Seasickness

My husband gets really bad seasickness. The last time we went on a cruise was the Carnival Legend. He had a patch, and though there was a choppy day, he was completely fine the whole trip. We are planning another cruise for this summer. (I am a little nervous as it is 3 1/2 years later and I think his motion sickness issue is even a little worse than before). Would a large ship like the RC Allure/Oasis of the Seas be even better for him with motion sickness or does it not matter the size of the boat? If he has the patch, should we get the bands too? What about Dramamine for an added measure?

My husband gets really bad seasickness. The last time we went on a cruise was the Carnival Legend. He had a patch, and though there was a choppy day, he was completely fine the whole trip. We are planning another cruise for this summer. (I am a little nervous as it is 3 1/2 years later and I think his motion sickness issue is even a little worse than before). Would a large ship like the RC Allure/Oasis of the Seas be even better for him with motion sickness or does it not matter the size of the boat? If he has the patch, should we get the bands too? What about Dramamine for an added measure?

The "Patch" is called Transderm Scop and contains a pretty potent drug called Scopolomine. In the USA it is a prescription item...and for good cause (read the side effects and interactions and you will understand). Accordingly, you should speak with your own physician about the advisability of mixing the patch with other drugs such as dramamine or Bonine. As to the Sea Bands, they are completely harmless (and its arguable whether they are useless) so he could certainly use Sea Bands.

As to really large ships, in most cases they ride the seas better than smaller ships. However, even the largest ships do move when upon the sea. If there are "long swells" which come from distant storms, even the Oasis can make some folks seasick. We even cruised with a German lady who got seasick while the ship was still tied up at the dock (and not moving at all).

Hank

Hank,

Your last sentence made me laugh. :)

Yes, he has a prescription for the patch and would definitely talk to doc before mixing anything else. (The last thing I need besides a seasick husband on our anniversary is a loopy one). If the bands are harmless and don't interact, it couldn't hurt I guess. I really want to do the cruise but a little nervous if he gets sick.

The key is to be prepared as no one can guarantee what the weather will be like.

And if the weather is very rough a large and medium side ship will both be impacted.

Try to book a room on a lower deck and also more midship.

And just come prepared as you did last time.

Keith

My husband gets really bad seasickness. The last time we went on a cruise was the Carnival Legend. He had a patch, and though there was a choppy day, he was completely fine the whole trip. We are planning another cruise for this summer. (I am a little nervous as it is 3 1/2 years later and I think his motion sickness issue is even a little worse than before). Would a large ship like the RC Allure/Oasis of the Seas be even better for him with motion sickness or does it not matter the size of the boat? If he has the patch, should we get the bands too? What about Dramamine for an added measure?

IMO the larger ship is worse for movement. Be sure and get the patch since he has used it before and knows how it works. Don't double up meds without a physicians approval. As far as sea bands, some people swear by them, I think they are a joke but they won't hurt anything.

I think that the bigger newer ships are better off than most ships when you hit bad weather. I too get seasick and was surprised when i had no problems in bad weather on the Royal Princess.

I live on dramamine prior to the cruise and during the whole cruise and it helps me and i can get carsick driving:)

I agree that you should try to get a mid ship mid deck cabin. If you cannot then go towards the back vs the front. The front is awful for motion.

My wife uses Bonine it works really well but she only uses a half a pill because a whole pill puts her to sleep. It's easy to tell if a ship is heading to rough waters because all of a sudden there are green apples around the ship

I am not prone to sea sickness, so I will not offer advice concerning remedies. I was on Oasis of the Seas in the Caribbean last November. I felt virtually no motion, not even the gentle rocking I like to feel that usually makes me sleep so well on a ship. I was in cabin 3178 or 3578 (I can't remember now if we were port or starboard). If you are going to try another cruise, I think a lower deck cabin on Oasis is a good bet. Best wishes!

Vicki

Bring some bonine...and have a good time. He didn't have a problem in "choppy seas" you said...no worries!

I think that the bigger newer ships are better off than most ships when you hit bad weather. I too get seasick and was surprised when i had no problems in bad weather on the Royal Princess.

I live on dramamine prior to the cruise and during the whole cruise and it helps me and i can get carsick driving:)

I agree that you should try to get a mid ship mid deck cabin. If you cannot then go towards the back vs the front. The front is awful for motion.

You might want to read about the Anthem of the Seas fiasco this past week! We have cruised on about 60 different vessels over the years and some of the best riding vessels (in heavier seas) were actually smaller vessels. Some of the older smaller ships have deeper hull and are less top heavy (which means they are not a wind vane like the new monster ships). But probably the best riding ship of all is the current Queen Mary 2 which has a deep hull, very high bow (built to easily handle the highest seas) and 4 propellers with lots of extra power. She has about 40% more steel then a typical cruise ship of comparable size, much more power (she can make 30 knots while most cruise ships cannot get over 24) Where the Anthem of the Seas could make little headway against 75 knot winds and 30 foot seas...the QM2 would just add extra power and push through those seas. Consider that the QM2 draws about 33 feet while a larger Anthem of the Seas draws about 28. Those extra 5 feet of draft come in very handy in heavy seas.

Hank