Sea safe lotion necessary?

[Oursweetworld]

We will be cruising at the end of March on the Fantasy to the Western Caribbean and stopping at Castaway Cay, Grand Caymen & Cozumel? At all 3 of these locations we plan on doing water activities. Has anyone had any problems with jelly fish stings in the Caribbean waters? Was going to purchase SeaSafe lotion- is that necessary? Thanks for advice.

 

[taishartrueblood]

Been too all locations, never so much as saw a jellyfish.

The jelly fish is transparent, and is difficult to spot, especially when you are swimming. They have no brain and usually they are floating around in search of food, and their venom is intended to immobilize their prey. Their tentacles, are the part with the toxin, and when you accidentally brush past them you can get stung. Jellyfish are in profusion in certain seasons. In the months from March to June in the Caribbean region, the number of jellyfish is supposed to be at the highest. Even at such times the experts say, that the chance of you getting stung would be one in five thousand

.


Read more: http://www.jellyfishfacts.net/jellyfish-in-caribbean.html#ixzz41D2QfGiO

 

[Tasmen]

I bought lotion for our February cruise and ended up forgetting to use it. We didn't even need it.

 

[ahain]

We've been on 4 Bahamian/Caribbean cruises on DCL and swam on every cruise. We bought SeaSafe lotion after seeing posts about issues with "sea lice" at CC and used it for our 2nd cruise. We have not had any issues with rashes/stings with or without the lotion. I'm leaving it home this cruise.

 

[bumbershoot]

Been too all locations, never so much as saw a jellyfish.

Seasafe is for "sea lice", which are *larval* jellyfish. You wouldn't see them.


That said, we've never been bothered by any stings, and have never used seasafe.

 

[mjfisherdc]

My friend was on the January 30th Wonder Southern Caribbean Cruise and her youngest got Sea Lice. The rest of them were fine. One of our table mates got it at St. Thomas when we went in Sept 2014.

 

[sambycat]

I read a lot about it on here, but we've been on 8 Caribbean/Bahamian cruises and have never had an issue. Nor have I heard it from anyone I know personally who cruises. YMMV.

 

[mevelandry]

Better be safe than sorry. I always use it.

 

[princessmommyx3]

We have never encountered sea lice, but in November my daughter was badly stung by a jellyfish on a beach in Grand Cayman. We had chartered a private boat and the crew had a big jug of vinegar which did not work at all. Then they pulled out a packet of green gooey stuff called wipe away sting and it worked very well and very fast. We never saw the jellyfish (I was right next to her when it happened) but she had red lines on her legs that were obviously the marks from the tentacles. I will always take some packets of that stuff with me from now on. You can read more about it here (it is towards the end of the post, so just keep scrolling down if you don't want to read the review of the excursion):

http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/grand-cayman-take-2/

All things considered, I think encounters with jellyfish are rare. this was our 6th caribbean/bahamas cruise and the first time we have encountered jellyfish.

 

[Tink1010]

My son got stung by Jelly Fish on a previous vacation so I bought it for my Disney Dream cruise this past August.

We used the sea life and we had no problems. It could be a coincidence or the lotion worked. I felt better knowing we had it on us.

 

[peterpanstout]

We had a problem with sea lice on CC. I think the trick is to stay away from the sea grass.

 

[cdoc29]

Many people do not even realize they were affected by sea lice. It generally causes a rash in the crevices where skin folds together (armpits and groin) and where your bathing suit is taut against the skin. It is a simple to use lotion and my thoughts are why risk it. My family used it on our last trip and were fine. Others in our group I know who did not use it wound up with mild rashes in those places. I think of it like sunscreen, why risk a sunburn or rash when an easy preventable remedy is available. The key to sea safe lotion is buy it before you cruise, the ship sells it for astronomical prices.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We frequent Cozumel and have been to Castaway Cay numerous times. . Much of it depends on the weather. A storm called a Norte (cold windy front) can bring them into Cozumel as can warmer weather. They aren't in the Caribbean at all times. It is unpredictable. Yes, I have been stung by the ones you can't see. I say it wouldn't hurt to take it if you are concerned.

 

[Oursweetworld]

Thank you all for your quick responses. I did purchase 4 (4oz) bottles from amazon for our party of 8. Agreed that it is better to be safe than sorry. Glad to hear most of you did not have a problem with it though.

 

[Oursweetworld]

Many people do not even realize they were affected by sea lice. It generally causes a rash in the crevices where skin folds together (armpits and groin) and where your bathing suit is taut against the skin. It is a simple to use lotion and my thoughts are why risk it. My family used it on our last trip and were fine. Others in our group I know who did not use it wound up with mild rashes in those places. I think of it like sunscreen, why risk a sunburn or rash when an easy preventable remedy is available. The key to sea safe lotion is buy it before you cruise, the ship sells it for astronomical prices.

Do you need to apply to whole body or just to crevices where skin folds and bathsuit is against skin?

 

[cdoc29]

Do you need to apply to whole body or just to crevices where skin folds and bathsuit is against skin?

We applied applied mainly in the crevices but tried to cover the whole body. The others in our party developed the rashes around their waist and in the crevices where waters becomes trapped. hope this helps

 

[princesspiglet]

We take it with us anytime we are in sea water. We use it like sunscreen (because it does have sunscreen in it) and are covered for both.

 

[OKW Lover]

After 14 DCL cruises, and a few others, I've never ever had a problem with "sea lice".

 

[LizGirl]

FWIW - I grew up in South Florida where sea lice are seasonally very common. It is not guaranteed, but if you rinse between your swimsuit and body with the fresh water shower immediately after swimming, you reduce your chance of developing a rash. The little buggers get trapped between your suit and skin (or in skin folds) and irritate the skin. I don't remember hearing of sea lice rashes on exposed areas like arms or legs.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I lived in Key West and Boca Raton for over half of my life, and was in the Bahamas and Caribbean often. I have never once used a lotion, and I have never once had sea lice. I agree with the fresh water shower statement posted above.