Seasickness

[UKCruiser_2008]

I thought people never got seasick on cruise ships but reading these boards it seems that it does happen!

 

Do you take any meds with you in case the seas are rough? What is the best way of dealing with it - lying down in the cabin or sitting out on the deck?

[zanne1965]

I went on my first cruise last week and I got the RX for the patch from my doctor. I tend to get motion sickness so I prepared myself. We had a few days where you could actually feel the boat rock, we were on the Carnival Liberty and I never got sick. I was with a group of 9 and no other person used any meds and noone got sick. But if you tend to get motion sickness I would definately get a RX for the patch. It is definately worth it and you can always remove it if you feel you don't need it once you are on the boat for a few days.

 

Sue

[Catrin]

I get seasick - almost every cruise.

 

The key is for ME, to recognize it and do whatever I can to prevent it.

 

My keys?

• I book a room in the middle of the ship. No guaranteed cabins for me, as the one time we did this I was in the front of the ship and was sick the whole time.
  
• I take Bonine DAILY. Regardless if I feel sick or not, it is just a normal routine.
  
• I take Ginger Pills when the seas are rough.
  
• I go OUTSIDE. One cruise, I did not feel great at all. I found comfort in finding a lounge chair in the shade, listening to the band, reading my books. Breathing the fresh air.
  
• I limit my time in the main lounge in the front of the ship. The moment I start to feel "not right", I leave. The one time I pushed it, I regretted it later. The lounge is a trouble spot for me, not only because it is in the front, but because of the three decks open space, the movement appears to be much more.

Despite all this>> I wouldn't trade cruising for the world. The key is to be proactive, do not be in denial if you do not feel "right", and relax!!

 

Catrin

[dixieva]

Be careful if trying the patch. Some people (myself included) have side effects. It made me feel a little dizzy and have a very dry mouth. True, I didn't get seasick but just didn't feel well when wearing the patch. Get one and try it a few days prior to the cruise to see how you react.

 

I now take Bonine (Meclazine) pills. Works great for me and I feel fine. Some people say these pills make them sleepy but I get the non-drowsy kind and never had a problem.

 

Have a great cruise and hope you find something you can tolerate for seasickness. Don't wait until you get sick. These meds are preventive and I don't think they will work once you get sick. Whatever you decide to do try it before the cruise.

[BND]

As a child, I got car sick, but I outgrew that. I also could feel every motion of any boat or ship I was on in rivers or lakes so I knew I was still sensitive. On our first cruise, my Naval officer husband tried to tell me that I wouldn't have a problem on such a large ship, wrong! I got sick as we hit the gulf stream about 4 hours after we left Port Canaveral and I took Less drowsy dramamine, but it was too late, so I went to bed and missed dinner. The next day I started taking Meczcline (Less drowsy dramamine/Bonine) and ginger twice a day and I've done that every cruise since, starting 24 hours before and I've never had a problem. I do need to eat something every 3-4 hours though. This trip I'm going to cut down to meczcline once per day and use Ginger more. It's great for your digestion and has been shown to effectively treat the nausea from illness and motion sickness. I have heard too many stories of problems with the patch, so I won't do that. Taking a small pill is just as easy and has virtually no side effects.

[PAHORNER]

Bodine is my life saver also, DAILY, I start the day before I board and continue untill ger home. Have never had any side effects of any kind. Made a world of dirrerence to me .

[Carolyn1950]

I am very sea sick prone too.. I take Bonine.. Not the genetic.. It takes 3 or 4 of the generic to equal one brand-name Bonine..I take my first pill the night before the cruise at bedtime then one at bedtime each night of the cruise.. It doesn't make sense to me to wait til you are sea sick.. Then you can't hold anything down long enough to work.. I never cruise without my Bonine:)

[bleuiz]

Recently I got motion sick at the movies (we sat too close/there was lotsa of action/they never held the camera steady) so you can imagine me on a ship.......

The first cruise I had the patch.......we had a rough evening, I had the wrist bands for hubby/son.......and we ate dinner! I felt the ship move, felt like I was on an amusement park ride, but I didn't get sick! My menfolk were fine with the bands.......

Our second cruise, we all had the patch.......my son felt his sight was blurry (I told him not to read)

On our third cruise together...........hubby noticed his mouth was dry, but he was fine........our son didn't feel right, so he took the patch off and bought the non-drowsy pills.........

I tend to feel sick a few days after a cruise........I wonder if I should try ginger pills for that!

[G'ma]

I thought people never got seasick on cruise ships but reading these boards it seems that it does happen!

 

Do you take any meds with you in case the seas are rough? What is the best way of dealing with it - lying down in the cabin or sitting out on the deck?

 

If you don't normally suffer motion sickness, then you probably won't have a problem.

