Sea sickness on alaskan cruise?

[latebuyer]

I'm going on a roundtrip vancouver alaskan cruise in september and i'm wondering if i'll need anything for sea sickness?

[CruiserBruce]

Not sure how we can answer that, as we don't know you. Generally a "true" Inside Passage cruise should be on the calmer side, but the seas are not predictable. And September has brought some stormy conditions in the past, with very high winds, and skipped ports

[CutieKakes]

I always bring sea bands, ginger chews and Dramamine on all our trips (land and sea).  Luckily we've not had to use them (except on a particularly rough crossing on a Ferry in Scotland last year).  I figure, they don't take up much space, and we will be glad we have them if we need them.

[masterdrago]

1 hour ago, christinand said:

I'm going on a roundtrip vancouver alaskan cruise in september and i'm wondering if i'll need anything for sea sickness?

If you easily are prone to motion sickness, then yes, make sure to carry meds with you. If you are easily overcome by it, I would say get a patch style med. I only experienced the very slightest sense of motion on our cruise in May while on the ship. We were near a bit aft of mid ship on deck 10. We did several whale watch small boat tours, several small float plane tours and never experienced any issues but I nor DW have any propensity for motion sickness. We brought several brands thinking we might better have them than not. Never felt any need. YMMV. And like CruiserBruce pointed out, seas can be very unpredictable.

[Oakman58]

It never hurts to bring something for sea sickness with you.  On our first morning at sea leaving Vancouver we had some rocking and rolling and our room steward told us quite a few passengers were sick.  By 1 PM everything was smooth sailing.

[cabland]

Which boat are you on?  The routes can be subtly different, but in general when your boat is in between an island and the Ocean, you will likely be on calm seas (barring a legit storm).  When you are exposed to the Ocean, that's when you can be at greater risk.  Regardless, on our trip last Summer I bought the sea bands (including the regular ones and the little electric shock one) and Dramamine (both regular and non-drowsy).

 

I ended up using the regular sea bands and took some of the regular Dramamine before boarding.  I did NOT take the non-drowsy Dramamine  as I "tried it out" (which I recommend with any med) a week or so beforehand to make sure I had no weird issues with it...sure enough, it gave me a screaming headache.  I could tolerate about half a tablet w/o it being unpleasant.

 

Honestly, motion sickness is why I chose the Vancouver round trip instead of Seattle.  

 

 

[tutuwahineLV]

Only time I had issues with sea sickness on an Alaska cruise was crossing Queen Charlotte sound, and on the Pacific side of Vancouver Island.  

 

If you go from Vancouver, the Queen Charlotte Sound crossing is the second morning, and done by early afternoon, after that is was smoooooooth sailing.  

 

If you leave from Seattle, or your cruise returns to Seattle, you'll be on the Pacific side of VI .  

 

We carry Sea-Bands, and ginger chews with us on all trips.  I haven't needed them since the trip with the 25foot swells and 60mph winds on the return to Seattle.  But I'd rather have them and not need them, than wish I had them.  

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, christinand said:

I'm going on a roundtrip vancouver alaskan cruise in september and i'm wondering if i'll need anything for sea sickness?

The potential sea-state will vary considerably depending on whether you are taking a R/T SE Alaska (generally 7-days) or R/T to Prince William Sound (14-20 days). In addition, the different cruise lines use different routes along the BC Coast - the Mainstream Lines use Hecate Strait (Day 2 & 6), which is fairly shallow are can be snotty at times, even in September. Smaller ships use the more sheltered complete inside passage - Grenville Channel.

 

In Alaska, if you are visiting Sitka or heading up to Prince William Sound you can get some rough weather in September. During my 2 full seasons in Alaska, we experienced 1 significant storm each year in September. However, the following week we could experience blue skies and smooth sailing.

 

 

[latebuyer]

Thanks, I will be prepared with dramamine (is that gravol) and sea bands. I am hoping for smooth sailing.

[Ashland]

Take Bonine with you .. it works great. Also the ship will have something similar they easily give out if you ask.

[Herfnerd]

We cruised RT out of Seattle in September and I am extremely prone to motion sickness - my wife, less so.  I always take Meclizine HCL (brand name Bonine) and never had an issue.  My wife didn't on the first day and got a little queasy and had to leave the MDR that first nite.

 

If you are prone to motion sickness, I would bring/take something......

