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Old 08-23-2012, 02:31 PM
cybermuda cybermuda is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jrheydt View Post
My main concern is the size of these ships, both about 3000 passengers. In a transatlantic crossing I would assume that the seas are a little bit rougher than in the Caribbean but want to know if anyone has any experience with transatlantic cruising and how they fared with the smaller ships.
We dislike the larger ships for many reasons, and stick with Holland America's older ships as they are smaller.

The northern part of the North Atlantic can be a bit rough, but the southern route between Florida and Spain is usually quite calm. Obviously a storm in the area would not help.

Our first transatlantic was on the Prinsendam (800 passengers) and the captain was asked whether or not a larger ship would cross more smoothly. He made a good point that the older (smaller) ships were built ship-shape to cruise the World's oceans, whereas the newer ships have a much flatter bottom (so that, despite being much larger, they can still get into most ports) so can tend to bob around more.

I am not a good traveller at sea, but on each of our transatlantics I have missed dinner just once.