Sea sickness medicine aboard ship

[Rebecca Pocahontas]

I was on the Wonder last year and it was super wavy/rocky onboard and they handed out sea sickness medicine. I have never had sea sickness problems before this last trip(I've been on many cruises), but this year I am going on a Princess cruise to the Meditteranean and I read that it can be a bit bumpy on parts so I want to be cautious. The medicine that they gave me worked really well and I was wondering if anyone knew the exact type or one similar to it so that I can purchase some for my upcoming cruise.

 

[MichelleCanada]

I was on the Wonder last year and it was super wavy/rocky onboard and they handed out sea sickness medicine.

I don’t suppose your cruise was out of Huston in January? We were on the Wonder and had the same experience!

 

[dvcdisney]

The first time my daughter felt uneasy was when we were going through a hurricane....we went to guest services and they offered a generic brand dramamine...we gave her half of one tablet and it really knocked her out, she felt very "cloudy" for the rest of the day.

Now I give her half a tablet of Bonine the night before our cruise (her issue usually is on the first day and she's generally fine the rest of the cruise)...I would keep the other half for when I know we have a couple of sea days and we're travelling a bit faster...

Personally, I start taking Bonine the night before and every night until the night before disembarking. I'm not sure if I'll be fine most of the time, but it's a slow acting medication so it won't help if I wait to take it when I feel sick. I can't take dramamine since it knocks me out. Bonine is the only one that prevents too much drowsiness for me.

 

[fredandkell]

Just off the Med cruise and it was really smooth all days except one (day at sea from mid-Med back to Barcelona). Clinic onboard gave my daughter 4 pills for free, not sure which they were.

 

[Geomom]

In August 2016, the Wonder had chewable Meclizine packets outside the health center. My oldest daughter (then 16) used them. Meclizine is the generic version of Bonine. Now that I know how my family reacts to cruising, I bought some Bonine on Amazon for our upcoming cruise--mainly for my oldest daughter. My younger one doesn't always do well on planes...ships were fine though, so she might get a Bonine before our overseas flight.

 

[southerngirl528]

I was on the Wonder last year and it was super wavy/rocky onboard and they handed out sea sickness medicine. I have never had sea sickness problems before this last trip(I've been on many cruises), but this year I am going on a Princess cruise to the Meditteranean and I read that it can be a bit bumpy on parts so I want to be cautious. The medicine that they gave me worked really well and I was wondering if anyone knew the exact type or one similar to it so that I can purchase some for my upcoming cruise.

I was pretty sure the medication Guest Services has was Meclizine (generic Bonine) as other PP have said, but per the quote below, I'm not as sure now...

The first time my daughter felt uneasy was when we were going through a hurricane....we went to guest services and they offered a generic brand dramamine...we gave her half of one tablet and it really knocked her out, she felt very "cloudy" for the rest of the day.

Now I give her half a tablet of Bonine the night before our cruise (her issue usually is on the first day and she's generally fine the rest of the cruise)...I would keep the other half for when I know we have a couple of sea days and we're travelling a bit faster...

Personally, I start taking Bonine the night before and every night until the night before disembarking. I'm not sure if I'll be fine most of the time, but it's a slow acting medication so it won't help if I wait to take it when I feel sick. I can't take dramamine since it knocks me out. Bonine is the only one that prevents too much drowsiness for me.

Agree with the above advice! Bonine/Meclizine has been my family's go-to for my DD since her neurologist recommended it for motion sickness when she was very young. It does not cause the the drowsiness that Dramamine does & it is longer acting too which is far more convenient IMO. Starting the medication the night before for anyone prone to motion sickness is VERY important, and KEEP taking it per instructions even if not feeling ill. My DD has really suffered with motion sickness but by doing this as well as taking homeopathic motion sickness meds has helped her to be a very good cruiser, even for a Pacific crossing.

Acupuncturists on board can place acupuncture/acupressure "seeds" that my DD has found super helpful, btw. They were very affordable, less than $50 when we were on the Wonder's Hawaii sailing.

 

[Rebecca Pocahontas]

I don’t suppose your cruise was out of Huston in January? We were on the Wonder and had the same experience!

It was actually the December of 2017 out of Houston! Snow in Houston, especially Galveston is never a good thing!

 

[dvcdisney]

I was pretty sure the medication Guest Services has was Meclizine (generic Bonine) as other PP have said, but per the quote below, I'm not as sure now...

I wish I still had it...I am positive it's not Bonine because it took only about 15 mins for her to feel better...it was potent....and that was only half the tablet. I'm glad we didn't give her the whole one.

Perhaps there was a choice...my husband went to get it and I stayed with my daughter. It's possible they asked how bad she was feeling...or did she need it to work NOW and my husband probably said yes to that...my daughter have never felt sea sick before so she didn't know what she was feeling, ignored it and kept saying she was fine. I'm glad it worked instantly because I'm sure she was going to be sick soon.

 

[southerngirl528]

I wish I still had it...I am positive it's not Bonine because it took only about 15 mins for her to feel better...it was potent....and that was only half the tablet. I'm glad we didn't give her the whole one.

Perhaps there was a choice...my husband went to get it and I stayed with my daughter. It's possible they asked how bad she was feeling...or did she need it to work NOW and my husband probably said yes to that...my daughter have never felt sea sick before so she didn't know what she was feeling, ignored it and kept saying she was fine. I'm glad it worked instantly because I'm sure she was going to be sick soon.

Hmmm. Not sure about what med then..... I know that for most folks, once they start feeling bad, it is really hard to "catch up" and feel better. That's why so many prone to motion sickness start their meds the night before the cruise. I would love to know what med as well.

