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▲ WalterBright 4 hours ago

At one point there was a storm. I was very impressed with the size of the waves and the ship would just muscle through it.

Some years ago I was on a cruise ship. The captain announced that they were changing course to avoid a storm. I was disappointed :-/

▲buildbot 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That’s more for comfort than anything I would think, a modern cruise ship can easily take pretty insane storms? They have active stabilization systems and huge amounts of mass while still powered by relatively strong engines?

▲Animats 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Right. The S.S. United States was built for winter North Atlantic conditions, with a power plant, hull, and watertight compartments more like a warship than a cruise ship. She could be converted to a troop carrier if necessary, something that had been done to big liners during WWII. Cruising speed 30MPH, top speed 44MPH. Great for getting across the Atlantic in 3 1/2 days. Not so great on fuel economy.

Cruise ships today look like hotels mounted on barges [1]. About half the speed. A refurbished SS United States was never going to compete in that market, and plans to do so were never funded.

[1] https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/icon-of-the-seas