Sometimes things happen for a reason...first Oceania cruise booked

[AlaskaNewbie68]

Hello, all, happy to join you here. We are new to cruising with only 2 under our belts (HAL to Alaska and Royal to NE/Canada). As someone who greatly appreciates good food and who isn't a fan of crowds, I've been wanting to try Oceania.  We had booked Royal to Roatan and Mexico for Jan. 2020. Just found out yesterday that Roatan was cancelled due to a mechanical issue and that is the port we were most looking forward to due to the Sloth Sanctuary. We are now booked on Sirena (B1) Jan. 25 (a day earlier than original cruise) and I am SO excited. My only concern is seasickness on a smaller vessel, but I'll have my seabands on and will take Dramamine as a precaution. 

 

Happy to "meet" you all!

Michele in NJ

[Flatbush Flyer]

21 minutes ago, AlaskaNewbie68 said:

Hello, all, happy to join you here. We are new to cruising with only 2 under our belts (HAL to Alaska and Royal to NE/Canada). As someone who greatly appreciates good food and who isn't a fan of crowds, I've been wanting to try Oceania.  We had booked Royal to Roatan and Mexico for Jan. 2020. Just found out yesterday that Roatan was cancelled due to a mechanical issue and that is the port we were most looking forward to due to the Sloth Sanctuary. We are now booked on Sirena (B1) Jan. 25 (a day earlier than original cruise) and I am SO excited. My only concern is seasickness on a smaller vessel, but I'll have my seabands on and will take Dramamine as a precaution. 

 

Happy to "meet" you all!

Michele in NJ

Welcome aboard.

 

On Oceania, you will find a far better experience than on HAL or Royal in every possible way: food, service, amenities....

 

One caveat: As good as will be the short Caribbean cruise you are doing, give some thought to doing longer future Oceania cruises with more exotic itineraries. That's where Oceania really shines.

[AlaskaNewbie68]

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Welcome aboard.

 

On Oceania, you will find a far better experience than on HAL or Royal in every possible way: food, service, amenities....

 

One caveat: As good as will be the short Caribbean cruise you are doing, give some thought to doing longer future Oceania cruises with more exotic itineraries. That's where Oceania really shines.

Thank you! We would love to. It's difficult with my work schedule right now, but some day...

[Flatbush Flyer]

6 minutes ago, AlaskaNewbie68 said:

Thank you! We would love to. It's difficult with my work schedule right now, but some day...

And, when your ready:

Transpacific approx 4-5 weeks

Cape Horn (Rio-Lima) approx 4 weeks

[susiesan]

Michele: We also booked Jan. 25 Sirena sailing. I started a roll call that you can join here:

I think one other person on CC has said they also booked this date. I didn't know about the sloth sanctuary at Roatan, that is something we are interested in seeing. maybe we can go together as a private excursion.

[Paulchili]

I don’t think you need to worry much about Sirena’s size - she handles well in all waters. Her sister ship Insignia (identical ship) has made several 180 day round-the-world cruises sailing all the oceans without any issues. Caribbean in January should be fairly calm.

To lessen the chances of sea sickness you should try to book a cabin on a lower deck mid-ship.

I find Bonine as effective as Dramamine and it causes no drowsiness. Just remember to take it several hours before rough seas are predicted or expected.

Enjoy your first of many Oceania cruises 😊 

[sunlover12]

52 minutes ago, AlaskaNewbie68 said:

My only concern is seasickness on a smaller vessel, but I'll have my seabands on and will take Dramamine as a precaution. 

 

 

I haven't been on Sirena but I've been on Regatta twice.  Neither me nor DH needed Dramamine or patches.  They're smaller ships but they are very smooth and stable.  Have a wonderful first cruise on Oceania.

[Andee]

I completely agree with paulchili about booking a cabin low & midships and about taking Bonine (DH uses meclizine, the generic).

[Sny]

You might want to bring along some ginger capsules for seasickness. I have used them a couple times on Oceania and they work quickly. Found them on Amazon. 

[Jay23]

Sloth sanctuary is delightful...So is Oceania and the "small" ship rides very well indeed.  However you are very wise to take medication with you.  Have a lovely time   J

[cotto22]

If seasickness is an issue, you might consider the patch. It is available by prescription, and the only side effect I had was that I was thirstier than normal. Dramamine makes me sleepy. I have tried the ginger chews, and although tasty, they did not do much for me. Can't comment on the bands. Just a suggestion!

[Paulchili]

38 minutes ago, cotto22 said:

you might consider the patch. It is available by prescription, and the only side effect I had was that I was thirstier than normal.

You were lucky.

They are "messy", may come off while showering, don't want to get that stuff in your eyes and worst of all, I had trouble reading the menus due to blurred vision:

https://www.ibuzzle.com/articles/scopolamine-patch-side-effects.html

Granted, while many tolerate the patch quite well, they would be the last resort for me - JME.

Edited July 26 by Paulchili

[AlaskaNewbie68]

Thank you, everyone! Appreciate the suggestions. 

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, Paulchili said:

You were lucky.

They are "messy", may come off while showering, don't want to get that stuff in your eyes and worst of all, I had trouble reading the menus due to blurred vision:

https://www.ibuzzle.com/articles/scopolamine-patch-side-effects.html

Granted, while many tolerate the patch quite well, they would be the last resort for me - JME.

 

As with ANY medication that one might plan to take while traveling, please  check with your own physician, and then TRY IT AT HOME FIRST.

