Seasick - Worse Aft or Forward?

[Badger-Badger]

My husband and one of my daughters get seasick - my daughter moreso. Meclazine (Bonine or Dramamine Non-Drowsy) work to control it. So my question is, would it be better for them to be in a forward or aft cabin?

 

We are considering moving out of the 5th deck steerage OVs :p on the Jade that we are currently booked in. Although the cabins are mid-ship the dining rooms are above us and an ominous blank space in the deck plans show below us. We ended up with the galley above us once before and don't want to repeat something like that!

 

So - what would be better aft or forward? The rooms would be adjoining OVs either place. Balconies are out of the question due to the cost of the flights to get to Rome.

 

Any thoughts? Our other three cruises were all mid-ship.

[angeljt]

We usually cruise forward, and have never been seasick. Our last cruise was an aft, and hubby did not do well with the higher seas one night. Don't know if it was something he ate though. I like both, but prefer forward.

Have fun!

[bakerintn]

Forward will probably be more motion and sharper motion than aft. But, Aft, low cabins may be noisy from the propellers and such. Forward, low cabins may get noise from the anchoring when you are at a tender port (don't know if this applies to your cruise or not).

[camz]

Mid ship lower level cabins are the best selection for those sensitive to movement. The aft and the forward sections are where most of the movement of the ship is. IMO the forward are worse then the aft area, however, the aft area still rocks and rolls with some vibrations from time to time.

[1witchydiva]

I think everyone is different. I suffer from severe motion sickness in general since I was a child. Cars,boats,planes ---all affect me.

 

When I was on the Jewel, I could not be forward,as I felt that I could not keep my balance. I felt as it I was falling and very nauseous. Spinnaker lounge I believe, was fwd and I could not go in there at all. My husband and son were fine but my daughter and I were not so good.

 

Aft --I was fine. I stayed mid ship balcony on the Jewel- Deck 9. I am trying an aft balcony in July. Hoping for the best. :)

 

Enjoy your cruise. :)

[Badger-Badger]

We are looking at moving to deck 8 ... the plus side of the aft is passenger cabins above and below. Hubby is torn between wanting the quieter upper deck and nervousness over the seasickness.

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

We prefer forward. The only time we were sick was when we were aft. Aft did seem to have less up and down movement but it did have a side to side sway and vibration that seemed to be made us feel worse.

[elruth]

I would say aft is a better choice. The best is if you have cabins above and below you as noise is non existent. Be sure to take Bonine every day at the same time and take it the day before your cruise too.

[<3 <3 <3]

We just got off of our cruise yesterday. We had a bit of a rough day at sea one one of the days and the crew said that aft cabins were the worst for seasickness. I have no knowledge of this personally but did want to pass this along. During the one day at sea I felt better myself when we were at the middle of the ship; our cabin was forward. The crew member did say that the aft main dining room was virtually empty on rough sea days and that they had to compensate in the other dining rooms. This information was from the Jewel crew. Hope this helps.

[Dolphins]

Mid ship lower level cabins are the best selection for those sensitive to movement. The aft and the forward sections are where most of the movement of the ship is. IMO the forward are worse then the aft area, however, the aft area still rocks and rolls with some vibrations from time to time.

 

The bow area will definitely pitch more up and down in rough seas that the stern. Lower level midships will have the least motion. Important to take Bonine (Meclizine) before you get sick. At the first sign of feeling queasy, take ginger capsules (available at any health food store) to prevent nausea.

[<3 <3 <3]

Reading Dolphin's post reminded me of one other thing. The crew also said to eat green apples and drink ginger ale. They said that room service will actually bring those to you if you call. I had never heard of green apples for nausea but at least five different crew members in different places on the ship all said to eat a green apple at the first sign of nausea.

[Barb Nahoumi]

It seems that many people have different opinions. If I were you, I'd stay midship on a lower deck. You'd feel less motion there.

 

Bonine or ginger pills taken as directed will eleviate or eliminate any motion sickness.

 

Good Luck, and safe cruising.

[DMLyons]

Amidship is normally better for people who are sensitive to motion, as you know. I'm not sensitive, so nowhere aboard bothers me, BUT... On another thread, a poster who is sensitive said the slap forward bothers him, so he travels aft. I hope that helps.

 

DML

[chengkp75]

My husband and one of my daughters get seasick - my daughter moreso. Meclazine (Bonine or Dramamine Non-Drowsy) work to control it. So my question is, would it be better for them to be in a forward or aft cabin?

 

We are considering moving out of the 5th deck steerage OVs :p on the Jade that we are currently booked in. Although the cabins are mid-ship the dining rooms are above us and an ominous blank space in the deck plans show below us. We ended up with the galley above us once before and don't want to repeat something like that!

 

So - what would be better aft or forward? The rooms would be adjoining OVs either place. Balconies are out of the question due to the cost of the flights to get to Rome.

 

Any thoughts? Our other three cruises were all mid-ship.

 

I only visited the Jade once, when it was the Pride of Hawaii. The restaurants above your deck 5 midships cabins will quiet down after dinner service, and won't be very noisy for breakfast, unlike the galley. I wouldn't worry about the "ominous blank space", as I remember these to be crew cabins.

