First Ever Cruise! Rough Seas??

[razzle6212]

HI there! We are scheduled for our first ever cruise in late Feb/early March 2017 on the Oasis to the Western Caribbean! I get motion sickness and so I am worried about rough seas on the cruise. Anybody have personal experiences for cruising during that time frame? How was the waters? Any advice? Thank you guys all so much!

[CruiserBruce]

Seas can be rough any time, any place, and are not predictable. We have sailed the Caribbean in those times, and, while seas have generally been calm, that fact has no bearing on how the seas will be for your cruise.

 

If you have issues with sea sickness, you need to be prepared every day you are on a ship.

[razzle6212]

Thanks! I will make sure to get some anti-motionsickness meds

[Roz]

Take them before you board the ship. Once you're sick, it may be too late.

 

Roz

[Pernilla]

I can get seasick in the bathtub. However, that has never stopped me from cruising. I have used the patch for years now -- best thing for me to avoid seasickness. Talk with your doctor to see if he feels it would be right for you.:)

[SuiteTraveler]

Generally the Caribbean is very smooth and in a ship as large as Oasis, you likely won't feel much motion at all. The area in which you may have some trouble is coming down and going back up the east coast of Florida from Port Canaveral as you will be in the Atlantic Ocean. It is therefore always wise to bring along some Bonine (Meclazine) just in case - as long as this medication is OK with your doctor. Take a Bonine on the morning that you board the ship and then one each day of your cruise IF you are feeling motion and are concerned. The place where you need to be most careful is if you take a boat excursion or ferry - many times I have seen people who went on these small boats unprepared get seasick. I have also seen people get carsick on the winding roads of various islands. Should you get motion sickness, lie down and take a ice cold bottle of soda or beer or a baggie of ice and place it on the front of your neck. This will almost immediately stop the feeling of needing to vomit. if you have not yet taken a Bonine, take one and keep the cold object in place on your neck as you relax lying down for 30 minutes. That will give the medicine time to work. If necessary, it will also give you the time to get to the ship's doctor. They are experts in treating motion sickness.

 

The most motion can be felt at the back of the ship and at the front of the ship, so make sure you cabin is somewhere midship. Generally, there is quite a bit of vibration at the back of ships, especially when pulling into port, so I tend to avoid those cabins. The back of ships also sometimes induce a feeling of weightlessness that I find unpleasant. Should your ship encounter high seas, take a Bonine and go midship for the day - I usually bring my IPAD with me on such occasions and stay midship until it is time to eat dinner and go to bed.

 

There are also Trans Derm Scops - these are the motion sickness patches you get by prescription from your doctor. The side effects are blurred vision and dry mouth among other things - they make me feel rather drunk, so I wouldn't suggest you use these unless you encounter high seas where the Bonine is not enough to control your motion sickness. My doctor gives me a prescription for these and I bring them along just in case, but rarely use them. Certainly they were a blessing when we sailed to Alaska and also through the Bay of Biscay from Southampton and I also needed them in the Pacific at the end of our Panama Canal cruise. But I've never needed them in the Caribbean. In fact, I rarely take anything if we are sailing from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Puerto Rico or Galveston or New Orleans.

 

Oasis is a gorgeous ship with great entertainment and so much to do you can't do it all in a week. You've picked a great one for your first cruise! Have a wonderful time!

[cb at sea]

No way to tell WHAT the seas will be like...it can change from day to day!

[Langley Cruisers]

Personally, I would not take seasickness meds before the cruise. They are sufficient to calm nausea and potential vomiting if taken when you first start feeling ill. They are made for nausea and vomiting - no one knows when nausea may kick in, so my advice is to see how you do.

 

I would also personally recommend Sea Bands wrist bands as an alternative to medication. I have seen the crew wearing them, and they do help. I wore them during pregnancy for morning sickness and they do work - available for less at your local drug store than on the ship, but they do sell them on board.

[OCruisers]

Unfortunately, there can be rough seas any time of year.

Oasis is a very large stable ship. When we sailed on her we didn't feel any motion whatsoever.

[Bonnie J.]

You don't say where your cabin is. The best cabin for someone who gets sea sick is as low as possible in the absolute middle of the ship. This is where you won't feel the ship rocking as much if at all. Think of a metronome. The top flings back and forth but there is little movement if any at the bottom.

Your cruise isn't until next year so you should be able to switch cabins if you want to.

[MOcruiserman]

I've been on four cruises and on each one there were times when the sea was a bit rough. So I think you have to assume that you will encounter rough seas at some point though, as folks have said, a huge ship like the Oasis is probably going to give you the smoothest ride of any ship out there.

[wampuscat7]

IF you decide to take medication before your cruise, I highly recommend you test it first. Some medicines make me very sleepy.

 

Ginger is a great way to ward off nausea.

 

I only have a few cruises under my belt, but on Oasis, I think I felt the boat move about 3 times. There was at least one time when we had left a port, and I didn't even notice until I saw the scenery moving past our balcony window. And I had a cabin toward the aft of the ship.

[BlueCollarCruiser]

I get sea sick very easily. I also have cruised during that time frame.

 

There was a storm or something and the boat was ROCKING. Clothes hangers were rattling and swinging and everything.

 

First I tried some OTC sea sickness meds. I still got sick the last days. Never threw up. Just had to lie down and drink lots of ginger ale.

 

Later I tried the patches AND pills. Still got sick the last days.

 

Finally I brought seabands, patches, pills, and ginger tablets. I didn't get sick that cruise even though I only used the patches and pills.

 

I suggest starting meds the day before you board. Pack them in your carry on. If you need to wear glasses keep them on. Stare at the ocean/horizon if you feel yourself getting ill. Drink lots of sprite or ginger ale.

 

OR stay in the pool as much as you can. That works too.

[nolatravelgirl]

The place where you need to be most careful is if you take a boat excursion or ferry - many times I have seen people who went on these small boats unprepared get seasick. I have also seen people get carsick on the winding roads of various islands.

This is so true. These big slow moving lumbering ships is not usually the culprit it is what you mentioned above!

[razzle6212]

Thank you everyone for your replies!! :) I have used the seabands before with my pregnancies and seem to work okay for me so I will for sure have those on hand. I have the tendency to worry a lot and so a chance of the ship rocking and rolling worries me somewhat. We have a room on deck 17 so from the sounds of it, it sounds like we will feel a lot of movement because we are on the top of the ship?

[Langley Cruisers]

We have a room on deck 17 so from the sounds of it, it sounds like we will feel a lot of movement because we are on the top of the ship?

 

Yes, not going to lie to you - you may very well feel some movement there. We had a cabin on Deck 8 and felt movement there the first night - after that it seemed better.

 

Try to go into the cruise hoping for the best, and know that you do have remedies available and ready should you feel you need them. :)

[shipgeeks]

I've been on four cruises and on each one there were times when the sea was a bit rough. So I think you have to assume that you will encounter rough seas at some point though, as folks have said, a huge ship like the Oasis is probably going to give you the smoothest ride of any ship out there.

We've been on 36 cruises, and hardly ever had any rough seas. IMO, the chances of feeling anything are quite low, although they do exist.

[Keith1010]

Always wise to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

 

Any itinerary can have rough seas.

 

Keith