Cruises & motion sickness

[Helene]

Hi all...

I have a dear friend that is prone to really bad motion sickness. We do alot of travelling together and would like our families to cruise together next year. However, she has a history of getting really sick on smaller boat rides, amusement rides, etc.

We plan to take a "mom's only" 2-day "cruise to nowhere" in October to test the waters a bit before committing to a longer cruise.

Any suggestions on what area of the ship is better to book our rooms?? Also, any good motion sickness meds that won't cause excessive drowsiness??

Thanks!!

 

[acejka]

I had that patch behind me ear for a surgery last month and I didn't have a single bit of nausea after the surgery, and I wasn't drowsy the way I get when I take drammimine.

I have a friend who swears by the patch, she was on a cruise where the boat was rocking so bad she showed me pictures of the water coming out of the pool and she was fine.


I have heard that you can have withdrawals from it after taking it off and vomit/nausea when you go back to an environment with "motion" I didn't have them, but I have a presciption of zofran on hand just in case.

 

[bellebud]

they say the lower the cabin the better, and in the middle of the ship. Think of a see-saw - the middle moves the least, while the ends are UP and DOWN.

good luck!

 

[NHdisneylover]

My husband get sick on amusement park ride, porch swing, small boats and as a passenger in car. he does pretty well on the big ships though and prefers cruising to any other vacation.
The motion is just very, very different and not as bad as the smaller things in general.

He used to get queasy (but not really sick like he does on smaller things) but has found that for him the best "medicine" is ginger pills. He starts taking them 1-2 weeks before the cruise to build it up in his system and then continues to take them during the cruise. He also makes a point to always sit facing "forward" (in the direction the ship moves) at meals as he finds sitting backwards makes him queasy (even though you really can't consciously tell which way you are moving--it does seem to help). With this method he has been fine for years now--even in the rare high seas.

 

[Helene]

Thanks all....I think we'll book mind-ship. I also like the idea of the ginger pills...seems like a safe option that can help prevent or minmize the sickness.

 

[DrCavin]

If you/they go the med route I would suggest taking it a few weeks before to see if any reaction occurs. If it does you can try something else before the cruise.

Ginger works for many people.

There are two stages of sea sickness Stage 1 You think your going to die Stage 2 You wish you were dead.

 

[mjkacmom]

I get seasick and can't go on rides that spin. The PP are right - low and center. The bigger the ship, the more stable it is.

 

[Muushka]

Thanks all....I think we'll book mind-ship. I also like the idea of the ginger pills...seems like a safe option that can help prevent or minmize the sickness.

If your friend truly has a tendency to get sea sick, I would not rely on ginger pills, especially if you hit rough seas. We had a rough cruise a few years ago and we were on Bonine (which worked for me). My husband was as sick as a dog. Cruises are expensive, why take a chance of having it ruined when there are meds out there specific for sea sickness? For all of our following cruises, he used the Scopolamine Patch and didn't experience the sea sickness.

 

[NHdisneylover]

If your friend truly has a tendency to get sea sick, I would not rely on ginger pills, especially if you hit rough seas. We had a rough cruise a few years ago and we were on Bonine (which worked for me). My husband was as sick as a dog. Cruises are expensive, why take a chance of having it ruined when there are meds out there specific for sea sickness? For all of our following cruises, he used the Scopolamine Patch and didn't experience the sea sickness.

The hard part (without trial and error) is figuring out what works for you. Bonine will lessen the seasickness for my husband, but not get rid of it alltogether (generally meaning that he feels rotten and queasy and like he wants to die, but he is not actually vomiting). Ginger pills keep it 100% at bay. We had really high seas on our first trans atlantic cruise and he managed even that one just fine. I was stunned.

 

[Pakey]

I had an allergic reaction to the Patch (glad I did a test run before the cruise) so I had to take ginger pills. It worked fine.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm a frequent cruiser that gets motion sickness on small boats and amusement park rides. I swear by Bonine. I find it has less side effects for me than Dramamine. I take it at night before I go to bed and am fine all the next day. We were on a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico when Hurricane Katrina hit, and boy let me tell you that boat was rockin' and rollin'! Not one of use was sick.

