Best location to avoid getting seasick?

[mhingher]

We felt a lot of movement on our recent cruise on the Wonder. Our cabin was on the 7th level, forward. We felt it everywhere, not just in our cabin so I think it was just rough seas. Luckily, none of us got sick. We booked the 4 night on the Dream for December and booked a cabin on the 2nd level midship. I'm reading mixed reviews. The salesman assured us that it's a great location. I know midship is best, but are we looking for trouble on the 2nd level? I thought higher was better?

 

[jdb in AZ]

We felt a lot of movement on our recent cruise on the Wonder. Our cabin was on the 7th level, forward. We felt it everywhere, not just in our cabin so I think it was just rough seas. Luckily, none of us got sick. We booked the 4 night on the Dream for December and booked a cabin on the 2nd level midship. I'm reading mixed reviews. The salesman assured us that it's a great location. I know midship is best, but are we looking for trouble on the 2nd level? I thought higher was better?

Law of physics -- higher decks sway more.

 

[cgolf]

We felt a lot of movement on our recent cruise on the Wonder. Our cabin was on the 7th level, forward. We felt it everywhere, not just in our cabin so I think it was just rough seas. Luckily, none of us got sick. We booked the 4 night on the Dream for December and booked a cabin on the 2nd level midship. I'm reading mixed reviews. The salesman assured us that it's a great location. I know midship is best, but are we looking for trouble on the 2nd level? I thought higher was better?

Land

We have done deck 5 or 6 midship on the Magic and Wonder and had no issues, even in the 20 foot swells we experienced in the wonder, didn't bother my wife or mom. The roughest ride we had was when we had to go full steam back to port Canaveral on 12 forward on Fantasy, wife couldn't sleep the boat was rocking so much, I loved it and slept like a baby.

Cgolf

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Law of physics -- higher decks sway more.

Not true.

Law of science.

The closer you are to any vibration the more effect it has, it's the law of cause and effect.

If your closer to the vibration and moment of the sea, or closer to where the engines are you get far more vibration and far more movement and far more sudden changed, but the time it's on higher decks that it's ironed out, less sudden movement.

Now the medical facts on seasickness are, ( facts) look at the horizon, let fresh air, and in your ears you detect movement but when your eyes say walls do not move that's when you get seasick.

None of these can be done on any lower deck.

Think Mission space at Epcot, you spin fast there to feel like your leaving the earth, if you look at the TV monitor and take that in your not sick, if you take your eyes off it and look in the claustrophobic cabin you feel sick. The same as if you drive a car you do not feel sick but if you read a book in a rear seat whilst driving you may feel sick.

People occasionally post lower is best, it's just a forum thing here, an old wife's tale, all decks connect and are joined no deck moves more than another, if top port moves then lower starboard has an equal reaction, we know midship is best like a sea saw in a playground the middle moves least, but people see the forward point and thing it's a triangle all the way through, it's not the hull is square and so is not like any pendulum but flexes in the water.

Now to add, sea conditions, currents, direction of currents, direction of the shop, the weather, the wind, the height of the waves, the stabilisers the ballast taken in on the ship for stability all have an effect, so no one can say exactly where the best deck is bar midship.

Last point, those in inside rooms on lower decks where do they spend most of their sea day? Well on the higher pool deck, if it's worse why do they go there? Why doesn't the water in the pools flow out if it's so bad?

If all non concierge rooms went on sale for summer 2016 next week and they are all the same price, where would everyone book? Not lower decks, they all would book higher decks as they know it's better, hence why there more expensive.

 

[ptcbass]

Not to say that deck 2 is bad but on our last Dream cruise we were aft deck 9. The only time I was bothered by movement was in the theater (forward, deck 3) and in the dining rooms (lower decks aft).

I always wondered why the concierge rooms were forward when that is supposed to be worse for motion sickness. They are higher up though.

For our next cruise we have 8th deck aft.

I also took Bonine everyday (including the day before and the day after). It seemed to really help. I also took some ginger losenges, ginger cookies and ginger ale. Never needed any of them though.

 

[cgolf]

Not true.

Law of science.

The closer you are to any vibration the more effect it has, it's the law of cause and effect.

If your closer to the vibration and moment of the sea, or closer to where the engines are you get far more vibration and far more movement and far more sudden changed, but the time it's on higher decks that it's ironed out, less sudden movement.

