Very Rough Seas--What Do You Do?

[Leucothea]

I suffer more from fear of mal de mer than the sicness itself. I read that there is an injection against it but am not sure whether to have it or not. Anyone got any experience of the injection?

 

A large needle in the uh...hip which leaves quite a bump but knocks you out completely for about 10 hours. When you wake up you feel fine.

 

I wouldn't recommend it unless you are very ill though. Better to use the seasickness tablets you buy at the Pursar's, or bring some Bonine and take as directed. If you think there is a chance there will be rough weather, or that you might feel ill with less movement, then you can take the pills a couple of hours before sailing, and continue to take them at the lower dose. I would not recommend Dramamine as it'll make you sleepy. Stugeron doesn't make you too tired, and next to that, Bonine.

 

Eventually you'll most likely get your sea legs too. I used to feel the movement of the ocean (as though the ground beneath me was still rocking) for 2 weeks after reaching dry land. Now that doesn't happen.

[Leucothea]

Thank you all for your posts. I've got the seasickness covered, but was really wondering about where one should physically feel the safest onboard if it ever came down to hours in very, very rough seas. I heard that people have fallen off their beds and been pinned against the wall. Or they have been near a window that shattered. Where IS a fairly safe place?

 

On QE2, if the seas were rough enough for windows to shatter, then you could be sure all the portholes would be closed beforehand.

 

I am curious to know, however, if QM2 and her sisters have any way to close off the balcony windows in extremely bad weather. I'm not very observant I guess, but during all the times I've sailed on QM2 I don't believe I noticed any type of shutters on the balcony windows (or thought of looking). I don't think there are any, in which case I'm sure the glass is completely shatter-proof.

 

To address your question, for people to fall off their beds and be pinned against the wall you'd have to be in a relatively small ship in a hurricaine. I was in a near hurricaine with flying furniture, but the portholes were shut and most of us just stayed put until it was over. But the scenario you describe is very unlikely, and if it has happened, it would have been unusual.

[Leucothea]

Get drunk, and stay drunk until the seas calm down!:p:D:D:D

 

Right, I can imagine the hangover you're going to have then, especially if you wake up and it's still rough!

[philayl]

Right, I can imagine the hangover you're going to have then, especially if you wake up and it's still rough!

Okay, stay drunk to avoid the hangover as well.;):D:D

[MaineTraveler]

I'm a retired nurse with an obliging family doctor who has given my husband and me Scopolamine patches (prevention) and dissolvable Ondansetron tablets (when you think you're dying).

 

We had to chuckle at that, as I'm currently infusing the missus with Ondansetron (generic Zofran) every four hours through her portacath. But her nausea comes from cancer and the pain medication needed to control the pain from her cancer. She had to go to the injectable form, as she couldn't even keep the dissolvable sublingual tablets down. Once you turn to Zofran, you're really in the big leagues. Of course, if you look at the possible side effects of Zofran/Ondansetron, they include (rarely): nausea!

 

When she hasn't been so bad, though, she has been able to get relief both from wrist pressure points (they really do work) and ginger: either as a tea or even ginger ale. Don't discount the traditional remedies.

[PortOffPort]

I can't image these huge ships ever being in what I know as rough seas. I've been in some pretty nutty weather in small boats.

 

Taking a guess, I'd go low(to the water line or as close as possible) and as central as possible. Where's that take us? The grand lobby? If you think about how a ship tilts about on the two axises, that would be the most-stable place to be where the effects would be least felt, but still felt in some way.

 

Now I want to research my theory the next time I get on the QM2.

[stowaway2k]

Anyone have any advice when seas are as rough as during the recent Royal Caribbean voyage in the Mediterranean? Where's the best place to stay in your room...on the ship in general?

 

On deck. :)

 

Nothing's more exilerating than being out on deck in rough seas... the wind, the salt spray... :eek:

[ladybug1s]

Haha

[aquilegia]

I suffer more from fear of mal de mer than the sicness itself. I read that there is an injection against it but am not sure whether to have it or not. Anyone got any experience of the injection?

 

The injection is not tostop you feeling seasick in the first place. You are given it when you actually start feeling sick.

[irukandjisting]

The Real PM

 

Thankyou for posting Views of QM2 - it was truly beautiful and ohhhh so was the background music...

 

~~Iru~~:cool:

[trish1c]

We sailed up the east coast of the US in a nor'easter a few years back. It was alwful. They had to lash various things down. You had to hold the handrails to walk. You could see water lapping over the promenade deck at times; all the doors were lashed closed so you couldn't go outside.

We hung out in the bar area / dining room that was midship. That was the least bumpy. I wore my seabands which helped with the nausua. I didn't eat much. DH thought it was a blast. We had a forward balcony cabin so the ride through the night was Rough with a capital R; at times I was bounced up off the mattress in our cabin. :eek: Mostly I just trusted in the captain & the construction of the ship.

[navybankerteacher]

Fresh air, a little ginger and a little movement - walking is a lot better than lying down. Also, self control is important: if you fixate on it, you can virtually talk yourself into being sick. If you can get on an open deck, feel the breeze and enjoy the motion -- that's a good part of what you cruise for.

[Dayenu]

We always get a cabin mid-ship lower level, this is where it's less "bumpy". I do get sea sick. On rough days I limit going to buffet - if I need coffee or water, my husband brings it. If not, I would order room service.

