Eastern Caribbean: Jellyfish, sea lice, and other bitey things..?

[kittyplum]

I'm going to be going on my first cruise ever on the Oasis in June. I am not entirely sure what to expect, but I've been trying to be really prepared.

 

What should I expect in terms of 'creatures that like to bite/sting'? Should I be bringing lots and lots of repellant type products? If so, I'd love some recommendations! I am from Alaska so I don't really know much about this kind of thing.

 

Thank you!

[Cigar King]

I never bring anything, and don't think I have even been bit. Haven't seen a jelly fish though.

[kittyplum]

I never bring anything, and don't think I have even been bit. Haven't seen a jelly fish though.

 

Thanks for your answer! Things tend to love to bite me, so hopefully this won't be the case. But then again, I might burst into flames from the heat alone so we'll see. :D

[reney313]

I wouldn't be overly concerned, but I generally pack a small travel size bug repellant and keep it in my beach bag....just in case. I did use it in St. Maarten last vacation. The only place I routinely see jelly fish are on Coco Cay, but I have never been stung. It is unlikely and if, by chance, you do get stung, the medical staff will have cream to use. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about moose and bears on the islands ;)

 

You might want to make sure to have a lot of sunscreen though! Enjoy your first Caribbean Cruise! Oasis class is fantastic!

[kittyplum]

I wouldn't be overly concerned, but I generally pack a small travel size bug repellant and keep it in my beach bag....just in case. I did use it in St. Maarten last vacation. The only place I routinely see jelly fish are on Coco Cay, but I have never been stung. It is unlikely and if, by chance, you do get stung, the medical staff will have cream to use. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about moose and bears on the islands ;)

 

You might want to make sure to have a lot of sunscreen though! Enjoy your first Caribbean Cruise! Oasis class is fantastic!

 

Bug repellent it is! And don't worry, I'm looking for the strongest sunscreen I can possibly find since I'm well aware that the sun actually exists outside of Alaska. :P

 

Thanks for your answer! I'm so glad that it doesn't seem to be a huge issue. :)

[marci22]

Bring water shoes. Sometimes the beaches are rocky and other times there may be creatures on the bottom.

 

One year there was a sea urchin warning: several people had stepped on them and gotten minor injuries. Everyone was posting 'oh you ALWAYS have to bring water shoes!' like everyone knew sea urchins were a problem.

[SheilaSailAway]

Hello and congrats on starting your cruising addiction, hehehe :D

Oasis is a wonderful ship and I hope you have a very memorable cruise!

 

Target stores have several travel sized items and high level sunscreen

is one of them. It's handy to have one or two during the cruise.

 

Also, in the gardening section, they carry an organic or natural bug repellent spray that smells pleasant enough and was easy to toss into beach bag, as well.

(not gonna lie, I did spray the sand around my chair, I loathe buggy, bitey things!:eek:) lol

Finally, at Home Depot they have bed bug spray, we never leave home for travel without it and sometimes you can even find it in a travel size. We spray our luggage, too.

 

It might sound obsessive, but whilst some folks didn't plan ahead and are scratchy-scratching...I will be on the beach enjoying my creepy-crawly-free vacation..haha

 

Cheers and Happy Sails!:)

[mo&fran]

Sea lice and jellyfish line in the ocean water, bug repellant won't do any good agains them. Sea lice are in the water that time of the year and you cannot see them, and the recommendation is to shower after going in the water, especially your swim ware. Jellyfish you can see , try to avoid

contact. Jelyfish can end up on the beach, stil void contact.

[BecciBoo]

Hey Sheila:D

 

I don't usually use it, but I was bitten or invaded:eek: by sand fleas for the first time on any cruise in St Thomas at Lindquist beach. And it wasn't pleasant! SIL had over 70 bites and they last (itching insanely) for months. So better safe than sorry. I still have little bumpy scars on my legs from these critters after 2 years:eek::eek: Bullfrogs is a bug repellant and a sun screen.

 

So take the bug juice and use it if you're going near a beach. These things were in the same proximity as the grape trees and mangroves.

[George C]

Bring water shoes. Sometimes the beaches are rocky and other times there may be creatures on the bottom.

 

One year there was a sea urchin warning: several people had stepped on them and gotten minor injuries. Everyone was posting 'oh you ALWAYS have to bring water shoes!' like everyone knew sea urchins were a problem.

 

I agree aqua shoes are great, did get stung by jelly fish some 30 years ago in Bermuda, have seen them in Ladebee, doing 57 cruise in 6 days

[GinLovesToCruise]

I hear cactus juice (from the health food store) is great for the sand fleas and such. If you get in the water you have to reapply. That and deet bug spray.

 

 

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[Aviator of the Seas]

You don't have to worry about jelly fish in the northeastern Caribbean until around September (or when the ocean starts to cool off again). They become a pest for about a month then they go away.

[Nikmav]

Not sure if this applies but my daughter was stung by a bee in St. Kitts while digging her sand castle this past week. The bee was in the sand. Maybe had a burrow there? Anyway...ice and some aloe helped but i wish I had brought some benadryl with us to help with the swelling. I am sure we could have gotten some from the ship's medical facility but she toughed it out.

[beautiful.thing]

2 friends got stung by jellyfish 2 weeks ago on Cococay. The teen ended up in the ER upon return to Miami due to an allergic reaction to it. :(

 

We were there a few days prior and didn't see any.

[SheilaSailAway]

Sea lice and jellyfish line in the ocean water, bug repellant won't do any good agains them. Sea lice are in the water that time of the year and you cannot see them, and the recommendation is to shower after going in the water, especially your swim ware. Jellyfish you can see , try to avoid

contact. Jelyfish can end up on the beach, stil void contact.

