When should I start taking the Bonine/ how often?

JJsmama

WDW addict
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Oct 28, 2003
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I tend to get seasick very easily and am always aware of the motion of the shi, even in port. Last cruise I used the patch but this time I am going with Bonine. I do tend to become sleepy from meds, so I am hoping to take it before bed, but will it really last all day the next day?

Before we board the ship the first day(probably 1:00) should I take the Bonine the night before or just that morning?
 
For all my cruises I take Bonine the night before the cruise and every night on the cruise. I too get sleepy from them. I've not had any sea sickness doing it that way. :-)
 
Nobody in my family has ever been sea sick.

That being said, my pediatrician recommended Bonine because it was an "AS NEEDED" motion sickness pill-not one you had to have in your system ahead of time like dramamine. It also causes less drowsiness. (I have given it to my son in the car)
 
I am a Bonine fan and take it faithfully when cruising and before I fly.

I take mine at night before bed because I get a little sleepy from it too. It does last all the next day for me. Taking 1/2 tab at night is enough for me to take the edge off. You might want to start by taking 1/2 tab and see if that is enough to help you. I'd take it the night before you get on the ship so you start with it in your system.

After you are on the ship, if you feel like it isn't lasting all the next day, take a 1/2 tab around lunchtime. Bonine is scored so it's fairly easy to split in half. The recommended daily dosage is 1-2 tabs so if you took a whole tab at night and 1/2 tab you won't be overdosing--and hopefully you won't be as tired.
 
DW is also prone to motion sickness - and also feels the motion once she's off the pier. She can get queasy:sick: on the floating dock leading to our own boat:sad1:
She takes it (Bonine) in the morning before we board, and once each morning. She's never had an issue following this regimen, including on the EBTA for 14 days.

She says it does not make her sleepy, and she is also able to enjoy alcoholic beverages, unlike with Dramamine.

There is a generic available at some chain pharmacies and WalMart, about 60% of the cost of the branded, and she uses that successfully.

Good luck, and enjoy your cruise!
 
I also get seasick. My last cruise I started the day before and kept taking it at the same time each day and I never felt sick at all. It was GREAT. I could kick myself for not using it sooner!
 
Does anyone know if it's true that people are more prone to feeling sick on the first leg of the trip because the waters are more rough in the beginning??
 
My son and I always take Bonine just before the safety driill to give it time to kick-in before we sail. But after the first day, we're good to go - or else we've just been lucky. We tend to feel the movement of the ship more when we cross the straits in the Atlantic (like on the way to the Bahamas). When we sailed the Med, the Baltic, and in Alaska, we didn't feel the ship at all - much calmer seas, I suppose.
 
We have actually taken Bonine after seasick symptoms start, laid down for half an hour and boom, symptoms gone. So you do not have to have it in your system ahead of time.

I use it regularly on bus excursions too for motion sickness also. It never makes me drowsiness like Dramamine did.
 
Bonine is not drowsy like dramamine. My brother is an MD, he had us take it at bedtime and I started the day before we flew in... flew day before cruise... so took it that night at hotel, and then everynight on cruise, not one bit of sea sickness or tiredness. :thumbsup2
 
I don't know if I or my family will be seasick, as it's our first cruise.

I sometimes get sick if I'm in the backseat of a car and I can't take spinning rides at carnivals....

Should someone take it as a precaution?:confused3
 
I don't know if I or my family will be seasick, as it's our first cruise.

I sometimes get sick if I'm in the backseat of a car and I can't take spinning rides at carnivals....

Should someone take it as a precaution?:confused3

In my opinion, I would just in case.
 
Does anyone know if it's true that people are more prone to feeling sick on the first leg of the trip because the waters are more rough in the beginning??


From our experience there does tend to be more rocky waters going out and coming in to Port Canaveral. With this said...we have had rough waters in many different other places, too. On our last cruise...the waters in the Eastern Caribbean were rocking! It just all depends. My crew is going to feel sick...no matter what...it's just the way we are! We are fans of Bonine...and the Walmart Generic of Bonine!


Also...our last cruise was extremely rocky one night...and we all had to take an additional Bonine! It worked! Bonine does tend to take affect within 30-45 minutes...


princess: Crystal
 
Does anyone know if it's true that people are more prone to feeling sick on the first leg of the trip because the waters are more rough in the beginning??

Yes, it's true, as you hit the Gulf Stream, which is kind of like a whitewater river moving through the ocean.
Plus, you're still getting your sea legs (your inner ear is adjusting to the movement)
So take the Bonine BEFORE you board:thumbsup2
 
Should someone take it as a precaution?:confused3

I do for every cruise; one tablet each morning. My (adult) DD will be coming with me on the Dream in just a few days (yay!) ~ her first ever cruise ~ and she will also take it starting the day before we board. I get a bottle of the generic Meclizine from my pharmacy - no drowsiness from this at all. I would much rather prevent any seasickness than try to 'cure' it if happens!
 
I start taking it two days before the cruise and continue 2-3 days after getting off the ship. It helps to prevent that land leg adjustment that can happen. One time I forgot to and the swaying was worse than it had been on the ship!
 
I don't know if I or my family will be seasick, as it's our first cruise.

I sometimes get sick if I'm in the backseat of a car and I can't take spinning rides at carnivals....

Should someone take it as a precaution?:confused3

Definitely! Sounds all too familiar...
 
My first cruise I was sick the whole time, but I was pregnant.
My second cruise I took Bonine at bedtime starting the night before and I was never sick.
My last cruise, I took Bonine at bedtime and every 6 hours and still vomited three different days. The seas were VERY rough. We did Eastern Caribbean and once we got closer to the Bahamas I didn't have any trouble. But I still had a fabulous time and booked another cruise while on board!! I just look green in some of our photos. :rotfl:
 
My first cruise I was sick the whole time, but I was pregnant.
My second cruise I took Bonine at bedtime starting the night before and I was never sick.
My last cruise, I took Bonine at bedtime and every 6 hours and still vomited three different days. The seas were VERY rough. We did Eastern Caribbean and once we got closer to the Bahamas I didn't have any trouble. But I still had a fabulous time and booked another cruise while on board!! I just look green in some of our photos. :rotfl:

Totally relate (also to the pregnancy sickness!) My husband just cannot understand why I want to cruise again after the first cruise when I was sooo seasick the first night.
 
I don't know if I or my family will be seasick, as it's our first cruise.

I sometimes get sick if I'm in the backseat of a car and I can't take spinning rides at carnivals....

Should someone take it as a precaution?:confused3

:thumbsup2 It was our first cruise in Oct of last year too. And there were 7 of us. We ALL took one chewable Bonine on Saturday morning before arriving at the port, and that's all we needed. I have 3 in our family that get carsick or motion sickness from rides so we just made sure we ALL took it. And not one of us got seasick. We had a rough few days at sea the first couple of days, and yet, none of us got sick. Loved it:lovestruc and will use it again! And we didn't get sleepy either! Good Luck!
 

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