Motion sickness and the DCL?

[disgirl]

Hi! We are hoping to take our first cruise ever in August of 2005. I have put off taking cruises for two reasons, one because they are expensive and two because I have suffered from motion sickness since a child. However, since joining DVC recently and reading so many positive things about the DCL, I have decided I would put my fears away, perhaps talking to my doctor before the cruise and see if he can recommend something for me, and book a cruise. My son and husband seem to do fine in this area of motion sickness so I would hate to deprive them of what sounds like a great experience. On the other hand, my husband is just a little afraid that I might be sick and not enjoy any of it. I apologize if I sound dumb to even be thinking of a cruise if I have been known occasionally to feel ill or actually get sick in the past on busses, in cars,etc. It is just that everyone tells me being on a big ship is different and I will feel fine. Sorry for this LONG post, just wondering if anyone has experience with this themselves or with family members and they have done fine on the DCL. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions on this. Thanks so much!! I really think I will go for it unless I hear from some of you cruise experts that do not think I will be ok. You are the best. Thanks.

 

[DISJAZZ]

Hi. Our 9-year-old son has had trouble with car sickness in the past. He had no problem with our recent cruise. It's a rocking motion on the ship, not spinning. I think a lot of car sickness comes from trying to look at things speeding by to the side or away to the rear, which I think is not natural for us. The ship doesn't move that fast to give your brain that speeding feeling. Just my opinion. The cruise is so much fun that I recommend you go for it and take some bonine the first day before you board the ship. I'll bet that you won't even need it after that.

 

[gizfish]

If you get sick on busses or in cars, odds are pretty good that cruising will cause motion sickness for you as well. Many say the larger ships are great at reducing sea sickness. Others say where you are on the ship matters. For me, I know I am prone to motion sickness and sea sickness and I know if I don't do something to prevent it, bottom line is I'm gonna get sick, lol. That said, I would never dream of giving up such a perfect vacation as a cruise, and I would never ever discourage someone from cruising based on them being prone to motion sickness. The key is to take something (IMHO Meclizine works best with the least amount of sleepiness) before sea sickness is even a possibility. Many people start taking it the day before the cruise. I have found that taking it an hour or so before we sail works fine. You have to take it every day, and if you feel the least bit queasy, up the dose to twice a day. I can get sea sick in a bathtub, but by taking the Meclizine on every cruise, I have yet to get sea sick on vacation.

 

[Rikersmom]

We recently cruised with my two sons. I was very worried about the older one because he is prone to getting motion sickness when riding in cars. He had absolutely no problems on the Magic.

My younger son has never been car sick in his life. He complained about the "funny feeling" of being on the ship as soon as we boarded--before we even left the port!!! He used Bonine every day and truly enjoyed the cruise.

My advice is to be prepared. We like Bonine over Dramamine--it doesn't make us drowsy.

 

[disgirl]

Thanks everyone. I will get something to take like you all suggested and hopefully I'll be fine. Once again, thanks for the quick responses. I can not wait until I can say I finally booked our first cruise but since it looks like we will do it on points, it will not be until Sept. (11 months from the cruise). Thanks again!!

 

[kcashner]

I get motion sick in cars other than when I am driving, on small boats, etc. However, I've never had any problems on the Magic, even when things were a little rough.

There are many things you can try--various medications, sea bands, etc. The lower and more centered your cabin is, the less motion it will experience...so you might want to think about deck 2 toward the center for a first experience.

All I can say is to try it...I've never had a problem.

 

[sstucush]

Rikersmom- How old were your kids and what dosage Bonine did you give them?

I too am worried about motion sickness. I've successfully used the scopolomine patch on airplanes and will use it on the cruise but I would love to do the cruise without the side effects of the patch. Oh well, I would be too scared to get on the ship without my patch. I've even had two dreams I boarded then realized I did not have my patch!

 

[Rikersmom]

My sons are adults! I still worry about them, though.

This trip was a present to me. The guys live in California, and I convinced them to spend a week with me and their dad on the Magic. They were a bit apprehensive about being on a ship with so many families with little kids. We all had a wonderful time. This proved to me that Disney does have enough activities for all ages--adults, too.