Oh my gosh, that just icks me out, thank you for that info.

Hey Sheila:D

 

I don't usually use it, but I was bitten or invaded:eek: by sand fleas for the first time on any cruise in St Thomas at Lindquist beach. And it wasn't pleasant! SIL had over 70 bites and they last (itching insanely) for months. So better safe than sorry. I still have little bumpy scars on my legs from these critters after 2 years:eek::eek: Bullfrogs is a bug repellant and a sun screen.

 

So take the bug juice and use it if you're going near a beach. These things were in the same proximity as the grape trees and mangroves.

Hi Becci!

Great to see ya on here!

Wow, you really got bitten. Thank for Bullfrog suggestion.

I will look for it at Target or Walgreen's I guess.

[Raenstoirm]

I got stung pretty bad a few years ago by a jelly fish (at least I assume it was a jellyfish, never did see the critter). I was snorkeling in St Lucia and I dove down to get a better view of something or other and then let myself float up without looking up. I came up under him and he didn't appreciate it. I had an awesome "burn" a few inches across my back. It hurt, but you deal with it. Outside of looking where I was going, there isn't anything that could prevent that type of thing.

[GinLovesToCruise]

I cary an Epi-Pen with me at ALL times, but I tend to be allergic to a lot of things. But a doctor told me one time and it has been confirmed by several other since, to always travel with Benadryl and Zantac-150 (or Pepcid). Taken TOGETHER will greatly reduce the effects of an allergic reaction. One blocks the H-1 (H=histamine) reactors and the others blocks H-2 reactors. Giving a double hit to to the reaction. Not sure about this dosage for children, but adults can take 1-2 (25mg) Benadryl every 4-6 hours and the Zantac every 6 hours. Should ask your doctor.... But EVERYONE should travel with Benadryl and Zantac just in case. And no need for a prescription for either. I take this pretty seriously, my first really severe allergic reaction happened on a cruise... Spent part of the cruise in the infirmary and the rest in my room sleeping off the Benadryl. Very thankful it was the last couple of days of the trip and not the beginning!!!!

 

 

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[link99]

Be sure to use the bug spray. Chikungunya is on the radar now because it has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere— the Caribbean to be precise. In December 2013, the CDC announced that cases—many cases—had been identified. in St Maarten, Guadeloupe, and the British Virgin Islands. A Mosquito born Virus worse then Dengue Fever.

 

 

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[cayennered]

Hey Sheila:D

 

I don't usually use it, but I was bitten or invaded:eek: by sand fleas for the first time on any cruise in St Thomas at Lindquist beach. And it wasn't pleasant! SIL had over 70 bites and they last (itching insanely) for months. So better safe than sorry. I still have little bumpy scars on my legs from these critters after 2 years:eek::eek: Bullfrogs is a bug repellant and a sun screen.

 

So take the bug juice and use it if you're going near a beach. These things were in the same proximity as the grape trees and mangroves.

 

Yes, bring bug spray if the bugs like to bite you. I'm one of those people who the bugs love, and I did have a problem while vacationing in St Thomas. Our hotel was on the beach, and the bug bites were nasty!

[Coralc]

No see ums. Florida, San Juan, St. Kitts, Outer Banks. Bring bug spray and spray your feet and lower legs. And no, they aren't sand fleas...because I wasn't even on the sand...I'm not really a beach person. But no see ums (biting midges) in tropical areas just love me. :eek:

 

http://s190.photobucket.com/user/plhunt2/media/005.jpg.html

 

These are my feet when we spent 5 days in Florida, Melbourne Beach. I forgot to spray my feet. The next day, I forgot to spray the back of my legs, and we sat at an outdoor bar, and I sat on them, and they bit me all over the back of my thighs and a few more on my lower legs. The bites take a while to show up, but they last for weeks and they do scar.

 

And the reason they are called no see ums, is that they are the size of a period......at the end of a sentence.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Coralc

[SheilaSailAway]

No see ums. Florida, San Juan, St. Kitts, Outer Banks. Bring bug spray and spray your feet and lower legs. And no, they aren't sand fleas...because I wasn't even on the sand...I'm not really a beach person. But no see ums (biting midges) in tropical areas just love me. :eek:

 

http://s190.photobucket.com/user/plhunt2/media/005.jpg.html

 

These are my feet when we spent 5 days in Florida, Melbourne Beach. I forgot to spray my feet. The next day, I forgot to spray the back of my legs, and we sat at an outdoor bar, and I sat on them, and they bit me all over the back of my thighs and a few more on my lower legs. The bites take a while to show up, but they last for weeks and they do scar.

 

And the reason they are called no see ums, is that they are the size of a period......at the end of a sentence.

Oh my word, Coral!

Your feet were so bitten and swollen, I am sorry that happened to you.

Thanks for sharing your pic.

[jmrothermel]

My family and I got many sand flea bites while we were in the DR. I never thought to bring a repellant, I will for my upcoming cruise just in case now :)

 

 

~Jacqui~ Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[meggie711]

Have never ever heard of sea lice until this post! Wow!

The only insects I've ever encountered around the sea are sand gnats. Not sure if they're the same as any of these other pests or not, but I'll be researching! Now I'm itchy.. lol

[Underwatr]

I got some sea lice bites on my hands snorkeling in Bonaire a few years ago. Luckily I was wearing a T-shirt to ward off the sun or they might have stung more of me.

 

There's a product called After Bite which is basically ammonia in a ballpoint dispenser (like a Tide Pen except loaded with ammonia). The ammonia helps neutralize and relieve the itching associated with insect bites as well as sea lice and jellyfish stings (sort of like that certain "natural" remedy).