 

The forward and aft ends of ships present different motions. The forward cabins (and the OV's are pretty well forward) will have increased pitch (fore and aft) and roll (side to side) than midships, and can be noisy not only during anchoring but general mooring as well.

 

The aft OV's, while also pretty far aft, will probably be a calmer ride. However, due to the design of all cruise ships lately to present a broad flat stern just above the waterline, the aft end will give a more pronounced "shimmy" than pitch or roll. With following seas, there will also be some wave slapping noise. Depending on how fast they need to go to make schedule, propeller noise could be an issue as well.

 

Long and short answer is, either forward or aft could be better or worse, depending on your families particular tendency to motion sickness. Best to use the meds, and when queesy, look out the window. Motion sickness is mostly caused by your inner ear telling the brain you are moving, while your eyes tell a different story because the room doesn't look like its moving.

[4774Papa]

We have had cabins that were more aft as well as more forward. We seem to feel more movement on the forward cabins.

[ravencmoon]

I have not been on the Jade so I cannot specifically speak for that ship or NCL for that matter (Sailing in 12 days :) ) but if it were me, I would avoid a forward cabin. When I sailed on the Disney Magic we had the most forward cabin on deck 6. NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN! Every second in the room I felt a huge amount of movement. Sleeping was extremely difficult as I felt my stomach rolling the entire night! That is just my thought based on my experience in a forward cabin and I hope that whatever you decide that you have an amazing time.

[Gregor4500]

No question, more motion forward.

[Badger-Badger]

Thanks everyone! It seems it is so individual - and as someone not really prone to motion sickness it's so hard to judge.

 

I talked to someone who cruised the Jade Deck 5 aft and said it was quiet - in fact they booked the same room again for the same cruise we will be on. Since different people are sensitive to different factor it seems I may be best just keeping our lower deck mid-ship room. I'd hate to fly all the way to Europe just to have my daughter and husband miserable.

 

I appreciate the answers - makes me feel better about our cabins:) I guess worse case is the galley is below us .... which can't be nearly as bad as having it above as happened to us on the Carnival Glory - and that didn't even ruin the cruise, it was just annoying.

[kcfoxy]

On the Spirit we were on deck 10 near the Forward stairs.

On the Sky we were on Deck 8 AFT, clear at the back.

On the Jewel it was Deck 9 near the AFT stairs and

For the POA we were on Deck 8 near the Forward stairs.

 

I also suffered greatly from car sickness as a child, and

have been taking Meclizine beginning with our first cruise.

Spirit had the roughest seas and in the Gulf we could really

feel it in the Forward areas, especially higher up.

 

For the Sky and Jewel we felt almost no motion AFT.

 

With POA there was some motion Forward, we ate in the AFT

dining rooms and specialty restaurants both Midship & Aft without

issues although the AFT MDR has some noticeable motion, almost

a wallowing sensation that seemed not to affect the crew bustling

about with various dishes.

 

The only time I felt actually sea sick was on the Spirit when I

happened to look out the Casino window and the horizon line

went from below the window to near the top over and over.

I suddenly noticed how much pitch and roll there was in this (Forward)

part of the ship and had to leave...it was a little tricky getting back

to our stateroom and evidence of others' discomfort was all about.

 

As a long-time RN, I was gratified to see a number of crew members

tidying up soon after these mini events...so just damp spots remained

in the public areas. (And for their just rewards? To watch various pax

crab walking, no skittering, about the hallways).

 

This was also later at night, almost 20 hours since my last anti-histamine

tablet. (Due to bothersome side effects I limited myself to one per day). For subsequent cruises

I supplemented these pills with ginger gum, green apples and Sea Bands, never missing a meal.

 

Obviously midship and midlevel would be my favorite location, both central and with the least amount of motion

BTW: With our upcoming 15 Night Panama Canal/Repo we will be putting that to the test, having booked Deck 8 Midship

(AC) cabin, albeit a sideways version.

[dna529]

I do not normally get sick, but my kids were very sick on a rough night after they were in the very forward Kids Club on the Sun. I really think forward is worse. My husband was in the Navy, and he was not surprised that the kids got sick being that far up and forward during rough seas. Alot of other kids got sick that night also. Good luck with your choice!

[laurabegorrah]

....as everyone seems to have a different opinion about wich is better/worse....might be easier to just bring three sets of earplugs incase your current midship OV is a bit noisey. lol

[tammy531]

My son and I also get motion sick.. even in the passenger seat of a car! We have always stayed midship and low (deck 5) without any problems. We are staying on deck 14 this time but still midship so I hope we are OK! I use the scopalamine patch, though, in addition to bonine and that has worked well for me.. my son bonine works for. Good luck.. would love to hear what you decided and how it worked for you when you return!

 

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[Hikini]

I realize everyone is different, and this is our experience.....

 

My Mom can get a little nauseated but doesn't get full blown seasick. She has found that the higher the floor, the better she feels. I know that goes against conventional wisdom, but that's her experience.

 

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, go get some candied ginger. Chewing on an occasional piece of that helps her nausea, if she is experiencing any.

 

I'm sure there are other stores who carry candied ginger, but we always get it from Trader Joe's.

 

Good luck!