Sea Sick...yuk!

[Alic]

Hi,
I've never been on a cruise because I get sea sick. What do you think my chances of this on a big cruise ship will be? Any good advice for remedies?

 

[wenabre]

The size of the ship and use of the stabilizers on the ship help, but the gulf stream can be a real pain as it does tend to get quite 'wavey'. I found when we did the western cruise the motion of the ship in the first day was less as we hugged the shore to Key West. I also found the use of Bonamine ( the one a day pill) was a great help and I used a trick my Navy Husband used to do-I started taking the pills several days before the cruise. Unfortunately my cast iron stomach of my youth has gone by the way-side, like a few other things.... but usually after two to three days I no longer need the pills. Hope this helps
Wenabre

 

[videogal1]

Bonine has been recommended. Years ago I got the 3-day patch (Scopalomine) with side-effects only when I tried to stretch its use an extra day....

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Here's a recent thread, "Sea Sickness," on this board:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=492664

 

[wenabre]

Good idea Videogal, I forgot to mention the patch as I am allergic to 99% of medical adhesives, so I never think to mention them.
Also check with your Doctor, there are new meds coming out all the time.
Wenabre

 

[Alic]

Thanks for the info!

 

[currycook]

Some in my family have the same trouble but we never noticed any problems on such a large ship. I really wouldnt worry.

 

[swclark]

Bonine is the way to go.. one pill/day and no sleepiness. I am prone to motion sickness, too, and the only time I felt anything was the first night - and didnt' make me ill. I took the bonine every morning while on the cruise (and the day I got on) and was fine the whole time (on both the 4 day and the 7 day cruise)

 

[nowellsl]

I made the mistake of thinking that it wouldn't bother me because it was a big ship and I had been on smaller boats plenty of time with no problem. We hit rough seas our first night out of port and practically the whole ship was sick!!! The second cruise I used the patch the whole time!! It worked great.

 

[jrabbit]

Be sure to try out any sea sickness medications BEFORE leaving for the cruise. You may need time to find what medicine will work for you with out nasty side effects (putting you to sleep for the duration of the cruise I would consider a nasty side effect). There are other side effects too.

Me and my dramimine work just fine together. When we just go on a cruise I start taking the meds a day or two before (need it for flying too). If we go to WDW first I'm already taking the meds because I need them for a lot of the rides (especially the circle vision and 3-d movies). I usually don't take the meds for the entire cruise, because at some point I will forget and am feeling fine (the exception being doing excursions on boats (unlike the Ship) make me very sick - gotta take a double dose of the meds to keep it under control)

 

[MerryPoppins]

DD is almost 13 and tends to have a weak tummy. The night before Castaway Cay, on our last cruise, we had rough seas and she got very ill. We gave her Bonine and she got better right away, but slept most of the next day.

Do you think I should put her on something before our March cruise? And what should I experiment with? I don't want her to be so sleepy that we miss out on things again.

 

[Alic]

Great info...keep it coming!

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by swclark
Bonine is the way to go.. one pill/day and no sleepiness. I am prone to motion sickness, too, and the only time I felt anything was the first night - and didnt' make me ill. I took the bonine every morning while on the cruise (and the day I got on) and was fine the whole time (on both the 4 day and the 7 day cruise)

I remember being sick on my first cruise...Once it starts you cannot escape it. Prepare early. This year I've got 2 cruises booked...I'll skip the patch, I think (latex allergy and other drug interactions...urp) but I will start Bonine a few days before the first cruise...I wanna enjoy that verandah, not mop it...

 

[LargoLori]

I was very concerned about this with my first cruise. I took one Bonine every day. I think it was the non-drowsy formula. I never got sick and we had some pretty high seas. I could feel the rocking of the ship but it did not bother me.


Lori

 

[glindamood]

My DH always said he would never cruise because he has problems with motion sickness (he always has to drive, never rides anything that goes in circles, taked pills to fly etc) but I must have hit him at a weak moment in 2000 because I got him to go on the Magic - and we have been on 3 cruises since and another booked in September! He takes Bonine and swears by it. If you are considering the Eastern, be sure to take one the day you board and on Thursday as those are the days you cross the Gulf Stream (or whatever it is called) and that can be "wavey".

 

[MerryPoppins]

Thursday night is the night my DD ran into trouble on the Eastern! Interesting. I wonder what days you need to be most concerned on the Western?

 

[DVC4US]

MerryPoppins,

I am just guessing here but I think it would be the same. The day you board and Thursday. I think for the Western the day you board is a little easier because you hug the coastline more to pull into Key West. But Thursday would be same because you have to cross over the jet stream to go from the Gulf to the Atlantic.

LeiLani

 

[FanofDis]

Is the Bonine a pill?

 

[DVC4US]

Yes, Bonine is a pill. Although last year for our cruise the ones I found were chewable which worked better for us anyway with our DD. But, I have seen people post here on the board that there is an actual pill. The actual drug name for bonine is meclizine so you might be able to find it that way also.

LeiLani

 

[av01bps]

We have DD 6 and DD 8 (47lbs and 78 lbs) each- any suggestions? Our pediatrician said benadryl every 6-8 hours.
Amy