Now the medical facts on seasickness are, ( facts) look at the horizon, let fresh air, and in your ears you detect movement but when your eyes say walls do not move that's when you get seasick.

None of these can be done on any lower deck.

Think Mission space at Epcot, you spin fast there to feel like your leaving the earth, if you look at the TV monitor and take that in your not sick, if you take your eyes off it and look in the claustrophobic cabin you feel sick. The same as if you drive a car you do not feel sick but if you read a book in a rear seat whilst driving you may feel sick.

People occasionally post lower is best, it's just a forum thing here, an old wife's tale, all decks connect and are joined no deck moves more than another, if top port moves then lower starboard has an equal reaction, we know midship is best like a sea saw in a playground the middle moves least, but people see the forward point and thing it's a triangle all the way through, it's not the hull is square and so is not like any pendulum but flexes in the water.

Now to add, sea conditions, currents, direction of currents, direction of the shop, the weather, the wind, the height of the waves, the stabilisers the ballast taken in on the ship for stability all have an effect, so no one can say exactly where the best deck is bar midship.

Last point, those in inside rooms on lower decks where do they spend most of their sea day? Well on the higher pool deck, if it's worse why do they go there? Why doesn't the water in the pools flow out if it's so bad?

If all non concierge rooms went on sale for summer 2016 next week and they are all the same price, where would everyone book? Not lower decks, they all would book higher decks as they know it's better, hence why there more expensive.

Just to see if we are on the same page here, the lower decks do sway a lesser distance, but it feels like a quicker back and forth rocking vs, the upper decks which sway a greater distance, but feels less abrupt. The front to back thing does seem to make a difference, the front always seems to have a rougher ride, shoot I even notice the same thing in my 16 foot fishing boat.

We have never stayed below deck 5, so only know from shows and dinners that it can get a little rougher of a ride the lower in the ship you go. We haven't noticed any issues though true midship vertically and horizontally in our cruises.

Cgolf

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Just to see if we are on the same page here,

the lower decks do sway a lesser distance, but it feels like a quicker back and forth rocking vs, the upper decks which sway a greater distance, but feels less abrupt.

Yes sort of, sudden short movements that are unexpected on lower decks, like being on Space mountain in the dark the unpredictable action will cause seasickness and it's more there as its closet yo the sea and waves. The upper decks you can see the long sway in the pools,a slight move one way and a slight movement across the pool, then one all the way back, less sudden movement, less random action, more predictable, more like a gentle calming sway in a hammock, far better for you.

The front to back thing does seem to make a difference, the front always seems to have a rougher ride, shoot I even notice the same thing in my 16 foot fishing boat.

Very forward takes the impact cutting into the waves in poor conditions so if there is movement it's normally at its worst there, aft is a close second, to that but moves less as the ships are built to flex, the same as high rise towers, Eiffel Tower, if they didn't flex they would snap. Midship is always best.

We have never stayed below deck 5, so only know from shows and dinners that it can get a little rougher of a ride the lower in the ship you go. We haven't noticed any issues though true midship vertically and horizontally in our cruises.

Cgolf

My DD can get bad seasickness it's made worse by problems in her ears, she gets SS in lower decks the MDRs etc and Aldo the enclosed boats at Cozumel that are low in the water and enclosed. She us fine on pool decks and our stateroom on a higher deck.

Best advice for seasickness, watch the horizon, get fresh air, eat lighter less fatty food do not overdo it, over eating and over drinking are often the cause of sickness not the seas movement but that's blamed.

 

[truck1]

We felt a lot of movement on our recent cruise on the Wonder. Our cabin was on the 7th level, forward. We felt it everywhere, not just in our cabin so I think it was just rough seas. Luckily, none of us got sick. We booked the 4 night on the Dream for December and booked a cabin on the 2nd level midship. I'm reading mixed reviews. The salesman assured us that it's a great location. I know midship is best, but are we looking for trouble on the 2nd level? I thought higher was better?

To feel the least amount of movement on any ship, you have to be at or near the center of gravity. The center of gravity, changes during a cruise, so to stay with it is next to impossible. The salesman didnt sell you snake oil on deck 2. Typically, the cog is somewhere near midships (forward and aft AND port and starboard, AND keel to mast) which is somewhere near the midships elevators on deck2/3. What will affect the cog is fuel burn, ballasting, amount of food etc. Its even different between ships. The Magics and Wonders for example are in different spots and so is the Dream and Fantasy.

