First Timer, worried about Seasick

[KnowTheScore]

14 hours ago, Bashermat said:

We are 1st time cruise bookers and are going on the Caribbean Cruise for 14 nights on the Azura

We have booked a Superior Deluxe Balcony Room, however I suffer badly with motion sickness, we did not pay the extra £2k to choose our room as we thought that was a ridiculous amount for the privilege, our cabin type shows DE on our confirmation, does anyone know where we could be and if the areas will be bad for sickness?

Apart from all of this we are very excited...also any tips on what we must book etc would be greatly received

 

 

Not picking your specific cabin is imho a big mistake if you know you suffer seasickness.

 

I'm one for keeping it real as I too suffer from it and it is horrible and debilitating and can ruin a holiday.   I am not here to frighten you but to say it like it is so you can best manage.

 

In future, always book a cabin dead mid-ships.  There is minimal movement there.   Never book a cabin front or back as that's where movement is maximum and the bow and stern can rise and fall many many meters constantly in high swells.  

Azura and it's sister ship Ventura are long ships which makes them more susceptible to "wallowing" and "corkscrewing".

They have stabilisers which can be noisy at times and create juddering vibrations.

 

As others have said take a good supply of Stugerons with you.    It is extremely important to take them BEFORE you set sail from any given port.  Once you are starting to feel the effects of ship movement it is too late to take them and they won't work. 

 

Always check the weather reports for the places you are visiting.  Don't rely on Captain's announcements though, once you get too understand their lingo they can be useful indicators. 

 

Understand the signs of impending seasickness.  It begins with a mild headache which if you don't notice quickly will soon turn into seasickness.    Stay mid-ships if you feel queasy.  If your cabin is front or back don't go back there.  Pick a lounge or bar that is mid-ships and stay there.    Avoid standing and walking.  While you are doing so your body's "gyro" system is active and having to balance you whilst the ship is moving.   Makes things worse.   Sit down.   As soon as you do your body has no need at all to try balancing anything.  Stay sitting down as much as possible.

 

There are 2 kinds of seasickness impacts.   One affects your balance and is to do with your ears and eyes.  The other affects your stomach and makes you physically sick.  I suffer from the former.  Even without being physically sick it debilitates me totally. 

 

If you have taken your Stugerons properly the movement shouldn't affect you so much.   Even so, I would still keep mid-ships as much as possible in any swells and avoid totally front and back.  That for me would mean missing theatre shows but I don't mind.

 

Don't bother with the wrist bands.  They are kidology.  Placebo.  Trust me, in really bad weather you will thoroughly regret it if you chose wrist bands.   Only the seasick pills work properly.

 

A drink of port and brandy is an age old remedy if your seasickness is of the stomach kind.

 

Ginger will also settle an upset stomach

 

The key to the whole thing is to not ignore it or try to fight it and definitely not to "give it a go" and see if you can hack it without tablets.  If you suffer seasickness then take it seriously.   Take a good supply of tablets.  Stugerons require 2 tablets before you sail and then further single tablets every 8 hours.   So ultimately 3 tablets a day.  Take plenty with you.

 

Another tip is that every ship in the fleet has sweet spots where it's best to sit in rough weather and they also have "not" sweet spots in midships places that can make you queasy.   On Azura and Ventura the coffee bars at the bottom of the Atrium are good places to sit and ride out rough weather (though the stabilisers are very noisy there).  At the top of the Atrium you have Red Bar/Blue Bar which are also ok.     The Glass House area I find to be a "not" so sweet spot even though it is close to the midships atrium.  Avoid in rough weather imo. 

 

I truly hope you have fair winds and calm seas for such make for a blissful cruising experience.  But if the fickle weather throws bad stuff at you just be prepared and take the precautions above and you will get through.  Either way it is absolutely nothing to be worried about.

 

I would like to iterate one further thing as it is your 1st time.

