Motion sickness on river cruising

[flyfishingwidow]

My husband and I have been on two ocean cruises.  Since I'm prone to motion sickness I used both wrist bands and the Scopolamine patch which worked well.  In November we are taking our first river cruise which will be on the Viking Forseti in Bordeaux.  Since this is an estuary and not a lot of sailing is involved I'm thinking I shouldn't need the patch.  I'd appreciate insights and advice from others who have done this type of river cruise.  Is motion sickness likely to be a problem?

[CarolynFH]

I've had trouble with mild motion sickness on ocean cruises (more so when trying to pack when seas are rough and I can't look out the window).  However, river cruising is very different - not much bouncing around or rocking at all.  Depending on how severe your motion sickness is, you might want to bring your wrist bands and patches - but I suspect you won't need them!

[Daisi]

I agree with Carolyn, bing them just in case, but you probably won't need them.  My husband has problems with the vibration of the engines, not the actual motion.  He was a bit worried about river cruising, as he would be stuck on the boat for 8 days, not just a couple of hours like when we have ferries to take.  No problem, you wouldn't even know you are moving if it wasn't for seeing the scenery go by.  Hopefully you won't have any problems, but why take a chance ruining your cruise if you leave the patches & wrist bands at home?

[letteanne]

I get MS in Elevators. I was fine on the river boat, but needed my bands on the bus rides.

Did 12 river cruises.

[flyfishingwidow]

Thank you both for the feedback and excellent advice.  I will definitely wear the wrist bands and take the patch along in case the water looks choppy.  The issue with the patch is that it has to be applied at least 4 hours before you need it and there are side effects.  So, hopefully I won't need it.

 

Really looking forward to our first river cruise. And what could be better than the food and wine in Bordeaux!

[sharkster77]

We've heard from many folks that in many cases it's not evident that the ship is moving unless you look out the windows, or are going through a lock.

[pontac]

12 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

We've heard from many folks that in many cases it's not evident that the ship is moving unless you look out the windows, or are going through a lock.

 

That's exactly true. You don't even feel movement when the boat leaves its mooring.

 

However, the Bordeaux trip is slightly different from cruising on other rivers because these rivers are tidal - which shouldn't cause motion problems, but one day when we were on the Forseti the boat cruised down the estuary towards the sea and back. I don't remember any discomfort but the estuary wasn't the mill-pond still you find on other rivers. 

 

@flyfishingwidow - indeed if you like wine, and especially Bordeaux then you'll love this trip, as mentioned on the roll-call thread. 

[Canal archive]

We did a similar cruise with Scenic and you spend as much time on the estuary as the river. At no time did I feel as if I was at sea, it’s a huge estuary and the only time I think you might feel anything is if there is a bore running which I think would be quite interesting, watching the surfers riding the boards, what a rush. CA

[flyfishingwidow]

Ok. Now I’m fascinated. What is a bore running?  I want to see it whatever it is!

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, flyfishingwidow said:

Ok. Now I’m fascinated. What is a bore running?  I want to see it whatever it is!

 

Sort of like a mini-tsunami where the tide runs up a river like a wall.  There was a mystery novel titled 'Bored to Death' but it doesn't seem to be available.  Here is widipedia

[Canal archive]

Okay it’s amazing watching on the River Severn, google Severn Bore. CA

bit like a tidel wave on a river.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Canal archive

[sharkster77]

As a tidal bore passes through at least twice a day (incoming, outgoing), they are used to generate electricity.

[Daisi]

Grew up with the Tidal Bore in Bay of Fundy...almost got caught out a couple of times.

[TravelerThom]

Tidal bores, if they occur, are caused by the incoming rising tide encountering the outflowing river current. There is no tidal bore associated with ebbing tide, since both tide and river current are outgoing. Since there are two high tides per lunar day (of approximately 25 solar hours), there are on average slightly less than two tidal bores per solar day in areas that have such phenomena. 

[4774Papa]

I can't imagine getting sea sick on a river cruise.

[dogs4fun]

The only time that I have felt any motion whatsoever was going through the locks on the Danube - this motion was very minimal.

[laverendrye]

The only occasion I have experienced significant motion on a river boat was crossing Lakes Ladoga and Onega in Russia.  These are Europe's two largest lakes and I seem to recall that there were whitecaps when we were crossing them although I didn't have any motion sickness.  The rest of my river cruising has been very calm indeed. 

[franski]

9 hours ago, laverendrye said:

The only occasion I have experienced significant motion on a river boat was crossing Lakes Ladoga and Onega in Russia.  These are Europe's two largest lakes and I seem to recall that there were whitecaps when we were crossing them although I didn't have any motion sickness.  The rest of my river cruising has been very calm indeed. 

On the lakes in Russia is the only time I have experienced significant motion...   It was rough enough that I got a little nauseated - but went to lay down in the cabin and it passed as soon as we got into calmer waters.

 

Fran

[Mimosa09]

I’ve never had a problem with motion sickness on a river cruise, but you still might want to be prepared bc of the bus tours. Had a problem when we did the Almafi coast in Italy & with the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. But now that I reread what river cruise you are on, you shouldn’t have a problem. We did the Bordeaux cruise last fall with Uniworld and there wasn’t any bus excursions that were curvy roads. Now I’m wondering if the bus excursions on the Duoro River cruises are on curvy roads....

[laverendrye]

40 minutes ago, Mimosa09 said:

I’ve never had a problem with motion sickness on a river cruise, but you still might want to be prepared bc of the bus tours. Had a problem when we did the Almafi coast in Italy & with the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. But now that I reread what river cruise you are on, you shouldn’t have a problem. We did the Bordeaux cruise last fall with Uniworld and there wasn’t any bus excursions that were curvy roads. Now I’m wondering if the bus excursions on the Duoro River cruises are on curvy roads....

The Douro River flows through a deep valley and some of the excursions involve curving roads and switchbacks. The trip to Salamanca, however is across a fairly flat plain on straight roads.

Edited August 25, 2019 by laverendrye

[Mimosa09]

22 hours ago, laverendrye said:

The Douro River flows through a deep valley and some of the excursions involve curving roads and switchbacks. The trip to Salamanca, however is across a fairly flat plain on straight roads.

Thanks for the heads up. We will be going next fall - hopefully. And now I know I will need to be prepared. 

- Rose

[SuiteTraveler]

Can you take Bonine (AKA Meclazine) over the counter in the US?  I find that has hardly any side effects compared to the Scop and works great for car-sickness.  I seriously doubt you would have any problem on a river cruise, maybe on a bus but not onboard the ship, but if you did, take a Bonine and lie down until it subsides.  For ocean cruises I take Bonine most of the time and if we get into high seas, then and only then I switch to Scops.  As soon as the seas subside, I go back to Bonine.