Never cruised before have 2 questions

[Hockeychic]

We are currently booked on Magic at the end of Oct.....can't wait.

However, I am having some 2nd thoughts of our choice. Don't get me wrong...I love all things Disney but....since this is our first cruise and non of us know how we will react to the motion of the boat I want to find a way to elivate the problem.

Would you suggest a inside cabin where you can't see the waves?? Or a oceanview so I can see what my ears are telling me???

Also would a bigger ship like RCCL be better for a first time... bigger ship less movement???

OK, maybe 3 questions...my kids are 16 and 13 would they enjoy RCCl more?????

Thanks

 

[johnatthebar]

if you have any fear of being sea-sick you definatly want to be able to see the ocean. thats one of the reasons that you are told to walk out on deck if you feel ill. not being able to see why you are moving is a bad thing.

larger ships generaly rock less, but there are variables. for one, the type of vessle, an ocean liner with a v-cut hull will rock less in high seas than a cruise ship with a flatter bottom. another variable is the itinerary. trust me, with a few north atlantic crossings under my belt I can assure you that the largest ocean liners will rock if the conditions are right.

modern ships have amazing stabilization systems, and their size does help as I mentioned. I wouldnt worry to much about it, but I would definatly try and avoid an inside cabin for that reason. also, if available, cabins midship are better for motion sickness becuase you move less distance. a middle deck (which is genrally near the bottom as the lower decks are crew and equipment) towards the midship will yield the best results.

dramamine is the most common med for sea-sickness (I personaly have never taken it, but thats the standard of sorts) but I can also tell you that many protocols allow for benadryl in the treatment of motion sickness.

now your more prepared. dont worry about it too much, and have a blast. cruising is the greatest bargain in vacationing.

 

[Hockeychic]

Thank you for the info.....

I don't know which room as have on Disney right now because we have a gty no room assignment but I would like to be right in the middle.

Do you know if the Disney ships have the V-Hull thing???

Thanks

 

[DisneyBill]

I'm a person that is extremely sensitive to motion, can't watch a train go by, can't do imax movies, can't watch a friend talk who moves his head a bunch when talking. I too was concerned before our 1st cruise. I can tell you I have never had a hint of a problem, used patches that 1st cruise but they affected my vision so much, I swore off them and haven't used anything since. Now, I believe we have had very good seas and still of the opinion there is a bad seas cruise out there with our name on it. Both DCL ships have stabilizers that seem to hold the key to a lot of the smooth sailing outcome. Hope this helps.

 

[TheWog]

Although you will certainly feel some sense of motion it won't be horrendous unless it is stormy. The first night you must cross the Gulf Stream so you will feel some motion there. The ship has stabilizers that help with the rocking and rolling motions, but you are on the ocean and you will know it. Biggest problem we had were people who said you won't even know you are on the ocean... liars!!! At dinner you will see your water move and just get used to it. It was wonderful... my wife who is very motion sensitive had a little bout the first night, but after that was good the rest of the trip. She used her Sea-Bands (wristbands to prevent nausea - cost about $8 at any drugstore) and Bonine (similar to Dramamine, but different ). She ended up enjoying herself very much and loved the trip. We had a verandah specifically for her in case we needed it, but just enjoyed sitting out there with the morning coffee, a book or while our son napped. The fresh air is great and listening to the ocean at night while you are falling to sleep was very relaxing.

The kids is a different story. Would they like RCI more? Dunno, that is up to them. Will they have a great time on DCL, probably. There is something for kids of all ages. Plus the ports are a major draw and there is plenty to do at each one of those. Good luck.

 

[johnatthebar]

All of Disney's ships have more cruise ship type hulls, not a very deep cut to them, but that is more standard than not as cruise ships must navigate much mroe shallow waters than a deep cut hull has the darught for, the most notable hybrid that can do both is the QE2. As mentioned, they do have stabalizers as all passenger vessles do now-a-days. Stablization sytems vary in type from simple wings that come out from the center of the hull to active stabilization systems that change dozens of things at once.