 

The experience of even moderate movement to a first timer can seem worrying and cause much anxiety.  You will hear all manner of creaks and groans from the ship and like me you may think you're going to sink.  It's natural.   The fact is the ship is extremely fine.  It can weather storms of gale force 12 and above and massive swells and I've been in them.   Each time you sail and each further degree of bad weather you experience will teach you how utterly safe you are and that there is no chance at all of the ship tipping over or sinking.  When the time comes remember these words and take them to heart.   You are safe.  The ship is fine.   It has taken thousands of batterings before and will take thousands more.

 

Enjoy your cruise.  Be prepared and don't worry, what will be will be and the good will outweigh any bad.   There is no finer way to travel, no finer way to enter new countries, no form of transport more majestic and wonderful.   You will never look back I am sure.    I warn you now, cruising is massively addictive.  :-)

 

Happy sailing

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by KnowTheScore

[d9704011]

^^^^^^ That pretty much covers all the bases.

[AndyMichelle]

5 hours ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

Not picking your specific cabin is imho a big mistake if you know you suffer seasickness.

 

I'm one for keeping it real as I too suffer from it and it is horrible and debilitating and can ruin a holiday.   I am not here to frighten you but to say it like it is so you can best manage.

 

In future, always book a cabin dead mid-ships.  There is minimal movement there.   Never book a cabin front or back as that's where movement is maximum and the bow and stern can rise and fall many many meters constantly in high swells.  

Azura and it's sister ship Ventura are long ships which makes them more susceptible to "wallowing" and "corkscrewing".

They have stabilisers which can be noisy at times and create juddering vibrations.

 

As others have said take a good supply of Stugerons with you.    It is extremely important to take them BEFORE you set sail from any given port.  Once you are starting to feel the effects of ship movement it is too late to take them and they won't work. 

 

Always check the weather reports for the places you are visiting.  Don't rely on Captain's announcements though, once you get too understand their lingo they can be useful indicators. 

 

Understand the signs of impending seasickness.  It begins with a mild headache which if you don't notice quickly will soon turn into seasickness.    Stay mid-ships if you feel queasy.  If your cabin is front or back don't go back there.  Pick a lounge or bar that is mid-ships and stay there.    Avoid standing and walking.  While you are doing so your body's "gyro" system is active and having to balance you whilst the ship is moving.   Makes things worse.   Sit down.   As soon as you do your body has no need at all to try balancing anything.  Stay sitting down as much as possible.

 

There are 2 kinds of seasickness impacts.   One affects your balance and is to do with your ears and eyes.  The other affects your stomach and makes you physically sick.  I suffer from the former.  Even without being physically sick it debilitates me totally. 

 

If you have taken your Stugerons properly the movement shouldn't affect you so much.   Even so, I would still keep mid-ships as much as possible in any swells and avoid totally front and back.  That for me would mean missing theatre shows but I don't mind.

 

Don't bother with the wrist bands.  They are kidology.  Placebo.  Trust me, in really bad weather you will thoroughly regret it if you chose wrist bands.   Only the seasick pills work properly.

 

A drink of port and brandy is an age old remedy if your seasickness is of the stomach kind.

 

Ginger will also settle an upset stomach

 

The key to the whole thing is to not ignore it or try to fight it and definitely not to "give it a go" and see if you can hack it without tablets.  If you suffer seasickness then take it seriously.   Take a good supply of tablets.  Stugerons require 2 tablets before you sail and then further single tablets every 8 hours.   So ultimately 3 tablets a day.  Take plenty with you.

 

Another tip is that every ship in the fleet has sweet spots where it's best to sit in rough weather and they also have "not" sweet spots in midships places that can make you queasy.   On Azura and Ventura the coffee bars at the bottom of the Atrium are good places to sit and ride out rough weather (though the stabilisers are very noisy there).  At the top of the Atrium you have Red Bar/Blue Bar which are also ok.     The Glass House area I find to be a "not" so sweet spot even though it is close to the midships atrium.  Avoid in rough weather imo. 

 

I truly hope you have fair winds and calm seas for such make for a blissful cruising experience.  But if the fickle weather throws bad stuff at you just be prepared and take the precautions above and you will get through.  Either way it is absolutely nothing to be worried about.

 

I would like to iterate one further thing as it is your 1st time.

