Seasick?

[Steve in Omaha]

We leave from Vancouver on Sept. 4 for a 7-day cruise. We stop in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. Typically, how rough will the water be?

I've been on 2 cruises. The first night of the first cruise was very rough and I felt sick. I took something that knocked me out and I was ok.  I want to be out and doing things on this cruise, so what you recommend I take if I feel sick?

[Ashland]

Our most recent cruise with that itinerary (similar) was last September and had no rough seas.

 

Try Bonine...the chewable raspberry flavor works great if necessary.

[Anita Latte]

My Dh is prone to motion sickness. Our itinerary was Vancouver, inside passage to Ketchikan, ISP, Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard, Seward…it was between Hubbard and Seward that we hit rough seas and DH had issues.

[Steve in Omaha]

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

Our most recent cruise with that itinerary (similar) was last September and had no rough seas.

 

Try Bonine...the chewable raspberry flavor works great if necessary.

Thanks! Does Bonine make you sleepy/knock you out?

[Ashland]

4 hours ago, Steve in Omaha said:

Thanks! Does Bonine make you sleepy/knock you out?

A personal observation...no...you may be different. Try some at home and see how you tolerate it.

[AKJonesy]

@Steve in Omaha I find that the Dramamine in both forms makes me completely drowsy so I don't take that anymore.  I can't remember if Bonine made me drowsy, but label does say may cause drowsiness.  I know that these meds need to be taken before the symptoms start.

[AKJonesy]

4 minutes ago, Ashland said:

A personal observation...no...you may be different. Try some at home and see how you tolerate it.

Excellent idea.

[quack2]

Do you know on which side of Vancouver Island you will be sailing north?  With respect to rough seas, east side = good.  West side = maybe bad.

[DaveOKC]

Usually that route going out of and back to Vancouver is very calm, since much of it is in protected waters.  May hit a bad day though.

 

[Northern Aurora]

Just because a med is an over the counter product does not mean they are safe for all folks.  My mother-in-law had a form of glaucoma (my memory is that it was narrow angle glaucoma but since it has been over twenty years since her death I could be wrong).    In any event she could could not take motion sickness meds.  Always best to check with a medical professional.

 

Also consider buying a set of sea bands.  I have never used them but know someone who swears by them.

[Steve in Omaha]

8 hours ago, quack2 said:

Do you know on which side of Vancouver Island you will be sailing north?  With respect to rough seas, east side = good.  West side = maybe bad.

How do I find this out?

[DaveOKC]

11 hours ago, Steve in Omaha said:

How do I find this out?

Check the HAL website for your cruise.  They normally show the route.

[AKJonesy]

13 hours ago, Steve in Omaha said:

How do I find this out?

@Steve in Omaha a couple of things.  First, are you sure you leave Sep 4?  Which ship?  I see several ships leaving Vancouver on Sep 3.  Anyway, GENERALLY those leaving from Vancouver are smoother because they are not out in the open ocean.  If you can provide the ship, I can show you your route unless you found it already.  Here is another thing you might want to look at when you know the route you are taking up to AK and back.  Go to wind alert dot com.  Near the top of the page you will see "Live Wind".  Simply drag the map to the area and you will see the wind.  More wind means more waves.  Of course, you would have to look at this on the day or thereabouts to get an idea.  If you look at it today, you will see that outside Vancouver Island it is very windy but inside is different.  This won't help you today, but you can get an idea.  I like to use this around the coastal and inland waters of Alaska when I am in those areas.  

[Coral]

I would probably speak with your medical professional before you leave and see what they recommend. I have been on very rocky Alaskan cruises and others that were smooth. Impossible to predict.