Bonine and Dramamine are very similar drugs. They are both some combination of cyclizine and meclizine if I am not mistaken. Sea-Bands are based on accu-pressure. I have never used them either, but they have been around for some time.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

You should be fine with the over the counter drugs. But start taking them the day before you go for the full effect. Continue taking them as prescribed, even though your feeling good. If you have some queasyness at first, go to the atrium and sit or stand for awhile. It is almost dead center from side to side and top to bottom of the ship, therefore it has the least amount of motion to it. That is where crew members will tell you to go if your having a problem. There are large porthole windows there as well as a deck outside, one floor up so you can get fresh air if you want. We have been with calm and rough seas. It's just a flip of the coin which you'll have. The stabilizers work great on the ship. Most cruise lines have a shot you can opt for if you really get sick. It costs about $125.00 dollars, but I guess it really works. I have read quite a bit about it the past couple of years. It may seem spendy, but if it saves your vacation for you, it's priceless.
I'm sure you'll have a Magical cruise!!!
mom x4,grandma x4

 

[bonnielynn]

Ok I was told to get an inside cabin in the middle of the ship to avoid the motion... makes sense to see the ocean, but that is what I was told.. so I listened and bought a cat 10 for our first cruise... I am going the end of October also.. I am hoping not to get to sick.. I was thinking the patch and maybe the wrist bands.. Also gonna bring along other things just in case (can you tell I am a bit scared??)...
Should I spend the $1400 to upgrade...Will the verandah make that much difference....

 

[DL_DCA_fans]

In response to your question about your kids, we've only cruised with DCL, but our DS17 and DS15 had a great time in the teen club last summer and are looking forward to spending the majority of our upcoming cruise at The Stack (except when we make them go on excursions and have dinner with us).

 

[Hockeychic]

Thank you everyone...you have made me feel better.

I am really looking forward to this cruise.

 

[Jsme]

I have read to go with a room in the mid to lower decks and in the middle. Do the see saw effect. We normally stay in a Cat 6 room at mid ship.

 

[drizzt117]

Just to clarify on OTC medications. There are 2 main antiemetic's that are in common usage. The first is dimenhydrinate (Original Dramamine), which is quite effective but one of the main side effects is drowsiness. Who wants to be sleepy on vacation?

The other is meclizine (Dramamine II or Bonine). This is a different class from dimenhydrinate but does not make you drowsy. This would be my recommendation. I know it helps me when I scuba dive off a small 30 ft boat which really gets a rockin. However in all honesty, when I sailed on my 1st cruise, there were only one time I felt the motion of the ship and that was my last night eating in AP. Other than that, it was smooth sailing.

Thomas

 

[TheWog]

Should I spend the $1400 to upgrade...Will the verandah make that much difference....

It was worth the difference to us. We wouldn't have gone without it. Any time you feel queasy you can just step outside and get fresh air. We were midship to help minimize the effects of motion.

 

[castlegazer]

I always feel the worst inside the ship - like in the theaters, inside passage ways, etc. So I think having a view to the horizon is a good thing.

By the way, the larger the cruise ship, the more they rock, regardless of stablization systems. We were baffled by this on previous cruises because of the lack of waves while we were feeling the most movement on the Grand Princess. The Captain, actually, informed us that it was not the seas, it was wind that was causing the rocking. Ships like the Grand Princess are 16 stories high. They get buffeted by the wind and will rock back and forth. It was so bad one night we were bashing into walls back and forth in the corridors.

So, with that in mind, DCL is a smaller ship than those mammoth RCCL ships or the Grand Princess, so you will be less likely to feel the wind issues that those monster ships feel.

 

[pdarrah]

We are currently booked on Magic at the end of Oct.....can't wait.

If you are doing the Western the week of Oct 22nd, come join us on our meet thread! We're getting to know each other over there and are starting to plans meets and such. You can find us at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=648120.

pdarrah