gives you the full effect. My SO spent most of the cruise in the cabin near the toilet. I wasn't prone to seasickness so wandered the ship which seemed almost empty. I developed a technique of controlled bouncing down the halls. I think 90% of the guests and over 50% of the crew were sick. Dinners were almost deserted, but service was great with lots of free wine! There was no way you'd be near the bow since it was often under. Was a wild trip for about 2 days out of the 7.

But cruises are a good deal. There are even ones set up for adults and singles.
You might try one of those!

charlestudor2005 · 09-12-2010, 02:25 PM

See comments:

Quote:

Originally Posted by iforgot60

I've cruised a few times with SO's. I've always had a great time, even on the first where we passed close to a hurricane in the Carrib. When the sea's are rough, the ship has to turn OFF the stabilizer system, which gives you the full effect. I didn't know that. My SO spent most of the cruise in the cabin near the toilet. I wasn't prone to seasickness so wandered the ship which seemed almost empty. I developed a technique of controlled bouncing down the halls. I think 90% of the guests and over 50% of the crew were sick. If you are not prone to seasickness, this is a great time to be on board. I'm not prone to it, but I've heard that if you are, you should limit your diet to apple slices and saltines. Dinners were almost deserted, but service was great with lots of free wine! There was no way you'd be near the bow since it was often under. Was a wild trip for about 2 days out of the 7.

But cruises are a good deal. There are even ones set up for adults and singles.
You might try one of those!

BTW, I've never sailed Royal Caribbean, but if I were in the market, this is the company I would look at first. Can't do any vouches, but they seem to have a most professional operation.

There are other types: being a part of the crew; windjammer type things; even private type things.

If you have a little coin to drop on a romantic getaway, you might check out this site: http://www.hideaways.com/.

Jake2.1 · 09-12-2010, 02:55 PM

My one and only cruise experience was with Holland America. Nicer boats and older clientele. 7 days in the Carribean in October (which could be considered hurricane season). I was told that if there was any storms, the ships go around and may alter the cruise destinations as well to avoid rough seas. We only had one day of "rough" seas where is was raining outside and the boat was moving around (still nothing like that video). The odd thing for me was that I experienced motion sickness from the moment the boat pulled out into open water and lived on the free pills they will give you. But on the one day of "rough" seas, I felt great. I attribute it to the fact that I could actually see the rocking and then had no problems with the motion. But on the normal "calm" days, you couldn't see the boat rock but I could still feel it slightly, hence giving me motion sickness. Made for a long week. I always tell people to try a short 3 or 4 day cruise if you have never gone to see how you are going to react.

And Holland America doesn't want you to know it but they are owned by Carnival. Holland America is their upscale brand.

pd1995 · 09-12-2010, 03:33 PM

fast gunn you need to stop fretting about a cruise. I have been o 7 all the way from alaska to cabo and all ports in gulf. on spring break you have a lot of college and high school kids. the problem is that you have 13 to 15 year old kids hanging in the clubs at night getting drunk. i would suggest april or may. also if you go on a ship that is 100,000 tons or greater you will have no problem with sea sickness..have fun i did. also the slots pay better than here.

charlestudor2005 · 09-12-2010, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pd1995

also the slots pay better than here.

And so do the sluts.

pyramider · 09-12-2010, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

You really are in a state of confusion, pyramider.

Did you even see the video clip I posted?

What in the world does hand sanitizer have to do with the chaos of rough seas on a cruise ship?

I think you could do your own stand-up routine on whacked out humor!

I thought the USS Poseidon and Titanic were out of service.

Many have gotten ill, non motion related, so the cuise companies have hand sanitizer throughout the ship.