[Steve in Omaha]

8 hours ago, AKJonesy said:

@Steve in Omaha a couple of things.  First, are you sure you leave Sep 4?  Which ship?  I see several ships leaving Vancouver on Sep 3.  Anyway, GENERALLY those leaving from Vancouver are smoother because they are not out in the open ocean.  If you can provide the ship, I can show you your route unless you found it already.  Here is another thing you might want to look at when you know the route you are taking up to AK and back.  Go to wind alert dot com.  Near the top of the page you will see "Live Wind".  Simply drag the map to the area and you will see the wind.  More wind means more waves.  Of course, you would have to look at this on the day or thereabouts to get an idea.  If you look at it today, you will see that outside Vancouver Island it is very windy but inside is different.  This won't help you today, but you can get an idea.  I like to use this around the coastal and inland waters of Alaska when I am in those areas.  

We're on the Norwegian Jewel, leaving Vancouver on Sept. 4. Thanks!

[Steve in Omaha]

10 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Check the HAL website for your cruise.  They normally show the route.

What's the HAL website?

[Northern Aurora]

3 hours ago, Steve in Omaha said:

What's the HAL website?

 

This is a reference to Holland America Line cruises website.  But @Steve in Omaha has now clarified they are on a NCL ship so we don't need to guess any longer.

[CruiserBruce]

20 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Check the HAL website for your cruise.  They normally show the route.

All the HAL ships go east of Vancouver Island when sailing out of Vancouver. 

[AKJonesy]

12 hours ago, Steve in Omaha said:

What's the HAL website?

@DaveOKC , Steve in Omaha is on Norwegian Jewel; not HAL.  

[quack2]

Despite their maps showing otherwise, Norwegian sails on the west side of Vancouver Island.  Very misleading advertising IMO.

[AKJonesy]

Thanks for clarifying.  I don't know why a few of us assumed you are on HAL.  So, coming out of Vancouver, you are going to be on the east side of the island, but @quack2 says west side which would be more rough IF there have been storms and wind.  Hoping your Gulf of Alaska crossing will be smooth as you sail across to Seward from Hubbard Glacier.  Just test a seasick pill at home before sailing to see if you get that hangover effect and if not, your sailing sb fine.  

Edited August 21, 2023 by AKJonesy

[DaveOKC]

48 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

@DaveOKC , Steve in Omaha is on Norwegian Jewel; not HAL.  

Sorry about that!  I was on the HAL board and when I checked Notifications it bounced me to the Alaska board, thus the confusion on my part.

 

[springssparrow]

I get motion sickness very easily and have found that if I take a meclizine (bonine) starting the night before I get onboard and continue to just take one every night, I am fine. I also wear wrist bands and I take a rx of patches with me just in case it gets really rough. The patches do make me a little bit sleepy which is why I wait to see if I really need it before I put it on. I take ginger chews with me and having one or two of those takes the edge off until the patch kicks in. We did a 20 day Panama Canal transit last April and I only needed to use a patch once. We are going to Alaska next week and will be on the west side of Vancouver Island so suspect I might end up using a patch there as well, but mostly the meclizine protocol has worked great for me.

[Cruising575]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:32 AM, quack2 said:

Despite their maps showing otherwise, Norwegian sails on the west side of Vancouver Island.  Very misleading advertising IMO.

 

Norwegian Jewel does actually sail on the east side of Vancouver Island, but I believe the rest of their ships sail on the west side.

 

On 8/20/2023 at 9:50 PM, Steve in Omaha said:

We're on the Norwegian Jewel, leaving Vancouver on Sept. 4. Thanks!

 

I was on the Jewel Aug 21-28. One of the people in my group is prone to motion sickness and was shockingly fine on our cruise without taking anything for it. That being said, we could definitely feel the boat moving on the last day once we left Hubbard Glacier.

[donaldsc]

On 8/20/2023 at 9:31 AM, DaveOKC said:

Check the HAL website for your cruise.  They normally show the route.

 

If you have a TA ask them.  The problem w looking at the cruise company maps on almost any cruise site is that they use generic maps that are often wrong.  I suspect that the people who create the itinerary maps often don't have any idea of what they are doing and they just draw a line on the map that looks right to them.   that You might also go on the roll call for your cruise and someone on their might know.