Shore Excursion sea sickness?

[somedudehere]

Hey all, going on my first cruise in as long as I can remember on June 9th sailing Splendor for 8 days to Eastern Caribbean, stopping in Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. I was looking at booking shore excursions such as snorkeling but was worried since I'm easily prone to getting sea sick. How are the waters around those ports in mid June? Has anyone who has booked any of the snorkeling excursions where you take a short boat ride out can chime in on how the ocean conditions are? Thanks!

[volmoma]

Can't answer that question, but we are prone for sea sickness also.. We take 2 bonine the night before we embark and 2 every night there after. Been on 21 cruises and haven't gotten sick on any of them. Bonine doesn't make you sleepy and you can drink while taking it. Hope this helps.

[CheckersMidwest]

The tender boats as well as the snorkel boats really rock. I also recommend Bonine. I take 1 each morning. Once you get seasick, it doesn't go away for hours. Don't want to risk it.

[NCTribeFan]

I rather disagree with volmoma's advice.

 

Bonine (meclizine) is "less" drowsy than the old Dramamine but it can make some people drowsy. And it does state that it may make you drowsy and that drinking alcohol may increase the side effects.

 

It's an antihistimine. Just because it's over-the-counter doesn't mean you can't over-do it! So also be careful if you're already taking cold or allergy meds!

 

Dosage is ONE every 24 hours (for motion sickness; I also suffer from vertigo and have been told I can take it more often but to NOT drink if I do). I'm very careful about taking any meds and drinking.

 

There are a gazillion articles online about motion sickness (and it's been covered here a gazillion times, too).

 

Unfortunately, no one can tell you what the seas will be like and what you may encounter on an excursion.

 

One thing I can recommend is to take Ginger Root Capsules (also often discussed). It's pretty much cured me.

 

Start 2 days prior to travel, 1 am and 1 pm with lots of water, continue until a couple of days after returning home. I do take 1/2 meclizine prior to sailing (I buy the chewable so I can break it in half), just to get some in my system. I also take it with me on excursions as I now seem to have more problems in minivans on winding island roads than I do on the ship.

 

Did an excursion in the Dominican Republic last December on a speed boat to a small island. I was fine until we stopped to look at the caves along the coast and were just bobbing up and down and up and down. :o

Edited May 26, 2015 by NCTribeFan

[riffatsea]

Bonine is a brand name. The generic is Meclazine which is what the ship gives out if you need a seasick pill.

It is also the same as Dramamine II the non drowsy one.

The dosage is actually 1 or 2 pills depending on what you need. I take 1 DH takes 2 (1 morning and 1 night).

We start taking the meds when we get onto the ship and every day except when we are in port. I don't want to stp and try ginger because I don't know the dosage for that but the dosage for the pills are very specific.

I would take a pill to see how it makes you feel as everyone reacts differently to meds. NO one can tell you what the sea conditions will be when you are in port. The ocean is not predictable!!

[volmoma]

They have never bothered me with drinking, but then again it depends on the person..I take 2 to be safe as to not get sick..NOTHING WORSE!!!!...we have also started taking the generic Meclizine. And yes NCTribeFan it does state not to drink while taking but I did ask my family Dr and was advised to use before cruise to see how it would effect me...No problems, our generic states up to 2 per day and do not use alcohol in large quantities. So as I said we've never gotten sick.. May be different with individual.. Hope this clears my post up..[emoji267][emoji267][emoji267][emoji267][emoji568][emoji568]

[Singer4Him]

We went snorkeling in Grand Turk last August and, unfortunately, I got seasick. Not only did I get seasick but my DH who's not normally prone to it, was sick as well. We never did actually get sick while we were out but we could not get to shore quick enough for either of us.

 

I think part of it had to do with the fact that the excursion that we took included a conch salad and they had to dive for the conch which took some time. During this time, we were sitting in the boat and, although it wasn't super wavy, it was enough to make both of us very queasy. I had taken Bonine the night before, another that morning before leaving and then someone else on the excursion had some and I took another.

 

If you could find someone who would be taking just the people in your party out for the excursion and could return whenever you were ready, I think you would be ahead of the game. This would be the only way that I would go out again.

 

Hope this helps!

[somedudehere]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[Diver2014]

You should be more concerned about keeping hydrated on hot days in June than about sea sickness. Be sure to drink LOTS of water on any excursion.

The seas are usually pretty calm around Grand Turk and Nassau in June but the heat can take a toll on you if you are not used to it.

[Putterdude]

I snorkel a lot in the Caribbean any snorkel excursion you go on is likely going to be on a boat that is 20 to 75 feet and there is definitely going to be motion. A catamaran or a tri-hulled boat will have a little less motion but it is still going to pitch and roll. If you are prone to motion sickness then a snorkel excursion may not be for you.

[volmoma]

Yes, hydration, hydration , hydration....I take the G2 Gatorade powder and drink one in the morning and one int the afternoon. I mix it with 20 oz's of water and drink it all. If I lay out in the sun for any length of time I'll drink a third one. The sickest I've ever felt was when I was dehydrated and I knew I was, hadn't drank much water so I did do it to myself,, it was AWFUL!!! I will be ready on the Sunshine, Going to Aruba, Curaçao , and Grand Turck again. In May the waters were sooooo rough they closed the pool for 3 days.and I had never saw that,, they even drained about a foot and a half to 2 foot of water and it was still coming out of the pool. Glad it only last 3 days.

[mcmarya]

I almost never get seasick while on the ship any more unless it is really rough. But, I easily get seasick snorkeling so I always take meclizine before going out.

 

The confusion over how many meclizine/bonine pills to take is probably because it comes in different strengths. The recommend dosage is 25 - 50 mg once daily. Since pills come in either 12.5 or 25 mg strength, how many you take depends on which kind of pill you have. (Antivert, brand name, actually comes in 50 mg pills.)