Best way to handle sea sickness

[OlsSalt]

The one I hate is the one where you begin worrying about the "up" part. :o

 

Ha, ha. But I really hate the one where you think you are going to put your foot down, and the floor feels like it drops away from you.

[bluegiraffe]

There are also different forms of motion that feel very different - the side to side which can be mitigated by the stabilizers or the up and down of the front and back of the ship, which cannot. Or the whole package to gether called "corkscrewing" which is about as bad as it can be. The one I really hate is when the ship goes up and down from fore to aft - that is the stomach churning vertigo one for me.

 

The corkscrew! **shudder** Happened to us a few years ago in the Caribbean. I'm prone to motion sickness anyway, so that was unpleasant.

 

My prevention starts with choosing a room on a lower deck. I bring ginger and Bonine with me. Since Bonine makes me sleepy, I take it before going to bed. I get a good night's sleep and I don't get sick.

[catl331]

The one I really hate is when the ship goes up and down from fore to aft - that is the stomach churning vertigo one for me.

I'm the opposite ... rolling bothers me more than pitching.

[ArtsyCraftsy]

What's everyone's experience with Bonine and alcohol. Yes, I know there's a warning, but in practice, since there's a lot of alcohol consumed on cruises, and apparently a lot of Bonine too, I'm wondering.

 

Good question! I've never had a problem with seasickness -- I live in northern WA state, so ferries are a way of life up here. No problems there. I've done whale-watching trips when I lived in northern California, again with no issues.

 

However, at my doctor's recommendation, I took OTC Bonine (meclizine) along on the trip (14-days Alaska r/trip out of Seattle on the Amsterdam last September), and when Captain Mercer announced that we'd be experiencing some rough water through the Gulf of Alaska on our way to Anchorage, I started taking it "just in case." Went to dinner, had wine with dinner, no noticeable effects at all. No seasickness, either.

 

I'll be doing the same on my upcoming cruise this summer (north Atlantic out of Boston for 38 days).

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

[KroozNut]

I know that I'm going to take a lot of heat here, and that's okay. My own personal opinion is that 'sea sickness' is a preconceived notion of some sort of vague illness that happens when at sea.

 

I have personally experienced 25 years at sea, including typhoons, and 45 degrees rolls. And I have never experienced any 'sea sickness'

 

Am I just lucky?

[catl331]

Am I just lucky?

Absolutely! I have a DD that gets nauseous in a car if she's not driving.

[bluegiraffe]

I know that I'm going to take a lot of heat here, and that's okay. My own personal opinion is that 'sea sickness' is a preconceived notion of some sort of vague illness that happens when at sea.

 

I have personally experienced 25 years at sea, including typhoons, and 45 degrees rolls. And I have never experienced any 'sea sickness'

 

Am I just lucky?

 

YES, she said heatedly.

[Haboob]

I know that I'm going to take a lot of heat here, and that's okay. My own personal opinion is that 'sea sickness' is a preconceived notion of some sort of vague illness that happens when at sea.

 

I have personally experienced 25 years at sea, including typhoons, and 45 degrees rolls. And I have never experienced any 'sea sickness'

 

Am I just lucky?

 

No. You're just ...insensitive. ;p

[ger_77]

I know that I'm going to take a lot of heat here, and that's okay. My own personal opinion is that 'sea sickness' is a preconceived notion of some sort of vague illness that happens when at sea.

 

I have personally experienced 25 years at sea, including typhoons, and 45 degrees rolls. And I have never experienced any 'sea sickness'

 

Am I just lucky?

 

Yes, I believe you're just lucky, and to those who think it's all in my head, you can help wipe the "preconceived notion" of vomit off the various vehicles I've barfed on/in while getting carsick, airsick, and seasick. Don't get me started on carnival rides. I've been plagued by motion sickness since I was a child and there's nothing I can do but take some medication (meclizine works for me) and make the best of it. It still doesn't stop me from traveling though!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[iflyrc5]

As in color. They are normally available at the front desk in rough weather. As a matter of fact if you see them there expect rougher seas. A leading indicator of sorts.

 

Packets of bonine/meclizine are also available at the front desk. Normally only the person suffering from seasickness can pick them up however, which could be problematic.

I pick it up at the front desk for my wife all the time.

 

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[knittinggirl]

My last doctor said I could cut the patch in half. Tried it, but still got the terrible dry mouth. I tried the half patch twice at Beaufort nine. Did the over the counter from the front desk a few times, and also took a full patch when I disembarked w/ bronchitis. Been doing that ever since I ended up in the hospital after the cruise w/ vertigo.

 

 

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[catl331]

I pick it up at the front desk for my wife all the time.

You are responding to a post that is more than 6 years old, so policies could have changed. :) That said, I have often picked up meclizine at the front desk with no questions about who it was for.

 

Twelve years ago on the Veendam we had a room directly across the corridor from the infirmary. They would usually leave the door open during operating hours, and in the waiting area there were four large bins of meclizine, aspirin, acetaminophen, and band-aids, and anyone could walk in and take as much as they liked ... within reason!

