Need the Communities Help Regarding Motion Sickness

[SNJCruisers]

We currently have a group of five couples going on the Adventure of the Seas and are trying to convince a sixth couple to join us.  Back in 1990, the female half of the couple experienced bad motion sickness on her one and only cruise.  Not knowing how old that ship was or the size, it's a safe bet to assume that it was at least a dozen years older and probably half the size or smaller when comparing it to the Adventure.  I'm familiar with the old adage of mid-ship and low deck to keep the motion at bay, but I need encouragement and inspiration from others that have suffered through this problem in the past and hopefully by reading your responses they will be convinced to join our group.

In our group there will be four of us hitting milestone ages....three hitting 60 and one hitting 50.  It would be a shame for all of us to not be there.  Thanks for your help and suggestions.

[spookwife]

Ginger pills and green apples

[simplyrubies]

Booking a mid-ship, low deck cabin really does seem to work (at least for me). Over the counter Bonine or Dramamine can be a great help in reducing motion sickness. Other remedies that I like include non-drowsy Gravol ginger tablets (I like the chewable kind), Sea Band wristbands for your pressure points, eating candied ginger, or carbonation (ginger ale). Quite generally, making sure that you have enough food in your stomach can be a great help too. And I'm sure the crew has seen many a seasick traveller in the past and have great remedies on board available.

 

If you're going on a larger ship through more open waters (eg. not a cruise through the Hawaiian islands), I have found that I have experienced less seasickness on these journeys - and I get seasick very easily. 

[A2Mich]

45 minutes ago, spookwife said:

Ginger pills and green apples

 

^^This.  I would avoid medications,if at all possible.  That said, I wouldn’t try and justify your position to someone that may not want to go.  If that person gets motion sickness again, it may end up jeopardizing your friendship with them.

[Bizmark'sMom]

I use elastic relief bands for my motion sickness. And I carry bonine to use if the seas are particularly rough.  This is what works for me.

[BlueRiband]

This is really a medical question which should get professional medical attention.  Suggest that she consult her physician about the motion sickness problem.  Her overall physical condition and any current medications need to be taken into consideration.

[mom says]

Blue riband has the right answer. Since we know nothing of the ship or sea conditions of your friends previous cruise, and know nothing if her physical condition and what sea sickness remedies she has tried and found ineffective, it is impossible to say what would work for her. It is often a process if trial and error. What works well for some don't work for others, and in some instances coukd be detrimental to their health. Suggest that she consult with her health practitioner.

 

But I also agree with the poster who said not to put pressure on your friend. Not everyone wants to cruise, and that's their right.

[GeezerCouple]

20 minutes ago, mom says said:

Blue riband has the right answer. Since we know nothing of the ship or sea conditions of your friends previous cruise, and know nothing if her physical condition and what sea sickness remedies she has tried and found ineffective, it is impossible to say what would work for her. It is often a process if trial and error. What works well for some don't work for others, and in some instances coukd be detrimental to their health. Suggest that she consult with her health practitioner.

 

But I also agree with the poster who said not to put pressure on your friend. Not everyone wants to cruise, and that's their right.

This ^^

 

How will you feel if she has a horrible time and is dreadfully sick the entire time?

 

Find something else to do, some other time, so she/they can join you.

 

GC

[lenquixote66]

I use Ginger capsules.

[Husky61]

56 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I use Ginger capsules.

How do you know they won't make someone else sick or have a reaction.  I always suggest the person speak with a physician rather than folks on this forum.😃

[lenquixote66]

I spent 38 years in the medical field.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

This ^^

 

How will you feel if she has a horrible time and is dreadfully sick the entire time?

 

Find something else to do, some other time, so she/they can join you.

 

GC

Easier said than done.  The purpose of this trip is to get multiple couples (and a few kids) together to celebrate 4 milestone birthdays.  The couple's are scattered across PA, NJ and VA.  Parts of the group have traveled together before in 1993 and 2002. Some of us won't be around in 2038 if we wait another 18 years.

[GeezerCouple]

36 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Easier said than done.  The purpose of this trip is to get multiple couples (and a few kids) together to celebrate 4 milestone birthdays.  The couple's are scattered across PA, NJ and VA.  Parts of the group have traveled together before in 1993 and 2002. Some of us won't be around in 2038 if we wait another 18 years.

 

And for some reason this must be a cruise?

