Beware there is no Solarcaine in the gift shops!

[jones391]

We went on the Spirit last in April 2009 and my DF fell asleep on the top deck while in Cabo and got sun burned the first day.:eek:

We live in San Diego and lived in Hawaii for 20 years and never thought the sun was that fast to burn.

There was no sun burn spray or lotion on the ship. We will be bringing Solarcaine on all of our next cruses.:cool:

Has anyone else had similar experiences

[Grits53]

For future reference, or for anyone else who finds themselves in this predicament...... Preparation H or similar product works great for sunburn relief! Of course, the cream version is definitely better than the ointment version for this..... :o

[vacruizer]

I always take a travel size bottle of aloe gel with me. I'm pretty fair skinned and can burn even with lots of sunblock on.

 

I never count on anything being available in the gift shops. It varies too much from ship to ship and the selection is limited.

[gacat93]

The one thing we didn't think to bring (and I never stumbled on mentioned in my hours of cruise critic reading) was aloe gel, etc. Lots of reminders on sunscreen which we did take on our Sept. cruise. However, with three of our excursions being totally sun related, we were all burned by the 3rd day. Had to resort to finding aloe in port and paid $12 for a small bottle. It is definitely on my MUST TAKE list for future cruises.

[jtmalt]

In 2008, during a catamaran trip in Barbados, my wife got a really nasty sunburn, bad enough that we wound up cancelling our plans for St. Lucia the following day. Yup, no sunburn relief gel available on the ship (this was the Crown Princess)...we wound up getting a bottle from a local store in St. Lucia the following day.

 

Flash forward to 2009. We were in the gift shop of the Caribbean Princess, on the same itinerary, the evening of our stop in Barbados. My wife ran into a lovely young woman trying to find Solarcaine in the gift shop on board. She had gotten an awful sunburn in Barbados, and was in tears because she was getting married the next morning in St. Lucia!

 

Fortunately, we had brought a bottle with us, and we were happy to pass it on to her.

 

You would think they would stock plenty of this...after all, they have a captive market!

[nscruiser2005]

I burned pretty bad in Aruba... I looked like a cooked lobster and was melting ice on my arms. My family members went down to the infirmary(sp?) and got some gel. From now on we take aloe gel and I pour on the sun screen ;)

[happy cruzin]

Maybe they do not carry it anymore. But several cruises ago - when we were dealing with sunburn - the gift shop had an "aloe freeze spray" (bright blue liquid in a pump bottle) by Australian Gold.

It works really well to relieve the sting of sunburn - and I have never seen it except on the cruise ships.

[gail811]

Our doctor recommended noxzema for sunburn, and to take an aspirin. I always take noxzema just in case of sunburn, and it serves as my face wash too!

[gazingm42]

We got burned bad in St Marteen one year. When we were on the doc there

was a vendor selling Aloe gel. It seemed to be a fair price so we picked it

up.

 

Lucky we did as we learned the ship doesn't sell any. You think they would and they could sell it for about any price they picked.

 

We have learn to pack a mini drug store in one of our bags. As you don't

know what you may need and will not be able to find it onboard.

 

We had problem one year finding a good suntan lotion. We now bring good

sunblock with us that is water proof.

[idlenote]

Old Portuguese sailors remedy:

 

Equal parts lemon juice and vinegar. Mix together and dab on with cotton wool. It will sting for just a second as you put it on, then it will take the burning away.

 

You should be able to find the ingredients at the buffet.

 

Used it on myself and all four kids over the years when we had nothing else available. No one ever complained after the first couple of seconds.

 

An Australian Doctor once suggested cutting a tomato in half and rubbing it over the burn, but I never did try that one.

[robtx100]

I was badly sunburned on a cruise a few years ago. We had to cancel our beach excursion in Cozumel because there was no way I could be out in the sun. The Purser was very understanding and refunded our excursion fee. As we were walking away, there was a nice young lady named Polly who worked in the ships spa. Polly took pity on me and told me to go up to the buffet area and get two or three plain yogurts and spread it on my face and where else I might be burned and to let it dry for about 15-30 minutes before wiping it off with a wash cloth. To my amazement, the yogurt was cool and made the burn feel so much better. I was even more amazed when I wiped it off. All of the dead skin just wiped away. It was still "tender", but no more burn and I avoided the sun the rest of the cruise. To this day, I'm thankful I ran into Polly.

[ehfl]

But they do have sunscreen....use the sunscreen, and you won't need the solarcaine.

[welldone60]

DW got burned in Belize on our boat excursion. When we got back on the ship she went to the gift shop and there was a long line of people buying aloe gel. The next day when we were in the shop they were sold out.

[jtmalt]

But they do have sunscreen....use the sunscreen, and you won't need the solarcaine.

 

Unfortunately, that's not always true. The SPF on a sunscreen is just an estimate as to how much more time in the sun you will take before you burn than without it...for example, if you would normally burn in 10 minutes, an SPF 15 can (theoretically) extend your time in the sun to 2 1/2 hours under ideal conditions. That time is drastically reduced by swimming, rubbing against clothing, etc.

