Motion sickness - shall we try again?????

We recently went on the Pacific sun for a 7 nt cruise of south pacific. I was so excited about this trip, but unfortunately we did not have a good time. My husband was quite sea sick right from the first day. We visited the Doctor but he only gave us tablets that made my husband sleepy. So 5 of 7 days was spent with him feeling sick or sleeping.

It has put us off cruising, but my question of the regular "cruisers" : The Pacific Dawn, being a larger and heavier vessel, is it more stable and therefore less likely to cause motion sickness?

If someone can help me here we might reconsider and try another cruise at a later date.

Thanks

Hi, and welcome to the cruise critic boards.

 

Sorry to hear that your poor husband was seasick. Must seem like

such a letdown when you anticipate such an exciting experience.

I have only been on the Pacific Dawn so can not compere one ship

to the other.Though I did find this ship fairly stable when we had a rough day.

It does sound like you would really like to try another

cruise though. Maybe you could try different seasick meds at your

leisure at home and see which one dosen't make him drowsy. There

is a few different ones around and I"m sure others will tell you which

ones they use..I use Kwells and find them to be effective and don't

leave me drowsy.

The other thing that can make a difference is your cabin position on

the ship..the ideal spot would be midship...too far forward or back

or too high up and you will feel more ship movement..

Don't give up see if there might just be a way to cruise again, as it

really is an exciting way to holiday.:)

Thanks for reply. Kwells did not work at all, I had them with us and we tried them first. He used the antihistamine motion sickness tablet form the Doctor.

Our cabin was on the bottom level, and in the middle, so it was an ideal spot. And he was ok when we were in our cabin, which incidentally is where we spent most of our time!

Cruises seems so much fun and such good value, but I think it will be hard to convince him to go again, that is why I thought some feedback from others might help.

We recently went on the Pacific sun for a 7 nt cruise of south pacific. I was so excited about this trip, but unfortunately we did not have a good time. My husband was quite sea sick right from the first day. We visited the Doctor but he only gave us tablets that made my husband sleepy. So 5 of 7 days was spent with him feeling sick or sleeping.

It has put us off cruising, but my question of the regular "cruisers" : The Pacific Dawn, being a larger and heavier vessel, is it more stable and therefore less likely to cause motion sickness?

If someone can help me here we might reconsider and try another cruise at a later date.

Thanks

I've been fortunate, no sickness yet. There are multiple ways to combat this. Scopalimine patches behind the ear, anything with real ginger in it, be it ginger tabs from a health food store, ginger cookies etc. One thing forgotten is the brain loses it's orientation with a rocking motion, you need to look at the horizon to reorient the brain to where it is, not staying in the room while rocking away. Get interested in the ship, look for what's there, what there is to do, get some excitement going without dwelling on the nausea. Again, I've been lucky so these are suggestions I've heard about. I take sea sick pills, pepto bismal tablets, ginger tabs with me just in case.

Thanks. We tried all of that. Often going up to lido deck, looking at the horizon etc. The weather was not great. We tried as many activities as he could manage. I wasn't sick at all, in fact I loved the motion, but I can imagine if you are sea sick it is difficult to keep trying to do things.

I was really just wondering if the pacific Sun being the smaller of the P and O crusie ships, meant that it was more 'rocky'. There certainly were quite a few people that were sick and when we went to the Doctors rooms there were heaps of people there.

We recently went on the Pacific sun for a 7 nt cruise of south pacific. I was so excited about this trip, but unfortunately we did not have a good time. My husband was quite sea sick right from the first day. We visited the Doctor but he only gave us tablets that made my husband sleepy. So 5 of 7 days was spent with him feeling sick or sleeping.

It has put us off cruising, but my question of the regular "cruisers" : The Pacific Dawn, being a larger and heavier vessel, is it more stable and therefore less likely to cause motion sickness?

If someone can help me here we might reconsider and try another cruise at a later date.

Thanks

 

your question is (The Pacific Dawn, being a larger and heavier vessel, is it more stable and therefore less likely to cause motion sickness? )

 

Its only me and the answer is yes.

 

 

Ps our son has bee on 11 cruises and is only 4.5 years ol.

 

 

 

Love THied.

 

 

 

 

.

