Motion sick advice

[familycruiser01]

It's my bf's first cruise and my fifth. I remember getting a bit motion sick on my last couple of cruises (of course the ships were smaller -Mariner was largest) and my BF also gets motion sick. We are on the FOS in just under a month now. We gave a mid-ship deck 7 Promenade cabin. Will we be ok. Any other suggestions to help make sure we enjoy the cruise and not look like Kermit the frog the whole time?

[saroede97]

It's my bf's first cruise and my fifth. I remember getting a bit motion sick on my last couple of cruises (of course the ships were smaller -Mariner was largest) and my BF also gets motion sick. We are on the FOS in just under a month now. We gave a mid-ship deck 7 Promenade cabin. Will we be ok. Any other suggestions to help make sure we enjoy the cruise and not look like Kermit the frog the whole time?

 

I use sea bands when I start to feel queasy, I also find that walking up on deck helps me.

 

Best advice I got was to keep moving and not lay down when I felt sick.

[04mach1]

The DW and I have been on the Freedom 2 times and she gets motion sick pretty easy. She starts to take ginger a few weeks before the cruise and it works great for her.

[adirondacksailor]

I am really prone to motion sickness. It ruined several cruises. I now take Bonine, an over the counter med. It's benefits last for 24 hours. I don't take it everyday of a cruise as many do. But, the minute I feel any rolling aboard, I take one. You need to take it an hour before you may need it, so the slight rolling I take it at isn't enough to cause illness, so the timing is ok. I haven't had a second of motion sickness in the many cruises in the past couple of years.

[jwindham]

My friend I cruised with for years had motion sickness badly but she was fine if she got the patches you put behind your ear and put it on an hour before boarding a ship. You can call you doctor and get them for about $10 with the prescritption but if the ship's doctor gives them to you, the visit alone is $50 or more. I have had them every trip though I seem to be able to handle high seas as I have been in 20 foot waves. But having them is my insurance. I get them replaced every few years. Julia

[lauren0309]

We take bonine (over the counter) the day before we sail. You take it every 24 hours and it does the job. If the seas are rough, we take 2 instead of 1. Non-drowsy and we can drink alcohol too.:D

[britty1]

My friend I cruised with for years had motion sickness badly but she was fine if she got the patches you put behind your ear and put it on an hour before boarding a ship. You can call you doctor and get them for about $10 with the prescritption but if the ship's doctor gives them to you, the visit alone is $50 or more. I have had them every trip though I seem to be able to handle high seas as I have been in 20 foot waves. But having them is my insurance. I get them replaced every few years. Julia

 

You state you get them replaced every few years, so are you saying you can use them more than once.

[dixieva]

A few folks have unpleasant reactions to the patch. I am one of them. Tried them one time and while I didn't get seasick I did have a very dry mouth and my vision was so blurry that I could not read! I just felt bad the whole time I wore it.

 

Some do fine with it but some do not.

 

I use the Bonine (brand name Meclizine) and don't get sick anymore.

[jwindham]

You state you get them replaced every few years, so are you saying you can use them more than once.

 

No. What I meant is I kept the first set for over 8 years and figured they were probably not much good in strength by that time so just got another prescription from my doctor to have good ones for the next few years. I just take them and if needed, then I know I have them. You usually replace one every 2 or 3 days, based on directions so the prescription will be written for how many you might need based on the length of your trip.

 

You will see a lot of people on the ship using them if you look. I know they worked very well for my friend. As I said, just one of those things I like to have just in case. And I have been in the after affects of two hurricanes so was glad to know they were there. Julia

[mikechass]

I find, the trick to not getting overly sick, is to start precautions early!!

I take two motion pills (I take Bonine as well) the minute I board the ship, two more before bed that night, and then another two the next day at lunch (especially if its a sea day) Once I learnt this routine I have not had a SINGLE moment of motion sickness.

I feel like I just need my sea legs then I am alright.

I was on Freedom this summer, it was pretty smooth. After my first day, I was fine...

Wishing you a WONDERFUL trip.

 

Chass

[joand452]

I take a Bonine (or generic) the night before we board the ship and every night of the cruise. Even the last night on board. I forgot to take it once (on our 2nd cruise) and was sick within the first 15 minutes of sailing. Ruined our first night onboard. I won't make that mistake again!!

 

It and the non-drowsy Dramamine (different ingredients, I think) both make me sleepy, which is why I take it before bedtime.

 

Have a wonderful cruise, no matter what you choose!

[saurian]

My DH gets sea sick. I pump him full of ginger candy or ginger ale before the trip. We also bring the OTC seasickness meds, but he only takes them if it gets really bad, because they make him very sleepy. Once he takes them though, he is good to go.

 

We did travel once with a woman who was pregnant, and could not take any medications (not sure if you also have a situation where you cannot take Bonnie, Dromomine, etc. for health or medical reasons) and we recommend the sea-bands. They really did work well for her. She was really surprised. they even helped with her morning sickness.

