Harmony of the seas: worried about seasickness

[jagsfan]

I love cruising. Starting with my first cruise in '84, I have taken meclizine, which back then was prescription only. I took it because I get sick in the back seat of cars, on buses, ferries, theme park rides, and once on a glass bottom boat ride.

Meclizine is now available over the counter at most drugstores and supermarkets as Bonine. I chew one the morning of the cruise and another about 4:30, around the time we leave port. It has fewer side effects than Dramamine, from hearing experiences of others, and I wouldn't be without it.

I don't have to take it after the cruise, which I've heard Dramamine and patch users often do.

I haven't tried the sea band, green apples or ginger because I can't risk being violently ill if they don't work.

I have been on about 49 cruises, I've now lost count, and couldn't do it without Bonine. Couldn't enjoy Disney World, either!

 

 

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[molsonschooner]

Harmony won't be a problem at all.... It is so large you won't feel any movement hardly at all.

 

I wish you people would not make statements like that. While many people have mentioned how smooth their cruise was there are quite a few reports about less than smooth sailings. For me personally, the roughest cruise I have been on was Oasis. So rough that many of the crew booked off their shifts.

[cruisinrealtor]

I also get very seasick however I take 2 bonine starting the night before the cruise and every night until we get off the ship. I never feel tired because I take it just before bed. I do take it the same time every night. Don't know if that matters but in my head it does. We were on the Oasis last January and until the last day I never felt anything. I kept trying to feel something but there was no movement at all. Even with the ship rocking on the last day I never felt sick. Get yourself some Bonine and you will be fine.

[sunshinechgo]

Be safe and pack Dramamine and wristbands for sea sickness. My sister swears by both

 

 

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[mom23krzkidz]

I do get car sick on windy roads, and I can't read a book during a car drive. I can get a really bad migrane and nausia, on windy roads.

 

 

 

On the road to Hana in Maui, I felt so bad...

 

 

I totally know what you mean...and I was the driver on the Hana highway [emoji3] I get horribly motion sick.

 

I have only been on one cruise so far, but it was on a very large ship, and I did not have too many issues...and I even have another cruise booked.

 

I did notice movement even when others didn't, but that rarely correlated to feeling poorly. More like it made me paranoid that I might get nauseated. I did eat ginger candies during the day and green apples. I used Bonine at night. It really helped. I found night in bed the first night was a bit like having had too much to drink even though I didn't. Lying on my side with my hand on the headboard helped a ton...lying on my back, even just rolling to the other side, was dizzying. Spending time outdoors, even on my balcony, made any hint of seasickness immediately disappear even when the ship was rolling on huge waves.

 

I loved the cruise I went on, I am a convert to cruising for sure...and I felt hints occasionally, but honestly I think it was mostly just fear that the motion I was feeling might make me feel horrible so I'd go outside, pop a candy or grab an apple...or pop a bonine if it was time. I don't recall ever feeling actual seasickness. And I never took a single migraine pill or vertigo pill the entire trip:)

 

 

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[kruisemom3]

When do you sail in June. We are sailing June 17th Western Caribbean

[vacationlover_mn]

I'm very sensitive to boat motion, but have used the ear patch on my last 3 cruises and love it! I don't get motion sick when I use it :)

 

I even got sick on Allure, with good seas... I did Bonine then, and it worked pretty good. I just got a little drowsy...

 

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Edited January 31, 2017 by vacationlover_mn

[Cjbi22]

Hi,

 

 

 

Our 1st cruise is planned for June on Harmony of the Seas, to Western Caribbean. To be on the safe side, I booked a cabin with a balcony on deck 9, in the middle of the ship.

 

 

 

I had some concerns before booking about seasickness, but I've been told not to worry at all, since it such a big ship.

 

 

 

Now I've heard that this is not true - people do feel the waves, espacially in the first and last day.

 

 

 

I know there are some medicines that help, but this is not my idea of a great vacation! I'm considering canceling the cruise, and booking an hawaii vacation instead....

 

 

 

Please help me! What are the chances of not feeling well on the ship?

 

 

They sell bracelets on the ship or at your local drug store for this and I use them for ever cruise they actually do work and you can just take them off when on land. ..

 

 

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Edited January 31, 2017 by Cjbi22

[grandmarnnurse]

I have had issues with motion sickness my whole life! I cannot ride any spinning rides at amusement parks, and car riding has always been a problem, but I have NEVER gotten sick on a cruise ship! Yes, there were times the seas got rough, but I did not get sick. Purchase Sea Bands at Walmart. They are stretchy bands with a plastic button that is applied to pressure points at wrist. They help prevent sea sickness. I also bring Bonine, non-drowsy motion sickness meds, but have not had to use them yet. Some people say they still make them sleepy, so they only take them before getting into bed. I'm not going to say you will never feel any motion of the waves, but I think with these huge ships and their stabilizers, you will not feel it as much as you are thinking you will. We cruise nearly every year, and try not to worry about that. I just go prepared. Also, eating green apples (usually available in buffet) help with any nausea, along with ginger candy. Go, and enjoy your cruise! Once you've cruised, you will be addicted as we all are!