 

A bit off topic, but since our last unfortunate experience, we've been using disposable UV bracelets (sold by a variety of outlets under the "Solar Safe" brand). You basically strap one onto your wrist and coat it with sunscreen at the same time as you apply it to the rest of your body.

 

As UV rays penetrate through the sunscreen, the band gradually changes color. When it turns brown, it indicates that it's time to apply more sunscreen. When it turns pale, it indicates that it's time to get out of the sun for good. We've found them to be very helpful, if only as a reminder to re-apply sunscreen.

[ehfl]

Most people do not burn in 10 minutes. They make sunscreeen with 80+, and it works very well. As an avid beach goer, I always bring my 80 with me.

 

Also, it's important to moisturize with a vitamin a-c-e lotion the night before as well as post-sun. Pre-loading your skin with antioxidants will help avoid the burn, as will taking a good antioxidant supplement before and after exposure.

[SMSACE6]

Our doctor recommended noxzema for sunburn, and to take an aspirin. I always take noxzema just in case of sunburn, and it serves as my face wash too!

 

another vote here for noxema! I had not heard of aspirin with it, but it does make sense. And yes it does serve well as a facial cleanser too.:)

But go with a good and strong sunscreen first.

[RizzoLee]

I learned the hard way in 2005 - fell asleep around the Lido pool, and looked like a lobster for the rest of the cruise. People actually stopped me to comment that I looked 'really really bad'. Someone actually touched my back to see how their fingerprint looked. :eek:

 

I took the green aloe vera gel from home, but ran out halfway through the week. DH took me to the infirmary, but they only offered to sell me a bottle of Solarcaine for $17. Luckily, the friends we had made offered us their bottle of aloe vera, but it was blue (they're from Arkansas). I'd never seen it before.

 

I used it that night, and fell asleep. Woke up at 3am to my back ON FIRE. Turns out I'm allergic to lidocaine, which was in the blue gel. Was still burning after my 3am shower too, lol.

 

Now I make sure to have that green aloe vera filled before each and every vacation. :)

 

BTW - studies have shown that the SPF usefulness maxes out at about 45 or 50.

[pttheot]

I too, got really sunburned the first day. My husband went down to the "infirmary" on the ship and they had sunburn lotions down there, such as "ALOE w/ pain reliever" I think it cost like $12.

[mayesd]

For future reference, or for anyone else who finds themselves in this predicament...... Preparation H or similar product works great for sunburn relief! Of course, the cream version is definitely better than the ointment version for this..... :o

 

I'm afraid to ask...How you know this:):)

[kamac56]

Thank you for this info, I have always have sunscreen my dad died a horrific death from melanoma had to have the right side of his face removed to get the tumor so can never be to safe, but did not have the aloe gel so ran and got that today along with pepto tabs just in case:D

 

 

Thanks again for the suggestion totally spaced this item out.

[vacruizer]

But they do have sunscreen....use the sunscreen, and you won't need the solarcaine.

 

For those of us who are really pale it's almost impossible to avoid unless we stay completely indoors. I can't even think about lounging by the pool - even with sunblock. I've burned a few times snorkeling with 60spf waterproof sunblock that I applied before going in the sun then re-applied every hour afterward. It wasn't a horrible burn but I did still burn some. Same thing at the beach with an umbrella in Cozumel - I still burned a little even with all the sunblock!

 

I've finally invested in a few rash guards to wear snorkeling in hopes of preventing it. Will test them out in Hawaii next month. :D

[emerald18]

I too have used aloe vera gel (with and without lidocaine) and also noxema for sunburns. Recently I tried something else that I like even better. Dermalogica makes a product called "after sun repair" which isn't greasy and doesn't turn your skin or clothes green either. I think it feels just as good as either aloe or noxema when my skin is on fire. :)

[koolforkatz]

Same thing happened to my DH when we were on the Grand Princess last March. He got burnt and there was nothing available in the gift shop to help him. Fortunately we were on port next day so picked up some aloe vera there. And as far as suncremes, lotions available in the gift shop they were all next to useless with SPF's of 2 or 4.

[brooklynfc]

I'm extremely fair skinned and I don't get out in the sun for extended periods and I def. apply sunscreen when I do. The tip that I got from an online article once was to cut a raw potato in half and rub the cut part on the sunburn. Something about the starches in the potato that helps.

 

I'm going to half to def. google that plain yogurt one, lol. Just in case.

 

I just googled and found this website......might be helpful.

 

http://www.health911.com/remedies/rem_sunb.htm

[MicksMom]

We were on the Conquest 2 weeks ago, I brought along a bottle of Aloe Gel because DD's boyfriend is very fair skinned. I saw it for sale in the gift shop, didnt price it but they definitely had it on the Conquest.

 

I am a true believer in Oil of Olay (or WM brand) for sunburn. It definitely works, just apply generously several times a day, usually all better by the 2nd day.