Seasickness

[Michael1973]

My brother and I are cruising to Alaska next week, and he's a bit concerned about getting seasick. I've heard that it's not really a big issue on Alaska cruises, due to the fact that we sail so close to land, but can someone fill me in? Thanks.

[dbali]

Cruises that begin or end in Seattle will sail in more open water. It can, at times get rough. So you may want to get Bonine to take for motion seasickness. Get it at the drug store. It won't make you sleepy like dramamine.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Will we have the rough waters leaving from Vancouver, guess I need to get some Bonine to replace the dramamine I have!!!

[corkpopr]

It is almost impossible to get seasick on today's large liners. they have stabalizers that make passage very smooth. it is like glass when you leave vancouver and head up the coast. the nice thing about the inside passage is that it is like cruising on a lake. sometimes you have to look over the side to make sure the ship is moving.

we are making a december transatlantic and that may have some 25 ft. waves!

[judynorth]

If you are sailing to Whittier or Seward across the Gulf of Alaska you could have some rough seas. It isn't the usual but have heard of 30 ft. seas there at times. We had no problems on either cruise except for some slight rolling one day of each cruise. Both times it was in the inside passage. Most of the time you couldn't tell that you were moving at all.

[bethledford]

Some people get sick with the gentleness of motion. Try Ginger. We buy the capsules in the healthfood stores or drugstores and take two, three times a day while on the ship. If the waters are rough we take an extra dose at bedtime. It's no problem with alcohol . It is a natural motion sickness remedy and I've tried with and without and was green without the ginger. To remember to take it just take it to your meals with you. We've done this on 9 out of 10 cruises . GOOD LUCK!!!

[sarahruth23]

I haven't been on an Alaskan cruise yet (next summer!), but when I went on a Caribbean cruise I was seasick almost the whole time - I have quite possibly the world's weakest stomach. I got the patch for behind my ear from my doctor, and that helped some. However, I also bought some of those wrist bands with the pressure point balls in them and they were wonderful! I didn't think they would work, but I was desperate. I got them at Wal Mart before I left and they weren't expensive at all. Every time I took them off I would start to get sick, and as soon as I put them back on I felt better. They're not the most attractive accessory - think 80s sweatbands - but well worth it to feel better with no side effects!

[Phishface]

I was on a big Celebrity Summit (probably 3000+ on ship in total). I took Bonine and I was drowsy (but couldn't tell if it was due to the Bonine or jetlag/timechange or the drinking!). Also, the label said take 1-2 and I took 2. If it was the Bonine that made me drowsy, maybe taking just 1 would have been better. You can also get a patch from your doctor. I'd say better to be prepared.

[Chat Noir]

I also bought some of those wrist bands with the pressure point balls in them and they were wonderful! I didn't think they would work, but I was desperate. Every time I took them off I would start to get sick, and as soon as I put them back on I felt better. They're not the most attractive accessory - think 80s sweatbands - but well worth it to feel better with no side effects!

 

Another vote for the wrist-bands. I was so green prior to purchasing them onboard the first day out of Whittier. They cost plenty onboard, but were still worth every penny. I found the same to be true, if I removed them, I got a bit ill. Quite lovely to wear to dinner - not!:) But I wore them anyway!

[jules71]

It is almost impossible to get seasick on today's large liners. they have stabalizers that make passage very smooth.

 

Not true! Last December on the Brilliance from Costa Rica to Grand Cayman, there was so much movement the pool was like a wave pool. I don't suffer from seasickness, but my sister (who had on a patch) was sick as a dog and the dining room was very uncrowded that evening.

 

I am hoping (as many of you have mentioned) that Alaska will be fairly smooth because we are taking along several first time cruisers next July and I want them to have a good expereince.

[IMACRUZRNOW]

My brother and I are cruising to Alaska next week, and he's a bit concerned about getting seasick. I've heard that it's not really a big issue on Alaska cruises, due to the fact that we sail so close to land, but can someone fill me in? Thanks.

 

We just returned fromt the inside passage on 8/20. There was one day that we were in open water and it was rough enough to make my 5 year old seasick all morning. He informed me that upon our return to Vancouver, we would NOT be cruising again! I felt pretty woozy that day too, but it may have been all the wine the night before ;)

 

PS. thought I should add...He's very prone to motion sickness

[cecoady]

I too vote for the wrist bands. They worked awesome for me on a past Caribbean cruise. I will wear them again soon on my Alaskan cruise on September 15th. Maybe not the best fashion statement, but I would rather feel well than worry about how they look. Just think of them as a watch band or bracelets. Good luck with what ever you decide to try.

[MaggieSweet]

I've bought the SeaBands AND the ginger capsules. I'm going to try both and I feel quite positive that it will be a winning combination. :)

 

Last year we sailed round-trip out of Seattle on the Sapphire (huge ship!!) and I had 2 of the 7 days where I was quite ill. This time out of Vancouver with my precautions it should be smooth sailing--literally!

 

Tammy ;)

 

Did I mention that I'm leaving NEXT WEEK?!

[Terpnut]

Our kids had far worse motion sickness problems on our recent Alaska cruise than on any Caribbean cruise. Even if you never get motion sickness on the cruise ship itself, remember most people do lots of excursions during an Alaska cruise. You are far more likely to get motion sickness on these excursions, e.g. flightseeing, whale watching boats, Kenai Fjord cruises, etc. etc. Thus, if you're prone or worried at all, take precautions!

[jomf]

Another vote for the wrist bands! Wore them on our last trip, which was rough in places, and did not feel ill at all. And I get sick looking at a glass of water!!