 

The experience of even moderate movement to a first timer can seem worrying and cause much anxiety.  You will hear all manner of creaks and groans from the ship and like me you may think you're going to sink.  It's natural.   The fact is the ship is extremely fine.  It can weather storms of gale force 12 and above and massive swells and I've been in them.   Each time you sail and each further degree of bad weather you experience will teach you how utterly safe you are and that there is no chance at all of the ship tipping over or sinking.  When the time comes remember these words and take them to heart.   You are safe.  The ship is fine.   It has taken thousands of batterings before and will take thousands more.

 

Enjoy your cruise.  Be prepared and don't worry, what will be will be and the good will outweigh any bad.   There is no finer way to travel, no finer way to enter new countries, no form of transport more majestic and wonderful.   You will never look back I am sure.    I warn you now, cruising is massively addictive.  🙂

 

Happy sailing

 

You have managed to put in a thousand words what everyone else did in about 20...

Everyone is not the same and the op has already said sturgeon does not work for them, so to say it is the ONLY remedy does nothing to help... 

Other things work for other people... 

The op needed some guidance and advice, not shaming for not paying £2000 extra to choose a cabin. 

We were all first time cruisers once, all made mistakes and were all worried about sea sickness, we manage to find our own way with some friendly pointers... 

I love it when scare mongers say 'I keep it real'... Nonsense... 

Andy 

Edited June 7, 2020 by AndyMichelle

[Twogreynomads]

Well said Andy. Different things work for people and if you find the thing that works for you then stick with it but don't assume it will work for all.

i find that wristbands if fitted PROPERLY do the trick but they don't work for everyone. I understand that stugeron must be taken BEFORE any symptoms occur so how do you know you would have been seasick anyway?

 

Viv

[Selbourne]

21 hours ago, Bashermat said:

Hi all

 

Thank you for letting me join

 

We are 1st time cruise bookers and are going on the Caribbean Cruise for 14 nights on the Azura

We have booked a Superior Deluxe Balcony Room, however I suffer badly with motion sickness, we did not pay the extra £2k to choose our room as we thought that was a ridiculous amount for the privilege, our cabin type shows DE on our confirmation, does anyone know where we could be and if the areas will be bad for sickness?

Apart from all of this we are very excited...also any tips on what we must book etc would be greatly received

 

Hope you are all keeping well and safe 

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I think you have already had some very sensible answers but I just wanted to give my thoughts by way of reassurance. 
 

As your cruise is 14 nights, I am assuming that it’s a fly cruise? If that’s the case 90% of your potential problems are solved as I believe that the Caribbean is pretty calm when you are there (outside hurricane season) but the transatlantic crossing (if doing a round trip or cruise one way, fly the other) can be rough. We did a USA & Canada round trip and wouldn’t want to do it again. Aside from too many sea days in a row, we had very rough seas both ways and it was tiresome. 
 

I am very surprised that Stugeron didn’t work for you. I am very sensitive to sea sickness and found that nothing worked for me until someone on here recommended them. Problem solved! Take two as you set sail on the first day then one when you go to bed and one when you get up in the morning until you know that there is no risk of swells or rough seas. They make me a bit drowsy (it’s a nice ‘chilled’ feeling though) and I find that I can drink alcohol with them no problem. I agree with others that things like wrist bands are pure placebo effect. If a metal band around your wrist stops you feeling sea sick then you weren’t going to be ill anyway!

 

As for cabin position and sea sickness, I think that’s overrated. We were on Britannia once in very heavy seas and the ship was corkscrewing (the worst for sea sickness). I did an experiment where I walked to various areas around the ship, forward, aft, high decks, low decks and I have to say there was very little difference in movement. You could feel it everywhere to roughly the same degree. The only place it was better was down by reception, but there are no balcony cabins down there! Finally, if it does start to make you feel queezy then I find that if I lay down the feeling goes almost immediately. Have a fabulous cruise. I suspect that you won’t have any problems. 