 

[two-foxes]

Disgirl-

I get motion sickness as well (I always start my days at WDW with a bonine to cover the bus ride, then the rollercoasters notice the green face!) I ended up getting a prescription for the Scop patch to ease any sea sickness issues on the ship. I loved it. Some other users have complained about side effects, but I had none, other than dry mouth. I was not sick once....not on the ship, not on the busses to the excursion...so needless to say, I was VERY pleased.

Check out some options with your doctor, and see what works best for you.

Lastly, the only nausea came after I got home from the cruise. I would have bad moments of "land sickness", something that some cruisers complain about....never thought it could happen after a 4 night cruise, but it did. (notice the green face again!!!)

 

[disgirl]

Thanks for all the great advice. I had heard about the patch and thought I might check into that or Bonine.

Can I ask, what are some of the possible side effects besides dry mouth with the patch, sstucush? I know with some medications, the side effects can be worse than the illness you are trying to overcome.

kcashner: You mention trying to get a room on a lower deck, I have read that here on the forum before also. My question is do they have rooms of every category on each deck? For example, we probably will try for category 7. Are they on the upper decks only? Thanks for all the advice.

two-foxes: I can def. relate to those green faces and do hope I do not have that kind of face on the cruise. HA!

Thanks for the advice, everyone!!

 

[ericnj]

My DS gets motion sick many times in planes and in cars. The good news is that on our three day cruise he did not get sick or feel sick at all. The seas were calm and most of the travel was at night so that could have been part of the reason. However, like someone else who posted earlier said, it is a different sensation and reason for the motion sickness in cars versus cruiseships.
Eric

 

[LAMPSKIES]

My DW was the only one effected by "the motion". On our 11/29/03 Eastern we had 20 ft. seas on Thursday. I felt the motion at the foreward part of the ship more. And naturally the higher up you are you will notice also. It took about 6 hours for DWs dramamine to kick in. She did say she was glad we had a verandah so she could open the door and get in some fresh air. The ship doesn't sail 'till 5:00. Take some around noon then around 6. DW first felt the motion around dinner time. Good luck!

 

[sstucush]

disgirl- I have used the patch many times on airplanes and am very thankful to have it. I can read on the plane and turbulence doesn't even bother me. That said, the side effects I experience are dry mouth, throat, and mucus membranes, and maybe slight sleepiness. I also get a little itchy where the patch is on my skin. I would rather feel totally normal but would never want to risk having motion sickness. I'm hoping it will work as well on the ship as it does in the air.

I have read about severe side effects and I don't know why some people have different reactions. I do know that you must wash your hands after touching the patch to avoid getting the medication in your eyes. It can cause big problems if it gets into your eyes!

I'm also planning on bringing Bonine for my family and I might even get some of the wrist bands. I don't know if my kids know that motion sickness even exists so I'm not talking to them about it. I think a little tiny bit of it is in my head so I don't want to pass that along to them!

Good luck!

 

[disgirl]

Thanks. sstucush: I know what you mean about not wanting to pass the motion sickness to the kids by talking about it too much. I have, unfortunately, dealt wtih this as a passenger in cars, busses, planes, once on a 40 foot boat since I was small. I am 40 now and although, I think I am learning to deal with it better, I do occasionally still feel that queeziness. My husband is always telling me to try not to talk about it because once in a while my son will complain in the back of the car that he feels ill. I think my husband thinks it is in my sons mind and thinks I make it worse if I talk about it. I truly hope my son did not inherit this from me. He is 11 now and fortunately, only complains once in a while and usually only in the car, so hopefully he is ok. He seems to do fine with crazy rides, small boats and airplanes. Fingers crossed.

?? In case kcashner does not read this, does anyone else know if category 7 rooms are only on a certain deck or would they have category 7 on lower decks too, as it has been suggested that I try to get a room on a lower deck because of my motion sickness? Thanks again!!

 

[outahere]

I don't think there are any cat 7 cabins below deck six.

If you are going to use one of the drugs or a patch for motion sickness, I would strongly advise using it at home for a couple of days to see if you have any problems using it. On a cruise a few years back, DW took some Dramamine and it practically knocked her out for 16 hours.

