Bonine&Alcohol/Drinking Water

[norma30]

Just two questions for the veteran cruisers

1. Have any of you taken Bonine and enjoyed wine or speciality drinks? I was thinking about taking the Bonine just as a precaution but only if I can still enjoy an occassional libation. YUM

2. Why would you buy the water from DCL if there is water available on Deck 9?? I am bringing refillable water bottles. Will this be enough for thirsty cruisers?

 

[SeaSpray]

DH and I sailed on our first cruise last summer and I was worried about seasickness, so we took Bonine every single morning of the cruise, as a precaution (in fact, we started the morning BEFORE we sailed). It worked great, and yes we were able to drink with no side effects at all

As for water, at home we ONLY drink spring water. In fact, I have a water cooler in my kitchen and we get spring water delivered every month. On our cruise last summer I was happily surprised to discover how good the ship's water was. We cruised on Royal Caribbean, but I hear that Disney's ships' water is good, also. I'm sure you'd be fine refilling your water bottles from the ships' water supply

Hope this helps!

 

[robby69]

Bonine (Meclizine) is an antihistamine. Even thought Bonine is marketed as a less drowsy alternative to Dramamine, it can still make you tired if you are sensitive to anthihistamines. Alcohol will potentiate the drowsy/tiredness effect of the Bonine.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

If you look at the cautions on packages of Bonine (and Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula, which is the same medication), you'll see something along the lines of "alcohol, sedatives, and tranquilizers may increase drowsiness."

In other words, they're not warning you of a dangerous interaction between drugs. It's just that the active ingredient, Meclizine Hydrochloride, may make you drowsy, and alcohol may make you more drowsy.

Oh, and they'll warn you, "be careful when driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery." So don't plan on operating any machinery while you'e on the ship!

 

[klStacker]

I'm sure it's different for everyone, but when I took bonine and had a couple drinks, it knocked me out. I actually had trouble staying awake during a comedy show at 10:00 at night. I suggest the patch if you're concerned about seasickness. I've used it and it worked much better for me then bonine. On one cruise I went on in late October, we had very rough seas in Nassau. Many people on the ship were sick. The crew put vomit bags by all the elevators. Everyone in our group that used the patch was fine.

 

[Zandy595]

I took the SeaCalm they offered on the ship (I believe it's the same as Bonine) and had a drink. It knocked me right out.
I plan on doing the patch for our next cruise, but I was told to try it out before the cruise to make sure I don't have any bad reactions to it.

 

[Grendel]

where do you get the patch? is this perscription? and whats in it...are there any side-effects?

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

I took Bonine (each morning) and started my drinking around lunch time. It never made me drowsy. It has been mentioned to try it at home to see how it affects you - I'd recommend that!!!

 

[klStacker]

You do need a prescription to get the patch. It's called Transderm. I happen to have one from a previous prescription. The package says that it contains 1.5 mg scopolamine. You wear it for three days. Like any medication, there are possible side effects. I don't remember what they all were, but when I used it, the only thing I noticed was a little dry mouth. I liked it much better than the bonine. I'm sure your doctor can fill you in on the details.

 

[hydster]

My suggestion is if you are worried about a side effect of a pill you should try it out at home! Me and my husband used the patch on one of our first cruises and didnt try it out at home. I ended up in my cabin for the first 3 days so sick I couldnt move and the $$$ it cost to go to the infirmary was a big pain in the budget as well. If you take the Bonine aka meclizine try it out at home for a few days and see how it makes you feel. Try it out over a weekend or something so that if it does knock you out you dont have to try to go to work or be functional. Also if you want to see how it interacts with alcohol try it out! If only I'd tried out the patch before we left I could have saved myself misery! I never even thought about trying it out beforehand...now if I take anything I try it out before we go. For us we take Meclizine which is much cheaper than buying Bonine or Dramamine Less Drowsy but those 2 pills have the same ingredient as Meclizine and it's what helps with the motion. We buy 100 tablets from a drug store here (have to ask the pharmacist for it but dont need prescription to get it) and then we start taking them 2-3 days before we leave our house to get them into our system. Then every day we take 1 tablet in the morning as soon as we wake up...we dont do anything before that. They make us a little more tired when we drink than when we dont but I'd rather be a little tired than sick.

I am going to say upfront I am not a big fan of the patch but if you want to read all about it go here:
http://www.transdermscop.com/site2/view-insert.html

The side effects to me werent worth it! There seemed to be many more than Meclizine and some of them seemed much more serious.

Good luck in what you decide to do but I would suggest trying it out before you leave to see what it does to YOU!

Heidi

 

[Grendel]

thanks for the great info.

what about for children? are any of these appropriate for them?

 

[hydster]

We gave 1/4 tablet to our oldest dd last cruise (she was 9) and she did great with it. Our other 2 boys aged 7 and 3 didnt need anything..didnt even feel the motion. My daughter gets carsick just mentioning driving in the car so we thought it best to give it to her just in case. Our pediatrician told us we could give that to her in a small dose like that and it really worked. She didnt seem to get really sleepy but did have the same kind of reaction as to something like Benadryl. I'd ask your pediatrician about it if you are nervous about doing it. I dont think the patch can be used for children however. And even if it could I dont know if I would give it to a child. The patch is like a little circle bandaid and if you touch it and then touch your eyes watch out. I dont think I could even trust myself not to touch it and I certainly wouldnt trust my kids not to. They seem to get itchy like a bandaid does and the temptation at least for me was high to scratch and sometimes you arent really close to a bathroom to wash your hands.

We dont plan on giving the boys anything again but will give it to her. Our kids will be 10, 9 and 5.

HTH
Heidi

 

[Grendel]

thanks again...im not to worried about the kids. Weve done the 4 day cruise before and everyone was ok....except our first night was rough seas and everyone was getting a bit queasy( not a good thing during dinner ) after that it wasnt an issue..but i thought i would be prepared as best i could be. Bonine doesnt sound so good for me as i get drowsy from antihistamines..and when i drink with them....good night...

part of me was wondering if i should take something before we go parasailing on CC. I never used to get queasy..but as ive gotten older certain rides and kinds of movements effect me now...oh well cant have everything i guess.

 

[mickeymom629]

I get very seasick, and on our first cruise last Jan. (4 night), I took Bonine an hour before we sailed each day and still enjoyed my nightly couple of glasses of wine. Luckily we didn't have a day at sea, and what I did was drink a cup of caffeinated coffee in the afternoon - I usually have decaf in the afternoon at home (in addition to my morning) and I was able to enjoy my wine. Sailing was different each day, and I took my Bonine depending. I slept great each night but not before I was ready to go. I also did not partake in any other alcoholic drinks during the day, like the fun and fancy kinds around the pool. The wristbands didn't seem to work for me but they did with my DS13. I was afraid to try the patch and I like the control I have of taking a pill or only a half, depending.

I loved our cruise and wish I could afford another one soon, but it is a little strange to have to take "uppers" and "downers" to enjoy it.