 

[Straitlover]

Got to the pharmacy counter (Walmart, Walgreens, etc) and ask for the bottle of meclizine (generic Bonine). 100 in the bottle for like $6. Way cheaper than name brand. Start taking it 5 nights before you leave to get it in your system. take it before bedtime so if it does make you sleepy, you'll be in bed anyway. Worked great for me on my cruise back in October!

 

[lucas]

Last cruise, I tried the ginger tablets and they worked great! You have to take them a couple of times a day every day.

In the past I have tried non-drowsy Dramamine but even that makes me sleepy! I hate being sleepy and not being able to enjoy the cruise.

We have 2 cruises coming up and I am definitely going with the ginger tablets again.

 

[elgerber]

If you/they go the med route I would suggest taking it a few weeks before to see if any reaction occurs. If it does you can try something else before the cruise.

Ginger works for many people.

There are two stages of sea sickness Stage 1 You think your going to die Stage 2 You wish you were dead.

I had stage 2 on a 35 foot sailboat in Cabo. Really wished I was dead. Dd and I both did. It was awful.
At that time we already had a Disney cruise booked. I was very nervous. We both used the patch, and were great the entire cruise! And we had some pretty rocky waters, we were trying to outrun a hurricane. We are cruising again this summer, and we will both be using the patch again!

 

[Jennasis]

I am terrible with motion sickness. I use the transdermal scopolamine patch (goes behind your ear and only available via prescription). Works fabulous and I have no sleepy side effects. I DID try sea-bands with ginger pills and that motion-ease homeopathic oil and it did NOTHING. I was at IoA on the Harry Potter ride and I've never been so sick in my life.

Prescription patch all the way!

 

[Disney Ella]

To echo everyone else, tell your friend to definitely try out whatever she plans on using before getting on the ship. Ginger pills do nothing for me (and I really wanted them to work). When I went on a cruise, I thought I would be fine if I just doubled my usual dose of Less Drowsy Dramamine. Didn't work. If I ever go on another cruise, I will be getting a patch.

 

[elgerber]

I am terrible with motion sickness. I use the transdermal scopolamine patch (goes behind your ear and only available via prescription). Works fabulous and I have no sleepy side effects. I DID try sea-bands with ginger pills and that motion-ease homeopathic oil and it did NOTHING. I was at IoA on the Harry Potter ride and I've never been so sick in my life.

Prescription patch all the way!

Were you sick on the Harry Potter ride with the patch??? We are going there before I cruise, and I plan to wear the patch for the ride. I was hoping if it worked for rough seas it would work for Harry Potter.

 

[bicker]

they say the lower the cabin the better, and in the middle of the ship. Think of a see-saw - the middle moves the least, while the ends are UP and DOWN.

If you have an ocean view, a mid-deck is better, a balance between being closer to the center-of-gravity (which you alluded to) and being able to see further to the horizon.

Also break out the old high school geology textbooks and take note of the continental shelf. As soon as you cruise off the end of the shelf, things get much much worse than you could ever have imagined if all your cruising has been on the shelf. Cruises to the Bahamas and in the Caribbean are nothing, motion-wise, compared to cruises to Bermuda, or from the NY area to the Caribbean (because they go straight down, rather than hugging the coast), for example.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

+1 for Ginger Pills, although it takes a REAL lot for me to get motion sick.

 

[crz4mm2]

Hi all...

I have a dear friend that is prone to really bad motion sickness. We do alot of travelling together and would like our families to cruise together next year. However, she has a history of getting really sick on smaller boat rides, amusement rides, etc.

We plan to take a "mom's only" 2-day "cruise to nowhere" in October to test the waters a bit before committing to a longer cruise.

Any suggestions on what area of the ship is better to book our rooms?? Also, any good motion sickness meds that won't cause excessive drowsiness??

Thanks!!

Midship and lower deck for your room.
Meclazine for motion sickness. Buy it over the counter. Take three times a day.