Edited May 10, 2011 by thied

My son gets sick on a lake and I booked our first cruise for 12 nights (my dream) and forgot about this little fact. :eek:

 

We use Avomine, which is what the ship doctor gave you, but we use it as a preventative. You take one tablet for 2 nights before you get on board and then as long as you feel you need to after that. For my son it is usually the first 3 nights on the ship.

 

It does make you sleepy but as a preventative you only need one a day so if you take it at night you sleep it off anyway.

 

If you wait until you are sick you need to take it more often and then you are too sleepy to enjoy yourself.

 

My son has now been on 2 cruises and the last one was rough and he was fine.

 

I have been on the Sun and the Dawn and they are similar in rough seas. I hope you can find something that works and get your Husband to go on another cruise with you.

Thanks to both of you. It is great to get different opinions.

He did end up taking the Promethazine at night, but perhaps before we cruise will help.

I will keep working on him!

I think we might be better on a Cruise perhaps up the QLD coast with less days of just sailing their and home. However, as previously mentioned, Brisbane is a bit short on cruise variety.

Thanks again

Thanks to both of you. It is great to get different opinions.

He did end up taking the Promethazine at night, but perhaps before we cruise will help.

I will keep working on him!

I think we might be better on a Cruise perhaps up the QLD coast with less days of just sailing their and home. However, as previously mentioned, Brisbane is a bit short on cruise variety.

Thanks again

 

7 night Noumea , lifou. port vila is the same amont of sea day/sailing as the nrth qld cruise Whitsundays, Cairns,port dougles.

 

 

 

Love Thied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited May 10, 2011 by thied

Thanks for reply. Kwells did not work at all, I had them with us and we tried them first. He used the antihistamine motion sickness tablet form the Doctor.

Our cabin was on the bottom level, and in the middle, so it was an ideal spot. And he was ok when we were in our cabin, which incidentally is where we spent most of our time!

Cruises seems so much fun and such good value, but I think it will be hard to convince him to go again, that is why I thought some feedback from others might help.

Flame me!! There may be more than physical issues here. Feels okay IN the room?

Flame me!! There may be more than physical issues here. Feels okay IN the room?

 

No flame...the cabin was down low and in the middle..that is probably why he felt better.

 

My suggestion would be try a much bigger ship with modern stabilisers. My husband used to deck hand on Pittwater when he was at Uni and had to get off when they tied up at lunch because his vomiting put off other passengers... Pittwater is waveless! However he now cruises with me without any problems at all..your body does adjust to the motion and the advice to take your medication before boarding is appropriate. Taking medication every day is guaranteed to make you feel sleepy and strange...you should stop after a couple of days and see how you go.

I'm surprised the Doctor on board Pacific Sun didn't give your husband an injection for the motion sickness Kochie?

One injection and he would be 'good to go'.

Jilly:)

I have found the Pacific Sun has a very strange movement about it, even in calm waters. The trick is to take whatever medication suits you as soon as you board, then everyday after that.

Agree. If you know you are prone to motion sickness then start taking the meds BEFORE you need them. It's too late once the nausea sets in and then it can become a vicious cycle - if you think you are going to get seasick then you almost certainly will. Unfortunately there are very few over the counter meds available in Australia and certainly no Dramamine, Bonine, etc. TravaCalm (ORIGINAL) can be effective although they do cause 'dry mouth'. Also try ginger tablets or capsules - available from healthshops - but take them every day. Some people swear by green apples and crackers or those accupressure wrist bands. I'm afraid it's trial and error but I'm sure there's something out there that will do the trick. Did you have a cabin with a window/view or an interior? Not having a view of the horizon can make a huge difference.

I bought Bonine in the States while on an Alaskan cruise & found it far superior to anything we can get over the counter here. I have friends pick me up some when they are in the US. Don't know why we can't get it here. PS for us, ginger tablets were a disaster - made us feel worse.

I would think Dawn would be a better ship than Sun for not getting seasick, Sun does have a bit of a vibration as well as the usual rocking and rolling in bad weather, and I think Dawn would feel like a smoother ride, especially if you are in a cabin low down in midships.

