Sea sickness

[cruizze12]

Hi. I'm going on a cruise for the first time. Problem is, I have severe motion sickness:(

Any insight on what works best so I can enjoy the vacation I've always dreamed about?

[BeagleOne]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

You will get a LOT of suggestions here. MY suggestion would be to make a list of them, and talk to your doctor. If you are on any medications or have any health conditions, that may restrict your options. You might not get seasick at all, but OTOH, it is easier to prevent seasickness than to treat it.

 

I will report what works well for me, and for others, but which also has some side effects in some people. I use the scopolamine patch, which sticks to the skin behind the ear. It works great for me and I have no side effects from it. It is prescription-only in the U.S. and if you and your doctor decide it is an option for you, be sure to get a few more than you think you will need. It is supposed to last three days; on me, it works for seven. BUT it can sometimes wash off or be sweated off. So you should get a couple extra.

 

Others will report other experiences with the patch.

 

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a great trip!

Edited March 24, 2014 by BeagleOne

[wassup4565]

In my experience, motion sickness is very specific. That is, you may get sick in a car, but not on a bus, for example. My husband has a big problem with motion sickness on very small vessels - catamarans for example. He had no problem at all on our recent cruise on the Legend, when the ship was bucking and rolling through the Windward passage for two days.

 

Here's my advice. Bring the patches, and the Gravol (or dramamine or whatever they call it where you live). Bring some ginger candies. At the fist sign of queasiness, get outside fast and focus on the horizon. If that doesn't help within 10 minutes, take the pill and suck the ginger candies. If the problem recurs, stick on the patches.

 

It's different for everybody. You have to find what works for you. And you may not have a problem at all.

[JanineM]

In my experience, motion sickness is very specific. That is, you may get sick in a car, but not on a bus, for example. My husband has a big problem with motion sickness on very small vessels - catamarans for example. He had no problem at all on our recent cruise on the Legend, when the ship was bucking and rolling through the Windward passage for two days.

 

Here's my advice. Bring the patches, and the Gravol (or dramamine or whatever they call it where you live). Bring some ginger candies. At the fist sign of queasiness, get outside fast and focus on the horizon. If that doesn't help within 10 minutes, take the pill and suck the ginger candies. If the problem recurs, stick on the patches.

 

Not really true.

 

Most of us with severe motion sickness know that we'll get sick --- and if there is anywhere you're going to get sick, it's a ship in rough seas. Even in not rough seas!

 

The first response is the best. Speak to your doctor. Some common cures, like ginger, aren't good if you take certain medications. Other things, like the scopolomine patch, work for some but not others.

 

Whatever you choose, if you have a real motion sickness problem you have to start your treatment before you get on the ship. When I wear the patch, which generally works well for me, I put it on the morning before we get on the ship. When I use Bonine (the generic drug is meclizine) I start taking 1/2 pill the night before the cruise.

 

Good luck! We didn't sail for a decade because I was afraid of getting sick. Once we found the right medication, we became cruiseaholics!

[Cruisin' Chick]

As the others have said, what works for one person might not work for you. So it's a good idea to ask your doctor for suggestions (a must if you are on prescriptions or have certain medical conditions). Try out a few different remedies ahead of your cruise to see if you get any side effects.

 

I'm the type who gets drowsy even with medications that claim not to make one drowsy. I finally tried ginger and am sticking with that as long as it's safe and works for me (candied ginger is available at just about any grocery store and there's other forms of ginger too). My mother got the patch for her one cruise and said it worked -- and she gets motion sickness at the turn of a bus key.

[cruizze12]

Thank you everyone for your helpful insight. I'm praying I do ok. I'm not on any prescriptions and I'm in good health. My brother swears by sea bands. I probably will have a whole array of remedies just in case. I'm so excited that I'm not letting that ruin my trip! (I hope).

