You May Feel Movement on a Cruise Ship – Here’s When and Why

Many first-time cruisers have questions about the movement they will feel when on a cruise ship. I’ve been on many cruises, and on the majority, I often forget that I am on a cruise ship at all.

That said, in certain situations, the movement of the ship can be felt by the passengers.

Do You Feel a Cruise Ship Move?

You may feel the ship move when on a cruise. Many passengers describe the feeling as a vibration instead of a defined movement.

The degree of movement felt does increase if the cruise ship is traveling through bad weather and you may be able to feel when the cruise ship is docking or pulling away from the port.

The amount of movement varies by cruise ship, cruising location and many other factors.

Cruise Ship Movement – In Good Weather

On most cruise ships, you won’t be able to feel much movement when travelling in good weather.

If you are cruising on a particularly small or old cruise ship, this may increase, but generally speaking, if you are sailing at a consistent speed in good weather, you will not be able to feel movement when onboard.

Cruise ships typically cruise at around 23 miles per hour, but Ocean Liners are much faster. They can reach 35 mph if necessary!

Find out the difference between Ocean Liners and cruise ships here:

Cruise Ships vs Ocean Liners – Measurable Differences You Need to Know

Can You Feel Vibrations on a Cruise Ship?

On most cruise ships, you may feel a slight vibration. This isn’t noticeable in all areas of the ship and definitely shouldn’t affect your cruising experience.

That said, you may feel the vibration when lying in bed at night or when low down on the ship.

I find that the slight vibration means that I sleep deeper than I otherwise would. Generally sleep really well. The vibration is often much stronger when cruising in a low-down inside cabin.

On some older ships, you may also feel a vibration when on higher decks. I cruised on the Celestyal Olympia, which was originally built for Royal Caribbean in 1982.

The Celestyal Olympia has a bar that wraps around the funnel, and in this bar, you were able to feel the vibration of the ship quite noticeably.

That said, I actually enjoy it, the vibration reminds me that I’m onboard a cruise ship! On ships built in the 90s and later you shouldn’t feel much vibration.

Cruise Ship Movement – When Docking

When the cruise ship docks you may be able to feel some movement. This is similar to how it feels when a train which you are on divides into two sections.

I used to commute to work by train, so this analogy makes sense to me. Apologies if you’re not a frequent train passenger!

Can You Feel The Ship Move in an Inside Cabin?

If you are cruising in an inside cabin being able to feel some movement when docking can actually be really useful.

I am a big fan of inside cabins but the worst part is that you have no real measure of time since it is always dark inside.

When cruising in an inside cabin and I begin to feel a little bit of movement I might think to myself, ‘hmm, maybe we are docking?’ At this point I’ll usually turn the TV onto the bow cam channel, to see where we are.

If you dock early in the morning some passengers are woken up by the docking movement. I personally could sleep through almost anything, so rarely wake up. I am aware of family members and friends who have said that the movement wakes them up.

Find out more about the typical inside cabins on cruise ships here:

How Much Movement Can You Feel When Docking?

A lot of this does depend on how difficult the docking process is.

If the cruise ship has to reverse and squeeze in between other cruise ships you may feel more movement than if the cruise ship just pulls up to a stop.

The movement shouldn’t be sudden.

It’s not going to knock you off your feet or anything off the table. It’s most likely that it’ll just make the coat hangers in the closet rattle a little.

I asked the members of our Facebook group if they felt movement when the cruise ship docks, this is what they had to say:

I was surprised to see that more people had been woken up by the docking process than those who hadn’t.

Most didn’t seem to mind it though, instead using it as a reason to get up and look at the view – or a reminder that they could go back to sleep!

Here is what some people in my Facebook group said:

We had a cabin with a porthole low and near the bow thrusters. We could feel it when they used them near the pier

Mark

We have a balcony room every time and never wake up. Every single time, I am surprised that we are in port!

Stephanie

I have, sometimes the noises or vibrations of the ship wake me but often it’s about the time I normally wake for work. At home I would go back to sleep but on a ship, I go out to enjoy the view!

Jon

How Much Movement Do You Feel When Tendering?

In some ports, you may have to take a tender to get to land.

A tender is a little boat that takes you to land from the cruise ship. If this happens you won’t feel any movement when docking because the cruise ship will simply drop anchor.