 

It's easier to have meals in the MDR instead of going up to the buffet. But when going to buffet or a show, we use this little trick - walk over to the elevator by the buffet or by the theater holding on to the rails on our deck, not to walk longer distance on upper decks.

 

Rough days don't last forever, with the help of medicine I am OK, but I also have bad legs and balance issue, so have to spend more time in the cabin. It happens. Write it off to the cruising experience ;)

[Hawks11]

On our first cruise in the Med quite a few years ago now the Captain who was Norwegian warned the seas might get a bit "chippy". We carried on with what we were doing and I decided to take advantage of reduced prices on alcohol (shows how long ago) and joined the queue which had formed. People were mumbling things like" I'll never go on a cruise again" and the like and I didn't really know what the problem was and as I reached the front I realised that the queue was for sea sickness pills and asprin. When it was my turn the girl serving me, when I asked for a bottle of Scotch, said that it would be better for me than pills!

The feeling that people all around me were feeling sea sick made me queasy, so I went to my cabin and we had a couple of drinks and a lie down. We were not sick and the problem was in the minds of the passengers on that occasion.

[bbwex]

The OP really asked about a safe place. Certainly being able to see the horizon is helpful in not getting sick, but there was concern about where to stay to be safe.

 

In almost all cases, anyplace that doesn't have a lot of things to fall -- nothing loose on shelves, etc., will be fine. Yes a couple of extreme cases have seen some windows get broken, and some furniture sliding around. But those are really extreme cases. And if this is a concern of yours, stay a deck or two above the main deck, and this shouldn't be a problem.

 

One thing that nobody has mentioned is to keep a hand free at all times to use to hold on! The saying is "one hand for you and one hand for the boat," and this applies even if you are on the boat working. If you are moving around in your cabin, going to your cabin, going to a meal, etc., always hold on, and if you have to move across an open space, wait until the motion is minimal (i.e. between swells, etc.) and then move to where you can hold on again.

 

Being in your cabin would be a fairly safe place. Sitting in a large chair along a walking area or someplace near some windows (high enough up so that waves aren't coming through if that is a concern) would be another good place. Many ships have areas around bars, casinos, dining rooms that have wide areas for people to walk through, and there are often chairs in these places.

 

If the ship is pitching (bow and stern going up and down), a place amidships would be best -- measuring from bow to stern -- and a deck or two somewhere just above the main deck would likely be best, but being up higher wouldn't be bad either. Again, if you are truly concerned above a rogue wave breaking windows, etc., don't stay in a space that has windows facing forward unless you are higher up.

 

If the ship is rolling (side-to-side), being up high will make it worse, so again be on a deck one or two decks above the main deck.

 

Do not be concerned that the ship is rolling too much and will roll over. Most people do not have a good feel for the degree a ship is rolling and will vastly overestimate the amount. I have had people with me on my sailboat who sail a lot, but when confronted with very heavy seas estimated that the boat was rolling 60 degrees or more when in fact it never exceeded 15 degrees! That (15 degrees) would be a really, really intense roll on a cruise ship. I honestly don't know how far a major cruise ship can roll before it hits its maximum righting angle, but it is going to be a high number. If a ship were to get into seas that were causing extreme rolling, the captain is going to put the bow or stern into the seas and stop the rolling, as the ship can pitch a lot and sustain less damage.

 

Fortunately really heavy seas are not all that common particularly where cruise ships ply (not counting crossings). They do happen, and you might never see the storm that caused them. With the available weather information, buoys at sea that report sea conditions, etc., the captain is going to be pretty aware of what is ahead, and will deal with it. Ships are built to go to sea, and that includes the sea when she is angry.

[cb at sea]

I don't generally get motion sickness of any kind. Our 1st cruise was REALLY rough and I found that staying a bit "tipsy" really helped take your mind off the motion.....especially when you'd try to walk up the stairs and the step you were about to step on would suddenly sink......being "tipsy", we could pretend it was just the booze and not the sea!!!!

[Hawks11]

On our first cruise in the Med quite a few years ago now the Captain who was Norwegian warned the seas might get a bit "chippy". We carried on with what we were doing and I decided to take advantage of reduced prices on alcohol (shows how long ago) and joined the queue which had formed. People were mumbling things like" I'll never go on a cruise again" and the like and I didn't really know what the problem was and as I reached the front I realised that the queue was for sea sickness pills and asprin. When it was my turn the girl serving me, when I asked for a bottle of Scotch, said that it would be better for me than taking pills! Back to the cabin I went and enjoyed a large Scotch. The seasickness scare just went around the passengers and there was very little motion on the ship.

Apart from medication if you feel unwell lay flat and relax.

[jkmcmom]

I have used MotionEaze in the past. It has helped greatly. I read about it years ago here on Cruise Critic. I even use it when I'm out on a fishing boat. It's an all natural oil that you put behind your ears. No side effects or sleepiness. motioneaze.com

 

I also carry ginger tea and ginger candy. Gingerale can also help. Then, if it is just a horrific day on the ship I also carry phenergen.

 

I always have the ginger candy & the motioneaze with me wherever I am on the ship even when I ride a tender - sometimes the tenders can really bob in the waves.

[USC-UVIC]

1. Eat lightly

2. Take a bottle of gravol with ginger (non-drowsy), like someone advised, take it the moment you feel a tinge, don't wait till you start to vomit, then it is too late.

3. Get some fresh air if it helps

4. Take a nap, if it is rough, it rocks you to sleep....

5. Do something to take your mind off, and treat it like you are on a roller coaster ride.:p