I have heard that the Spirit encountered rough seas on the way back to NY yesterday and that some windows were blown out. I can't confirm this- if anyone can, please post the link.

Thanks, everyone!

Carla

Here is one link:
Norwegian Spirit Rough Seas

I think many cruise ships would have problems with 50 feet seas. Even the larger Dawn last year lost windows.

Thanks, Dave. I wonder how safe these floating hotels are in the Atlantic in winter. I was looking at a ship recently... forget which one it was... maybe FOS???... that looked like a shoebox sitting on the water. A glass shoebox. It was one ugly ship. My mission now is to find it so I can tell you which one it is. At any rate, the profile is a far cry for the liners of yore. I don't know what the draught is or how much the bulbous bow or the azipods help to stabilize these things but they look mighty top heavy to me.

Carla

If butt ugly is what you are looking for, look no further than the Pride Of America.

Looks can be deceiving though, at least when it comes to seaworthiness. All of the floating resorts we call cruise ships these days are designed by naval architects and marine engineers, and can withstand very heavy seas. They just don't ride as well as the old deep-draft steam ships. While the new ships all look top heavy, it is mostly open space above the waterline with little bulk.