 

Or have the FULL celebration, with "all", as something that ALL, indeed, can enjoy.

Why ever would you not do it this way?

 

GC

[Shmoo here]

 

A note of caution - ginger does interact with some blood thinners and heart meds.

 

I support "Ask your doctor".

 

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by Shmoo here

[Elaine5715]

The ear patches are the gold standard.  However, asking about sea sickness/motion sickness advice on a social media site is useless.  An amazing number really don't know what it actually is and mistake other symptoms as sea sickness/motion sickness.  Travel causes constipation which causes nausea which people confuse with sea sickness/motion sickness.  Many, many people have a brief bout that dissipates quickly as they get their sea legs  so patches/Bonine/bands/magic beans are all equally effective.  

If someone wants to test and you don't know anyone with a small boat near a big lake, find a water park with a wave pool.   I can float on a wave pool (not a lazy river-those don't create the right conditions) on a floatie ring for about 5 minutes before I got to get on solid land.  I have never experienced close to the same motion sickness on a cruise.  The water shuttles are a different story.  

[GUT2407]

My wife swears by ginger (in any form) and green apples.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

And for some reason this must be a cruise?

 

Or have the FULL celebration, with "all", as something that ALL, indeed, can enjoy.

Why ever would you not do it this way?

 

GC

The couple in question lives 300 miles away and like I said everyone is scattered over 3 states.  I work six days a week including weekends, so a weekend gathering is out.  It needs to be a vacation.  Two couples are avid cruisers, two couples have cruised multiple times and the other couples are one each and zero.  The zero couple agreed to the five day cruise to Bermuda and the first four couples we're all in.  This leaves the one couple that we're trying to convince. 

Everyone is wrapped up in their own lives so it's been difficult to try to coordinate this trip.  Once the non cruising couple agreed, I had hoped that everyone else would follow suit.  We have 13 in our group, but it stinks that one couple will miss out. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Tell your friends that they should see their doctor and see what he recommends for them.  He knows them better than we do.  He knows what medications, if any, they take and can prescribe what they should take so that there won't be any interaction with other medications.

[Husky61]

13 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I spent 38 years in the medical field.

As a physician who has treated the person and knows her reactions to medications?

[Bizmark'sMom]

Maybe spend a week at an all inclusive resort instead?  Or rent a large house on one of the Hawaiian islands?  There are lots of ways to do a group trip.

[GeezerCouple]

6 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The couple in question lives 300 miles away and like I said everyone is scattered over 3 states.  I work six days a week including weekends, so a weekend gathering is out.  It needs to be a vacation.  Two couples are avid cruisers, two couples have cruised multiple times and the other couples are one each and zero.  The zero couple agreed to the five day cruise to Bermuda and the first four couples we're all in.  This leaves the one couple that we're trying to convince. 

Everyone is wrapped up in their own lives so it's been difficult to try to coordinate this trip.  Once the non cruising couple agreed, I had hoped that everyone else would follow suit.  We have 13 in our group, but it stinks that one couple will miss out. 

 

I still cannot understand why this group of "friends" is trying to force that one couple to agree to a cruise.

 

There are resorts on land that offer a lot, but it doesn't move or float.  You can still all have a wonderful reunion together.

And then anyone who wants to cruise will have uncountable *other* opportunities to do that.

 

IF someone had a religious objection to your destination...?  (I can't quickly think of such a situation, so use this as a thought experiment only.)    Or a medical life-threatening *allergy* to something that couldn't be avoided at Destination A?

 

Sorry:  There are many other times those who want to cruise can cruise.

(Imagine if YOU were the odd couple out, and the others ALL wanted to go to a place that you absolutely HATED or perhaps felt was a bit dangerous... point being you *REALLY* did not want to go there/do that...)

 

I won't answer this again, but I genuinely cannot believe what appears to be incredible pressure being put upon this "final couple", regardless of the reason they don't want to cruise.  (We've had this "argument" in another thread recently, with the expected similar "diversity" of opinion.)

 

GC

 

 

[h_blond2]

Meclizine...it's the only thing that works for me.

[lenquixote66]

9 hours ago, Husky61 said:

As a physician who has treated the person and knows her reactions to medications?

Of course not. I stated that I take ginger capsules.

[brillohead]

Another thing that people forget about is not having an empty stomach.  Similar to pregnancy-related "morning sickness" -- keeping a little something in the stomach can help to keep nausea at bay.