Hurricane or Rough Sea Stories

[YellowBird]

Here is my story.

I believe we was on the Jubilee. We started off with smooth seas but I was concerned because there was a hurricane in the gulf. Carnival did not cancel our cruise, but just opted to steer around the hurricane. The closer we got to the hurricane the taller the waves got. The first thing I noticed that told me things was going to be getting interested was barf bags. They started placing them in random spots all over the ship. They was next to the elevators, several where taped to the walls down the hallways. I walked out of one of the outside decks to observe the weather. The sky had turned a dark green color. The wind was blowing very hard and gusty. I heard a noise and turned to look. Here comes a deck chair from the floor above me. The wind picked up the chair and threw it over the railing and it landed a deck down..The one I was standing on...it landed about 10 feet from me. The crew also seen this and they started hollering for everyone to get inside. They secured all loose items and we spent the rest of the afternoon indoors. While in the dinning room that night you could hear dishes falling off of shelves. And that night it almost rolled me out of bed. Strange thing was I was not scared during all of this. But I am a weather nut and enjoyed getting to see something like this. The captain did announce that we was not going thru the hurricane. He said we was a safe distance away from it, that we where just experiencing some of the outer rain bands..

[mercedes]

WOW, what a story. I have always had calm seas

[SCIROCCO]

In 2005 Hurricane Wilma interrupted our cruise,we only made it to Cozumel and then we wound up at Tampa Bay,Fla at a empty lot! In 2006 we had 20 FT. waves heading out in the Gulf from Galveston a lot of sick people but It didnt bother me Ive been overseas on a Troop Transport and if you make it on one of those you can make it anywhere! Thats the chance you take in Hurricane Season cruising,but Boy the great deals and the weathers a lot cooler as well! We like it and some rough waves makes it more interesting on balancing your coffeee while trying to stay up! LOL!

[rogue]

On the 1st day of our 1st cruise together, we awoke about 6AM with the feeling that we were about to be thrown out of our bed. When we looked out the window, We saw the rain going sideways, and the ocean was a bit rough. About 6:30 AM, the captain came over the intercom anouncing that we were just going through a squall, an nothing to worry about. He did say that for precautionary reasons, the outside decks were all closed. We were on a cruise to Bermuda on the Nordic Empress. When we left port, we knew that there was a hurricaine coming up the coast, but the captain said that we would be far enough east of the storm so as not to feel much effects from it.

Going to breakfast, we noticed many barf bags lining the halls, and that began to worry us a bit. I was wearing a patch, and felt no symptoms of motion illness at all. Cindy was using Bonine, and just felt a twinge. The buffet area was peetty empty, but this being our 1st cruise breakfast, we didn't realize how empty it actually was. At noon, the Captain came back on the intercom and told us that overnight, the hurricaine picked up lots of speed and caught up to us. We were being hit with 40-45 ft. waves but there was nothing to worry about. To get out of the worst of it, he was heading the ship northwest and then we were going to go due south down the coast. We were going to miss the 1st day in Bermuda due to the course change, but back then we didn't hear much griping at all.

All day long, the rain was pouring down and there was no apparent change in the size of the waves. When you walked through the ship, once in a while you would come upon a passenger just lying in the hallway, quite ill. I don't think that anyone was hurt (at least that was what we were told). By 8PM, at dinner, the storm started to slow down a bit. The dining room was pretty empty, but all of the people at our table got there.

We awoke the next day to a totally different vista, and had no more problems. The whole thing, to me, was not scary. As a matter of fact, I think of it as a great experience that I had that will never be forgotten. The cruise line still found a way to make a buck out of the storm. On about the 5th day, there was a certificate put in our room which stated that we were now members of the "Hurricaine Club". We thought it was a bit humorous, and a nice touch. However, when we went to the photo gallery, we saw that they were selling portfolios to hold the certificate with a picture of the bow of the ship going through the storm.

[KeithnRita]

No hurricane, however our last cruise had a couple of days of roller coaster seas. This photo was taken by one of our British friends.

[YellowBird]

Cool a wave pool...I have seen the pools do that before..they closed them down on us though.

[sailingrose]

We were sailing to the Bahamas during Hurricane Bonnie years ago and the seas got quite rough. Didn't seem to bother DH or I so I guess we have sea legs. The entertainment areas of the ship were empty. We loved it since we were part of the few that were out and about. Even the crew looked a little green. We missed the Bahamas and ended up in Key West which was great since we'd never been there.

[Dan]

We've had a couple cruises where hurricnaes went through the islands a week or so ahead, causing us to go to different ports. I'm bound and bent to get to St Maarten some year LOL.

We caught the tail end of a hurricane on the Grand in 99. We had one night where the shows were cancelled due to the performers being ill. My wife went to bed early. I went up to Skywalkers and enjoyed the ride LOL.

In 2001, we caught the tail end of a tropical storm off Nova Scotia on the Victory. We sailed into Sydney harbour, and turned around and left since it was too windy for the ship to dock.

[SMB]

I've bitched about foul weather on our last trip, but after hearing your stories (and that fantastic picture, K&R), I'm going to keep my mouth shut.

[Lisa63]

I've told this one before.... it's an oldie but goodie, copied from my diary of that trip.

"It was late 1996, and we had just encountered a fierce storm enroute to Cozumel on Dolphin Cruise Line’s OceanBreeze. Our tiny ship wasn’t tossed, but rolled ever so slowly from side to side, righting herself each time just before we seemed to have reached the point of no return. My husband, 3-year-old son, and I -- along with a dozen other passengers -- spent the evening in one of the lounges, where a two-man band provided entertainment to an empty dance floor. One man played an electric guitar, and the second man had a small electric keyboard slung over his shoulder.

"After a few moments, our 3-year-old took to the dance floor and started to jump up and down to the reggae song, “Three Little Birds.” For the next 15 minutes or so, he continued to dance to whatever the band played, and even made a few requests of his own, which were all acknowledged. During this time, the ship continued to roll from side to side, and I suppose it got to be a bit challenging for those little legs to keep him upright -- so, he laid down on his back and looked up at the lights in the ceiling while the musicians played on.

"The musicians looked at each other and laughed, until one of them said, “That’s a great idea.” With guitar in hand, he too lay down on the floor, and was soon followed by his bandmate. They continued to play as all three of them remained on their backs as the ship’s movement became even more noticeable.

"Into the lounge comes another passenger -- quite inebriated, even had the paper umbrella behind the ear. He looked at the empty stage, and seemed to wonder where the music was coming from. He spotted the three on the floor, muttered, “That’s a great idea,” and lay down on his back on the dance floor next to them.

"The room erupted into laughter. Wouldn’t you know – it was the one time we didn’t have the video recorder."

As a postscript, this was also the cruise on which a man was convinced that every table in the eating area adjacent to the buffet was slanted. He asked us if our table was slanted, too, to which my husband responded, "The whole ship is slanted!"