We have recently returned from a 17 night cruise from Sydney to Fremantle, across the top of Australia aboard the Dawn Princess. We struck an east coast low pressure system the first night, with a force 10 to 11 gale and 10 metre waves. Eight years ago we were on board the old QE2 in a similar gale after leaving Japan, and the difference in the ride between the two ships was very noticeable. QE2 is a liner, designed for Atlantic crossings and coped with the conditions very well, whereas Dawn Princess is a cruise ship and thumped into the swells rather than cutting through them. Fortunately, neither my wife nor I suffer from sea sickness, but over half the nearly 2000 passengers were sick as a result of the conditions. At 77000 GT and 261 metres long the Dawn Princess is not little, but by comparison with some of the monsters being built now it seems small. Harmony of the Seas is almost 227,000 GT and 362 metres long, a full 100 metres longer than Dawn Princess, and almost three times as heavy. It also has accommodation for more than three times the number of passengers - I have no desire to travel on it.
Peter.