 

[ArielRae]

I have a few I grabbed from outside the health center our cruise last November on the Dream. These are the ones they had outside in a bin for you grab if you need. Photo of the front and back of them. I found they didn’t work as well as the Dramamine does for me personally. I had accidentally packed it the last night so had to walk down to get something as it was rough water coming back to port.

 

[southerngirl528]

I have a few I grabbed from outside the health center our cruise last November on the Dream. These are the ones they had outside in a bin for you grab if you need. Photo of the front and back of them. I found they didn’t work as well as the Dramamine does for me personally. I had accidentally packed it the last night so had to walk down to get something as it was rough water coming back to port.

Thanks for posting that, ArielRae! I though it was Meclizine they had.

 

[dvcdisney]

I have a few I grabbed from outside the health center our cruise last November on the Dream. These are the ones they had outside in a bin for you grab if you need. Photo of the front and back of them. I found they didn’t work as well as the Dramamine does for me personally. I had accidentally packed it the last night so had to walk down to get something as it was rough water coming back to port.

View attachment 340830

These weren't the ones my husband got from GS. The packaging was in the regular plastic single tablet ones with foil on top that you can break to open. I actually put the other half back and covered it with the foil.

However, I have seen those ones as well but on subsequent cruises....one of the couples we were speaking with said she wasn't feeling well and went to the medical centre and they gave her those. I asked her if they worked and she said not yet...although we did see them a couple of days later and she seemed much better.

 

[iheartglaciers]

Side note, if you’re looking to buy the generic Bonnie (meclizine), Walmart has packs that are very cheap! I used it on a 7 night small boat tour (13 passenger small!) of the Galapagos and it worked really well!

 

[dclpluto]

Hmmm. Not sure about what med then..... I know that for most folks, once they start feeling bad, it is really hard to "catch up" and feel better. That's why so many prone to motion sickness start their meds the night before the cruise. I would love to know what med as well.

If you take a Bonine it’s not hard to catch up if your not throwing up. If you are throwing up than yes it will be hard to catch back up since you will just be throwing up the bonine

 

[NCConch]

I learned years ago from a fishing captain to start these meds before heading out. He told us to take dramamine the night before a morning trip to get it in your system. It usually has a 12-18 hour effectiveness. I then top it off in the morning with bonine since it is non drowsy. Usually on these trips my only problem is at dinner when the ship is moving and I cannot see out. At dinner I will have ginger beer and rum (it's a pirate's life for me). My wife is an international traveler and she swears by the patch. My daughter gets by with the acupressure sea bands (and has the funny tan lines to show for it) though they did not work for her when we went on a very rough fishing trip out of Hilton Head. My son has no problems with sea sickness.

 

[fdefulvio]

Dramamine All Day “Less Drowsy” has the same active ingredient as Bonine. Meclizine HCl (25 mg)

 

[dvcdisney]

I learned years ago from a fishing captain to start these meds before heading out. He told us to take dramamine the night before a morning trip to get it in your system. It usually has a 12-18 hour effectiveness. I then top it off in the morning with bonine since it is non drowsy. Usually on these trips my only problem is at dinner when the ship is moving and I cannot see out. At dinner I will have ginger beer and rum (it's a pirate's life for me). My wife is an international traveler and she swears by the patch. My daughter gets by with the acupressure sea bands (and has the funny tan lines to show for it) though they did not work for her when we went on a very rough fishing trip out of Hilton Head. My son has no problems with sea sickness.

Definitely agree that different things work for different people.

When they removed Bonamine in Canada, I had a long conversation with our pharmacist. She suggested Dramamine or ginger tablets for quick relief. Ginger tablets seem to only work if you are already feeling nauseous (so not prevention) but Dramamine (at least the ones I've tried) is almost instant...which seems great until it makes me feel drowsy and cloudy all day...and yes, I did try the non-drowsy too...I really didn't see that difference.

When I found out that they had Bonine in the US, we just go to Walmart (very cheap) and purchase a couple of packages each time we go to WDW and it works well for me. As I mentioned, I do take it the night before the cruise (I heard some people take it 2 nights before) and, although I do still feel the movement during rough sea days, it doesn't really bother me too much.

In my experience, Dramamine and ginger tablets helps when you already feel nauseous...Bonine is more preventative.

 

[dvcdisney]

Dramamine All Day “Less Drowsy” has the same active ingredient as Bonine. Meclizine HCl (25 mg)

I heard that Dramamine All Day was similar to Bonine, but I've yet to try it since I'm fine with Bonine for now.

 

[southerngirl528]

If you take a Bonine it’s not hard to catch up if your not throwing up. If you are throwing up than yes it will be hard to catch back up since you will just be throwing up the bonine

I'm happy to know that is your experience (or a loved one of yours), but having raised a child that has had extremely bad motion sickness since she was very small, that is not her experience. We could not even drive an hour on a turnpike with no real curves without her tossing her cookies. It was awful. She has really struggled with motion sickness her entire life, she is a young adult now, and when she has accompanied me on flights and/or and especially cruises, we have to get all "Rambo" in advance to keep her from getting ill.

Once she gets more than a little nauseous with motion sickness, she finds it very difficult to catch up and get back to "normal", even when she has not yet thrown up. For her at least, it is much like with her migraines: if you don't address it the minute it starts, you are in for hours of misery. On the Hawaii sailing, crossing the Pacific she did well until the last 2 days coming back to the mainland, where the Pacific current is very pronounced and causes the ship to "roll" which is the WORST for motion sickness sufferers. She still got very ill, even with Meclizine/Bonine onboard since pre-cruise, homeopathic tabs for motion sickness, the wrist bands for acupressure, and the acupuncture "seeds".

As mentioned earlier, ever since her pediatric neurologist recommended Bonine for her when she was little, that has been her "go-to" and for the most part, when taken in advance and continued through the trip, works pretty well for her.