Can I take a cruise and never see or feel the ocean?

[WDWLinda]

I'm semi-serious here...I get terribly seasick even with Drammamine, but I booked a 4 day cruise in Nov. 2013 on the Dream since I think the rest of the family will enjoy it. But I'm afraid that's a lot of $$$ to spend throwing up in my cabin and wishing I was dead. Out of every 20 or so cruise reports I see or hear, 2-3 folks report getting seasick. I almost feel like if I don't see the ocean and the waves below, I can forget I'm on a big boat. We booked a cabin with a balcony, but it has a solid wall and not a see-through balcony wall...I'm wondering if that will help.

So do you have anything good to tell me...like the boat actually runs on a track like the People Mover, or the Farmer's Almanac says the wave forecast for Nov. 2013 is very low...? What's the best advice, besides stocking up on those throw up bags from the airlines?

Thanks,
Linda

 

[kathi]

I am also prone to motion sickness and I love to cruise. I take Dramamine/Bonine and that usually does the trick. There are also wrist bands, ginger tablets and other remedies that can be used. The are very effective (barring horrific weather - which the captain will try to avoid).

You actually feel much better up on deck in the open air rather than being locked up in your cabin.

 

[1153rsmith]

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of smooth seas. I have been on cruises where I never felt the ship move, and others where we bounced off the walls trying to walk down the hall.

Looking at the sea, should not necessarily cause you seasickness. On the roughest cruise I was on, I found being up on deck in the fresh, cool air helped me the most.

While I have not used them, a friend of mine swears by the patch you put behind your ear. You may want to consider getting a prescription for that.

It is a big ship, and you will have a fantastic time.

 

[kcashner]

You actually feel much better up on deck in the open air rather than being locked up in your cabin.

That part depends on the individual. However, I am one of those people who gets horribly motion sick in many situations. I don't get sick on the cruise ships! A small boat, yes...but not the ships. My first cruise I did everything--scope patch, sea bands, ginger, etc. No problem. Second cruise I did nothing--still no problem!

Good luck.

You can definitely cruise without seeing the ocean. Not feeling it might be more tricky.

 

[collectoraholic]

If you get terribly seasick, go to the Dr. ahead of time and get prescription strength seasickness medication. It does exist and could really work wonders for you. I know it comes in patches & maybe pill form too. If you do the patch, be sure to put it on yourself at least a day before you are even on the ship so the medication can get into your system ahead of time. The same thing for the pills, if that is what you are prescribed.

HTHs!

 

[toontoy]

My wife gets sea sick as well but loves cruising.

What we do is book a cabin as midship as possible and about deck 6 or so. I would leave the door open for the fresh air as that will help. depending upon the seas we have skipped dinner and the shows as they are towards the front and the back and hung out in the lobby areas. Once they were nice and when I went to tell our water my wife was feeling the motion too much in parrot cay he suggested going to Lumiers and he would have the matrid (sp) get us a table. That helped.

I would say that the sea patches that doctors prescribe work wonders as well. My wife loves them.

They do have some things at guest services as well.

 

[kalc12345]

You just need to make sure you get a cabin mid-ship. We were all the way forward on our Dec cruise and we felt LOTS of movement.

 

[Allabouthemouse]

You are a brave soul to take this trip on knowing that you are prone to getting seasick! Talk to your doctor and get a prescription for a scopolamine patch if it is appropriate for you and also consider the sea bands. The combination can be quite efficacious. You may also consider doing some work outs on a bosu ball to strengthen your vestibular system. Some physical therapists will offer "vestibular rehab" spefically for patient who are prone to unsteadiness/dizziness. This actually minimizes how strong your sensation of motion sickness is. HTH

 

[RileyMom08]

I get car sick in the backseat and was very nervous to sail on the Dream.
I went to my doctor and she gave me a script for the patch.
It was fabulous!
My husband took his off when it was time to change them. He decided to go without so I decided to give it a try too. Well, by the next morning, mine was right back on! He said he was fine without one but I could feel the boat rock and was nervous about getting ill.
The only small issue with the patch is that it has a tendency to make your vision a little blury for a short period of time. I noticed it when I tried to read the menu the first day. I just moved the menu back a little and squinted a tiny bit and was just fine. Both my husband and I had this and it cleared up quickly. Really a minor inconvenience when I think of the alternative!!
Just stock up on the remedies and DON'T stress over it. You know thinking about it can get you all worked up too!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

The patch, the patch, the patch!

 

[Merryweather11]

You just need to make sure you get a cabin mid-ship. We were all the way forward on our Dec cruise and we felt LOTS of movement.

I wished I had read this tip before our cruise--we were all the way forward on deck 7 and boy...did we feel the movement. As the ship was leaving port, our TV was swinging back and forth and our closets were slamming from one side to the other! Luckily that was just the first night, but even when the ship was going smoothly, we still felt a lot of deep rocking. I was the only one who got a little queasy--we were all taking Bonine. Next time I'll try the mid-ship, lower floor theory and hope it's a little better. Btw, I still had a great time--I hope you will too.

 

[Evenean]

It might be different for every person but I personally love the sea bands.

 

[Rominet]

I have a son who gets motion sickness and he has only gotten sick ONCE on a small transfer/ferry boat in ROUGH seas. Normally, this kid gets sick on every car/airplane ride we've ever been on.

