New cruiser with some questions....

[BLTLDZ]

Hi everyone!!

So we are thinking of doing a 7 night cruise November of 2011....here's the thing...the future hubby (will be husband at time of cruise), nor myself, have ever cruised before, and quite frankly, we are both nervous nellies!

what if we hate it, Get sea sick, etc?? Talk me down fellow dissers! Sell it to me!! He had suggested we do a three day to be "safe" , BUT it doesn't make sense price wise....I'd rather pay less than double, and go for the 7 nights.

 

[beansf]

I can relate to your feelings. I felt the same way before I went. I may have never made it except a friend of mine, who is rather particular, came back from a cruise (on another line) and told me what a great time she had. She said, "Everyone must do it once". Well, I had such a good time, we booked two future cruises since, one on board and one more when got home and realized we could NOT wait two years until cruising again.

We worried about seasickness, too and brought dramamine and sea bands. We took the dramamine for the tender and small boat for stingray excursion, but we never felt bad on the ship at all. I am not saying it isn't a possibility for you, but I would say it is worth the risk.

 

[kcashner]

Do you like Disney? The cruise is better.

A 3 day is WAY too short in my opinion. The only way to even consider it is with a stay at WDW, and even then, they'd have to do something pretty special (like the $99 bounceback) to get me to do a 3 night. A 3 night cruise is really 2 1/2 days. You have NO time to enjoy the ship. You pay the same airfare, transfers (or other means of getting to port), etc. no matter how long the cruise.

What if you hate it? On a 7 night, you will have 3 or 4 port days, so it's not like you are cruising all the time. If you're not comfortable on the ship, you can get off at those times. (Eastern 3 port days, Western 4). You'll have time to get to know your servers, enjoy the ship, etc.

On my first cruise, I did EVERYTHING for sea sickness--sea bands, scopalamine patch, etc. No problems. Second cruise, I did nothing...same results. I would suggest that you not assume that you will have issues; the ship has great stabilizers. If you start to feel queasy, go to GS and get some sea sick pills right away. Yes, it works better if you take it in advance, but I hate unnecessary meds.

 

[wcw57]

When I was young (a loooooong time ago) I never wanted to cruise. Period.

I wanted to travel and see things when and how I wanted to see 'em.

Then my bride and I went to Cove Haven (a honeymoon hotel in the Poconos PA) and I decided that it was like a cruise without the water....take part in activities or not......

Sooooooo.....My Bride and I are looking forward to our very first cruise. I think that, even if I were to hate everything about the cruise.....EVERYTHING (which I know I won't)...I have a broad enough curiosity about life to marvel over the floating city and how it works and to enjoy all the people and people-watching....and, of course, my family

 

[MK032197]

Do you like Disney? The cruise is better.

A 3 day is WAY too short in my opinion. The only way to even consider it is with a stay at WDW, and even then, they'd have to do something pretty special (like the $99 bounceback) to get me to do a 3 night. A 3 night cruise is really 2 1/2 days. You have NO time to enjoy the ship. You pay the same airfare, transfers (or other means of getting to port), etc. no matter how long the cruise.

What if you hate it? On a 7 night, you will have 3 or 4 port days, so it's not like you are cruising all the time. If you're not comfortable on the ship, you can get off at those times. (Eastern 3 port days, Western 4). You'll have time to get to know your servers, enjoy the ship, etc.

On my first cruise, I did EVERYTHING for sea sickness--sea bands, scopalamine patch, etc. No problems. Second cruise, I did nothing...same results. I would suggest that you not assume that you will have issues; the ship has great stabilizers. If you start to feel queasy, go to GS and get some sea sick pills right away. Yes, it works better if you take it in advance, but I hate unnecessary meds.

We are taking our first DC on 1/17. My sister is concerned about the possiblity of sea sickness. Do you know how long it takes for the pills you can get from guest services to work? She doesn't know that she wants to take something earlier not knowing if she will even need it.

 

[disney1990]

We are taking our first DC on 1/17. My sister is concerned about the possiblity of sea sickness. Do you know how long it takes for the pills you can get from guest services to work? She doesn't know that she wants to take something earlier not knowing if she will even need it.

We have been on 2 Disney cruises and never too any of the pills. We take Ginger capsules starting the day before the cruise and also carry Ginger Candy & Cookies. We also take Sea Bands with us, but have never used them. Somebody that we went with, however, was sick and put on the Sea Bands and was much better in just a couple hours. I really don't want to take pills if I don't have to, because you are not supposed to drink when you are taking them. I don't drink much, but I like a glass of wine with dinner on occasion.

