Do cruise ships lurch or bounce when at sea?

Question

I am considering a cruise next year. When is the best time to go, and can you feel the boat moving? I have bad motion sickness.

Answer 1

I went on a 5 day cruise and it was good. I went in Nov..still warm in Mexico and not so crowded.  I did feel the boat moving at night when I was asleep, but did not notice it at all during the day when I was out and about on the ship.

Answer 2

you don't even know you are moving

Answer 3

Like everyone else has said, you can't really feel much movement on bigger ships.  What I noticed is that you'll be walking down a hall way and start on one side and end up on the other.  I suggest cruising the Med, I've never seen a body of water so calm!  We went in June and had no problems.

If you suffer from motion sickness, just be prepared.  Take motion sickness pills and invest in wrist bands.  They do help if you need them.

I was worried about being motion sick (I get it bad sometimes) but our cruise didn't bother me.

Answer 4

at times it may. But most of the time you wont feel the boat moving. You  might even forget your on a ship!

Answer 5

cruise ships are very large and comfortable ships, and during normal time on the ship you cannot feel it moving.

Answer 6

I have noticed that I feel less motion on the larger ships.

For example, the Carnival Ecstasy is a 70 ton ship and most of our party commented on feeling some type of motion.

While the same group commented on no feeling any motion on the larger Carnival Conquest.  She is a 110 ton ship.

If you are concerned, start taking the non drowsy Dramamine formula about an hour before you board.  

Make sure you pack the Dramamine in your carry on since it can take several hours to get your checked luggage in your cabin.

We like to cruise in early June.

We avoid July-Nov because these months are getting deeper into hurricane season.

We avoid March because that is Spreak Break time and the ships are usually crazy full of uncontrolled kids.

Jan and Feb are good times to get reduced rate cruises.  Our friends paid about half price for the same cruise we took in June by taking it in February.

Answer 7

It can. Get a cabin midship-you feel it less there.

Answer 8

I have been on about 20 cruises and covered all of the Caribbean, Europe and South America and on almost all of the cruises there was very little motion.  But, there were exceptions such as in South America along the coast of Chile, in the Baltic- north seas, and for a few hours in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.  The Caribbean is generally very calm except as you leave Florida's East coast and cross the Gulf stream.  But the  motion is not bad and only last for a couple hours and you will be so busy that you will not notice it.

Most cruise ships these days do not have much motion because they have automatic stabilizer that deploy under water to keep the ship from rocking side to side.  In addition, many of the newer cruise ships are almost 1,000 feet long and so do not have front to back rocking either.  The other thing to consider to keep from having a lot of motion is the larger ships are affected less by the ocean than the smaller ones.  So look for a ship that holds 2500 to 3000 passengers or more.  If there are storms like hurricanes there can be rough ocean but all of the cruise lines do a great job of steering away from and around bad weather.  You may have a shower on ship but they will not knowingly go near a hurricane area.

If motion of the ship is a concern then the smoothest cruise is the Alaska inside passage; kinda like cruising down a river and you can see land on both side of the ship most of the way.  The inside passage does not have the deep ocean wave action.  The Mediterranean was also a relatively smooth cruise except for about a 2 hour period the second evening.

Answer 9

If you have ever taken a ride on your local public transportation system ( the bus / subway train ) then you have an idea of what you might feel .  But everyone is right . The newer ships have stabilizers to control any motion .  

You will be to busy having fun to even notice any motion . Unless you stand there and look for it . There is plenty of medication ( pills / patches / food /my favorite is alcohol Lol ) to help  with any sickness you might have .

My opinion . Try to go before hurricane season ( I think it runs between July / Nov .? ) .But go ! you will love it !

Answer 10

I'd say it's best to go when prices are at their lowest. For example, we got a great deal on a cruise for this year (we paid for it in May/June for the end of August). Now, in July, the prices have gone up. It doesn't matter really what time of year you cruise, as long as you know you won't have any problems with it.

The bigger the ship, the less noticeable motion is. At first you might feel a little motion, but as the cruise goes on you're practically immune to it. Often, because there's so much to do on them (not to mention how large they are), you won't even realize you're on a ship!

Hope you plan a cruise; it's a vacation never to be missed. :]