Can You Feel Ship Moving?

[Michaline]

I've never gotten motion sickness of any kind and I'm not worried about it, but I've read some you say that you feel nauseas and dizzy up to a week after your cruise. While you're on the ship, can you feel it moving at all or does it feel like you're just on land? If you can feel it, which parts of the ship are the worst spots?

[johnql]

It really depends on how rough the seas are, but much of the time, at the very least I know that the ship is moving. When the seas get rough, you definitely know the ship is moving. I've never had sea sickness, tho. That varies from person to person.

[dodieh]

You do feel the motion....to me it is pleasant....A lot depends on where you are sailing. Some cruises usually have some bigger swells the first day out of port going south from California to Mexico...and we had some heavy swells in the Caribbean once.....however the inland waterways (SE Alaska) are protected from the big stuff. Some days it is very smooth, but you still feel some motion.

Mid-ship and lower decks have the least motion. If you are at all bothered by motion sickness, try to avoid a cabin in the very front or back and high up.

Just the forward motion of the ship causes a breeze so you do know you are moving. It's great! Have fun!!:D

[CaptData]

You will feel some motion. It's why you wobble when you walk on board the first night or two until you get your sea legs. After you get off yes some people, me included, can still feel the motion for a day or two on land. If it lasts longer then a few days see an ENT or your doctor and have your ears checked. I have MS so sometimes it is hard but a few days of gravel or sea sick meds and I am fine. Others say take something like Actified or sudafed. Will I go crusing again even knowing that will feel the effect for a few days after, yes.

 

 

A friend of mine does the following after he found out that he has landfall problems. The last night of the cruise he takes bonimine (he does not get sea sick ever). He takes it for another two days on land then he is fine. This guy does not get sea sick but when he has been at sea for more then two days he has problems on land. He served in the Canadian Navy for years and never got sea sick on the ocean just when he came back to land.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

I think most of the time you don't actually feel "movement" but instead you feel a slight vibration that comes from the engines running. This is more true toward the aft portion of the ship, particularly on older ships.

 

The movement feel is different than the "rocking" feel. Rocking definitely depends on the seas; most ships do an excellent job minimizing it with their stabilizers. But if there's a storm out there it can get rocky. It's a blast having a few drinks and trying to dance in the disco. You put your foot down to take your next step and the floor isn't where it was! This past December on the inaugural sailing of Carnival Valor there wasn't a storm around but as we crossed the Gulf Stream we were really rocking and rolling for a couple hours. No one in my family got seasick but someone did leave a mess near the photo gallery. :( The larger the ship the less you feel. Valor is very large but the rocking was enough to delay the evening show in the theater because there was concern the dancers could get hurt with some of their jumps. But that was only the second or third instance in 20 cruises that things got a bit rough. Most of the time things are very smooth and on only two days out of seven might you even notice that you're on a ship instead of a great hotel! Of course everyone is different and the contributors above have their unique experiences too.

 

BobK/Orlando

SEA PRINCESS May 2005 yeah baby!

[traveller99]

It really depends on the weather. You will feel some motion, under foot. You will also get used to it quickly. Just don't think about it. The funniest thing is the sensation of the steps going out from under you when you're trying to go up the stairs and the ship goes down.

[TheWog]

watch your water glass at dinner and you will "see" the motion. Especially on the more active evenings.... :D

[Tarkus]

worst episode in my experience was a crossing on the old premier oceanic (aka "big red boat") from port canaveral over to nassau. nasty storms combined with a really rambunctous gulfstream found seasickness bags every 10' in the stairwells and green passengers and crew. it lasted for about three hours, then settled-down by about 10pm.

 

otherwise, except for the low hum and vibration, most of the time cruiseships are so rock-solid that it's difficult to tell you're not on land.

[Chele60]

Yes, you can feel the motion. How sensitive one is to it is a personal thing. I'm usually very sensitive to motion (have problems with my ears and equilibrium), and even though the sea was pretty calm, I really felt it moving. Didn't get sick, and only felt while in my room. Getting dressed was a bit tricky, as I kept stepping around, trying to keep my balance. Brushing my teeth was another fun event, as I hung onto the sink, feet spread apart to maintain some semblance of balance, while attempting to quickly trying to brush my teeth. But the best experience? Taking a shower. More than once I had to grab onto the railing while washing my hair at the same time. However, sleeping while the ship is rocking has a comfortable feeling.

