Never been on a Cruise.

[xlxo]

My cruising is on the West Coast. The waters are calm in protected waters, but can be rocky (and stormy) in open waters.

Everyone has different sensitivities to the wave motion. Where your cabin is can make a difference. Some say higher up means the boat absorbs the wave impact, others say being lower means less pendulum action. Mid-ship is calmer, but then you may have elevator noise. There's other threads about where to stay on the boat for those with motion issues.

Avoiding storms helps... Depending on where you go, some months have less storms than others. Anyone a storm chaser? There may be discounts!

 

[yaddakal]

We started with the 3 night dream. Do the four is my best advice. We loved it. Booked a week for following year and will go again someday!

 

[Shanti]

Agreed. A short trip is a great introduction to cruising.

 

[Shanti]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate all the feedback. Speaking to the ones who have recently experience your first cruise, did have any issues with getting sea sick? What was your opinions on how you felt on the boat once you were out to sea? I really don't want my vacation to become a nightmare and spend it all in bed. Thanks!

I was concerned about that, too, and had no issues at all. Nada. Literally couldn't feel the difference between being on the boat and being on land, or being in port vs. sailing rapidly at sea. This was during my very first cruise a few days ago, in a far aft cabin on the Magic in the Bahamas.

To put this in context, I'm a person who sometimes gets motion sickness (the Tea Cups are hard for me & Mission Space is torture & leaves me ill), but I can handle non-spinning roller coasters. Fast, winding roads can make me nauseous as a passenger, but the cruise ship was no issue at all. We had good weather & calm seas, though, which likely helped.

 

[rcchello]

I take meclizine (once a day) sold as bonine or dramamine non-drowsy or cheaply as a generic from walmart. The first dinner leaving port Canaveral can be hard on some people or if you hit rough water in the open ocean. I find the meclizine a good precaution starting the morning before boarding the cruise.

On my second cruise I found I did not need it. On my fourth cruise wasn't using it and hit rough seas and lost a morning waiting for it to take effect. I was able to eat lunch and had no problems for the rest of the trip going back to once a day. A couple of days where the restaurants were very empty and I was fine.

 

[JMHDisney]

I was very worried about getting seasick on my first cruise. I had bonine, wrist bands, and some scented stuff that was supposed to go behind the ears. I also had the patch but didn't use it because I was worried about its reported nasty side effects. It was a west coast cruise and it seemed very rocky to me, although my table mates were experienced cruisers and said it was normal. It was hard to walk a straight line down the hallway due to the motion if that gives you any idea. Despite that, I didn't get sick. However, AFTER the cruise I felt seasick for several days.

Now, I take Bonine once at night starting 24 hours before the cruise and continuing nightly until 48 hours after the cruise and no problems or side effects at all.