Look at it this way. Take a pencil. Hold it roughly in the center by your thumb and forefinger. The point is the bow of a ship, the eraser the stern. If you push the point down (bow) you see that the stern (eraser) moves about the same distance, in the opposite direction. Your thumb and index finger are holding the center of gravity. Youll also notice that the point where you hold it barely moves. This is exactly what happens on a ship at sea. If you hold a second pencil, at the midpoint of the first, so that there are equal parts of the pencil above and below the original, and repeat the experiment, youll notice that the top moves forward as the tip goes down, and the bottom goes back wards. Same thing on the ship. Again, youll notice that the point where the 2 are joined, barley moves at all. That's the cog. That's where you want to be.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I picked the most center-point of the ship on the disney fantasy (both horizontal and verticle). I picked room 7606. We didnt feel a single thing the enter 7 days. Nobody got sick.

 

[tinker6]

We always book deck 2 midship and have never had a problem with movement. I'm the one who feels the slightest bit of motion and this has always worked out great for us. We have sailed on all 4 ships...on the Dream and Fantasy it's the perfect and easiest way to get an elevator with minimal wait time and you're just one deck below all the shops..that's why we love this location, also. Happy sailing.

 

[cixel_SID]

People occasionally post lower is best, it's just a forum thing here, an old wife's tale, all decks connect and are joined no deck moves more than another ...

Here's the simplified view of a former naval architect (an engineer who designs ships) regarding ship motions (trying my best to avoid engineering jargon):

The motion of the ship is looked at as being a combination of three linear components (surge, heave, sway) and three rotational components (pitch, yaw, roll) (see definitions below). The center of motion for all six of these components is the center of gravity of the ship. Assuming that the ship is a rigid body and doesn't significantly flex (not precisely true but it's valid for this discussion) the three linear motions act equally at all locations on the ship. That is, the ship heaves (up and down) as though you held a piece of lumber in your hand and moved it vertically up and down ... the entire piece of lumber moves an equal amount vertically regardless of your location on the lumber.

However, the rotational motions, which are also centered at the ship's center of gravity, are characterized by increasing movement the further you are located from the center of that rotation. The further from the center of gravity, the more you feel that motion. Think of a carousel ... the further from the center the faster you are moving. Now if the carousel were designed to frequently reverse direction you can imagine how much more that would affect you the further from the center you were located. If you don't like that comparison, think of a see-saw ... near the pivot point you don't move very much; the further away from the center, the more you move up and down.

Now, the motion that you feel at any point on the ship is the combination of all six motions. Again, the three linear motions are felt equally throughout the ship. But, the three rotational motions (pitch, yaw, roll) are all felt more the farther that you are from the center of gravity. So, the lowest total motion is felt at the ship's center of gravity and the combined motion increases with increasing distance from the center of gravity.

Although the center of gravity can vary somewhat, for the purposes of this discussion you can assume with pretty good certainty that the center of gravity is located as follows:

fore/aft location = about midship
port/starboard location = on ship's centerline
vertical location = several feet BELOW the waterline

With this information, and the understanding that nearly all ship passenger staterooms are located above the ship's waterline, we can deduce that the lowest ship motions are felt on the lowest possible passenger stateroom deck, closest to midship and nearest to the ship's centerline. This would indicate the advantage of the inside cabin for lower motions.

However, the way that any individual responds to those motions can vary greatly between people, and as a previous poster noted, some feel better in an outside cabin because they can focus on the horizon and minimize the confusing messages that their eyes and ears independently send to their brain. But, generally, people feel more comfortable with lower motions rather than higher motions.

I hope that this seems more like physics than a wives tale.


Some definitions:
Linear motion: Movement ALONG an axis
Surge: A fore and aft motion along the longitudinal axis
Sway: A port and starboard motion along the athwartship axis
Heave: A vertical (up and down) motion along the vertical axis

Rotational motion: Movement AROUND an axis
Pitch: A rotational motion around the athwartship (port and starboard) axis
Roll: A rotational motion around the ships longitudinal (fore and aft) axis
Yaw: A rotational motion around the ships vertical axis

 

[wxman0]

 

[Poohbug]

I'm going to stay out of the science discussion and just tell you my experiences.

I have stayed many times on a deck 2 midship stateroom and have never felt sea sick in the room. My last cruise was 14 nights in an inside deck 2 room and I felt great. I never was sea sick on the cruise but I sure felt bad on that whale watching excursion in Cabo.