[bobandjo]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Sea Bands. I can become nauseous floating on my back in the ocean. We took our first ocean cruise last year on HA to Alaska return. I wore my Sea Bands from day 1. We hit some rough weather mid-way of our cruise and many people, including my wife, were sick or feeling really uncomfortable. I was great, eating whatever. We were having dinner at a shared table that one evening and I mentioned wearing Sea Bands. One passenger, whose wife was in their cabin ill, had never heard of them but was going down to the shops to see if he could find some. My wife, who was only interested in a bowl of soup, said as she could see I was wearing one on each wrist "you're wearing mine". I told her that there was another pair in the cabin and didn't know why she wasn't wearing them. Two hours after she put them on she was feeling better. Mind over matter? Don't know, but they sure worked for me.

[catl331]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Sea Bands.

Sea Bands or Relief Bands or wrist bands have been mentioned 11 times in this thread before your post! Post #3 is the first time.

[bobandjo]

Oops, sorry about that. Guess I didn't go back to the first page in 2012.

[Cmargierose]

I thank everyone for your thoughtful help,ideas..still don’t know what I will try but really don’t want to get sick.

[OlsSalt]

I thank everyone for your thoughtful help,ideas..still don’t know what I will try but really don’t want to get sick.

 

You might want to try different options before you cruise just to see what their side effects might be. Either the OTC ones or the RX ones you will get from your doctor -- if they are appropriate for your own health profile. Some medical clinics have travel and immunization specialities - might be a good idea to discuss this with them.

 

It has been our experience is the rough sea patches rarely last more than a few hours - the captain wants to avoid them too. Most of your cruise time will be spent in port or at sea at night. Only once on a very old ship did we have an extended period of very rough seas that lasted for days - Straights of Mozambique -between Madagascar and South Africa around the Cape of Good Hope. Only later did we learn this was one of those legendary sea areas where there are always rough currents. Most cruise lines will avoid those types of waters in the first place and the ships are far better designed to handle rough waters than in the past.

[Jellybean46]

It’s not inevitable and i think it is good to find out if you do suffer rather than just taking meds.

 

I am a dreadful car/small boat traveller and suffer terribly. I really wanted to try a cruise so went for a ‘trial’ mini cruise 3 nights on a mid size ship armed with patches, tablets and bands, ginger - you name it!!

It never happened - I was fine and now several cruises later I have never suffered. My last cruise was really rough seas and apart from the occasional lurching feeling I was never sick or felt sick. I am amazed and people don’t believe me as I am so bad on small boats!!

 

I’m so glad I tested it and didn’t automatically reach for the meds as they make me drowsy and I think over a few days would make me feel zombie like - but everyone responds differently.

 

Good Luck - I hope you don’t suffer

[catl331]

It has been our experience is the rough sea patches rarely last more than a few hours - the captain wants to avoid them too.

I agree. Longest we ever had was about 10 hours as we raced westward toward Iceland trying to get into port before an eastbound hurricane got there. We made it, but a lot of water was sloshed out of the pools! Shortest rough patch was about 1/2 hour as we rounded the tip of an island heading toward Juneau.

[ottahand7]

This is probably the wrong thread to ask this but I tried a country search on CC and didn't get a lot of help. I just saw that the new big wave record surfer was in Portugal. He was recorded to have ridden an 80' wave months ago. I am on the Iberian Adventure in September. Has anyone else had rough seas along the Portugal coast? If it is so bad that there is 80' waves will the ports be canceled? Many thanks for an off the wall question. I have had rough seas coming out of the Panama Canal heading to Aruba and in September in Alaska.

[OlsSalt]

This is probably the wrong thread to ask this but I tried a country search on CC and didn't get a lot of help. I just saw that the new big wave record surfer was in Portugal. He was recorded to have ridden an 80' wave months ago. I am on the Iberian Adventure in September. Has anyone else had rough seas along the Portugal coast? If it is so bad that there is 80' waves will the ports be canceled? Many thanks for an off the wall question. I have had rough seas coming out of the Panama Canal heading to Aruba and in September in Alaska.

 

The record breaking 80 foot wave was last November. They just certified the prior surfing record today which is why it hit the news today. Don't think there are more 80 foot waves right now. Smooth sailing.

[KroozNut]

Oops, sorry about that. Guess I didn't go back to the first page in 2012.

 

Need to do your homework before responding, those are the rules!;)

[madera1]

Just saw this thread and I actually started it back in 2012 in one of my earliest posts. Since that time we have been on numerous cruises and have flung that using sea bands on my wrists works well for me and I only put them on when seas are a little rough. On occasion I will take Dramamine especially if the Captain announces to place all glass objects on the ground. I have only gotten motion sick twice on cruises by taking these measures.

 

 

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[ger_77]

Thanks for coming back and letting us know of the outcome. One sometimes wonders . . .

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)