 

It's a different feeling, that's for sure. I was surprised by it, because when I asked people about movement I got the response that "you don't feel the ship move at all" party line. Good thing people here are honest with you!

[MICruizers]

I have always noticed the movement of the ship when at sea. What I mean is the only time you don't notice the movement is when departing from the pier. At that speed and little to no forward motion, you won't notice the ship moving. While at sea, you certainly do feel movement. The best way I would describe it would be like if you were in the back seat of a car with your eyes closed while someone else was driving---you can tell the vehicle is moving, but it's not uncomfortable. On your first cruise, you may notice the movement a lot after the first few hours or so as your body and brain get used to the constant movement. As long as you don't suffer from motion-sickness or vertigo, you should be fine.......:)

[mommao]

tarkus, i think i was on there with you. it was my first cruise and it was so rough the dining room table was going up and down, i couldn't stay, went back to the room and slept till the next morning. now i take bonine before we cruise and maybe once while were cruising just incase.

[Tess2mommies]

The only time I felt movement was when we first left (barely) and when we hit rough seas (bad) otherwise it was smooth sailing and I didn't feel like we were at sea one bit.

[traveller99]

Hi, Michaline. Yep!:D

[Tarkus]

tarkus, i think i was on there with you. it was my first cruise and it was so rough the dining room table was going up and down, i couldn't stay, went back to the room and slept till the next morning. now i take bonine before we cruise and maybe once while were cruising just incase.

haha... if you're serious, the date was friday, oct 8, 1999 - only reason i can be so specific is because i have a page for it on my personal website that gives the date.

 

i also blame part of it on the age of that boat - stabilizers seem SOOOO much better on newer vessels. and, being a sailor, i wasn't bothered by it - only reason my (then) wife and i returned to our stateroom was that the smell all about (from others getting sick) was making us both a bit nauseous.

 

*sorry for the gory detail there*

[texancruzer]

On our first cruise I was worried about getting seasick so I had my doctor prescribe patches for me.... put on 4 hours before boarding and then change it once during 7 day cruise. Not once did I ever even get queesy (sp?). BUT, before we even left the dock I could feel the ship shift. Kept asking my husband and mother and father in law "Did you feel that?" In laws didnt feel anything and husband only sometimes.... so I think it just depends on how sensative you are to movement. First day at sea going from Galveston to Key West across Gulf of Mexico was ROUGH and everyone was joking "I havent even had anything to drink yet !!!! Really made it difficult to get sea legs but rest of trip was smooth. We were told by our travel agent to book cabin in middle of ship and low down and movement would be minimal. We are booked on Serenade in Nov. still in middle but on deck 9 (superior ocean view balcony) so will see as it is high up on ship.

[CherieB]

You are on a boat in water, yes you will feel it. The Sensation is very bad for motion. We took 2 Bonine every day. On the Grand Princess there were days it got bad.

[atlmagic]

QUOTE=Michaline]I've never gotten motion sickness of any kind and I'm not worried about it, but I've read some you say that you feel nauseous and dizzy up to a week after your cruise. While you're on the ship, can you feel it moving at all or does it feel like you're just on land? If you can feel it, which parts of the ship are the worst spots?

 

Michaline - The one thing I do hate about cruising is that I DON'T feel movement. Not like on a military ship. But we sail mostly in the Caribbean and the Bahamas so that's part of the reason. The North Atlantic might be a different story.

 

Now about being nauseous and dizzy up to a week after your cruise. That's called CRUISE WITHDRAWAL ! LOL

 

The only cure is to quickly book another cruise and spend at LEAST 12 hours a day reading this board.

[swimmer_steph]

I've never gotten motion sickness of any kind and I'm not worried about it, but I've read some you say that you feel nauseas and dizzy up to a week after your cruise. While you're on the ship, can you feel it moving at all or does it feel like you're just on land? If you can feel it, which parts of the ship are the worst spots?