 

 

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[tserface]

Not much help for the topic, but...

 

We always joke that the little round patches on some people's neck are the places where you can blow them up (in the fill with air sense).

 

:rolleyes:

 

Tom

[Clarea]

Not much help for the topic, but...

 

We always joke that the little round patches on some people's neck are the places where you can blow them up (in the fill with air sense).

 

:rolleyes:

 

Tom

We thought those patches were some sort of religious thing.;)

[grammy221]

Hi,

 

 

 

Our 1st cruise is planned for June on Harmony of the Seas, to Western Caribbean. To be on the safe side, I booked a cabin with a balcony on deck 9, in the middle of the ship.

 

 

 

I had some concerns before booking about seasickness, but I've been told not to worry at all, since it such a big ship.

 

 

 

Now I've heard that this is not true - people do feel the waves, espacially in the first and last day.

 

 

 

I know there are some medicines that help, but this is not my idea of a great vacation! I'm considering canceling the cruise, and booking an hawaii vacation instead....

 

 

 

Please help me! What are the chances of not feeling well on the ship?

 

 

I was so afraid of sea sickness 1st time I went on a cruise. I choose Allure which is the same size I was fine

 

 

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[JoshuaA]

On the 11th day, Anthem last week, iirc along Florida, destination NJ, you could feel it anywhere on the ship. The captain warned us the evening before. They closed and drained the pools, all shows were cancelled, even the bumper cars. Our 11y old dtr was really sea sick and slept all day on meds, recovered the next. Barf bags were at all the stairwells. Someone told me he had travelled before and down/up the coast can be the worst, ymmv. We've been on several Disney Cruises out of Florida and it was never that bad so maybe he's right.

 

Size doesn't help, Anthem is the 3rd largest I think. On that day, it felt like airplane turbulence most of the night and through the day. It was really windy, they closed some of the doors to the top deck to discourage people. Before that happened, I went up to do my morning run and I felt like I could be blown off the ship in some open areas, gave up right away. Luckily, everyone else in our family doesn't get sea sick, but it sure was a rocky ride.

 

The 12th day was quite smooth as we headed back to snowy NJ. I can't imagine going during hurricane season.

[K-Rev]

We recently spent three weeks on Harmony, she's well worth it. We had a little bump (nothing bad) off the coast of Italy, we were next to the living wall and it creaked! For the transatlantic we moved across the hall to an ocean balcony. We had an incredibly calm crossing, she barely moved. Go and have a great time, but I warn you, she'll ruin you for future cruises on smaller ships! Can you tell I love love love this ship!

[FamilyWithKids2]

Excuse my ignorance as a 1st time cruiser:

 

I see it odd... so many people replied here saying that they experienced sea sickness (to different degrees), and still continue to book cruising...

 

Why? What is so great about it that it's worth the risk? And taking medicines during a vacation? what is so exciting about it?

[MrYellowDuck]

I wish you people would not make statements like that. While many people have mentioned how smooth their cruise was there are quite a few reports about less than smooth sailings. For me personally, the roughest cruise I have been on was Oasis. So rough that many of the crew booked off their shifts.

 

You're talking about an abnormal worst case scenario; to get much worse than this you'd be painting a picture of needing to enter the life rafts - this does happen of course but not very often.

 

On a large modern ship and on a normal itenarary the motion is likely to be close to not noticeable. Cruise ships usually have days of warning of poor conditions and sail around problems, skip ports, adjust speed to lessen motion and so on.

 

I've been in very rough seas to the point that virtually no passengers were to be seen for a couple of days. It was on a south pacific cruise in winter where bad weather was not unexpected and on an old ship with broken stabilisers. I was 100% fine since I anticipated the inevitable and was drugged up before it was too late.

 

The analogy by the other poster with the grain of sand is a terrible one since their simulation involves waves at scale that are hundreds of meters high and those don't occur on Earth out at sea.

 

Cruise lines try very hard to suck money from the wallets of passengers 24/7; most of their strategies to achieve this require they are operating a steady platform.

 

Insurance against a freak scenario runs at $10 for 300 pills from Amazon.

[daze6399]

Excuse my ignorance as a 1st time cruiser:

 

 

 

I see it odd... so many people replied here saying that they experienced sea sickness (to different degrees), and still continue to book cruising...

 

 

 

Why? What is so great about it that it's worth the risk? And taking medicines during a vacation? what is so exciting about it?

 

 

 

It's a lot of fun. Seasickness if it happens is usually only for a short time. Most of the time it doesn't really affect me, I may feel a little off for a few hours but then it passes, only once in the three cruises that I've taken has it affected me badly enough that I was unable to do anything, and that was only for a few hours.

[billybob57]

I had a bad night on the wine, don't know if it was the first bottle or the last one

 

 

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[Harley0711]

Everyone is different. I never have felt sick and we have been on some ruff seas ( It is a boat ) my ex wife got sick on the Queen Mary - its sitting on blocks, lol. Current wife Loves cruising - get a little Ill on a cruise from SF to Hawaii - now she uses the 'Patch' all is back to Good - get the patch

 

 

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[Clancy14]

Excuse my ignorance as a 1st time cruiser:

 

I see it odd... so many people replied here saying that they experienced sea sickness (to different degrees), and still continue to book cruising...