To learn more about the tendering process (and learn how to skip the queues), check out this post:

Cruise Ship Tendering – Hints, Tips & Everything You NEED to Know

You may hear the anchor drop if you have a cabin nearby, but generally speaking, this will not disturb you.

How Much Movement Will You Feel When Sailing Away From Port?

You may feel movement when the cruise ship is sailing away from the port.

This is usually more gentle than docking.

On many occasions, I haven’t even noticed when we have sailed away. Often, when the cruise ship sails away, you will be at a sailaway party or eating dinner, so you generally are distracted.

If you are at the back of the cruise ship when sailing away you might feel more movement.

My parents had an aft balcony cabin on Emerald Princess, and the vibration was quite noticeable at times. Find out about that cabin here:

How Much Movement Will You Feel in Bad Weather?

In bad weather, you may feel quite a lot of movement.

When cruising through a particularly bad storm some things onboard may move – such as if you put a pen on a table it may roll-off.

When walking through the corridors in bad weather you might find you need to hold onto a handrail if you are not stable on your feet.

I don’t have a problem with this and when walking around the ship it just feels as though I’ve had a drink or two…

Find out about the stormy Christmas cruise I took with P&O here:

How To Minimise The Feeling of Movement on a Cruise Ship

In order to minimise how much you feel movement in bad weather, it is usually a good idea to stay in the middle of the ship and to stay as low as possible.

Being high up at either end of the ship is where you’ll feel the most movement. Find out more about that here:

What is The Best Cabin Location on a Cruise For Avoiding Seasickness? (I’ve Tried Them All!)

Feeling movement can be a bit strange if you are not used to it.

Heading outside for some fresh air and looking at the horizon can be a good way to get rid of that strange feeling. In bad weather, certain things might be closed – like swimming pools.

A lot of activities that take place outside such as sail-away parties may also be cancelled or the venue changed.

When the weather is bad the cruise line may cancel cruise ports or amend the itinerary. It is written into every cruise contract that the cruise line is allowed to change the itinerary whenever they like.

To learn more about why cruise ports are canceled (and to find out if you’re entitled to any compensation) check out this post:

 Do You Get Compensation For Missed Cruise Ports?

Preventing Motion Sickness

There are a few things that you can do to prevent motion sickness when cruising:

• Avoid itineraries with many sea days
• Choose a cabin with a central location
• Book a balcony
• Choose a mid-sized ship

Prevention is always better than cure, but even if you follow all of these steps, you may still get seasick if your cruise ship is caught in bad weather.

Find out about my worst-ever cruise ship seasickness experience below. I sailed on a smaller, older ship “In Search of the Northern Lights.”

One area which is notorious for bad weather and storms is the Bay of Biscay.

The Bay of Biscay is located 300 miles from Southampton between France and Spain. To learn more about the Bay of Biscay, and how long it takes to cross this area, check out this post: 

Cruising Through The Bay Of Biscay: What to Expect.

There are also a number of ways that you can treat seasickness should the worst happen. A personal favourite cruise hack of mine is to eat green apples when feeling seasick, they take that nauseous feeling away almost instantly.

For more ways to treat seasickness, including things that you shouldn’t eat, read the following post:

13 Actionable Tips to Prevent and Treat Seasickness on a Cruise

Feeling Movement When Back on Land After a Cruise

When returning from a cruise a few people report feeling movement which lasts a couple of days.

This feeling is similar to how, when you’ve been walking on a treadmill for a while then walk on the floor it feels slightly strange.

It isn’t an unpleasant feeling and usually does go away within a couple of days.

There isn’t really anything that gets rid of this feeling apart from time, but I’ve heard that one great way to prevent it is to just never disembark a cruise… That isn’t the most practical of solutions but it definitely sounds enjoyable!

For me, the feeling just appears occasionally as I feel some movement and instantly dismiss it as ‘oh, it’s just the ship’. It’s at this point that I realise that I’m not on a ship anymore.

It isn’t unpleasant but just takes a little getting used to. Some people don’t ever feel this feeling.

Before You Go

Find out why cruise ships sometimes need to go into “Dry dock” here:

What are Dry Docks and Why do Cruise Ships Need Them?

Find out the eleven things I look forward to when I am going on a cruise here:

11 Things I Look Forward To When I’m Going On A Cruise