Seasick

[gwberg]

My wife got seasick last December on a cruise with her sisters that left from New Orleans.  There was a storm and the ship was delayed getting to port.  She lost at least a full day of vacation.  My wife and I are booked for a cruise on the ship Serenity of Crystal Cruise, November 24 to December 6, 2019 round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale--docking at Grand Turk, St. Barts,, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Saint Thomas,.   I'm worried that my wife might get sick again.  Does anyone know if this specific itinerary or if the size of the ship or the time of the year make it more likely that she will have a bad experience? Thanks in advance.

[Husky61]

If past practices prevail, you will get a ton of advice from non-medical professionals suggesting what she should take.  My advice is talk to your physician.😃

[mom says]

Agree that your wife should speak with her health practitioner. While we can all give our opinions of whether your route might be rough or smooth,  none of us has a crystal ball to tell you what the sea conditions might be. So if she is prone to seasickness,  better to be proactive and (with consultation), come up with a short list of preventatives (first line of defense) and remedies ( both pharmaceutical and non). For the medicines that may be recommended, it's usually wise to take at least one dose at home to see how your body reacts to it.

 

There is a list as long as your arm that different people will swear by - I'm not going to repeat it, since it's easily found with as search.  Unfortunately,  it's often a matter of trial and error, since not everyone responds to a remedy in the same way. Put another way- some things work, other things don't.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, gwberg said:

My wife got seasick last December on a cruise with her sisters that left from New Orleans.  There was a storm and the ship was delayed getting to port.  She lost at least a full day of vacation.  My wife and I are booked for a cruise on the ship Serenity of Crystal Cruise, November 24 to December 6, 2019 round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale--docking at Grand Turk, St. Barts,, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Saint Thomas,.   I'm worried that my wife might get sick again.  Does anyone know if this specific itinerary or if the size of the ship or the time of the year make it more likely that she will have a bad experience? Thanks in advance.

The

[JimnKaren]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

The above opinions are good ones. Speak with a health-care provider (soon) and make a decision based on what that person says.

Jim

[navybankerteacher]

If there was a storm strong enough to delay return to port, that could explain seasickness. Of course you want to get professional advice, but you may find that after one bad experience your system adjusts and motion no longer bothers you, 

 

This is what happens to many, if not most, US Navy sailors.

[ldubs]

Best advise already given.  You & your wife are obviously worried.   Seeing the Doc can take a load off your minds.  

 

Enjoy!  

[Essiesmom]

I find sometimes position does it for me.   If there is much motion at all, and sometimes it is motion I am not aware of until I feel off... I find that changing my position in regarding to the orientation on the ship is important.  For instance, on our first cruise together, my sister and I had an OV cabin on the original Royal Princess.  This ship had all outside cabins.  The heads of the beds were under the window, and particularly in the Atlantic coming north from Rio to the Amazon, we found we could not sit in bed and read.  We were fine if we changed position, or got out and went elsewhere in the ship.  I find the same holds true now.  I usually keep a journal on my laptop and we were in a porthole cabin, not a particularly active sea.  I was sitting in a chair facing the portholes, and realized that I was not feeling well.  By then it was too late, and time for bed, so I just put on my sea bands and went to bed.  I also find I cannot ride backward in a vehicle, or at least, not in a helicopter.  EM

[K32682]

You are at the tail end of hurricane season in the Caribbean but late season storms are still a possibility.  At any time of the year, in any place in the world there are no guarantees of smooth waters. There are various products available to reduce the frequency and intensity of motion sickness.  Some are prescribed, others are over the counter and there are various naturopathic remedies available including goofy glasses marketed as a sea sickness cure.

 

https://www.boardingglasses.com/

 

The only sure method to avoid seasickness is to not cruise.

[lisiamc]

Other people must have different sorts of doctors than the one I have.  If I made an appointment to discuss seasickness remedies, I’d get the same look that I’d get if I showed up with an ordinary cold.  Followed by questions about any problems I’d had with the over-the-counter remedies, and a recommendation to have a chat with the pharmacist for things like this.

 

For an otherwise healthy person, a pharmacist seems like a good place to start, and he or she would know to ask if you have health restrictions that would rule out certain things, and then perhaps suggest you see a doctor if you have complicated issues.

[Bizmark'sMom]

Whichever seasickness remedy your wife decides on, do take a dose at home first. I'm glad I discovered I cannot use the scopolamine patch when I was safely at home.  Then, take the remedy your wife decides on with you. And don't wait for the nausea - she should use it when she first starts to feel "off" or "woozy."

 

Loads of people cruise with seasickness, we just manage it.  Personally, I use the elastic acupressure bands, and meclizine if the seas are rough.  Everybody is different, though. A talk with her pharmacist or doctor to make sure she picks something that doesn't interfere with her medications is definitely in order.

[gwberg]

You folks are great!  Your advice is exactly what we needed.  We will take it all seriously.  Thanks so much!