 

[disgirl]

Thanks outahere. That is what I was afraid I'd hear about cat. 7 rooms. I figured maybe the bigger, more expensive categories were lower on the ship.

I will take your advice and use the medicine ahead of time to try it out. I hate taking new medicines and chancing side effects. Thanks for the words of wisdom.

 

[outahere]

Actually, like a lot of cruise lines, the bigger and more expensive cabins are on the upper decks (I guess for the view). It probably wouldn't be a good idea to have them too low because the verandahs would be too close to the water. That could cause problems in rough weather.

In case you weren't aware...... cat 7 is the lowest category with verandahs.

 

[hydster]

After going on 12 cruises with more scheduled here are a few things that I suggest...some of them are from my own trial and error and some are just things that ships doctors or my own doctor have told me.

1. If you have a problem with motion I would make sure you have several remedies available to you in case one doesnt work well enough once on the trip.

2. If you decide to go ANY medication route make sure you try it out at home weeks before you leave so that if you happen to have a terrible side effect with it you are at least in the comfort of your own home, not ruining a very expensive trip and have YOUR own medical attention who know you and know you well.

3. If you take medication and you drink make sure you try that out as well before you leave so you know what alcohol will do to you with the medication.

4. The patch, while some may have not had problems with the side effects and love it, there are some (me included) who have had terrible side effects and missed most of my cruise. Both my husband and I (different gene pools) had terrible reactions to the scopolamine in the patch and until you put it on and wear it for a day or two you may not know you are susceptible until it is too late. The patch has some pretty intense side effects which you can read about here: http://www.transdermscop.com/site2/view-insert.html

5. Dramamine and Bonine are not the same thing. Dramamine is an antiemtic or an antihistimine. More commonly known as Benadryl type drugs. Dramamine should not be used by children under the age of 2 and it says you should avoid alcoholic drinks and sedatives as they may increase the effect. If you want to take these try them out at home as well and try them drinking to make sure you dont just pass out. Also Dramamine has a history of making people very tired just like Benadryl so be aware of that. Bonine or Dramamine Less Drowsy are just expensive names of drugs that are just Meclizine. Meclizine you can buy at a pharmacy like Walmart usually from behind the counter without a prescription. We buy ours at Walmart or Target and get about 100 tablets for 8-10 dollars. Meclizine is recommended to take alcohol slow with and make sure it doesnt increase drowsiness either. On our doctors advice we gave our 8 year old (oldest) 12.5 milligrams of Meclizine every morning and she did fine. My boys didnt feel the motion at all so we never gave them anything.

6. Just make sure whatever method you choose you have a backup method just in case. Never assume that what worked for someone will work for you and honestly try medication out at home so you will know what it does to you. The patch made me so sick (and I was dumb enough to try it on 2 different cruises) but it dialated my pupils and made me so sick I was dehydrated and had to have some saline pumped into me for about an hour.

Finally if you decide to take medication take it a day or two before you leave, then at the same time of day while on your vacation and then take it for a day or two after you get back. Sometimes that will help you get your "sea" and "land" legs easier.

HTH
Heidi

 

[betty2379]

I just returned from a 4-day cruise on the Wonder. First time I was able to eat on ship!!!! I was able to go to the nightly shows (which were great) and participate in activities, all of which I have not been able to enjoy in prior cruises. I have used a combination of Bonine, Dramamine, Scopolamine, and accupressure relief bands with very little success in the past. Last year I purchased a Relief Band from Sharper Image for $100+ and have used it in flying and now on the cruise with great success. This is a watch-like band that puts out an electrical charge over an accupressure point every few seconds or so. Initally the charge is annoying, but I got used to it, and it is much better than being totally green

 

[disgirl]

Oh ok. Now, everyone can tell this is definately new to me. Ha!! That does make sense that the better rooms would perhaps have a nicer view(upper level). I just thought maybe because of feeling less turbulance on lower decks they might put the category 1-6 rooms there. That does make sense about nicer views from higher up, though. Yes, I know cat. 7 is the lowest of the verandah rooms and it has only a navigator's verandah. We just could not justify anything in a lower category because of the extra expense (points on DVC in our case), although it would be nice!!

Thanks for your responses.