I, on the other hand, never get sick, but I have been extremely nauseous (green) on the transfer/ferry boat I mentioned. I have also been at Paulo's first night out going south from Port C and felt the motion of the ocean in my stomach (never got sick, but close). I have also been in rough seas in the theater (they handed out pills as you entered, it was bad) and seen parents running out with sick kids under their arms like they were carrying a football. Never tossed, though. This kid who I thought was prone to sea sickness never uttered a word (we had dosed him with motion sick tabs just in case, but not me). Somehow, you just never know.

Things happen, but the next day is fine. You can't predict it or know ahead of time, you just have to try. My mom was sure she would be sea sick and wasn't, even on the night the theater was so bad.

Give it a try and then you won't have to wonder!

Valerie

 

[chudson98]

We have cruised a few times with my dad who gets terrible seasickness. He takes Bonnie but if it's a really rocky ship and that doesn't work and he still gets sick he visits the health center on board and for a small fee (Less then $20) they can give you a motion sickness shot. Not sure what it is exactly but it works really good and lasts several days. Well worth the money.

 

[BeeTeacher]

I was on the dream last week. I took Bonine the day before around 10pm, then at 2:00 the day we sailed, then after lunch the other 2 days.

The seas looked pretty calm to me but we had a lot of rocking from the Wind. We were on deck 10 forward.

I didnt get sick but the motion really bugged me. I will get the patch next time and we have booked a midship cabin.

 

[WDWLinda]

Thanks everyone for the replies...I feel a little better, but now I'm worried about where our cabin is - we're on deck 9 alllllllll the way in the back. If you look at the pic of the boat, we're the last cabin, one of only 3 or 4 that have the solid balcony wall. I really didn't think the boat rocked that much, but it sounds like I was wrong now.

So you need a prescription for the patch? Does it stay on when you swim and shower? I guess combining that with Drammine or Bonine wouldn't be too good, would it? The shot sounds good. I wonder if I can get that from my Dr. at home, or go straight to the Dr. when I get on board?

So now I only have 21 months to worry and obsess over this...ugh...

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Thanks everyone for the replies...I feel a little better, but now I'm worried about where our cabin is - we're on deck 9 alllllllll the way in the back. If you look at the pic of the boat, we're the last cabin, one of only 3 or 4 that have the solid balcony wall. I really didn't think the boat rocked that much, but it sounds like I was wrong now.

So you need a prescription for the patch? Does it stay on when you swim and shower? I guess combining that with Drammine or Bonine wouldn't be too good, would it? The shot sounds good. I wonder if I can get that from my Dr. at home, or go straight to the Dr. when I get on board?

So now I only have 21 months to worry and obsess over this...ugh...

Change your Stateroom to as far Midship's and low as possible. (Middle of the ship and as low down as possible if your that worried)
Seeing the horizon will help with any sea sickness as well so an inside Stateroom is inadvisable.

Ex Techie

 

[peachygreen]

Personally I found I felt much better in open air and where I could see the horizon. Feeling the boat move and not being able to give myself a frame of reference for extended periods of time was a sure fire way to make me queezy.

If I started to feel icky, I would go outside and walk on deck or sit on my verandah. It made a huge difference.

I don't think that any of the rooms on the Dream have actual solid white wall verandahs. I thought all of the "white wall" rooms on the Dream only had a white wall that came about 1/2 way up the wall and the rest was plexiglass.

I would talk to your doctor sometime before you go. If you do get the patch I would be sure to try it out before your vacation to see how it will effect you. The last thing you want is unforeseen side effects when you are on the ship. I managed with non-drowsy dramamine. I only took it the first and the 3rd day.

 

[pigletto]

My husband has some serious motion sickness issues that only seem to get worse as he gets older. When we went on our first cruise we were in the dining room the first night, he with his prescription patch on, when he ran from the table
It was calm as anything. He had to sit in the hall to keep from throwing up, and was eventually helped to his room by a lovely little old couple (I couldn't find where he went!). To this day I smile at the thought of a couple of 80 year olds helping this strapping young man walk to his room

Anyway..he laid on the bathroom floor for a day.. and we figured our trip was a nightmare and it was a 10 day cruise!!!! I went to the desk to ask if there was anything else we could do and they said take him to the the clinic for acupuncture and told me that many of the crew had done it. So while I'm thinking " Right.. I'm going to go get my husband and tell him that sticking needles in him will make him feel better.. hope he doesn't have enough strength to toss me overboard"
He got an appointment for the next morning (now over 30 hours of nausea). We made it up there.. he threw up before he even was able to go in the room for the appointment.. he was seriously sick.

And drumroll..... HE WAS FINE FOR THE REST OF THE TRIP!!!

Please know this.. I was on this cruise with family, one of which is a doctor, another a med student and they rolled their eyes. So I don't know if it was all in his head.. but I am willing to say, we swear by it.
We've cruised 3 times since, he gets it done the first day the clinic opens and we're set!!!

ETA) This was always on Celebrity ships. We aren't doing our first Disney cruise until next winter. So I don't know if you can have it done on a Disney ship but we'll check and have it done before we leave if we can't.)

 

[JJsmama]

Your plan is completely backward to what it should be. Those who get seasick NEED to look at the sea in an effort to help the body adjust. You cannot go on a ship and try to fool your body into thinking you are not on a ship. Your body already knows and is trying to adjust! Looking at the horizon is one of the best things you can do and the wind in your face helps too.

We are just off a 7 night DCL. I get terribly seasick and this time tried Bonine for the first time. It worked like a dream and I was never sick in the least even though a few times, we were really rocking! If I had taken Dramamine, I would have been out cold for the whole trip. If I had taken nothing, I would have been begging to get off the ship.

I also spent a lot of time on my verandah enjoying the view and helping my brain interpret the movements it was feeling by looking at the horizon.