The only place I have felt sea sick on a Disney ship was at Palo, which is about as high as you can go.

I would stick with the deck 2, I would book another deck 2 stateroom in a heartbeat.

 

[tinkmom2]

I get sea sick the moment I feel the ship in motion. It doesn't matter where I am on the ship. We have stayed on deck 6 our last three cruises. The only problem I ever had was getting thrown out of bed on the Wonder because of rough seas. And mild sea sickness on the Dream which was because I didn't take my pills. This will be our first cruise on deck 2. I think I will be fine as long as I keep myself medicated.
All of our rooms have been AFT also.

 

[lmhall2000]

I am one that has only once become seasick, never experienced anything like it riding all sorts of topsy turvy inside/out upside/down around and round rides. It hit me like a brick when I bent down to pick up an article of clothing...immediately I was sick...the boat was rocking terribly..hard to stand up straight...but when it hit, all I could do was lay down, close my eyes and curl up in the fetal position and pray I could hold everything down..last a couple of hours then I fell asleep...

 

[Off to Neverland 7]

Staying on Deck 7 forward as well in 20 days and was intrigued by this thread. Learned a ton! Thank you

Dancing our way over to our happy place - Jan/Feb PTR 2015

Disneyland Resort 1993-2000 Passholder 2004-2014 Caribbean Beach Resort July 2001 Paradise Pier Resort 2009, November 2014 Grand Californian April 2010 Pop Century Sept 2012, Sept 2013 Disneyland Hong Kong July 2013 Animal Kingdom Villas & Universal's Cabana Bay Sept 2014 Pop Century & Disney Dream Feb 2015!!

 

[cixel_SID]

D-Oh! ... I must have over-simplified the discussion and you'd obviously like more detailed info

Rather than derive the equations here, I'll refer to a reference document.

Take a look at DOD-STD-1399 Section 301A titled "Ship Motion and Attitude". It's part of the DOD interface standard which defines requirements for attaching things to other things. In this case, section 301A defines the motion induced forces on items which are attached to ships. The Appendix provides the formulas to compute the loading factors for ship mounted items in Paragraph 40.5.1 on Page 14 and it simply () shows that the motions/accelerations/forces increase with increasing distance from the ship's center of gravity.

In case you've misplaced your copy of DOD-STD-1399, you can find it at the following link:

http://www.dianyuan.com/bbs/u/37/1137684230.pdf

The file size is 894.9KB but it seems to load slowly. So, be patient.

 

[SarahKate]

We just went on our first cruise in November and this was a huge concern for us because of DH getting motion sickness. After tons of research, we concluded that a higher deck in the middle was best for our situation. DH took Bonine each day in the morning, which lasted for 24 hours. He had no issues with motion sickness at all. We slept like babies the first two nights and felt little to no movement.

We were in the Caribbean, which I would think would have calmer seas.

On the last night, we had dinner at Animator's Palate, which is on the far end (sorry I can't recall which end). I believe the ship was going very fast to get back to port and the water was a bit rougher. We felt a LOT of movement that night and even DD got a little sick. That night we felt a lot of movement from our room but I don't think location would have helped at that point - it was just rough.

We are extremely glad we did research on our stateroom selection and feel like higher up/in the middle is the way to go!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

How to Prevent Motion Sickness on a Cruise

Step 6
Climb to the top deck on the ship and look out at the horizon if you start to feel ill. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), keeping your eyes on one fixed point reduces aggravating stimuli that can cause symptoms.

 

[Barbydoll8]

I get sick in the car if you go in reverse too fast. lol Yep, my whole life so I'm a bundle of joy when it comes to travel. My first cruise was miserable. I did the over the counter stuff, the bands, the look at the horizon crap. Nothing helped but dry land.

Second cruise I wore a patch. IT WAS A MIRACLE. Didn't matter where I was on the ship, it didn't bother me. I will never travel again with out it. I say don't worry about where you are, call your Dr and get a script for the patch. Side effects are very minimal (very slightly blurred vision, dry mouth) and go away about 30 min or so after you take it off.
I was concerned about using it based on chemicals in my body but we live in a time that modern medicine can help.
It is a result of not just your brain being confused, if you read the paper work that comes with the script, you will read that is a result of a chemical released in your brain to help you feel stable. HA! Some people release more of this than others and that is why some people get sick moving their heads too fast while others are never bothered by any movement. The patch blocks the release of this chemical in your brain.