 

If you do feel queasy, the worst thing you can do is go to your cabin and lay down. You need to be on your balcony or on an open deck, in the fresh air. Keep your eyes on the horizon, which isn't moving, breathe deeply and slowly.

[Ehpride]

I thought people never got seasick on cruise ships but reading these boards it seems that it does happen!

 

Do you take any meds with you in case the seas are rough? What is the best way of dealing with it - lying down in the cabin or sitting out on the deck?

 

I have been dealing with motion sickness for my entire life. And yes, when seas have gotten rough, I have been more sensitive to the motion of the ship.

 

What I do is a combination of things.

 

First, I prefer a midship cabin because you feel less motion there. If you end up with a cabin forward or aft, you just need to know how to deal with it.

 

Crackers are good to have something in my stomach (an empty stomach is bad for motion sickness ime), ginger ale (I'm going to bring diet because they don't have it) does wonders and I also take medication. I take dramamine on planes because I know I need it there and I've used it my entire life. But I take nondrowsy bonine each day as a preventative on the ship and I also take ginger pills every day. I start them before I leave home so they build up in my system. I've heard of a lot of problems with the patch so I don't particularly want to try it.

 

I've found a lot can be prevented by where I sit. I sit facing the way the ship is moving whenever possible (in the dining room, lounge, etc.). Also, if I feel motion, I try to look out a window because that way my inner ear and eyes are no longer in conflict. And fresh air really helps. I have an inside cabin so I can always go up on an outer deck and it makes me feel immensely better.

 

If you're sensitive to motion in a car or on a plane, you may be sensitve to seasickness. But I find that as long as I'm prepared and aware of my surroundings (how I'm sitting, getting a ginger ale or sprite, etc...), I can prevent it.

[UKCruiser_2008]

We took a small catamaran to France recently in strong winds ... what strage experience that was!

 

Over 50% of the passengers were very sea sick, children were crying everywhere and let's just say it was best not to go anywhere near the restrooms!

 

I felt a little queasy but just sat still and stared out the window, and it never got any worse than the feeling of mild seasickness. A lot of parents were forcing their sick children to lie on the floor - I was not convinced that would help!!

 

I suppose the cruise ship will not be THAT bad unless we are caught in a storm.

 

What is the most effective way to take ginger? We could take some ginger ale, but are tablets better?

[BND]

You do feel better when you lie down. Sleep also helps. What you cant' do is lay down for a little bit and think you can get up and you'll be okay. When I went to bed on our first cruise, it was for the night and when I woke up the next am, we were in port in Freeport and felt fine because we weren't moving, and I started taking meds and didn't stop until the day after we got off the ship. For those that talk about where their cabin is located, well, that's all well and good for when you're in your cabin, which tends to be not a lot of time for most people, but what about the rest of the cruise? You need to be able to enjoy other locations on board so meds of some kind are what's important. Also, Bonine is the same as Less Drowsy Dramamine which are both meczline. If you are buying the 25mg which is the size they come in, generic or name brand doesn't matter, the dosage matters. 25mg is 25 mg. Generic usually is the exact same thing, just not labeled as the name brand, sometimes containing inert ingredients, such as flavorings, sometimes even made in the same plant by the same company that makes the name brand.

 

As my DH, the naval officer says, EVERYONE has their motion. Do not assume you will never, ever get seasick. Your motion may not be the same as your sibling, spouse, child, friend, but believe me, you do have yours. After serving onboard ships, he's seen just about everyone get sick at some point, because of differing seas. Very, very few people will never, ever get some motion sickness if exposed to a variety of sea conditions. And, it's not how rough it is as much as whether it's rolling, choppy, swaying, whatever you happen to be sensitive to.

 

Just don't let anyone ever tell you it's all mind over matter. It's not. I was totally convinced I wouldnt' get sea sick and I did. Just as some get sick in a movie or a ride, never thinking about it, but yet they still did.

 

As for how you take ginger, ginger capsules are a heck of a lot smaller than soda cans and not all ginger ale actually contains ginger, some are artificially flavored. Ginger candy can work too apparently.

[candigirl41]

Patches everyetime for me. The one time I couldn't get them, because they had stopped prescribing them until they could get the blurry vision thing under control. Have used them ever since with not ill side effects. People say they make you drowsy, but I have never had that problem.

 

Candi

[MSPCUBS]

Where do you purchase ginger pills? I have bought ginger cookies from Trader Joe's in the past and they have been helpful.

[candigirl41]

You can get ginger pills at wal-mart in the pharmacy area.

 

Candi

[BND]

Where do you purchase ginger pills? I have bought ginger cookies from Trader Joe's in the past and they have been helpful.

 

Health food/vitamin stores (GNC) sell them. That's where I got mine almost 3 years ago and I still have enough left (expire in '09) after 3 cruises to take them on this next one. I think they were around $8 in '05. There were 100, 550mg capsules.

