Friends of ours were on a cruise ship in rough weather in August and the environment was an education. They learned about the Beaufort Scale, a 200-year-old measurement used for storms at sea. It goes from 1 to 12 and, somewhere between Antwerp and Bergen in the North Sea, their Princess ship was in an “8” in gale-force winds and seas of 18 to 25 feet.
Sunday night, far from there off the coast of Florida, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the 
Seas was caught in a surprise storm. There was minor damage to the ship and major sea sickness on it.
One passenger told CruiseRadio.net: “”It was crazy…the ship was on its side” and there were “medical emergencies all over.”
In the end, neither the damage nor passengers injured by the storm — a nor’easter — was severe enough to cause a change to the Freedom of the Seas itinerary. It continues on its 7-day cruise to the Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean said only that wind speeds were “three times more than what was forecast” and there were reports that seas exceeded 18 feet.
Maybe they should know about the Beaufort Scale.
DAILY DEAL:
Seabourn Quest
13 nights Transatlantic
November 8, 2011
Malaga (Spain), Cadiz (Seville, Spain), Funchal (Madeira, Portugal), Fort Lauderdale
Verandah (balcony) $3,849
www.seabourn.com