Sea sickness on cruises less then on small boats?

[svanvlerken]

Contemplating going on a cruise but husband tends to get seasick on sailboats.

 

Is seasickness less severe on cruises as the boats are larger & more stable?

 

thanks

[LHT28]

It can be less on the cruise ships

Just take some sea sick meds with you

 

I am fine on sailboats but small ferries do me in ;)

[Crew News]

Contemplating going on a cruise but husband tends to get seasick on sailboats.

 

Is seasickness less severe on cruises as the boats are larger & more stable?

 

thanks

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Cruise ships have below-water stabilizers that keep things pretty smooth. Sailboats have no such devices.

 

Speaking only for myself, I feel a bit quesy the first few hours until my body gets acclimated to the movement of the ship. The rest of the cruise has no further issues.

[Sailin Gal]

Have him see his doctor before the trip to see what the doctor recommends for him as a precaution. After years of sailing 30-40' monohulls, and hundreds of nights sleeping aboard, I got seasick for the firat time last year. . .on the NCL Jewel. And the seas weren't even very rough. Its a lot less hassle to get a patch or meds ahead of time than to be miserable on board. ;)

[cb at sea]

Really depends on the seas! While larger ships experience less motion than small boats in comparable seas...all are FLOATING on the ocean! They do move!

[Flatbush Flyer]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Cruise ships have below-water stabilizers that keep things pretty smooth. Sailboats have no such devices.

 

Speaking only for myself, I feel a bit quesy the first few hours until my body gets acclimated to the movement of the ship. The rest of the cruise has no further issues.

 

 

Wrong.

 

One of the functions of full, bulb or wing keels found on a monohull sailboat (approx. 30+ feet) is stabilization. Of course, how stable depends on numerous conditions. Swing keels on small boats like 20 footers +\- or dagger boards on dingy sailers are a different story.

 

Large cats (40+ feet) used for bareboat or crewed charters in "bathtubs" like the BVIs are also fairly stable. Of course, as always, a change to severe conditions can wreak havoc.

[Dayenu]

Contemplating going on a cruise but husband tends to get seasick on sailboats.

Is seasickness less severe on cruises as the boats are larger & more stable?

thanks

 

Pick the cabin wisely. You want to be in the middle section in the lower half. Do not get inside cabin, you must have at least a porthole or obstructed window.

 

Bring medications. If he can take ginger, start 2 days before the cruise, give him capsules every day, and continue 3 days after the cruise. Some people get sick when back on land.

 

Bring Bonine for rough seas. Remind him to go easy on coffee and alcohol.

[OCruisers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!!!!

We have a friend who gets seasick on sailboats & fishing boats but never feels the least bit sick on cruise ships.

There's a good chance your husband won't either. :)

LuLu

[Keith1010]

The experience on a sail boat and a cruise ship is quite different.

 

I would recommend coming prepared with medicine or some other remedy to prevent getting sea sick and also if you can booking a room mid or close to the middle of the ship.

 

Keith

[lisiamc]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!!!!

We have a friend who gets seasick on sailboats & fishing boats but never feels the least bit sick on cruise ships.

There's a good chance your husband won't either. :)

LuLu

 

I'm lucky enough to not get seasick - so far! But I've been on small fishing boats with people who did get seasick. :eek: It was when the boat was just sitting still, bobbing on the waves, that they started to go green. When the boat was moving, everyone was fine. I think cruise ships cause less seasickness because they are usually moving forward, and do less bobbing with the waves.

[Beachdude]

Reminds me of a resent day sail in St. Thomas. It was a smaller sail boat with eight passengers. Not ten minutes into the day, the wife of one couple in their 40s was telling everyone how she had been looking forward to this day sail for several months. She was a chatty person and continued that she had to talk her husband into it because he tends to get seasick. She finally convinced him to come because she had read people who tend to get seasick are less likely to get sick on a sail boats. She is telling us her story while the first mate is letting out the sails to catch the wind and her husband is hanging over the side feeding the fish.

 

Burt

[4x4bob]

So far the Wife and I have never been seasick on a Cruise.

 

Like other have posted, we always bring Seasick meds with us in our small first aid kit.

 

There is a very good chance that your husband will be having so much fun that he will not even think about the possibility of getting sick.

 

Bob

[SuiteTraveler]

There are multiple products that can prevent sea sickness including:

Bonnine (OTC)

Trans Derm Scop (prescription only)

Sea Bands

Ginger

and many others. There are also Sea Bands which many people report work quite well. Always check with your doctor to find out what is safe for you to take with the medications you are currently taking.

 

In addition, be aware cruises going up to Alaska can be a wild ride on the way up. Cruises through the Bay of Biscay can be a wild ride. Cruises around Cape Horn can also be a wild ride as well as Australian cruises to New Zealand and cruises up to the arctic circle.