[RickEsGirl]

I have a history of being very seasick on smaller boats, so I was nervous when DH and I booked the Legend in April. I made it through just fine, but I did take some precautions. This is what worked for me:

 

--I took a bonine the NIGHT before our cruise left. They can make you drowsy, but that doesn't matter if you take them before you go to sleep :D

 

--The first night on our cruise, there was a storm and both DH and I felt a little queasy. We could also feel the ship move a lot more than we had anticipated. There are definitely places on the ship where you will feel the motion more than others.

 

--We continued taking bonine every night, even though we never felt sick again or actually got sick. We adjusted very quickly to the motion, and we actually missed it when we disembarked!

 

Good luck - I'm sure you'll be fine.

[direfun2000]

I wouldn't worry about it. At least you aren't being interviewed on live tv like THIS guy!!:D :eek:

[arpie05]

Meclizine is the drug name for Bonnie and non-drowzie Dranimine. It is cheaper but not a generic - it is not less potent. You can request from your doctor prescription strength but it is just like taking two tablets.

The patch can last in your system for days after you get home and make you sick when you take off.

I chewed ginger candy, sucked ginger altoids, sipped ginger tea (bought at grocery and took with me), and ate ginger snaps. It helped so much! LAST year I got sick on vacation - trains - and had to go home early due to motion sickness. Survived a 7 day Alaskan cruise - no problem! Already booked another cruise!

[pkrchkr]

I use seas sick bands.They work as long as you have both, if you lose one like I did head for the handrails or the garbage cans:D . Just kidding. Try gravol,bonamine,ginger what ever helps.

good luck

[pearose]

I had taken 3 previous cruises, and even had one rough night on one and never got seasick myself, so I thought I was immune. What I didn't realize was on all the previous cruises our cabin was in the middle of the ship. This time we were top deck 11, all the way forward and felt the maximum movement when the trip got rough the first day out. I got sick before even trying to eat breakfast. I got the free meclizine (Bonine) pills from the information desk and tried a couple of times to keep those down. Finally the third time was the charm. I took one, sipped on a ginger ale, propped the balcony door open to get fresh air which helped immensely, and was able to doze off long enough for the pill to start working. I woke up, was starving. Immediately ordered room service and ate, and kept taking the pills the rest of the trip and never felt sick again. I will never again travel without them! I will start taking the the day before we leave from now on, just to be safe and I don't think I'll ever have a problem again. The key is take them BEFORE you get sick. Otherwise, you'll have a problem keeping them down long enough to do any good.

 

Good luck and have a great cruise! :D

[Cruisin Suzin]

As a child, I got car sick, but I outgrew that. I also could feel every motion of any boat or ship I was on in rivers or lakes so I knew I was still sensitive. On our first cruise, my Naval officer husband tried to tell me that I wouldn't have a problem on such a large ship, wrong! I got sick as we hit the gulf stream about 4 hours after we left Port Canaveral and I took Less drowsy dramamine, but it was too late, so I went to bed and missed dinner. The next day I started taking Meczcline (Less drowsy dramamine/Bonine) and ginger twice a day and I've done that every cruise since, starting 24 hours before and I've never had a problem. I do need to eat something every 3-4 hours though. This trip I'm going to cut down to meczcline once per day and use Ginger more. It's great for your digestion and has been shown to effectively treat the nausea from illness and motion sickness. I have heard too many stories of problems with the patch, so I won't do that. Taking a small pill is just as easy and has virtually no side effects.

 

With the ginger, where do you buy it, it's it in pill form, or the candied type?

[KroozNut]

All this discussion about so-called "seasickness" is just nonsense.. This is a psychosomatic phenomenon that will affect people that choose to be affected. Don't waste your time and/or money trying to deal with or medicate this so-called malady.

 

Trust me, after 24 years on sailing ships, I have never been 'sea-sick', but I have seen all things associated with this, including people that started throwing up just thinking about being on a ship!

 

Now tell me that's not all in your head! ;)

[thisguy74]

I usually get naupathia (motion sickness) when I go on fishing boats on the ocean if the seas are higher than 1-3 feet. These are boats that aren't as long as the cruise ships are wide. So I wasn't sure what would happen on my cruise. I figured that I should be ok since the Carnival Pride was so big that even 10 foot waves shouldn't move it too much.

 

Well I went last week and didn't feel too much, however, every once in a while I would start feeling a little bit of sickness.

 

Knowing that ginger worked, I actually went to the sushi bar (open 5-8:30pm) and picked up some marinated ginger. After eating just a few slices, I didn't feel motion sick anymore! So if you don't typically get motion sick, stop by the sushi bar and get a small cup of ginger and keep it on ice or in the min-bar fridge and pull some out when you need it.

[colk12]

Guess I am one of the lucky ones my first cabin was R1 on the inspiration which meant all i felt most of the time was the ship bouncing and I never got sick