Kevin: Advice for those wary of cruises

[ptrbryant]

I recall Kevin mentioning that his mother has some claustrophobic issues and was worried about going on her first cruise. After showing her around the Disney Cruise ship (can't recall which one), she felt better about it and enjoyed herself on the cruise.

I also suffer from claustrophobia and just can't fathom being comfortable on a cruise, though a part of me would love to try it some day. For me, it's both the worry of being confined in a small cabin and the feeling that you're out at sea and are obviously unable to leave or go back home if you felt panicked.

Kevin, could you tell me/us what were the specific things that helped her turn things around?

Thanks very much!
Karla B.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Hi Karla,

Unfortunately, you only have half of the story.

We have taken my Mom on TWO tours of the Disney ship...and she agrees that they are absolutely beautiful. She has seen almost every category of stateroom ...and agrees that they are absolutely spacious. She has read every conceivable bit of information available on onboard dining and activities...and agrees that it all sounds like great fun.

So...in light of all of that agreeing...we have begged her to go on a Disney cruise with us....and she agrees...as long as they dont untie the ship from the dock.

While I dont share her thoughts on the subject, I understand that she has fears of claustrophobia and the lose of "control" over the situation. Once at sea, you really dont have the option of going home until you reach your next port. From there you could always fly home (except Castaway Cay, but thats the end of the trip usually) but that could be very expensive.

I truly wish I had the a way to fix this, but unfortunately, I do not. My Mom has never been on a cruise. She's been on the ship twice....but it'a always "been tied to the dock".

I'm sure you have either heard all of the good things about going on a cruise or argued the points in your own mind...and I dont think that my telling you that it will all be ok will change anything...but I truly hope that you take the leap of faith and try it. I am of the belief that you would love it.

If you figure it out....please let me know the answer.

Thanks and good luck,
Kevin

 

[ptrbryant]

Darn! I can't believe I mis-remembered (real word?) the part about her NOT going on the cruise itself. It sounds like she and I have fairly identical issues about it. I totally get the "as long as they don't untie the ship from the dock" part.

There has to be some logical way to work on this...

Thanks again,
Karla

 

[Fitswimmer]

I've always been fearful of cruising as well. I have this fear that I'll get seasick and be MISERABLE for the whole time, not get to enjoy the experience at all and worse yet-not being able to get off. Then, after the Norovirus thing that was hitting all the ships a couple of years ago, I became convinced that it was too big of a risk.

Between that and too many viewings of The Posidon Adventure (with Shelley Winters-not the new one) in my formative years, I've never been able to get up the nerve to go.

If I ever do get up the nerve, it will probably be a Disney cruise though.

 

[GuardMusic]

Fitswimmer~

I used to be just like you - Posidon movie and all!

I admit my first cruise was horrible. It was on Carnival; I was sick before I left; and for the first time in my life also seasick. I ended up in the med center getting two double shots in my rear to get me to stop vomitting. After that I swore off cruising.

Fast forward 10 years... Best Friend decided she wanted to try the Disney cruise to celebrate her PhD. Hesitantly I stated, "If I'm going to ever try cruising again, I'll only try with Disney."

We did the land (3)/sea (4) package. During the Sail Away party I screamed "I've had a better time in the last 30 minutes that on the entire previous cruise." Yes, I religiously took my Bonine twice a day and was never sick.

On the 2nd day of the cruise, we re-booked.

I hope this gives you hope!
Gayle

 

[disneyholic family]

rather than claustrophobia, i was worried about my 6' 7" tall husband having to walk around bent over all the time....and that he would feel cramped on the ship...

but not at all....he never felt closed in at all....and i should mention that he's so tall, he typically has be bend his head when going through standard doorways......
so the fact that he didn't feel cramped on the ship is really saying a lot..

he never had the feeling of it being small at all...on the contrary, he couldn't believe how big the ship is, and what a feeling of openess he got from it..

as for feeling as if you can't get away, once the ship is out at sea:
Go on one of the short cruises on the wonder....the ship is never really "out at sea"...
it is always a very short distance from a coastline (look at a map and see where nassau and castaway cay are - not that far from the east coast)....on the 'at sea' day on the 4 day cruise, all the ship does is slowly cruise up the coast of florida - out of sight of shore, but not that far away - on our cruise, there was an emergency - a girl required an emergency appendectomy - all of a sudden in the middle of our sea day we felt the ship going fast - we looked out and saw we were heading into the harbor at palm beach - where we were met by a coast guard ship - the girl and her family were transferred to the coast guard ship -while all the yachts came around to have a good look at the surprise visitor to their harbor - anyway, it took very little time to get her to palm beach and she was operated on and was fine....so really you're not all that 'far away'...

i was also very worried about sea sickness (since i have a serious medical condition that causes motion sickness on land), so for our first cruise we went on the 3 day cruise....i figured if i got seasick i could survive for 3 days...
well i didn't get seasick at all....not in the slightest....nor did my daughter, who also usually gets motion sickness....she didn't get sick either..

so for our second cruise we went on the 4 day - again no problems at all..

you really MUST try it - there isn't anything like it in the world...

i can honestly say that our two DCL cruises were the best vacations we ever had (and we go on lots and lots of great vacations)..
i can't really put into words why we enjoyed it so much, but we did...
i highly recommend it....

 

[saturday97]

Lots of great advice and info here-- I just wanted to offer another suggestion. You might want to practice some breathing exercises and meditation before you go. Some folks who have phobias and panic attacks feel more at ease once they learn how to use their breath in a stressful situation.

 

[LMO429]

The biggest piece of advic I could give the OP about how to combat claustrophobic issues on a cruise! Is either try to view the cruise ship while docked OR maybe go on an overnight cruise (we have them in nyc often) to test it out! I wish I did that before I decided to go on a Norweign cruise line for a week from nyc to florida, bahamas and the carribean.

A little background: I worked about 5 blocks away from the World Trade Center Site after seeing everything first hand on 9/11 and getting stuck in an elevator that day I had and still have some severe claustrophobic issues.

I did not fly for 4 years after 9/11 and my boyfriend had enough of not being able to go to nice places on vacation so decided we should take a cruise. I thought it was going to be a great idea as well until we were at sea. I felt TRAPPED! I clung onto my boyfriend for dear life every night CRYING!!! while we were sleeping in bed because I thought the ship was going to flip (i know stupid!....but about 5 weeks before we were on the same ship (Norweign Dawn) that did get hit by a 70ft wave so it wasnt all in my head) I showered with the door opened because I felt smooshed, we were on the 8th floor of the cruise ship and we took the stairs EVERYWHERE because there was no WAY i was getting on the elevators on the ship and on top of all that I pretty much ruined HIS entire trip by being freaked out the whole time.

After that trip I decided just to white knuckle it and drug myself to get on an airplane and get where I have to go.

Sorry I dont have better advice but I guess what I'm trying to say is if you have issues with claustrophobia, test the cruise thing out small, before booking a 3 night or 7 night cruise and wasting your $$$. Maybe even try a dinner cruise to get a feel for things if they dont have over night cruise options in your area.

Personally I have been flying again since 2005 at least 3 to 4 times a year. I would rather get where I have to go and be confined to a small space for 2 to 5 hours than be stuck on a cruise ship feeling trapped the entire time!

 

[ptrbryant]

Yeah, I know if I ever do try a cruise, it would be a Disney cruise...though I love the idea of trying an overnight cruise first to see how I do. It also helps not feeling like I'm the only one who's faced these issues.

Thanks again,

Karla B.