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

Of course everyone is different but I can't imagine that you will hate it

Even if you come t find out that cruising is not for you, You will be too busy really be unhappy. My DW and I look at it as a trip to an all inclusive resort. We go to dinner and a show every evening and participate in "resort" activities all day long, or not. We can get to our room and take a nap or read a book at any time.

I would have to agree with PP's if you can afford a 7 day then do it.
I haven't met anyone yet that didn't have an OK time at the very least

 

[MPwifey]

I am in the exact same boat as you!! Well I guess not boat, but you know. The only difference is that my husband has been on a cruise and is fine with them. He has been to the bahamas and Jamaica. That is why I want to do the 7 day cruise to Mexico and the Carribean. I am definately going to pay attention to this thread.

 

[BLTLDZ]

I am in the exact same boat as you!! Well I guess not boat, but you know. The only difference is that my husband has been on a cruise and is fine with them. He has been to the bahamas and Jamaica. That is why I want to do the 7 day cruise to Mexico and the Carribean. I am definately going to pay attention to this thread.

We were thinking of the nov 11, 2011 to the western caribean, goes to Key West, Cozumel and Grand Cayman...when were you thinking of going?

 

[mnlibzi]

Hi everyone!!

So we are thinking of doing a 7 night cruise November of 2011....here's the thing...the future hubby (will be husband at time of cruise), nor myself, have ever cruised before, and quite frankly, we are both nervous nellies!

what if we hate it, Get sea sick, etc?? Talk me down fellow dissers! Sell it to me!! He had suggested we do a three day to be "safe" , BUT it doesn't make sense price wise....I'd rather pay less than double, and go for the 7 nights.

Well me and my family are thinking about going on a cruise for the first time, and are considering a 4 or 5 day cruise, as far as sea sickness, I don't think it would be a problem. But everybody is different. I think you will love the cruise in my opinion. GOOD LUCK !

 

[neenslovesdisney]

I agree with the previous poster who said you should try it once. However, sea sickness is a legitimate concern and on a longer cruise it will be worse. I sailed with a friend last year who was a first time cruiser and she was so sick with the motion of the boat that she couldn't wait to get off the ship and has vowed to never cruise again. She has never had a problem in cars/airplanes either. Her spouse and kids all loved it though! It's hard to predict whether you would get sick or not but imho disney cruises are THE BEST! I wish I could go for several a year but can't take the time off (my waistline probably couldn't handle it either lol).

 

[williamson_ja]

I wish to disagree with some that say don't take sea sickness medicine.... A friend of ours saved for years and went on her first cruise in 2009. She talked for months about how excited she was and that she had been looking forward to it forever. Long story short... her sea-sickness was so bad that she ended up getting off the boat in one of the ports on day 2 and had to book a flight home from there. She couldn't even finish the cruise. She said it made her so sick she thought she was going to die.

Not to try to scare you off or anything, but sea sickness is much better controlled if you try to prevent it instead of doing something about it after you are terribly sick. Our friend didn't do anything to prevent it. If I am going to spend a couple thousand dollars on a trip, I am going to do everything I can to make sure it goes smoothly. That includes taking a pill or two in precaution before I get on the boat to make sure I don't get sick in the first place. I might be more daring on subsequent voyages, but for my first trip... not knowing how my body is going to deal with it..... I am going to take a pill just to be on the safe side.

 

[thepeacekeeper]

I have always suffered from serious bouts of motion sickness in cars, planes, trains, ships, rides you name it. If it's short term I can usually get away with a dose of meclizine which will last me for the day. It's OTC and has never caused drowsiness for me. For long term I use Trans Derm Scop patches, (prescription), and have no problems at all. Each patch lasts 3 days at which time I take that one off and put on a new one. Scop patches do tend to give me a bit of a dry mouth, but that's why pina coladas were invented...right? My wife had one brief nauseous period a few years ago on a cruise that had to turn around quickly for a medical emergency, but that was it. Otherwise her and the 2 boys don't use anything. I strongly agree with previous posters, you really must take medication well before you start feeling ill or you're going to be in for a miserable time. I base that statement on my personal experiences. In my opinion with the availability of effective medications you shouldn't let something like the fear of motion sickness prevent you from enjoying something as awesome as a Disney cruise. PS - Go for the 7 day!!!

 

[jestracker]

my husband and i take ginger capsules starting 2 days before we sail and the first day of the cruise, then no more. It really has helped. We have not been sea sick at all. We have gone on 6 cruises now and love them.