[dacsmom]

Another vote for Sea Bands. They work well and do not have any of the drowsy side effects of the pills or patches.

Edited December 5, 2013 by dacsmom

[Iandidar]

My friend I cruised with for years had motion sickness badly but she was fine if she got the patches you put behind your ear and put it on an hour before boarding a ship. You can call you doctor and get them for about $10 with the prescritption but if the ship's doctor gives them to you, the visit alone is $50 or more. I have had them every trip though I seem to be able to handle high seas as I have been in 20 foot waves. But having them is my insurance. I get them replaced every few years. Julia

 

My wife uses these, but they make her drowsy for the first 12-24 hours she wears them. So she just puts them on at least a day before we board to get that out of the way.

[Mickeefan]

I begin taking generic Meclizine the night before the cruise & take one every night before bed. It can tend to make you sleepy, but taking it before bed works & continues to work for 24 hours.

[Toddcan]

We use Bonine pills too. We use the non-drowsy version, and it only needs one pill per day. Because it takes an hour or so to be effective, we just take one the night before the cruise leaves, and each night after that.

 

I get sick on roller coasters, etc, and my wife was sick on day 1 of one of our cruises - before we heard about Bonine.

 

But with 3-4 cruises since - had no problem. We'll be using it again on our next cruise too.

[Mimi of 4]

I tried the patches also but by the end of the cruise my vision was fuzzy and that made me ill. I now use the Walgreen brand of Meclizine I sure that the other stores care their own brand. I do not get sleepy with this brand that is why I stick with it. I hope you find something that works for you.

[setsail]

Will we be ok. ?

 

Don.t have a clue as its no way to know what kind of wind/waves you will have until your cruise. Take the meds, all ships rock and roll under the right conditions

Edited December 5, 2013 by setsail

[tabbi_cakes]

Another vote for 24 hr non drowsy Bonine!

[samben]

A few folks have unpleasant reactions to the patch. I am one of them. Tried them one time and while I didn't get seasick I did have a very dry mouth and my vision was so blurry that I could not read! I just felt bad the whole time I wore it.

 

Some do fine with it but some do not.

 

I use the Bonine (brand name Meclizine) and don't get sick anymore.

 

I too had a bad reaction to the patch. I just use Bonine now too and have not had a problem.

[jstraw20]

Seasick medication aside, the best advice I can give you is to resist the urge to stay in your cabin if you're feeling under the weather. Go somewhere where you can see the horizon.

[tlund]

Just returned from the Freedom of the Seas. First night was a bit rocky but that has not bothered me in the past. I can stay on a ship that rocks with no problem. My problem is when we get off the ship. I usually have effects of the movement for days after returning from the cruise. This time, I tried an experiment. I took a Bonine every day on the cruise, including the day of debarkation. I was hoping that would help with the days after effect. Unfortunately, I was at the airport waiting for our flight when I started to feel nauseated.

 

Anyone have any advice as to how to avoid the "after cruise" motion sickness? I only feel it if I am sitting still (not on the plane or driving where there is movement).

[tabbi_cakes]

Just returned from the Freedom of the Seas. First night was a bit rocky but that has not bothered me in the past. I can stay on a ship that rocks with no problem. My problem is when we get off the ship. I usually have effects of the movement for days after returning from the cruise. This time, I tried an experiment. I took a Bonine every day on the cruise, including the day of debarkation. I was hoping that would help with the days after effect. Unfortunately, I was at the airport waiting for our flight when I started to feel nauseated.

 

Anyone have any advice as to how to avoid the "after cruise" motion sickness? I only feel it if I am sitting still (not on the plane or driving where there is movement).

 

I don't have any advice for that. I just wanted to say I felt wobbly for a week after I got of my first cruise this past April. I was fine if I was moving about or riding/driving in a car.

 

I totally forgot about that until I read your post. :eek:

[MonDreamr1]

On the larger ships I'm fine. On the dive boats or rough seas (the trip out to Bermuda a few times) I need the patch, it only seems to mess with my vision for electronic text - I can't read my ereader/phone/ipad after several days. I thought the seabands worked until our first dive trip. Had them on for the cruise part, felt fine, but the water was calm. Got on the dive boat. Not so much. We'll leave it to I fed the fish for the dive boat part.

 

After that trip DH was hesitant to keep our scheduled Galapagos trip - but my doc said to try the patch - it worked great. I can't deal with the OTC pills - they knock me out. Tried Bonnie for the Bermuda crossing for our Honeymoon - I slept for a lot of the sea days. Post chemo I've found the combo of script pills and patches that work well for me for everything for me. If I've only done a pill or nothing and start to feel queasy - I have ginger candy that I can just suck on that at least keeps my mind off the issue long enough to get something down.

 

Regular ship stuff -- ginger pills and green apples can help. The ginger pills don't have too may side effects - still check with your doctor.

Edited December 10, 2013 by MonDreamr1

[At Sea 4Ever]

Keep busy and moving! The more you think about it the worse it is. Sit in the hot tub with a drink the motion of the water will actually balance the motion on the ship!