Cruise Speed/Evening Sea Sickness

[Broughton Hall]

This is my first thread and my first cruise has been booked for December 10, Eastern Caribbean on the Westerdam. We are travelling with friends who have cruised once before. They advised they had late sitting for dinner and for some reason felt a little sick each night just prior to dinner. A seasoned cruiser on their table advised it was because the ship increased speed in the evening and that was when you would feel the ships movement more. As a result we have booked early dinner sitting. Does anyone know if this is correct and if indeed the speed does impact those who may have motion sickness.

Also, we we booked SY cabins mid-ship. These cabins appear to be on a higher deck and perhaps as a result this was not such a good choice if motion is more on higher decks. Any comments in this respect.

Thank you.

[jhannah]

Generally speaking, it is right about time for the first seating that the ship leaves port. A docked ship has no motion. One moving does. If one is extremely prone to motion sickness, they will feel the effects of this more than most do. I'm not aware of any correlation between evening and going faster.

That said, most ships tend to ride well due to their advanced design. The vista ships (such as the Westerdam) are larger/heavier and ride rougher seas very well. But if you think it could be a problem for you, then take preventive measures ... such as one Bonine tablet each day. (Available as its generic, Meclezine.)

[grannynurse]

The ship does pick up speed in the evening BUT it should not generate alot of motion. In my experience you can hear and feel a slight rumble from the engines but nothing more. The kind of motion that generates seasickness is the rolling from side to side or the pitching from rough seas.
If the ship is in the open sea the stabilizers are in operation and reduce rolling. Leaving port, if you're in a channel or canal you can feel motion until you get out to sea.
New cruisers, whether it's sensitivity or anticipation, usually decide that the ship is moving more than it should, and react in kind.
Believe me if you have rough seas you will know it and won't have to guess.
I would suggest if you know you are sensitive to motion, ask your doctor for the trans-derm Scop patch (prescription) and put it on no later than 4 hours before you board. One patch is good for 72 hours. You may also buy over-the-counter Meclazine (Bonine, Dramamine) and take one before you board, and NO, 4 are not better than 1 unless you want to sleep through the cruise.
Some people find that the direction the bed is facing makes a difference. If your bed is facing aft, you may be slightly disoriented as you are literally traveling backward. We always pick cabins with beds that face forward.
If you do get sick, get out into the fresh air, do not take to your bed, and do eat. HAL has a room service menu that has recommendations for mal de mer. Ginger is on the table outside the dining room, take some as you leave. They also give out free Bonine if you need it. A clue for new cruisers is that barf bags are put by the elevators, but that won't be your first clue.
But remember, for most, anticipation is greater than realization. If you EXPECT and plan to get sick, you will.
We've been in very rough seas in the North Atlantic and have never had a problem, we actually love any motion, it reminds us that we're at sea and rocks us to sleep at night. Creaking that you hear at night is normal on any ship, so expect it.
Alot of new cruisers report getting their land legs back after a cruise is an adjustment too.
Have fun, and don't worry,
GN

[Navy_Chief]

A ship picking up speed has little to do with sea sickness as Jim and Grannynurse pointed out. But as they have said and as the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention......" The "Seasoned Cruiser" you spoke of may have related the ship's speed between dinners for the reason Jim stated. In my experience at sea (which is a bit more thanks to Uncle Sam) the ship's speed had little to do with the amount of people lined up outside Sick Bay. I've seen officers "retire" to thier staterooms not long after leaving port :D Why the heck did they choose the navy? :D

[unclerich]

We've been in an SY on both the Westerdam (Western Carib) and Noordam (Mediterranean) and motion transmitted to the cabin was not an issue on either cruise.

Smooth sailing and have a wonderful time!

[whogo]

My wife is susceptible to seasickness. She takes Dramamine as a preventative with good results, although the list of possible side effects includes nausea.

I rarely notice any ship motion, but when I reach solid ground I find that my sense of balance is slightly wacky.

[the2ofus]

If you are prone to motion sickness, an empty stomach is not a good thing. Perhaps your friends felt queasy before late dinner because their stomachs were quite empty, rather than because of the increased motion of the ship.

I sometimes carry a couple of packages of crackers when traveling, to eat at the first sign of the "empty" feeling. I learned to do that to avoid morning sickness when I was pregnant and it really helped. A relative who had been in the Navy gave me that tip.

If you choose to use the Scop patch, be careful to avoid touching the patch and then touching your eyes. I have heard that the contact can cause temporary blurred vision.

[lougee1043]

<<<<You may also buy over-the-counter Meclazine (Bonine, ) and take one before you board, <<<

and then remember to take one every day of the cruise --even if in port

[drjohn4]

<<<<You may also buy over-the-counter Meclazine (Bonine, ) and take one before you board, <<<

and then remember to take one every day of the cruise --even if in port

I would respectfully disagree with the advise of taking a lot of medicine you may not need. While it is good advice if you are prone to motion sickness to take a dose 30-60 minutes prior to leaving port, taking the medication at the beginning of a port day won't really help. I remember reading one post on this board about an unfortunate person lammenting about how her trip was ruined despite taking large doses of meclizine throughout her trip. Sadly, many of the symptoms she reported in her post sounded much more like side effects of the medication than typical motion sickness symptoms. People who are particularly sensitive to medication, or those taking high doses of these medications can feel worse from the medication than they would from motion sickness. Accu-pressure bands (like Sea-Bands) are nice because they don't have these side effects and are very effective for some people.

[SarahQ]

Hey there, Broughton Hall! I see this is your first post, so welcome to CC :)

I tend to agree with the2ofus - while the ship does generally pick up speed in the evenings/night, the queasiness your friends felt may have actually been due to empty stomachs, which definitely doesn't help with seasickness. If you have early seating, you should be fine, but it doesn't hurt to have some quick snacks with you.

On a related note...I am also travelling on the December 10th sailing of the Westerdam (with my husband and friends). We have a fairly active roll call going (a thread dedicated to this particular sailing), and we'd love for you to come on over and join us!

Just click here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=299396

See you in December!

[CaSaGrayson]

Accu-pressure bands (like Sea-Bands) are nice because they don't have these side effects and are very effective for some people.

These worked very well for me. I only had slight nausea when we did some pitching, but within minutes of putting on the Sea-Bands I felt fine.