Best Cabin Location for Possible Motion Sickness

[Charlie'sPet]

I'm entertaining the thought of going on a Caribbean cruise on the Westerdam the last week of October. Through an online travel site my options for cabins are J category on the Main Deck (1) but close to the bow of the ship or I category which is more in the middle but on the Upper Verandah deck (6). For someone that is prone to motion sickness which would be better? Does it even matter?

I'm totally fine with having an inside cabin.

TIA! ;)

[KirkNC]

Middle with be better then the bow.

[donaldsc]

Midships and low down.

 

DON

[cruisin'girl]

The bow is the worst place to be for motion sickness. Been there, done that. Middle the best, then aft.

[Typhoon1]

Mid ship, mid deck would be your best bet.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Midships and low down.

 

DON

 

Exactly what I was going to say

[jtl513]

Midships and low down.

Of course, but that isn't the choice here. It's between forward/low or mid/higher.

 

I am more sensitive to rolling (side-to-side) motion than to pitching (up-down), so if I had to choose between mid-ship deck 6 or Main forward I would choose the latter. However, you may be more sensitive to up-down motion. Does a fast elevator start-stop bother you? Or is a car on a very winding road worse?

.

Edited May 21, 2014 by jtl513

[navybankerteacher]

The bow is the worst place to be for motion sickness. Been there' date=' done that. Middle the best, then aft.[/quote']

 

Of course, the forward cabins are well aft of the bow - not like aft cabins which are right at the stern and thus much more likely to feel motion. Look at a deck plan.

 

Additionally, rolling (side to side) is much more likely than pitching on a ship of Westerdam's length; so having a lower deck is probably more effective in reducing motion than getting to midships.

 

Main deck forward is likely to give a smoother ride than Upper Verandah forward.

[Charlie'sPet]

Of course, but that isn't the choice here. It's between forward/low or mid/higher.

 

I am more sensitive to rolling (side-to-side) motion than to pitching (up-down), so if I had to choose between mid-ship deck 6 or Main forward I would choose the latter. However, you may be more sensitive to up-down motion. Does a fast elevator start-stop bother you? Or is a car on a very winding road worse?

.

 

I didn't even consider this...I'm still new at cruising and despite my brief bout of motion sickness on my first cruise it's not keeping me from doing another one since I had so much fun. I definitely get more sick with the rolling so the main deck cabin sounds like it would be better.

[mollyanne]

I didn't even consider this...I'm still new at cruising and despite my brief bout of motion sickness on my first cruise it's not keeping me from doing another one since I had so much fun. I definitely get more sick with the rolling so the main deck cabin sounds like it would be better.

 

Hope you enjoy the Westerdam. We have found it to be a great ship.

[navybankerteacher]

I was in a Noordam (Westerdam sister ship) main deck cabin- all the way forward, the first cabin aft of the theatre, on a January sailing from New York to the Caribbean. The first night out we hit 30+ foot seas - there was green water outside my window as we plowed through the waves, but the pitching was not that noticeable, while on upper decks midships the rolling made moving around a real challenge.LEFT][/left]

[debkaysmith]

Middle of the ship bow to stern and mid-ship top to bottom is best. Aft is second best - stay away from the front of the ship for sure. I rely on Bonine, a 24-hour OTC med similar to Dramamine that helps with the motion for me. Good luck.

[Granny DI]

After 30+ cruises I've decided it's not the position on the ship but the ship itself.

The smaller the ship the more you feel movement. I've been in hurricanes, storms etc and the bigger ships held up just fine. Last winter we were sailed the Caribbean on an Azamara ship...one of the old "R" ships. I was sick for four days, Last week we were on the Breakaway and I only felt the ship move one night but it was a rocking motion and it put me to sleep...the Azamara was mid aft and the Breakaway was on the aft. The only other time I've been really sick was midship on an old HAL ship(name escapes me as it is no longer in service) sailing between Montreal and Quebec. I didn't bother with my medication on the Breakaway but medication didn't help on the Azamara. Never felt the ship move at all on the Oasis of the Seas so I'm convinced I need to stay with the mega ships. Saying all this we're sailing on the Ryndam in Sept between Venice and Istanbul but most of the sailing will be at night so I should be ok...have no idea where my cabin will be as I only have an gty.

[jtl513]

Middle of the ship bow to stern and mid-ship top to bottom is best. Aft is second best - stay away from the front of the ship for sure.

