Do you recommend an Aft JS for a family prone to motion sickness?

[cawhite]

Hi everyone,

 

I recently switched our family's cruise reservation (family of 4) to an Aft Junior Suite because (a) I have heard such great things on CC about Aft staterooms, and (b) the balconies are so large.

 

But... is there anyone out there who is, like us, prone to sea sickness and has been OK in a mid-ship location, but had trouble with motion sickness in an Aft stateroom?

 

We have been on only 1 cruise previously (had a mid-ship OV cabin) and we had NO troubles with motion sickness. We took Bonine prior to the cruise and for the first day or so, then stopped taking it, but were fine. Same with the Sea Band wristbands... we wore them a day or two, then took them off.

 

But my family has definitely gotten sick in the past on scuba dive / snorkel trips that involve small boats with somewhat lengthy rides to get to dive sites, long winding car rides, etc..

 

I don't want to have a ruined vacation if anyone (particularly the kids) gets sick. I need a little reassurance here!

 

Thanks.

[Travelgrrl]

I'm sure you will get many replies that say: "I had an aft cabin and I didn't get sick" because of course many sailings are calm and many people are not prone to motion sickness.

 

But a good rule of thumb is: The lowest, most central cabins have the least motion. It's so ironic that the cheapest cabins often fit this bill.

 

I'm assuming a JS cabin would also be high up, as well as being aft.

 

Sometimes I lecture aboard, so I don't get to pick my cabin (as long as I'm on the ship, it's OK with me!) but one time I was placed in a very aft cabin, on deck 7, and two nights in a row, I was praying for the sweet release of death, I was so sick. And after 13 cruises, I usually have no problem at all.

 

Just a thought!

[cawhite]

Wow... thanks for the info. travelgrrl.

 

This is an aft corner Junior Suite on the 7th deck... same deck you speak of!! Yikes, I better call my TA. My son (you know, the one who wants to sleep on the balcony!) really wants to stand at the back of the ship and look out.

 

Before calling my TA, I'll call RCI and check out the squarefootage of JS balconies that are mid-ship, and ask if they are big enough to have a lounge chair out there too!!

 

Carole

[Michuck]

Did you ever see an ice skating show where there was a center person and everyone else was holding hands and skating are her? The ones furthest out had to do the most work, and the center skater barely moved at all. Same thing with ships.....more central, low down, the less movement. Closer to the end, more movement.

 

Hope this made sense!!

 

Michele

[cawhite]

Thanks Michele,

 

I know there will be more movement... just wondering HOW MUCH more. Sounds like I ought to try and change this to a more mid-ship location.

 

Any other inputs?

[macbasset]

You know, it has a lot to do with the time of year, too. In the winter, when the seas are rough and high, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to be aft, but the seas are smoother and less rough in the summer and the aft might be a good choice.

[FunCruiser56]

do like our family does- take a Bonnine each morning and don't worry about the motion.Enjoy your cruise and your cabin choice.

We usually book mid to aft cabins and have not had a problem with it, my son is gets motion sick when he flys, bonnine works for that, he has never had a problem cruising the bonnine does the trick with few side affects.

 

Bev

[JanMD]

We love the aft cabins and with being able to go out on that huge balcony, you are not as prone to the seasickness. That is a great location.

Sometimes it has to do with the way the beds are set up if they are facing the direction that the ship is sailing or facing backwards. The aft ones are sideways and no seasickness. enjoy.

[Travelgrrl]

JanMD you are soooo right, the time I had the aft cabin on deck 7, and was so ill, the beds were perpendicular from where they are usually placed.

 

When it was rough, this really did a whammy on me, as my whole body felt 'airborne' every roll, rather than a top to bottom roll (if that makes sense). So maybe Cawhite will have no problem, even in rougher seas, if the beds are placed traditionally (where your head is facing to the outside of the ship, rather than your body being parallel to the outside of the ship).

[Cruising89143]

Felt very little movement on the Navigator. Was on deck ten aft JS. Great location.

[mcarnett]

We have had an aft cabin on every class of ship that RCI sails. The larger the ship the less movement you will feel. We went through Tropical Storm George a couple of years ago on the Navigator of the Seas and felt little movement. We felt more vibratipn from the engines than we did movement of the ship. There is a big difference between a small boat and a large cruise ship when it comes to motion. Most of the time you don't even think you are moving. We have some friends that are prone to motion sickness and they use the patch behind the ear. They always get an aft cabin because of the size of the balconies. Yes, there are usually at least two lounge chairs on the back plus a couple of regulaar chairs.

 

No better cabin on the ship, the hump cabins are a close second (If you want a balcony).

 

Mike

[cawhite]

Oh my gosh... based on the 1st couple of comments I switched the reservation to a JS with a more mid-ship location. Should I change it back? My TA will probably kill me if I change it AGAIN!!

 

We will be sailing in April, by the way... I'm assuming the ocean will be fairly calm then, as it was for us this past April.

 

Actually, the newly reserved cabin is on the 8th deck, which has cabins below and the pool / whirlpool area above. That will be 1 quick flight of stairs for my kids to get to the pool. Also, RCI told me that the cabin we just switched to is in the NEW section of the ship... so that is cool (although it will be 9 months old by the time we sail!!). In addition, there should be no noise in the new cabin... I had read from a few people that in the 7th deck Aft cabins on the Vision class of ships you can hear noise during the late p.m. / early a.m. from the Lounge below. So that was a (very) small concern.

 

What should I do now? Keep what weI have, or switch back to the Aft JS?!? Yikes!

