First time cruise

[stevez]

Hey folks; have learned a great deal here about cruising in Alaska. My wife and I are booked on the July 8th cruise out of Seattle on Explorer for 7 days. After reviewing some of these threads, just a little concerned that our balcony room might not be the best choice. We have a balcony room number 7520 and wanted to see if anyone has feedback? My wife has an inner ear issue and struggles some with balance and I've heard these rooms towards to the front of the ship are a bit less stable. Other than that, I'm so excited and can't wait. I've been reading the reviews and just so excited. First time cruising and first time to Alaska for both of us. Thanks! Steve

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You may want to connect with your fellow cruisers on your sailing in the Roll Call thread here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2248724

[138east]

Hey folks; have learned a great deal here about cruising in Alaska. My wife and I are booked on the July 8th cruise out of Seattle on Explorer for 7 days. After reviewing some of these threads, just a little concerned that our balcony room might not be the best choice. We have a balcony room number 7520 and wanted to see if anyone has feedback? My wife has an inner ear issue and struggles some with balance and I've heard these rooms towards to the front of the ship are a bit less stable. Other than that, I'm so excited and can't wait. I've been reading the reviews and just so excited. First time cruising and first time to Alaska for both of us. Thanks! Steve

 

If you're booked under North American rules, you can try to switch your cabin. I'm seeing 6332, 6338, and 6640 available as D3's. The deck 6 balconies don't have plexiglass at the top if I remember correctly, but it would be worth it if you feel your wife might be more comfortable in the aft. Most of the venues you will access daily are near the aft elevators.

[Moonarino]

I have a middle and inner ear disorder, chronic vertigo, have had major problems in the past wih balance and such, but since my first cruise with balcony I've never shied away.

 

Front of the ship can definitely be the worst for motion (and noise), but I've done that too (like only about 10-12 balconies back on Carnival Breeze). I've actually suffered the worst (light) queasiness from side-to-side, anywhere on the ship, as opposed to up-and-down in the forward areas.

 

Possibly relevant for an Alaska cruise: The only time I've ever had the slightest problem with motion was in open sea, when the big swells were rolling and the ship developed a steady rhythm. I'm thinking you won't be as susceptible to that on an Alaska itinerary. Although balance might still be the thing to worry about, more than motion sickness or anything like that.

 

Maybe your wife's issues are different or worse than mine, but here's something to try (if she hasn't already): Start a daily ginger-ale regimen (and/or a good ginger herbal) at least a week before the cruise. (My doctor told me Canada Dry has the most natural ginger of the popular brands.) TIP #2: What works best for me is forget the Dramamine. Any sedative (which Dramamine is) will just make the ear-eye-brain communication even worse overall. I used to take that stuff regularly, and when a sports therapist told me to stop (and explained why), my chronic vertigo condition got better, not worse.

 

Just to mention, if she's worried about this at all: The balcony rails (and all rails on ship) are designed to make it pretty hard to accidentally fall over. I'm leery of heights even when I know I won't/can't fall over if I lose balance, but on my first cruise I found myself leaning over our Deck 8 balcony rail about 5 minutes after we started moving. The adrenaline rush was just too much. :)

 

Wishing both of you a fantastic first cruise!

Edited June 13, 2016 by Moonarino

[stevez]

I have a middle and inner ear disorder, chronic vertigo, have had major problems in the past wih balance and such, but since my first cruise with balcony I've never shied away.

 

Front of the ship can definitely be the worst for motion (and noise), but I've done that too (like only about 10-12 balconies back on Carnival Breeze). I've actually suffered the worst (light) queasiness from side-to-side, anywhere on the ship, as opposed to up-and-down in the forward areas.

 

Possibly relevant for an Alaska cruise: The only time I've ever had the slightest problem with motion was in open sea, when the big swells were rolling and the ship developed a steady rhythm. I'm thinking you won't be as susceptible to that on an Alaska itinerary. Although balance might still be the thing to worry about, more than motion sickness or anything like that.

 

Maybe your wife's issues are different or worse than mine, but here's something to try (if she hasn't already): Start a daily ginger-ale regimen (and/or a good ginger herbal) at least a week before the cruise. (My doctor told me Canada Dry has the most natural ginger of the popular brands.) TIP #2: What works best for me is forget the Dramamine. Any sedative (which Dramamine is) will just make the ear-eye-brain communication even worse overall. I used to take that stuff regularly, and when a sports therapist told me to stop (and explained why), my chronic vertigo condition got better, not worse.

 

Just to mention, if she's worried about this at all: The balcony rails (and all rails on ship) are designed to make it pretty hard to accidentally fall over. I'm leery of heights even when I know I won't/can't fall over if I lose balance, but on my first cruise I found myself leaning over our Deck 8 balcony rail about 5 minutes after we started moving. The adrenaline rush was just too much. :)

 

Wishing both of you a fantastic first cruise!

 

Thanks everyone for the replies and welcome. Really appreciate it. My wife has Meiners Disease and is doing remarkably better and we're not worried about her falling over off the balcony due to balance issues. I was just trying to confirm if the front of the ship truly had significantly more motion. I may try to get in the back. Thanks again everyone.

[Moonarino]

... My wife has Meiners Disease and is doing remarkably better ...

 

Same here, and the thing about Meniere's is that, although it's progressive, it tends to play itself out over a decade or two. The biggest residual I suffer now is degraded hearing in one ear. Glad to hear it's getting better for her.

[cb at sea]

Unless you're in open ocean, Alaskan cruises aren't typically rough....especially if you're doing an inside passage route. She'll be fine.

[MsLMG]

We did the same Alaskan itinerary 3 years ago.... The only night she is likely to have a problem is the first night over open water. After you enter the inside passage it's very smooth sailing. Have a great trip!!!

 

 

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[Debitoo]

We did the same Alaskan itinerary 3 years ago.... The only night she is likely to have a problem is the first night over open water. After you enter the inside passage it's very smooth sailing. Have a great trip!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

^^

 

Agree with this!

[stevez]

Thank you all very much! You have really helped alleviate my concerns for my wife. We chose this cruise because we thought for sure she could handle this, but not so sure about a larger cruise out in open sea. I had never heard about cabin selection and that was different up front versus the back. Thanks much! Steve