No, mid-ship and as low as possible is best. That's where both the rolling and pitching components are least.

 

The only time I ever got really sick we were slightly aft of center and mid-ship vertically, on a night with lots of rolling. OTOH we went TransAtlantic in the second-most forward cabin possible on the Prinsendam Main deck and had no motion issues whatsoever.

Edited May 21, 2014 by jtl513

[boards]

Middle of the ship bow to stern and mid-ship top to bottom is best. Aft is second best - stay away from the front of the ship for sure. I rely on Bonine, a 24-hour OTC med similar to Dramamine that helps with the motion for me. Good luck.

 

and be sure to get a green apple. I get one for DW if she has any sign of being sea sick, it works.

[jtl513]

and be sure to get a green apple. I get one for DW if she has any sign of being sea sick, it works.

A professor of pharmacology told me that's primarily a placebo effect.

[summersigh]

Midships and low down.

 

DON

 

Agreed !

A few years ago we booked a transatlantic cruise for early August on the QM2 month in advance. We purposely booked midships and low not knowing that far in advance what the hurricane possibilities might be. :)

[Charlie'sPet]

Thanks again everyone for your great advice/suggestions! It's so nice to be able to post any questions and get answers right away. ;)

[navybankerteacher]

Middle of the ship bow to stern and mid-ship top to bottom is best. Aft is second best - stay away from the front of the ship for sure. I rely on Bonine, a 24-hour OTC med similar to Dramamine that helps with the motion for me. Good luck.

 

If you look at pictures, or deck plans, of ships you will see that while aft cabins are frequently directly at the stern, forward cabins are generally at least 100 feet aft of the now. The forward deck is open, and within the superstructure the theatre almost always is forward of any cabins. This means that forward cabins are always further from the bow than aft cabins are from the stern - with the result that aft cabins will feel significantly more pitch than forward ones.

 

Additionally, the higher the deck the more you will feel rolling, so bottom to,top is best. Finally, an interior cabin, closer to,the center line of the ship will experience less motion than an outside.

[jtl513]

This means that forward cabins are always further from the bow than aft cabins are from the stern - with the result that aft cabins will feel significantly more pitch than forward ones.

The amount of pitching that a cabin experiences is not determined by how far it is from the bow or stern, but rather how far it is from the center of gravity around which the ship is rotating longitudinally. This c.o.g. is not exactly mid-way between the bow and stern, but shifted aft by the weight of the engines and other heavy equipment in the aft, putting the forward-most cabins farther out on the lever arm.

 

I've stayed in three cabins far forward and one on the stern of Vista ships, and the forward ones had significantly more pitching than the stern one.

Edited May 22, 2014 by jtl513

[sammygoose]

From my limited experience in rough seas on 1010 on the NA there was a lot of up and down but little roll.

 

I felt bang....shuddder, up and down. Rinse and repeat. I am not terribly affected by motion but did make a point to sleep with my head higher than my feet.

Side to side motion- roll- is most felt the higher you go.

 

Up and down motion- pitch- is most felt at the fore or aft of the ship

 

 

So based on how it affects you.....

ok with pitch....lower is good

ok with roll....higher is good

 

Middle middle is best in a perfect world. Calm seas are even better!

I hope that helps. :)

[navybankerteacher]

The amount of pitching that a cabin experiences is not determined by how far it is from the bow or stern, but rather how far it is from the center of gravity around which the ship is rotating longitudinally. This c.o.g. is not exactly mid-way between the bow and stern, but shifted aft by the weight of the engines and other heavy equipment in the aft, putting the forward-most cabins farther out on the lever arm.

 

I've stayed in three cabins far forward and one on the stern of Vista ships, and the forward ones had significantly more pitching than the stern one.

 

True, to an extent, but, depending on the deck, the forward-most cabins are anywhere from 100 to more than 200 feet aft of the bow, while the aft-most cabins are right at the stern - and, because of that, are also subject to heavy vibrations as the stern rises.

 

The fact that you experienced more pitching while traveling in forward cabins than when traveling in stern cabins is best explained by the likelihood that sea conditions vary between sailings.

[jtl513]

True, to an extent, but, depending on the deck, the forward-most cabins are anywhere from 100 to more than 200 feet aft of the bow, while the aft-most cabins are right at the stern.

It does not matter how far a cabin is from the bow - only how far forward it is from the center of gravity.