[jcl410]

When you had your last cruise, did you all walk around the ship much? When you were in the theater, or dining rooms, which tend to be at the ends of a ship did any of you feel queezy?

 

The motion of a large ship is quite different than that of a dive boat/etc. Even in big waves its more of a slow roll.

 

When it comes down to it I think you biggest question is; do you want an aft cabin with the bigger balcony, or a cabin that is more in the center of the ship, with MUCH closer access to the stairs?

 

John

 

ps: If you run into BIG seas, it dosen't matter how big the ship is, or where your cabin is; you will feel the motion - the question is how it will affect you.

[lori450]

I am very prone to sea sickness myself. I have cruised 7 times and never had a moment of problem. However, on our last cruise I also succumbed to the word about aft cabins. Yes, I did feel a difference. There was substantially more movement in the aft cabin. That being said, I never felt ill. Mildly uncomfortable at the most. So, don't worry. (I've been known to get sick standing on the dock and watching a boat rock). Enjoy!

[sealegs9]

We had aft JS on Voyager (Cabin 7392) last August (during Hurricane Frances). We didn't notice any more motion than in other places on the ship. HOWEVER- there was a tremendous vibration in the entire cabin when the ship's engines were "on". We attempted to go to sleep the first night. The vibration when our heads hit the pillows was incredible. It was worse than the old coin operated "Magic fingers" machines in Holiday Inns in the late 1950's/early 1960's. (Put a few cents in to make the bed vibrate).

We woke up in the middle of the night, and felt sick and dizzy. Luckilly, the following nights weren't that bad- except for theFri nite we were passing thru Frances. They must have had the engines on full throttle and also the stabilizers. Whatever engine caused the vibration - bad.

Our CC friends visited our suite after the M&M the first sea day- must have been a crowd of 12 to view the cabin. They all remarked about the vibration and made a note not to book that cabin.

We had a hanging drying rack in the tub area (yes- tub in JS)- the rack never stopped swinging, the entire cruise - and it was from the vibration, not the ship's motion!!!

One more thing, some aft cabins get soot on them, depending on the ship, from time to time. We hosted our tablemates at a cocktail party in our suite before dinner on the last night. We went out to show them the large balcony, and were all blasted with soot. Did we make a beeline inside! We had plenty of room to entertain- a couch seating 3, one or two easy chairs, two desk chairs and the 2 kids sat on the large bed.

IMHO- sitck to the JS mid-ship.

BTW- booked on Voyager this Aug- in balcony on hump- supposed to be a great cabin- we're excited. Smaller than JS, but 2Ds's are in Promenade cabin down the hall. Room will have ample space for two.

Good Luck and enjoy, whatever your decision.

[cawhite]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the responses. I'm going to "hold" on the mid-ship 8th deck JS... for now anyway.

 

Yes, sealegs9 - I did read about the engine vibration in the aft cabins as well... but hadn't heard anything about soot - that certainly is a new one!! I can just see my son coming back in from the balcony with his 1 formal night white dinner shirt, and it's covered in soot - that would be a funny sight!

[sealegs9]

In all fairness- it was only sooty twice on a 9 night cruise. But, you're right- it will probably soil a white shirt!

We enjoyed many morning breakfasts on the balcony- but you can do that mid-ship, too.

[sherry7]

A corner aft balcony? I would have had a hard time giving that up. Those corner aft balconies are HUGE...at least the one I had the pleasure of viewing on the Mariner was. RCCL doesn't list the proper square footage for them in the books, but they are really large.

 

Whichever you take, I'm sure you're going to have a marvelous time! Happy cruising! :)

[cawhite]

Yes, sherry7... I can't believe I gave it up myself! :(

 

But I'm so nervous about someone getting sick! And my DH gets sea sick too and this will be his 1st cruise. I don't want anything going wrong!! I'm usually not an overly cautious person... but I'm chicken on this one.

[cincicruisers]

I had the same issue as you.... I debated back and forth for about a month on whether to keep the aft or move to to JS mid ship. I ended up moving to mid ship.

I was concerned about the vibrations, soot, and movement.

I loved the last couple of cruises mid ship and didnt want to take the chance of getting sick while on vacation.

Its a tough decision to make. Enjoy your cruise with your family!

[Travelgrrl]

I hate to see your son come in all sooty, after sleeping out on the balcony! ;)

[Cruiser-T]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the responses. I'm going to "hold" on the mid-ship 8th deck JS... for now anyway.

 

I doubt the aft balcony will even be available, now that you have given it up, I am sure someone snatched it up right away, they to tend to go first. We will be on Jewel with aft balconies, can't wait. Enjoy your cruise, you can't go wrong with any balcony, you just won't have as much room.

[mrg0433]

If you didn't have problems before, you probably won't in the future. I was nervous about sailing 4 days at sea from Hawaii to Mexico in the Pacific and took the advice about lower deck midship. We even got an inside cabin in the very center of the ship away from the main hallway. It was great--except we slept until about 10 am every morning and kept missing breakfast in the dining room. I think most people can deal with one rough sea day. I wouldn't worry on port days because you spend most of the day on land or docking. Usually the captain keeps a slow speed between islands to keep the wind and motion to a minimum. It's those sea days that can be difficult. That's when a shot from the doctor or the bartender helps.

 

Mary

Plymouth, MA

[lori450]

Sealegs is right about the vibration. I forgot about that. We had it whenever we docked. We were in 1388 on Mariner. Won't be going aft again. I also found it surprising but I did not like the view aft. It was disconcerting not being able to tell where we were or where we were going...only where we'd been.

[cawhite]

Thanks, everyone, for all of the various perspectives!