[quilty964]

16 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

It never hurts to bring something for sea sickness with you.  On our first morning at sea leaving Vancouver we had some rocking and rolling and our room steward told us quite a few passengers were sick.  By 1 PM everything was smooth sailing.

I think we were on the same cruise.  I did feel a bit "off" that morning.  Took some meclizine, and some ginger chews.  I don't think they helped, but the Rocking and Rolling stopped, and I was back to normal again! 

[chipmaster]

FWIW I recalled both times we did As on RT the return leg was outside and rougher seas.   Our worst cruise ever was a As in Sept, good luck, and be prepared!

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, chipmaster said:

FWIW I recalled both times we did As on RT the return leg was outside and rougher seas.   Our worst cruise ever was a As in Sept, good luck, and be prepared!

We've done the round trip out of Vancouver in September. Adult son is prone to seasickness and he had absolutely no problem....but we were of course prepared. So this can vary greatly.

[cabland]

Here are some example routes on Holland America  - 2 from Vancouver and 1 from Seattle.  You can compare to see the amount of time in "open water" (i.e. not shielded by an island).  As an aside, for Holland America at least, the route maps on the HAL sites are more accurate than the ones on Cruise Critic.  I will say the routes can CHANGE (within reason) for a variety of reasons (probably "schedule" as much as anything else).  The arrows show the open water areas.

 

[LoriPhil]

I am very prone to motion sickness.  I take Bonnie starting evening prior to cruise and nightly on the cruise, and have not experienced any problems with motion, nor side effects from the Bonnie.  If I waited until I was feeling queasy it would be too late for me to take a pill to combat the whoopsies.

[Italy52]

6 hours ago, LoriPhil said:

I am very prone to motion sickness.  I take Bonnie starting evening prior to cruise and nightly on the cruise, and have not experienced any problems with motion, nor side effects from the Bonnie.  If I waited until I was feeling queasy it would be too late for me to take a pill to combat the whoopsies.

The above has been our plan for 27 cruises to Alaska and it has never failed us.

 

 

[SweetsugarNL]

Im from Europe and we dont can buy these things. Where can i buy good medicine/band in Seattle. In the Walmart?

[Donald]

On ‎8‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 9:04 AM, christinand said:

I'm going on a roundtrip vancouver alaskan cruise in september and i'm wondering if i'll need anything for sea sickness?

On this itinerary you will experience seasickness on odd-numbered days while heading North and even-numbered days while heading South.

[AmazedByCruising]

6 hours ago, SweetsugarNL said:

Im from Europe and we dont can buy these things. Where can i buy good medicine/band in Seattle. In the Walmart?

 

You can buy a seaband from Bol.com, and Dramamine is available in any pharmacy in Holland without a prescription. Better is to make a call to your doctor, because maybe Dramamine is not suitable for you. Veel plezier op je cruise!

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, SweetsugarNL said:

Im from Europe and we dont can buy these things. Where can i buy good medicine/band in Seattle. In the Walmart?

Yes you can easily/cheaply buy what you need at the closest Walmart or Target in Seattle...or Rite-Aid or CVS pharmacy.

[SweetsugarNL]

1 hour ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

You can buy a seaband from Bol.com, and Dramamine is available in any pharmacy in Holland without a prescription. Better is to make a call to your doctor, because maybe Dramamine is not suitable for you. Veel plezier op je cruise!

oh dont know that. Dankjewel!

[Firepath]

On 8/13/2019 at 7:32 AM, LoriPhil said:

I am very prone to motion sickness.  I take Bonnie starting evening prior to cruise and nightly on the cruise, and have not experienced any problems with motion, nor side effects from the Bonnie.  If I waited until I was feeling queasy it would be too late for me to take a pill to combat the whoopsies.

That's exactly what I was going to ask. I think I'll take it beforehand just in case. I have become more sensitive to excessive motion as I've gotten older. 

[chipmaster]

On 8/11/2019 at 10:04 AM, christinand said:

I'm going on a roundtrip vancouver alaskan cruise in september and i'm wondering if i'll need anything for sea sickness?

FWIW it's the ocean and weather is unpredictable,   I am one who is sensitive to motion and always take meds for smaller excursion boats.   The only cruise I and wife ever got sea sick on was Alaska out of Vancouver, hit a storm, the worst experience, YMMV, be prepared.

 

[Colagirl]

Our cruise out of Vancouver to Seward was incredibly smooth. There was maybe 1/2 hour on one day where you could feel the ship moving. However, it doesn't hurt to have it with you. I brought it and never opened it.