Freezerburnt

A great article/study can be found that I thought was pretty interesting called the Treatment of Motion Sickness done by Matthew Sutton, M.D. and Anne Mounsey, M.D. What I found interesting about this study is that it is very similar to what people are saying on here which is that ginger either works or it doesn't. But some other studies are cited below. Ginger has been used and recommended to oncology patients and pregnancy induced nausea patients for many years due to their positive effects. So overall it is not to say that everyone should use ginger or everyone should use the scope patch because as it turns out what's good for the goose is not always good for the gander. Being in the medical field I have learned that sometimes more simple and basic OTC treatments are more effective for some people after other treatments have failed. So it's not saying any one person is right. It is just nice to have a lot of different options and opinions so we have choices.

Manusirivithaya S, Sripramote M, Tangjitgamol S, et al. Antiemetic effect of ginger in gynecologic oncology patients receiving cisplatin. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2004;14:1063-1069

Borrelli F, Capasso R, Aviello G, et al. Effectiveness and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;105:849-856

Sharma SS, Gupta YK. Reversal of cisplatin-induced delay in gastric emptying in rats by ginger (Zingiber officinale). J Ethnopharmacol. 1998;62:49-55

Smith C, Crowther C, Willson K, et al. A randomized controlled trial of ginger to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2004;103:639-645

Spinks A, Wasiak J. Scopolamine (hyoscine) for preventing and treating motion sickness Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011(6):CD002851.

I see someone started taking the ginger root caps a couple days before the cruise. Anyone else do this? I was so close to just getting the scope patch but the risk of side effects doesn't really seem worth it. I think I may just stick with ginger, maybe some OTC med and my left over Zofran just in case.

I found a site that does independent tours where we are going, I just wasn't too sure if I should trust it or not. But it does seem like more experienced cruisers use the independent tours and such. I may try this and save money.

On Carnivals website when I log-on and go through everything there was a section that asked me. It had an area where I could select if I wanted the bed a king or 2 twins. I clicked on the banner that said how many days until boarding, then selected cruise details. On that page, just to the left, it has an area that says bedding and either says twins or king, if you select the ? it will allow you to change it. I am not sure if it will actually be this way when we get there but it did give the option.

Unofficially, after my last day of work.

Officially, after muster.

So I hear a lot of people talk about muster, can you tell me what to expect with that? Does it take a while and when do they usually do it? I have just seen a lot of people say on here their cruise starts after the muster...is it terrible?

I see different excursions that last 3 hours or whatever that include food, drink and activity. So my question is if we do that activity do we only have 3 hours at that place or can we spend all day there? Does it vary? What is the best excursion you have ever done? How do you get the most for your money? How do you get the most out of that port?

On sea days many people get up early and throw their stuff on chairs. Carnival is good with the 45 minute rule so if you see chairs with stuff for over 45 minutes bring it to a crew members attention.

 

You will have a hard time finding chairs by the pool but if you go up by the slide-- you will not have a hard time finding two chairs.

http://www.divinerevelation.org/triumphpoolwaterslide.jpg

So its pretty split. I guess people put their stuff on chairs to save them all day or something? Thats too bad because some people would just want to enjoy it for short periods. Thank you for the advice. I don't really see us sitting for real long periods of time, sometimes we are like children on vacations. But then again we can also get in the mood to lounge.

if this is your first cruise-- stay with what you have. First cruisers tend to be out and about not missing a minute of their vacations.

I think that you may be right about this. And maybe it would be better for us just to see for ourselves how much we would use it or like it. I did have someone tell me that the deck is usually so busy that you can't find chairs together all the time, I wonder if that is really an issue or not? I look at pictures other people take and it looks like there is plenty of seating everywhere.

I did some searches and some of these you are mentioning never came up when I was just doing a general search so I really appreciate the help

We have sailed on the Triumph along with many other Carnival ships [Platinum Members] and we like the Balcony cabins on the Lido deck on the Triumph. They are just a short walk to all the action on the Lido deck and the Buffet. Spa deck is also very nice and maybe just a wee bit less noisy, although we never had a problem with noise. as far as sway goes, again we have never had a problem but it is true that the lower you are the less movement you may feel. Just check out the decks above and below you. You want to avoid being below the pool area or above or below the theater or the disco. Just remember nothing is perfect overlook the minor annoyances that happen and just have great time. Ps. Below the buffet is ok as the buffet gets quiet at night. You won't spend much time in your cabin during the day.

Thank you for the advice. I did book an interior room because the prices were trending up and I didn't want to miss the boat...a little pun intended:D. I did hear that there would be opportunity for us to upgrade though so I think we may do that, especially after the expense of Christmas is over. I debated over and over on what to do with booking interior vs balcony. I heard we wouldn't be in our room enough to enjoy the balcony, but now we are hearing a little different. So have you ever had an interior? Do you spend more time in your room because of the balcony?

Did you look on the Gulf Coast Departures board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

 

Edit: I see you have posted on the Gulf Coast Departures board, and got 43 replies! Did you see those?

Ya, I was just posting a reply to an existing thread trying to get more updated info and I was the last to post. I was trying to look up a lot of the info they gave on there but it was a little out dated so I was just trying to get something to help narrow my search. That hotelnparking was useful. I'm not sure what I will do yet but I think I would feel better about my car in a secure parking lot

We are usually on board the ships around 11:30 to 12:30 depending on the cruise line, ship etc. They are times that we have also had to wait to board later due to ship issue or customs, etc again.

But to answer the question, we tend to board ASAP or as soon as they let us on.

So do you just usually get there around 11:30 or 12 as a rule of thumb? Do you end up standing around a lot waiting? Because I heard often you can't get into your room until later either. I feel like such an idiot when it comes to things like this but my husband and I come from non-traveling families so neither of us are used to vacationing and I like to know a little what to expect I guess.

More of a question of when I plan to board the ship: My Departure time is 4:00 pm so what time should I plan to be there? They may send this in the final paperwork but I was curious so we could make other plans. Is there any time that is better than other?

I went through some old threads about this subject and looked up some of the hotels, and a couple were shut down. I even tried to post in the old threads and never got a response so hope to get a little advice from some veteran cruisers. I would like to know about where to park in Galveston. I see some people have used the hotel parking before, any suggestions about that? Is there any one parking over another, or are there multiple places to park? I just want to be able to board with the least amount of confusion possible so any help and suggestions are appreciated.

I appreciate all of the veteran cruiser info. I was wondering about your opinion on parking at the hotel vs using a parking area. Where will my car be safe? Where will be the least confusing for a first timer like me? I worry about having 4 bags and loading a trolly or something. Any thoughts?

I see a lot of different suggestions here and my husband and I have talked about it. We are going on our first cruise on the Triumph and so many people have said you won't be in your room much at all, mainly to clean up and sleep (especially being our first). This is also my first time seeing the ocean. At first we were going to spend the money and get a balcony. But then I got to thinking that I could save that money and do more with it on the ship like drink tickets or the extras. So then we debated on ocean view vs. interior. I see people say the more you pay the more you sway so maybe an interior would be less motion for us, not knowing what to expect. So thinking back to your first cruise, or even now, did you spend much time in your room? About how much do you account for extra's on the ship (because I heard certain shows can cost)?

I have searched and didn't really find a definite suggestion so I will just ask: I am a first time cruiser and I wondered how you feel about packing finer jewelry? Is there some sort of cut off you have for your finer items? What do you do with nice wedding sets or fine jewelry when you go on excursions? If you lock them in the safe, how safe is the safe? Sorry for all the questions, just things running through my mind.