 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I was sick as a dog. We just returned from our first cruise to the Western Caribbean and we were on a smaller and older ship. Our cabin was a forward, interior w/out a window [won't do that again] and we hit some bad weather. You can imagine the total package...

 

One night was so terrible [we were in a storm complete w/a cold front] and we woke-up a few times when neighbors were throwing-up that night. I would not sail on another small ship - but that's just me. I'm v. prone to motion sickness and even wore the patch AND took prescribed meds. I understand the newer/bigger ships have more stabilizers, etc. so when we cruise again, we'll go that route. Just for the record, our cruise was fine and my nausea had nothing to do w/the cruiseline - it's just that for me a bigger and newer ship seems a better fit.

 

Next time: bigger ship, newer ship, cabin w/at least a window and a more central location. Live & learn!

 

Steph

[momofmeg]

I've never gotten motion sickness of any kind and I'm not worried about it, but I've read some you say that you feel nauseas and dizzy up to a week after your cruise. While you're on the ship, can you feel it moving at all or does it feel like you're just on land? If you can feel it, which parts of the ship are the worst spots?

 

Just like when in a plane you feel that moving and in a car you feel that moving but if you hit turbulance you feel it more or if you hit a bump in the road you feel that more.

 

Do you get sea sick when in a small motor boat? If you do then there is a chance you will have a problem. My friend does-can't ride any kind of boat without getting seasick.

 

I recomended bonine-to me it is the best-and it was a woman who had been on 98 cruises who recomended it to me-but my friend went and got that patch from the Dr. Her reasoning being a persciption is always better then over the counter. She still was sea sick. I told her she should have done the bonine as I had read here many posts of people who used both and said bonine worked better.

 

One thing too-the bigger the ship and the newer the ship-the less you feel-at least that has been my experience.

[wrp96]

I've always felt the movement on the ship. The closest way to describe it is how you feel after you've had one or two drinks. How much you will feel depends on how sensitive you are, how rough the seas are, the size of the ship you are on (the smaller the ship the more likely you are to feel it), where on the ship you are (lower and midships you will feel less movement). On my last cruise I noticed the movement more because it was very windy, and even the staff was mentioning how rocky it was.

 

I don't have motion sickness while on the boat. I have a problem adjusting once I get back to land due to a problem with my ears, my best friend who cruises with me has no problem at all. I didn't have the problem after my first cruise which was 4 days. After my 2nd cruise which was 7 days, it took 4 weeks for me to adjust back. For my 3rd cruise I got a prescription for meclizine before I went and took it before I even got onto the ship, and it only took me 2 days to adjust to being back on land. I've seen people on this board mention that they've only noticed the same problem I have after the 7 day or longer cruises and not the shorter cruises.

[ladycaveat]

Aside from what happened on our April 30th sailing on Triumph (tipping on the ship's side was very unusual to say the least) . . . . feeling the movement of the ship is usually so gentle . . . it's a soft rocking that . . . for lack of a better word, "rocks" you to sleep at night. I sleep better on a ship than anywhere else.

[Gingee]

Tipping to one side? How much tipping? Did the ocean water hit the decks?

[cim]

Never been on one yet that I could not feel. Most of my group felt it Coming out of Aruba in April on the Destiny. Glasses slide of tables on lido deck one night. The worst I think was the Pride. It is more narrow and travels faster and rocked more. I do not get sea sick. so no problem. Takes a couple of hours to get land legs back. or is that sea legs.

 

PS Had friend thht became sick(not deathly if there is such a word) every day when on ship. So they go plan an itinary that has the ship stopping everyday and they get off come back and he would go to room strange.

they never travel with us

[ladycaveat]

Tipping to one side? How much tipping? Did the ocean water hit the decks?

 

Check out the thread about Carnival's Triumph's tipping on it's side. We were hit by a 91 knot wind and . . . . as one of the officers told me at the Captain's dinner that night . . . we listed 38 degrees. Bottles broken in the ship's stores and bars . . . deck chairs going overboard . . . pools emptied . . . and . . . a very interesting thrity minutes. :confused:

[Gingee]

When did this happen again? (Tripping Triumph)