[wassup4565]

Thank you everyone for your helpful insight. I'm praying I do ok. I'm not on any prescriptions and I'm in good health. My brother swears by sea bands. I probably will have a whole array of remedies just in case. I'm so excited that I'm not letting that ruin my trip! (I hope).

Great attitude! Bring all the stuff (the pills, the wristbands, the ginger, the patches) and see how it goes for you. You may have no problem at all ( like my hubby).

 

But I will say this: if you start feeling the least bit queasy, don't be a big hero. Start trying those remedies one at a time.

 

And BTW for those advising to consult a doctor, yes my hubby did that. The best the doc could suggest was bringing the pills, and maybe taking a half instead of a whole one.

[Debbie166]

While on our first cruise in November on the EnOS, my niece, who gets motion sickness if in a car too long, did pretty well with Bonine (so glad I thought ahead and brought some) except for one night. This was a night where water was sloshing out of the pools a little and just when you were walking a straight line the waves of the ocean decided to change your route. :) There were many people that night that had to put patches on. Most of these people had not had problems in the past or needed to take anything. This time my sister is going to get my niece the patches and I am still going to bring the Bonine. :D

[saltypeer]

While on our first cruise in November on the EnOS, my niece, who gets motion sickness if in a car too long, did pretty well with Bonine (so glad I thought ahead and brought some) except for one night. This was a night where water was sloshing out of the pools a little and just when you were walking a straight line the waves of the ocean decided to change your route. :) There were many people that night that had to put patches on. Most of these people had not had problems in the past or needed to take anything. This time my sister is going to get my niece the patches and I am still going to bring the Bonine. :D

 

Another vote for Bonine. My partner swears by them. Raspberry flavoured chewy tablet bought either online in boxes of 6 (i think) or purchased in US prior to boarding.

 

Pete

[freedom750]

My sister went on a her first cruise 7 years ago. She got so seasick she said she would never go on another one. The next year I asked her and DH to come on my bday cruise with me and DW. Very reluctantly she agreed. She did fine and now after several cruises together she has never been sick again. Go figure.

[lattelady]

It's been 25 years so it might be better but the patch gave me double vision. I removed it and did fine until the last night of our cruise when we were in rough seas. Not pretty and it scared me off from cruising for quite a while.

 

Next time out I used sea bands and Dramamine.

 

Last month I used sea bands and the medication they gave out on the ship. I can't recall the name but it did have "vert" in the name and is used to treat vertigo. It worked well and didn't make me drowsy.

 

 

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[chengkp75]

As others have said, motion sickness is very individualistic. Me, after 40 years at sea, all I need to do is see the horizon, and I'm good to go. Motion sickness is caused when your eyes tell your brain one thing (I'm not moving in relation to the room), and your inner ear tells it something else (we're definitely going up and down). So if you can get your eyes to see motion, it helps.

 

Since I don't use medications, I can't recommend one, but I will pass on a warning about one. The patch. If you get the dizziness, blurry vision, and lightheadedness, or even the hallucinations from the patch, DON'T cut it in half like you would a pill. The scopalomine will leak out the cut edge, and make your dose worse. Take a small bandaid, place it behind your ear, and then overlap the scop patch over the bandaid. This will prevent half of the dosage from reaching your skin and being absorbed.

 

And cruise ship motion is really not that much most of the time.

[smeyer418]

ships today are built to be pretty steady. But any ship will have some motion especially when the sea is rough. The closer you get to the center of the ship the less motion there will be. So a centrally located cabin in a mid deck will rock less then a higher or lower cabin, front or rear. The up and down motion of a ship is generally predicated on the roughness of the water(large waves). The side rolling can be dampened by stabilizers and gyroscopes. Some people get sick when the ship is steady and others don't get sick when the ship is rocking and rolling. Only you can find our which you are...

good luck. Ginger and other home remedies sometimes work too...

[jovifan78]

Sea bands do work I can tell you that much! They aren't the most fashionable things but they get the job done. lol :) I tend to get car sick sometimes and they worked wonders for me.