Agree they are not the most glam of accessories.

Maybe a market out there for pretty ones.

[Planmaam]

The wrist band saved me the last trip to Alaska. I get motion sick just riding in the back seat of a car. I did not need the wristband while cruising, but put it on for the float plane trip, as I have lost it on a small plane before. I did not want to take any chances, so turned it up all the wal, and I could not tell I was flying! I was alone in the back seat of the plane, taking pictures out first one side window then the other. It is wonderful, and I would recommend it to anyone!

 

Happy sailing!

[MaggieSweet]

I'm planning to use a combination of the ginger capsules and the Sea-Bands. For anyone who has used the ginger, how often do you take it? The bottle I bought says "two capsules two to four times daily" and I find that to be kind of vague.

 

Anyone have any experience here? Thanks!!

 

Tammy

[Robin7]

The wrist band saved me the last trip to Alaska.

 

Here's what I've learned about seasickness:

 

Bonine and Less-Drowsy Dramamine are the same thing! (Thanks whoever pointed that out to me!) They are both meclizine hydrochloride. Dramamine itself is dimenhydrinate. They are ALL antihistamines, and even the 'Less-Drowsy' makes me drowsy! (I just offset it by drinking Diet Coke. Heh.) But they work. I only take them for shore excursions, though. In eight cruises, I've only been sick once on the ship, and that was our first time to Alaska, out of Vancouver. (I also got REALLY sick on a seaplane flight over the Misty Fjords. Go figure.)

 

I watched a "MythBusters" on seasick remedies recently. They found the medications and the ginger to work but the wrist bands only provided a placebo effect. (Sorry.)

 

From personal experience, two other things that help if you're seasick: Get outside in the cool wind. Just bundle up well! And look at the shore in the distance (if there is any). (I discovered that last one after getting REALLY seasick on a manta ray night snorkel on the island of Hawaii in June! It helps but didn't prevent me from getting sick unfortunately, but at least I wasn't heaving up my toenails over the back of the boat like some people. :eek: )

 

Good luck and may everyone have seasickness-free sailing no matter what remedy you try, because it's MISERABLE being sick.

 

Robin

[katmandoo]

Not even a little bit, ages 2-72.

[Toyz711]

many, many years ago...(in a time far, far away) my dad was taking his little girl on a fishing trip. he told me then and repeated it for years...

when you start to feel warm...go anywhere where there is fresh, cold air.

avoid the crowds...never, never watch the waves (no matter how nice they look) don't watch for the fish, don't watch the birds on the water. don't watch anything that is moving...look to the horizen. watch the sunset, watch the sunrise, watch the tree line....never look down to the water.

in short, when inside: stay near a air vent (cool air), stay away from strong odors, stay away from windows, drapes..anything where you see motion.

when outdoors...look up and out. NEVER DOWN. AND stay busy (the old mind or matter)

for some..none of that will work. for others, it does.

good luck and i am sorry for anyone who does have motion sickness.

[jjduck]

That is solid gold 100% true no-questions-need-be-asked advice! yes, yes, yes to all he said.

 

I was on a Kenai boat tour, in rough weather, thought I was doing okay, when...I started to feel warm...the rest is yucky history. :o After I "cleaned up", the staff took me outside, parked me on a bench and faced me to the horizon. And that helped me to feel better. Didn't take long for many more pax to join me outside.

 

Thanks for posting this, Cathi, you will have helped many!

 

Aloha,

Noreen.

[sea_u_onboard]

Some people get sick with the gentleness of motion. Try Ginger. We buy the capsules in the healthfood stores or drugstores and take two, three times a day while on the ship. If the waters are rough we take an extra dose at bedtime. It's no problem with alcohol . It is a natural motion sickness remedy and I've tried with and without and was green without the ginger. To remember to take it just take it to your meals with you. We've done this on 9 out of 10 cruises . GOOD LUCK!!!

I've hard you have to start using the ginger a few days before. Is this true?

[Toyz711]

ginger and peppermint are nature's stomach calmers. some peppermint candy work also. (those red/white dinner mints). i use them to help relieve my heartburn.

[Robin7]

when you start to feel warm...go anywhere where there is fresh, cold air.

 

That is soooooooo true! At the beginning of August, on our Sea Otter/Wildlife boat excursion in Sitka, I was starting to feel really warm and kind of nauseated in spite of my less-drowsy Dramamine intake while in the enclosed portion of our boat, so I went up top and stayed up there the rest of the three hours. I was FROZEN solid but I wasn't a bit ill after that. It took four cups of hot cocoa and an hour-long bath when we got back to the ship to thaw out. However, being frozen beats being seasick every time in my book!

 

Robin

[swtpnk]

well ole diane here has motion sickness.... lemme tell ya MY story... we were on our first cruise, eastern caribbean in 99. i told myself, "Im not gonna get sick!" HA HA HA!! it wasnt till the next morning after i had awakened, we went down to breakfast, and i just sat there.. i said to hubby, im going back to the room to lay down, im not feeling good.. it wasnt till noon that hubby came back to the room to check on me. i had fallen asleep. he walked in, i heard him and woke up, he said to me.. ready for lunch? "yeah" i said. got to the door to leave, and i had to make a MAD DASH for the bathroom... after that, i took 1 dramamine in the morning and 1 in late afternoon around 3 pm.. since then, i swear by dramamine.. it never made me sleepy, but it says it will make you drowsy.. BONINE isnt supposed to.. take a pill, make it easy.

 

good luck to all of you.. im covered with my dramamine, :) :) :)

diane