Motion sickness and aft staterooms??

[the kabuki]

DH is prone to motion sickness. Unfortunately the only cabins I could get were towards the back of the ship. Is this area worse? Never been on a cruise and I'm worried about this.

 

[Mickeynutz]

I am no expert (have only been on two previous cruises) but I don't think you have anything to worry about. I am somewhat prone to seasickness but have not had any problems with it on a big cruise ship. The problem I had was while on an excursion off the cruise ship. In Grand Cayman a group of us took a smaller boat to swim with the stingrays and my motion sickness pills were back in my stateroom on the cruise ship instead of in my bag with me-- BIG MISTAKE!

I had to jump back into the water (after the deal) & wait until everyone was on board and get on the boat at the last minute and then watch the horizon-I felt awful. My poor sister-in-law threw up over the side of the boat twice while we were enroute so she was apparently even worse then me.

HOWEVER, neither one of us where motion sick at all on the big cruise ship!! Her cabin was in aft on the Deck 2 and I was aft on Deck 6 but it really made no difference at all where our cabins were because we did NOT feel the motion on the cruiseship at all.

 

[the kabuki]

Thanks, this is a surprise trip for the family and one of the reasons DH never wanted to cruise was thinking that he was going to be sick during. I've talked to so many people though who have said that it wasn't a problem, I think we'll be ok. I'd just hate to plan all this and have it turn out bad.

 

[Tinkmom]

Aft is fine. I noticed motion much more in the front of the ship and the higher decks also have more motion. Some people think midship has the least motion, but I disagree. The motion is the ship is not really like pendulum, because the front of the ship, meeting the waves, shifts much more than the back of the ship.

Of course, hopefully you are not going to be in your cabin all the time so that is not the only factor to consider. I can recall a couple of times being in the WD theatre and seeing the curtains moving and people stumbling on the stairs because of the ship's movement, as well as at meals when you would notice the motion and our drinks levels shifting. Your husband will need to figure out a plan to deal with motion sickness. I felt SO SORRY for one of our dinner mates last cruise, as he was sick for most of it. He turned green at dinner a few times. On another cruise a new friend used the patch and got sick from its side effects after a couple of days.

I am very prone to motion sickness myself and Bonine worked great. I took it the morning before boarding and faithfully each and every day and had no problems with seasickness, nor with any side effects such as drowsiness.
Maybe your husband can ask his doctor or pharmacist about Bonine as it seems to work well for many. Good luck!

 

[tezb]

We have cruised both midship and AFT. We didn't really notice much difference although the AFT cruise was the Eastern and that trip tends to be rockier at times. We seemed to feel more of the movement in the AFT restaurants than our room and those decks are lower..so go figure. I'm sure it will be fine just be prepared w/ bonine/meds just in case.

 

[glindamood]

IMHO - prevention is the key because once you get seasick it is hard to get rid of. DH has very bad motion problems - can't ride in cars at all - must drive and always said that we would never cruise. He also has problems flying and needed to travel occasionally for work and our vacations to WDW, used to take Dramamine. That made him so sleepy that our travel days were a waste - he could not stay awake, even after arriving at our destination. Then I discovered Bonine - works great for DH without making him drowsy.

We are DVC members, got a mailing back in 2000 and I just mentioned that cruising on the Magic sounded like fun and before I could finish my sentence he said to go ahead and book it. After picking myself up off the floor - that is EXACTLY what I did.

He takes one or two a day and is usually fine - only had problems twice in the 5 cruises we have been on since and even then, as long as he is laying down he is fine.

Whatever medication he decides to use test it before leaving home to be sure there are no bad side effects.

 

[the kabuki]

Thanks for all the great advice. I'll be sure to get him to the doctor before we leave

 

[thomprod]

Kabuki, Bonine and Dramamine are non-prescription medications. Bonine is better, in my opinion, because it does not make you drowsy. If you have kids though, they cannot take Bonine (also sold by the brand name Dramamine II) but they can take a half tablet of regular Dramamine.

I have tried the scopolamine patch (prescription required) and it is very effective. Unfortunatley, there can be side effects as well. I tried it on one cruise years ago and had some drowsiness and dry mouth. It was better than throwing up though, so you have to decide what your priorities are.

I have taken one Bonine tablet every morning of our last two cruises and even with a few days of 12-foot seas, I felt fine and had no side effects. I would recommend Bonine, available over the counter at your local drug store. On board, they also have generic Bonine tablets at the Medical Center and at Guest Services that are free for the taking.

 

[RAM]

Maybe that is what they leave on the pillow. And I thought it would be a mint.

 

[the kabuki]

Thanks!!

 

[JJsmama]

I was sooo sick even with the Bonine. We had 15-20 foot seas the first night though. After that I put on the Patch and I was great. However, when I got home, I had blurred vision while reading for a few days and that was disconcerting. I'm going to talk to my dr. but if he says the blurred vision is ok, I would definitely do the patch again.

 

[the kabuki]

With the patch, how soon before you get on the ship do you need to put it on?
What about children? Is there something for them. Mine aren't prone to motion sickness, but you never know

 

[UGAFan0829]

We also stayed aft on our last cruise, which was also our very first. We could definitely feel the rocking of the ship where we were, but then again, not having ever stayed anywhere else, then I don't know how aft would compare to other parts.
However, I can tell you this...My husband gets motion sickness, and was worried that he would get sick. We took some Bonine with us, and he took it on the first night and that was it. Of course our first night was smooth sailing compared to the last, and he was fine. He said that he never felt sick.
HTH!

 

[mom_rules]

I also get terribly motion sick-started taking Meclizine (bonine) the day before and every morning and evening took half a pill while cruising. We were deck 6 just a little behind midship-great location-felt little movement. I must tell you that it was great having a verandah for those iffy moments. You could get some fresh air and watch the horizon until it passed.
Hardest time I had was in the aft restaurants - esp. Palo brunch on our at sea day with 13ft swells. Took an extra "pill" and had a mimosa-was fine after that.