[wowzz]

To the OP - do not let a post like the one from Knowthescore frighten you. You are sailing in the Caribbean in February - it will be like a mill pond unless you are really, really unlucky. You will probably not even know you are at sea for most of the  time. 

Do not let certain posters scare you. You will have a great tine.

[Bashermat]

7 hours ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

Not picking your specific cabin is imho a big mistake if you know you suffer seasickness.

 

I'm one for keeping it real as I too suffer from it and it is horrible and debilitating and can ruin a holiday.   I am not here to frighten you but to say it like it is so you can best manage.

 

In future, always book a cabin dead mid-ships.  There is minimal movement there.   Never book a cabin front or back as that's where movement is maximum and the bow and stern can rise and fall many many meters constantly in high swells.  

Azura and it's sister ship Ventura are long ships which makes them more susceptible to "wallowing" and "corkscrewing".

They have stabilisers which can be noisy at times and create juddering vibrations.

 

As others have said take a good supply of Stugerons with you.    It is extremely important to take them BEFORE you set sail from any given port.  Once you are starting to feel the effects of ship movement it is too late to take them and they won't work. 

 

Always check the weather reports for the places you are visiting.  Don't rely on Captain's announcements though, once you get too understand their lingo they can be useful indicators. 

 

Understand the signs of impending seasickness.  It begins with a mild headache which if you don't notice quickly will soon turn into seasickness.    Stay mid-ships if you feel queasy.  If your cabin is front or back don't go back there.  Pick a lounge or bar that is mid-ships and stay there.    Avoid standing and walking.  While you are doing so your body's "gyro" system is active and having to balance you whilst the ship is moving.   Makes things worse.   Sit down.   As soon as you do your body has no need at all to try balancing anything.  Stay sitting down as much as possible.

 

There are 2 kinds of seasickness impacts.   One affects your balance and is to do with your ears and eyes.  The other affects your stomach and makes you physically sick.  I suffer from the former.  Even without being physically sick it debilitates me totally. 

 

If you have taken your Stugerons properly the movement shouldn't affect you so much.   Even so, I would still keep mid-ships as much as possible in any swells and avoid totally front and back.  That for me would mean missing theatre shows but I don't mind.

 

Don't bother with the wrist bands.  They are kidology.  Placebo.  Trust me, in really bad weather you will thoroughly regret it if you chose wrist bands.   Only the seasick pills work properly.

 

A drink of port and brandy is an age old remedy if your seasickness is of the stomach kind.

 

Ginger will also settle an upset stomach

 

The key to the whole thing is to not ignore it or try to fight it and definitely not to "give it a go" and see if you can hack it without tablets.  If you suffer seasickness then take it seriously.   Take a good supply of tablets.  Stugerons require 2 tablets before you sail and then further single tablets every 8 hours.   So ultimately 3 tablets a day.  Take plenty with you.

 

Another tip is that every ship in the fleet has sweet spots where it's best to sit in rough weather and they also have "not" sweet spots in midships places that can make you queasy.   On Azura and Ventura the coffee bars at the bottom of the Atrium are good places to sit and ride out rough weather (though the stabilisers are very noisy there).  At the top of the Atrium you have Red Bar/Blue Bar which are also ok.     The Glass House area I find to be a "not" so sweet spot even though it is close to the midships atrium.  Avoid in rough weather imo. 

 

I truly hope you have fair winds and calm seas for such make for a blissful cruising experience.  But if the fickle weather throws bad stuff at you just be prepared and take the precautions above and you will get through.  Either way it is absolutely nothing to be worried about.

 

I would like to iterate one further thing as it is your 1st time.

 

The experience of even moderate movement to a first timer can seem worrying and cause much anxiety.  You will hear all manner of creaks and groans from the ship and like me you may think you're going to sink.  It's natural.   The fact is the ship is extremely fine.  It can weather storms of gale force 12 and above and massive swells and I've been in them.   Each time you sail and each further degree of bad weather you experience will teach you how utterly safe you are and that there is no chance at all of the ship tipping over or sinking.  When the time comes remember these words and take them to heart.   You are safe.  The ship is fine.   It has taken thousands of batterings before and will take thousands more.

