The paper identifies ‘the atmospheric grid’ of cruising on the high seas on a theoretical, methodical and empirical level. Embedded in the current academic discourse on atmospheres and ambiances, we developed a theoretical slide that is tailored to the particular characteristics of cruise ships. Practical experiences, empirical analysis and discursive introspection show that ‘the atmospheric grid’ of cruising at high sea should be interpreted as a dynamic ‘atmospheric grid’ that can be fractionated into five dimensions. The focus of this paper is on the dimension of ‘movement’, which we identify as the basic atmospheric dimension of the atmospheric grid.