 

Taking medicine before you go is a good idea. I've also heard that the body has a way of 'remembering' the feeling of the motion, so once you've been seasick once your body will not get as sick again. This is just a theory though, but you might be able to use it on your husband to convince him! :)

 

Choosing the itinerary is a good idea, try for a time of year when the weather is better (not cyclone season) and a Queensland coast one could be good - we did that in 2009 and it was so calm sailing inside the reef. It did get a bit choppy on the way back, but not too bad.

We recently went on the Pacific sun for a 7 nt cruise of south pacific. I was so excited about this trip, but unfortunately we did not have a good time. My husband was quite sea sick right from the first day. We visited the Doctor but he only gave us tablets that made my husband sleepy. So 5 of 7 days was spent with him feeling sick or sleeping.

It has put us off cruising, but my question of the regular "cruisers" : The Pacific Dawn, being a larger and heavier vessel, is it more stable and therefore less likely to cause motion sickness?

If someone can help me here we might reconsider and try another cruise at a later date.

Thanks

Hi Kochie, My husband gest terrible motion sickness can't even watch certain movies without feeling sick, be a passenger in a car. We have been on 9 cruises and 2 more booked, bigger ships do make a difference, we just came back from the Rhapsody of the Seas and she handled the rocky ocean beautifully, coming home the sea was like milk calm as. We ordered some sea sickness tablets from New Zealand called Palia Bombs and they worked a treat, I can give you the email address and contact details if you are interested, also on the Royal Carribean, they also supply sea sickness tablets that also worked, we also make sure which you did that we get a midship cabin not too high up on the ship. Hope this helps :)

Well thank you all so much for your responses. That is really great. Yes subaru94 that email address would be great. I think he can be convinced to try again!

I had hoped the Doctor would give him an injection but he refused to unless he couldn't actually keep fluids down!

Once again thank you For all your suggestions. Much appreciated.

Well thank you all so much for your responses. That is really great. Yes subaru94 that email address would be great. I think he can be convinced to try again!

I had hoped the Doctor would give him an injection but he refused to unless he couldn't actually keep fluids down!

Once again thank you For all your suggestions. Much appreciated.

Hi Kochie, email address is mj.jenkin2xtra.co.nz, would suggest that you get 10 doses. They have worked well for both my and my husband, hopefully you can convince him to go again. Where you go and time of year also pay factors into cruising.

Hi Kochie,

We went on P/dawn not long ago , I was one of the unlucky ones that was sick and the Dr gave me the needle and it worked wonders . I felt great after a 2hour sleep. But anyone that wasnt throwing up could only get the tablets.

Hope you get to cruise again .:)

Bonine tablets are excellent, however, I've not taken them personally.Someone else mentioned on here that they are good. You can't get them in Australia but the USA ships like Rhapsody do sell them on board. Maybe you can buy them online.

I purchased some whilst on Rhapsody for a friend who doesn't travel well at times at sea. These did the trick, and put a smile back on her face.

Jilly:)

Edited May 12, 2011 by Gold Coast Cruisers

Honestly the only medication that worked for me was Avomine. I started taking it 2 days before the cruise and then 2 tablets a day even though it says only 1. I knew when it was wearing off and the feeling is horrible so I kept on top it by taking the 2 at the same time each day. I also kept taking them for 2 days when I got home cause I then got landlegs :D:o

Didnt make me drowsy and I could drink alcohol with it.

Liz

A lot of sea sickness medications act as a preventative and not a cure. I have been on five cruises, and have always taken Kwells which was worked well for me.

 

I usually take the first dose a half hour or so before sailaway, and follow the directions on the packet for the first few sea days. I find that once we reach the destination (ie South Pacific islands) I can stop taking them for the days that we are at the ports. And then start taking Kwells for the sea days again at the end of the cruise.

 

But before taking any medication, I strongly suggest that you contact your doctor to discuss what is the best option for you.

I discovered Bonine on the Rhapsody.Now when I cruise I always buy them on E-bay.Usually costs about $6-$7.As long as you are not trying to buy commercial quantities it is legal to bring them into Australia.

A lot of sea sickness medications act as a preventative and not a cure

I dont quite understand the difference? :confused:I dont think seasickness can be cured as it a sickness to do with your balance and hearing. I think the medication is there as a preventative. In any case whatever works I think. :D;)

Liz