 

Enjoy your cruise.  Be prepared and don't worry, what will be will be and the good will outweigh any bad.   There is no finer way to travel, no finer way to enter new countries, no form of transport more majestic and wonderful.   You will never look back I am sure.    I warn you now, cruising is massively addictive.  🙂

 

Happy sailing

 

Thank you, sadly Sturgeon doesn’t work for me

 

We did not pick a cabin as we thought that £2k was slightly over inflated for the choice of one, yes I get seasick but not sure it warrants me

paying that much 😢 and I still would not now

[Bashermat]

45 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I think you have already had some very sensible answers but I just wanted to give my thoughts by way of reassurance. 
 

As your cruise is 14 nights, I am assuming that it’s a fly cruise? If that’s the case 90% of your potential problems are solved as I believe that the Caribbean is pretty calm when you are there (outside hurricane season) but the transatlantic crossing (if doing a round trip or cruise one way, fly the other) can be rough. We did a USA & Canada round trip and wouldn’t want to do it again. Aside from too many sea days in a row, we had very rough seas both ways and it was tiresome. 
 

I am very surprised that Stugeron didn’t work for you. I am very sensitive to sea sickness and found that nothing worked for me until someone on here recommended them. Problem solved! Take two as you set sail on the first day then one when you go to bed and one when you get up in the morning until you know that there is no risk of swells or rough seas. They make me a bit drowsy (it’s a nice ‘chilled’ feeling though) and I find that I can drink alcohol with them no problem. I agree with others that things like wrist bands are pure placebo effect. If a metal band around your wrist stops you feeling sea sick then you weren’t going to be ill anyway!

 

As for cabin position and sea sickness, I think that’s overrated. We were on Britannia once in very heavy seas and the ship was corkscrewing (the worst for sea sickness). I did an experiment where I walked to various areas around the ship, forward, aft, high decks, low decks and I have to say there was very little difference in movement. You could feel it everywhere to roughly the same degree. The only place it was better was down by reception, but there are no balcony cabins down there! Finally, if it does start to make you feel queezy then I find that if I lay down the feeling goes almost immediately. Have a fabulous cruise. I suspect that you won’t have any problems. 

Thank you, yes it is a fly cruise, we go to Barbados first 

[brian1]

An old sea dog told me,a spoonful of strawberry jam works wonders.It doesn't cure it but it sure tastes good when it comes up.

[Adawn47]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Finally, if it does start to make you feel queezy then I find that if I lay down the feeling goes almost immediately.

I agree Selbourne. That always works for me. That and keeping your eyes on the horizon if possible. That little trick I learned in Greece,  from a crew member on a small boat that took us island - hopping. 

Avril 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Adawn47

[zap99]

2 hours ago, brian1 said:

An old sea dog told me,a spoonful of strawberry jam works wonders.It doesn't cure it but it sure tastes good when it comes up.

I was trying to sympathise with the OP and not be flippant, but you started it.

Porridge tastes the same coming up as it did going down. Best cure

Stand under a tree. As regards £2k. The two stages of seasickness, first you worry you are going to die, then you worry you won't. I fortunately don't suffer much, but if I feel a bit queasy I find lying on a sunbed on deck midships in the fresh air. If cold, wrap up. Unfortunately pills don't work for me.

[brian1]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

I was trying to sympathise with the OP and not be flippant, but you started it.

Porridge tastes the same coming up as it did going down. Best cure

Stand under a tree. As regards £2k. The two stages of seasickness, first you worry you are going to die, then you worry you won't. I fortunately don't suffer much, but if I feel a bit queasy I find lying on a sunbed on deck midships in the fresh air. If cold, wrap up. Unfortunately pills don't work for me.

LOL,no worries, the OP laughed along with it.2 grand to get a cabin,they're having a laugh.It's only 48 quid on Marella,but if you know your category then you should have a rough idea of location looking at deck plans.As long as it's not the North Atlantic to Iceland in September,everywhere else should be a doddle,cheers,Brian.