 

The Caribbean, originating from Ft. Lauderdale, Miami or Puerto Rico stand the BEST chance of not having high seas, especially if you sail outside of Hurricane Season which is June 1st to November 30th. In addition Western Med cruises originating in Barcelona or Rome also tend to be very, very smooth rides.

 

That said, there is no guarantee as the sea will do as she pleases. So, the one thing you could do to make sure you don't get into a situation where your cruise is during a forecasted bad storm is to buy "Cancel for Any Reason" trip insurance. Then, if you hear on the news or look at the weather channel and there are storms expected in the area you will be cruising, you can cancel, get your money back and rebook for another time.

 

In addition, choose a cabin that is midship and on a lower floor for the absolute least motion. We always cruise in at least a balcony, which I like because I can go out and get some fresh air whenever I want. So typically, I choose from the first 2 floors of balconies - we generally prefer a cabin with cabins above and below us.

 

If you go to anywhere where you will be tendering or taking a ferry or boat somewhere on an excursion, it is a good idea to take seasickness medication that morning at least 1/2 hour before boarding the boat. If your husband has not taken the medicine and starts to feel ill, here is the best thing to do:

1. Have him lie down

2. Place an ice pack or an ice cold can of soda pop or beer on the front of his neck. This will almost immediately resolve the feeling of needing to vomit. Once he has calmed down enough, he should be able to take a sea sickness pill and continue using the cold pack on the front of his neck for about 1/2 hour or until the seasickness medication has kicked in.

3. Remain midship for the day or until the seas calm down.

 

If you husband has taken seasickness medicine and it is not quite enough to hold him, most ship's doctors can give an injection of anti-nausea medicine that will help. This is another good reason to get trip insurance - so you can see the doctor if needed.

 

For me, my doctor says I can take Bonine and I can also use Trans Derm Scops. So what I normally do is board the ship and as long as we have good weather I won't take anything. If I start to have any symptoms at all, I go take a Bonine and lie down for 30 minutes with a cold can of soda on my neck. Usually that is more than enough to work and then I will just take Bonine once a day as directed. However, every time we've gone up to Alaska, the first night or two have been like being on a roller coaster ride, so I have always taken the precaution of using the Trans Derm Scops for those cruises and put it on the morning of the cruise before embarking. They make me feel a bit drunk, but it's better than being nauseous and vomiting profusely. We've been on a couple of cruises to Alaska where everyone onboard including much of the crew is so sick they don't even make it to the MDR on the second night, but we do! We've been in the MDR when there were only a dozen other tables occupied out of hundreds due to high seas.

[MTdreaming]

My husband gets very seasick on ferries, sailboats, fishing charters etc.. but hasn't had one minute of problem on any of our cruises. I take ginger capsules and also some candied ginger to chew on.. take it the first day or two and no need the rest of the cruise. I do have motion issues upon returning, where I feel I am very much at sea.. usually for several weeks. But it is worth it :-)

[cheeseclan]

I am the queen of seasick. I get sick on rides, riding in the car and also on the sea. I always take dramamine a couple of days before and continue throughout the cruise.

Once i was forward on a ship and was sick all the time. I seem to do better in an aft or mid cabin with a balcony. That way i can go sit outside and look at the horizon if i am feeling queasy.

I do not go on small boats at all since they really do me in.

 

I have cruised on over 35 cruises and only been really sick on a couple. I just keep the meds in my system and get some fresh air and am okay.

 

Good luck!

[lahlah57]

i will get sick on sailboats and merely snorkeling in the ocean but cruiseships......NEVER!

[Cruisin'Christine]

My husband has the tendency to get sick on smaller boats, like when we went whale watching from Boston once. He even gets "seasick" in taxis when the terrain is hilly. On cruise ships though, he takes gravol (motion sickness medication) usually for the first day or two and is usually fine thereafter. The larger the ship, like the Allure or the Oasis, the better, as there is less movement. Also, he finds it helpful to be in a room, where the bed faces the direction the ship is moving and to be in a chair facing the direction the ship is going in the dining room. You also have more stability mid-ship, so middle of the ship lengthwise and middle of the ship heightwise. You also feel more movement at the front of the ship, where the theatre typically is, so you may want to premedicate, if you are going to a show.

[Maybebabey1]

I went on my first cruise this past January and was worried about seasickness a lot. I didn't want to take medication because it tends to make me very sleepy but I wore Sea Bands the entire time and didn't feel sick once. I figure it was one of 3 things:

1) I never would have been seasick in the first place even without the Sea Bands

2) the Sea Bands worked great and kept me from being seasick

3) the idea of the Sea Bands worked on me psychologically and kept me from being seasick

 

In any case, I was thrilled I brought them. I encouraged my friends to bring them too and they said they felt much better with them on.

 

Strangely enough, the time I felt worst was when I got home and felt like I was swaying for the next couple of hours. Guess I had to work on my land legs.