You won't know if it helps with seasickness , but you'll find out if you have any unpleasant side effects.  And just in case you do, you won't ruin some cruise time... and you'll have access to your physician "just in case".

Better safe than sorry.

This refers to both Rx and OTC meds.

 

We thought we didn't get seasick and worried more about being "scared", but we hadn't experienced "heavy seas" until a bit more than a year ago, off the coast of Norway.

We were unable to stand, and finally crawled to our bedroom, and just stayed in bed for safety.  Fortunately, the Captain had warned us that there would be several hours of this, so we were prepared.

The good news is we didn't get seasick, and I didn't get scared.  (I'm not claiming I'd *never* get scared, but that was pretty extreme ...)

 

But note:  We had a suite that was aft and high.  The cabins that were lower and mid-ship would have experienced much less motion.  (Think of a seesaw:  The most motion is at the ends, with much, much less near the middle.)

 

GC

 

[Paulchili]

4 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

As with ANY medication that one might plan to take while traveling, please  check with your own physician, and then TRY IT AT HOME FIRST.

Excellent advise 😉

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

But note:  We had a suite that was aft and high.  The cabins that were lower and mid-ship would have experienced much less motion.  (Think of a seesaw:  The most motion is at the ends, with much, much less near the middle.)

 

GC

 

we were on Marina deck 8  close to mid ship  when we had some very rough seas 

The ship was pitching  our heads felt the motion  of the see saw effect ...we just slept in the middle of the bed incase  we bounced out  🙂

I usually steer clear of the lounge  & Horizons if the seas are  rough  & that works for me

does not bother DH at all

everyone reacts differently

[GeezerCouple]

16 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

we were on Marina deck 8  close to mid ship  when we had some very rough seas 

The ship was pitching  our heads felt the motion  of the see saw effect ...we just slept in the middle of the bed incase  we bounced out  🙂

I usually steer clear of the lounge  & Horizons if the seas are  rough  & that works for me

does not bother DH at all

everyone reacts differently

 

There apparently are some true "expedition" ships (I'm thinking here of Antarctica) that do NOT have regular stabilizers, and also have a different hull shape.  These were originally "cruise" ships, but were converted.

Apparently they have flatter bottoms and they just bob around like corks.  It's reported (I have no direct verification) that they are very safe, but they don't quite feel that way!

 

And at least some of these have NETS on the sides of beds, in case one DOES "bounce out"!  😱

 

Anyone know if this is true?

 

GC

[LHT28]

34 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

There apparently are some true "expedition" ships (I'm thinking here of Antarctica) that do NOT have regular stabilizers, and also have a different hull shape.  These were originally "cruise" ships, but were converted.

Apparently they have flatter bottoms and they just bob around like corks.  It's reported (I have no direct verification) that they are very safe, but they don't quite feel that way!

 

And at least some of these have NETS on the sides of beds, in case one DOES "bounce out"!  😱

 

Anyone know if this is true?

 

GC

I cannot imagine a cruise ship with a flat bottom 

I have seen Lee Cloths on sailboats  but not on cruise ships

i sure those in the Navy probably use them  🙂

 

[GeezerCouple]

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I cannot imagine a cruise ship with a flat bottom 

I have seen Lee Cloths on sailboats  but not on cruise ships

i sure those in the Navy probably use them  🙂

 

 

Sorry - I didn't mean totally flat, so apologies.
And I haven't see a cross section of the hull shape, but apparently it is "much flatter" than conventional cruise ships.

 

I'm forgetting what their initial purpose was, before they were used as cruise ships.  And some people probably wouldn't even call them "cruise" ships; perhaps more/only "expedition" ships?

 

IIRC, they were Russian ships, perhaps originally research vessels?

 

GC

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Sorry - I didn't mean totally flat, so apologies.
And I haven't see a cross section of the hull shape, but apparently it is "much flatter" than conventional cruise ships.

 

I'm forgetting what their initial purpose was, before they were used as cruise ships.  And some people probably wouldn't even call them "cruise" ships; perhaps more/only "expedition" ships?

 

IIRC, they were Russian ships, perhaps originally research vessels?

 

GC

Ok  I think I know what you mean

I think some were converted ferries,  research vessels   or ice breakers

maybe one like this

 

[Carol From California]

I get terribly seasick so I started using the patch in 2009 and never looked back. We have been on some cruises with very rough seas, including the Drake Passage going to/from Antarctica. If it wasn't for the patch I could not cruise. Nothing else worked for me. It's enabled me to do some activities that I never could have done, such as float planes, or helicopters. It does give me a dry mouth but that is a small price to pay to be able to cruise worry free of getting violently ill.

[WESTEAST]

I too suffer with nausea (on sea + on buses) and use Gravol, Ginger tablets & lozenges; however, last year I purchased the Reliefband and wow it really helped!  We are on the Marina for a British Isles cruise in August so will test it out on the North Sea! Here is the link: https://www.reliefband.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvabzjL_V4wIVRR6tBh2pHwakEAAYASAAEgItBvD_BwE

[AlaskaNewbie68]

12 minutes ago, WESTEAST said:

I too suffer with nausea (on sea + on buses) and use Gravol, Ginger tablets & lozenges; however, last year I purchased the Reliefband and wow it really helped!  We are on the Marina for a British Isles cruise in August so will test it out on the North Sea! Here is the link: https://www.reliefband.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvabzjL_V4wIVRR6tBh2pHwakEAAYASAAEgItBvD_BwE

Thank you! I do find the seabands do the trick, but I also take Dramamine to be SURE.