[zap99]

3 minutes ago, brian1 said:

LOL,no worries, the OP laughed along with it.2 grand to get a cabin,they're having a laugh.It's only 48 quid on Marella,but if you know your category then you should have a rough idea of location looking at deck plans.As long as it's not the North Atlantic to Iceland in September,everywhere else should be a doddle,cheers,Brian.

I often think that a North Cape cruise would be nice, then remember the old war films of the Russian convoys. I'm not overly concerned about getting torpedoed, but the sea looked a tad choppy.🤔

[brian1]

2 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

I agree Selbourne. That always works for me. That and keeping your eyes on the horizon if possible. That little trick I learned in Greece,  from a crew member on a small boat that took us island - hopping. 

Avril 

Just to clarify,you're not talking about the buffet.Staring at all that food might make her worse,lol.

[brian1]

3 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I often think that a North Cape cruise would be nice, then remember the old war films of the Russian convoys. I'm not overly concerned about getting torpedoed, but the sea looked a tad choppy.🤔

Those Pinewood studios can be deadly in the Russian winter.

[Adawn47]

On 6/7/2020 at 2:07 PM, brian1 said:

Just to clarify,you're not talking about the buffet.Staring at all that food might make her worse,lol.

No, 😂 you know perfectly well I mean that bit where the sky meets the sea. Now look, you've got me quoting from 'South Pacific'😜

Avril 

[Adawn47]

On 6/7/2020 at 2:10 PM, brian1 said:

Those Pinewood studios can be deadly in the Russian winter.

I remember seeing the huge tank at Pinewood that they used when making The Cuel Sea with Jack Hawkins. Amazing 

Avril 

[Harry Peterson]

40 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I remember seeing the huge tank at Pinewood that they used when making The Cuel Sea with Jack Hawkins. Amazing 

Avril 

Also where they filmed some of the Titanic scenes in A Night To Remember (Kenneth More). Along with Ruislip Lido!  

 

Watched it again the other night.  An unnervingly flat 'sea'!

[KnowTheScore]

On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 9:04 AM, Bashermat said:

Thank you, sadly Sturgeon doesn’t work for me

 

 

 

As this will be your first cruise would you mind explaining in what context you previously used Stugerons?   When did you take them, how often, how did they make you feel (if at all)?

[Adawn47]

52 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Also where they filmed some of the Titanic scenes in A Night To Remember (Kenneth More). Along with Ruislip Lido!  

 

Watched it again the other night.  An unnervingly flat 'sea'!

My cousin's husband used to be a cameraman at Pinewood from the late 50's onwards and even worked on Superman. He destroyed all my young illusions by explaining some of the tricks of the trade. It was just as upsetting as finding out there was no Father Christmas 😢

 

Avril

[Harry Peterson]

24 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

My cousin's husband used to be a cameraman at Pinewood from the late 50's onwards and even worked on Superman. He destroyed all my young illusions by explaining some of the tricks of the trade. It was just as upsetting as finding out there was no Father Christmas 😢

 

Avril

No Father Christmas?   WHAT????!!!!!!   No way!!!!!  😲 😲😲

 

 

[kalos]

22 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

It was just as upsetting as finding out there was no Father Christmas 😢

 

Avril

 

2 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

No Father Christmas?   WHAT????!!!!!!   No way!!!!!  😲 😲😲

 

 

Don't worry Harry ...He's alive and well, I saw him last year in Tesco's . Right bargain £3.50 to see him sat in a shed .

[Harry Peterson]

11 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

Don't worry Harry ...He's alive and well, I saw him last year in Tesco's . Right bargain £3.50 to see him sat in a shed .

That's a relief, Kalos - I was wondering who'd been scoffing all that sherry and those mince pies I always leave out!

[Adawn47]

13 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

Don't worry Harry ...He's alive and well, I saw him last year in Tesco's . Right bargain £3.50 to see him sat in a shed .

Do you mean that there really IS a Father Christmas? Hmm, where did all my presents go then? 😔 

Avril 

[kalos]

6 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Do you mean that there really IS a Father Christmas? Hmm, where did all my presents go then? 😔 

Avril 

Depends what list you were on