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Yes, check with your doctor first. Pills are the norm as is the patch behind the ear. You can also get the pills from the doctor on the ship. Usually they are free. I was born on a boat and have been on boats my entire life and in the NAVY. I have never been sea sick. My wife on the other hand used to get it real bad but only if the ship was rocking a lot and she was in a room. Any room. She beat it and has never got sea sick since. I am going to say some thing that I am sure will come back at me. It is in your head. Not meaning you are not getting sick. You certainly are. Your brain cannot comprehend what is happening. Same as getting sick on a ride at an amusement park or car sick. Your eyes and your body movements are not coordinated and you brain cannot make anything our of it so you get sick. If you get seasick. Do NOT go on a glass bottom boat. If you do take a bag with you. You WILL need it. They usually have them on that boat. Ask for one when you get on. Here are a few suggestions to help beat it. If you feel woozy get out on deck fast and breath fresh air and look and concentrate at the horizon. If it goes away, you know now you can beat it. If you are inside and the ship is rolling a lot. Have fun with it if you can. Act goofy and move more that the ship is. It usually agrees with your brain and the feeling will go away. Again, if it does you beat it. NEVER lie down. Do not sit in a chair. It will not help. It can make it worse. If you are near the buffet, eat a good amount of crackers and drink gingerale. That will help settle your stomach. If you feel like you are going to throw up. Go and do it. Then eat the crackers and drink the gingerale. If you are eating and it starts. Do not look down at the food. Look at anything you can at a distance and fix your eyes on it. If you can see outside, the horizon. If any of these suggestions help you stop getting seasick. You should be able to beat it completely eventually. if not. Pills or the patch. Happy cruising.

[cb at sea]

There are lots of preventative/remedies......there is no way to predict what your seas might be like, unfortunately.  Mother Nature has full control over it!

 

Some motions are worse than others, for those prone to motion sickness.  

[LoriPhil]

I’m subject to terrible motion sickness and taking Bonnie every afternoon starting the day prior to the cruise has allowed me to cruise symptom-free.  Haven’t had dry-mouth or fatigue, which has been an issue with other medications I’ve tried.  Chewable, over-the-counter.  Good ideas to test-run first as not everyone is wired the same, and mention to your doc if there are any health concerns.

[bbwex]

Well, this is a large topic, and some background information will really help you before we get to remedies.

 

First of all, most people don't get seasick, and if you do, it almost always passes in a day, once you get your sea legs.  Yes, I know, there are some people (a very small number) who seem to take several days to get over it.  If your wife was in a storm the last time, realize that a lot of people will start to fee some symptoms if the weather gets really rough. 

 

Seasickness is primarily caused by a conflict between the eyes (if they are not seeing the motion) and the inner ear which detect the motion.  So, prevention is somewhat easy -- stay someplace where you can see the motion until you get your sea legs.  Staying out on deck and watching the horizon is often the cure, and the fresh air will help as well.  If you are inside, stay near a window so you can see the horizon.  If you are not feeling well, do not go inside and lose sight of the seas.  The other thing is to eat normally.  While this seems counter-intuitive, an empty stomach is not the answer.  Keep away from greasy foods and don't overeat, but eat normal meals at normal times.

 

A ship's motion is a complicated matter.  The size of the seas (height of the waves), frequency of the waves, and distance between the waves are all factors, and they interact with the size of the ship as well as the direction of the ship as opposed to the direction of the waves.  Stabilizers do help, but do not and cannot stop all motion.  What seems odd is that sometimes you will notice motion, but notice very small seas, and sometimes get little motion in seemingly heavy seas.  And do not think that the new, super large cruise ships won’t move in the ocean.  The ocean is much bigger and more powerful than any ship no matter how big!

 

As for the old saying of staying in a low cabin, that is not so true any longer.  With the very large superstructures on modern cruising ships, the center of motion is significantly higher than it used to be, so the ideal place is often somewhere above the main deck.  Being amidships minimizes pitching (bow going up and down), but has no effect on rolling (side-to-side).

 

As for the remedies:

Ginger is clinically proven to dramatically reduce or prevent all motion sickness.  You can take ginger pills (available in any drug store), eat candied ginger or ginger snaps, or  drink real ginger ale (though you might need a lot).  This is a natural remedy obviously, but clinically proven to work.  Start taking or eating it before you get on the ship, but you do not need more than a few hours' time for it to get into your system -- you do not need to take it days in advance.

 

Some people, swear by the seabands, others notice no effect whatsoever.  Again, no medications, but not always effective.

 

Bonine and dramamine are OTC medications available everywhere.  They will work for most people who get seasick.  They should be started before getting on the ship. Ships also dispense generic forms of these pills.

 

For cases of severe seasickness where nothing else has worked, there is the scopolamine patch.  The most common side-effect is dry mouth, but there can be some serious side-effects as mentioned and including hallucinations.  If you know you are going to get seasick, and you have tried other medications without success, and your doctor recommends it, get the prescription filled in advance and try it for a week on dry land first -- you don't want to start hallucinating as you walk along the rail while you are at sea.

 

Perhaps most of all, don't worry yourself into it. If you don't get motion sick in other situations, you are likely to be fine or will be fine after a few hours.  If it were a really common problem, you wouldn't see so many cruise ships out there.  While cruise ships do move in the seas, and rough seas can cause a  lot of motion, bear in mind that they are not anything like small pleasure craft that bob and bounce along all the time.  Motion on a cruise ship tends to be much, much slower and less dramatic.  For most passengers, the gentle motion is calming.  Cruise lines try to avoid rough seas when they can, though that is not always possible, and the seas are not always coming from the right direction (Mother Nature can be soooo finicky).  For the most part, though, relax and enjoy.  Odds are that you are going to be just fine, and the initial prevention suggestions should be enough by themselves. 

[Bizmark'sMom]

A small point; ginger helps with the nausea. It does not help the vertigo that goes along with motion sickness. Personally, the vertigo is more troublesome than the nausea.