Midship like a see saw?

glojo · April 4, 2005

So I was told by my travel agent that a ship is like a see saw, midship has the least movement. Opinions please.

sailingrose · April 5, 2005

Very true. When my son travels with us we try to get a midship lower deck cabin as he gets kind of seasick.

rogue · April 5, 2005

Certainly, there is less movement with a midship cabin, but the extra movement you get away from midship is not really too much more. We have had cabins at different spots on the ship, and really have not found too much difference. I should also tell you that I am a person who does get motion illness, but I don't get sick on large ships. My wife is much worse than me, and she doesn't get sick either. Bonine works wonders, and is over the counter. :grin:

Howard

DaCruzNut · April 5, 2005

While, technically, midship has less pitch than the bow or stern, Rogue is correct. With the size of today's ships, the difference is minimal. In fact, my two favorite cabins were at the extreme stern of the ship, with balconies facing the wake!

dreamer · April 5, 2005

I think there is a fair amount of difference. I would not have said so before, but on our last cruise we had a far forward cabin on the top deck ( Golden Princess, Lido deck) and yes I felt the movement was stronger then it was lower and midship( like when we were in the dining room) .

I will be more careful to book a lower midship cabin next time, admittely we did have 2 days of rough seas, so if weather is fine it most likely is not an issur( I had never really cared about cabin location on previous 3 cruises) but the truth is you can never count of the weather, so if prone to seasickness I would take your TA's advise.

Dan · April 5, 2005

A ship is not like a see-saw. The shape of the hull guarantees that. The most movement is at the front, where the shape of the bow breaks the waves. The movement is dissipated as you move back. The stern does not get an "equal and opposite reaction" to the bow. As the ship rides the swells, the stern will rise and fall to some extent, but it's not a rotation around some centre of gravity near the midship point as many think. A see-saw is attached to a solid foundation. A ship is not.

Where location matters is in the side to side "rolling" motion that a ship goes through when sailing in a strong cross wind or cross current. If the top of the ship deflects a couple degrees from vertical, you'll obviosuly feel that more on a higher deck than on a lower one.

glojo · April 12, 2005

Thanks Dan this makes the most sense to me, and I appreciate this detailed explanation. Thanks all!

glojo · April 12, 2005

Thanks Dan this makes the most sense to me, and I appreciate this detailed explanation. Thanks all!

bakersuzie · April 12, 2005

If your son gets seasick and can't take a pill you might think about contacting your DR. He cangive you a patch (like a small bandaid) to wear on your neck near the back of your ear. A friend of mine uses these when we go diving. Hope this helps,

bakersuzie · April 12, 2005

If your son gets seasick and can't take a pill you might think about contacting your DR. He cangive you a patch (like a small bandaid) to wear on your neck near the back of your ear. A friend of mine uses these when we go diving. Hope this helps,