 

Why? What is so great about it that it's worth the risk? And taking medicines during a vacation? what is so exciting about it?

 

For your own sake, stay home. You are not yet ready to cruise. If you have to ask the question "What's so great about it ?" , then you don't know enough about it and you need to do more research, watch more videos, get some books etc., AND GET EXCITED ABOUT CRUISING!!!!

 

It's the most wonderful way to vacation!!!! Until you feel that way, you will just be either annoyed or annoying, bored or boring, finding fault or complaining. It's not the right fit YET especially with kids! YOU have to be knowledgeable enough about cruising and the ship you've chosen to set up their activities in the children's center for them. The Harmony is a huge ship. You have to be ready for it. You just can't go on it and just expect the crew to do all the planning for you. You have to have planned ahead for it. (Dining, shows, excursions, Royal IQ, ships activities, drink packages, internet, kids activities, gratuities etc. ) You only have 7 days (usually, unless you're doing a B2B) and it goes by EXTREMELY fast.

 

Ask a lot of questions before you go 9 here on Cruise Critic - look for the appropriate thread) so that you will be ready for it. Seasickness should NOT be your only determining factor ! Good luck!!!

 

- Miriam

[JoshuaA]

It helps to know beforehand if things like carnival rides, just spinning about, or a hilly car ride makes you easily sick. It usually takes a lot to throw us off our equilibrium like that so what happened to my older daughter is unusual, and she was fine the next day.

Obviously if it was a constant detriment, we would not go (again).

[grandmarnnurse]

For your own sake, stay home. You are not yet ready to cruise. If you have to ask the question "What's so great about it ?" , then you don't know enough about it and you need to do more research, watch more videos, get some books etc., AND GET EXCITED ABOUT CRUISING!!!!

 

It's the most wonderful way to vacation!!!! Until you feel that way, you will just be either annoyed or annoying, bored or boring, finding fault or complaining. It's not the right fit YET especially with kids! YOU have to be knowledgeable enough about cruising and the ship you've chosen to set up their activities in the children's center for them. The Harmony is a huge ship. You have to be ready for it. You just can't go on it and just expect the crew to do all the planning for you. You have to have planned ahead for it. (Dining, shows, excursions, Royal IQ, ships activities, drink packages, internet, kids activities, gratuities etc. ) You only have 7 days (usually, unless you're doing a B2B) and it goes by EXTREMELY fast.

 

Ask a lot of questions before you go 9 here on Cruise Critic - look for the appropriate thread) so that you will be ready for it. Seasickness should NOT be your only determining factor ! Good luck!!!

 

- Miriam

 

I agree totally with you! Cruising is the most amazing way to vacation! Once you've cruised, you will become a cruise addict like us, that try to cruise at least once a year! As I previously posted, I've been known to feel queasy at times, but it's usually only briefly if the seas are rough. And I go prepared with meds, etc, just in case, but have not had any problem in several years. On our last cruise, it got a bit rocky heading into Cozumel in the evening, but nothing really terrible. And this poster is absolutely correct! You need to research what ship is best for you and your family. If there is any concern over sea sickness, book a bigger ship, lower deck, mid ship. If traveling with kids, book a newer ship with lots of amenities to entertain them. Older ships, older crowd.

[Hoopster95]

I've been in very rough seas to the point that virtually no passengers were to be seen for a couple of days.

 

Bottom line is you agree with me, that cruise ships are not stable in bad weather.... they list, tilt, roll, etc

To further our agreement, stabilizers or not, I'm guessing Oasis Class would've fared exactly the same in those same conditions as you described.

My "spec of sand" analogy was not scientific nor did I profess it to be, it was simply to make a point that a cruise ship is so infinitesimally tiny compared to the ocean that rough seas will affect a ship whether it's "small (Radiance)" or "large (Oasis)".

[Harley0711]

I have gone back and read the OP' posts here - I am with Clancy14. Dont cruise, your not ready. Every post you complain. Car sick, head aces, you dot get Why. You got sick on a car ride in Hawaii. Save your mone. ITS a BOAT - your suppose to feel it move

 

 

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[FamilyWithKids2]

Regarding the answers: don't cruise. you mostly complain etc.

 

Let me explain:

We relocated from Canada 8 years ago, and currently we don't live in US/Canada. We will travel 18 hours just to get to Florida. This is once in a decade trip for us, a trip of 5 weeks long, and I'm trying to get the best out of it. The cruise vacation supposed to be the grand finale of the trip.

 

And I do have concerns. I admit.

 

I know the kids would love it! there are so many activities for kids on the Harmony, they would be thrilled!

 

I've read so many cruise reviews, and saw many youtubes, but couldn't find the information / youtubes I need for family cruising. And I'm hearing different opinions from people that cruised: some love it, some don't.

 

I'm trying to get information to make sure this is the right choice for our trip. It's not like: we'll try cruise this year, and if we don't like it we'll go to Hawaii next year...

 

So, please be patient. The answers really really help!

Edited February 2, 2017 by FamilyWithKids2