please don't rock the boat!

[usavvy2]

reading posts on Oceania's message board, I'm chickening out of booking a Med. cruise (Rome to Venice) next Spring because I'm concerned about getting seasick. We've been on more than a dozen cruises - across the North Sea, along the Pacific, across the Atlantic gulf stream, etc. - never got seasick (but started getting a headache one time on the Galaxy and had to go lay down as it was a precursor to being seasick). That being said, I can't get on a fishing boat to save my life without contributing to the CHUM bucket! Yes, I take Bonine. I wear the Rx patch. I wear the Rx brand of the Relief Band. I keep pretzels or crackers on my stomach on the fishing boat. And I'm still curled up on the ice box sicker than a dog!

 

So do I spend my money on a small ship like Oceania's? or not? (I'm also booked on the Journey from Buenos Aires up to Rio for Carnaval next January.) AM I CRAZY? :eek:

 

If you've got experience on an R class ship, please let me know what you would do if you were me!?

[LHT28]

If you are prone to seasickness any cruise ship may not be right for you.

 

If you stick to the center of the ship when seas are rough it helps.

 

We had gale force winds in the Irish Sea on Insignia were were deck 7 aft it was rocky

We had waves off the beam in the Caribbean on Regatta and were hit by a rogue wave that went over the walking track...it was rocky we were on deck 4 mid ship

Many were feeling the effects.

It did not bother us.

 

That said... friends of ours sailed from NY to Bermuda on a large ship...the wife spent the day clinging to the bunk

 

cruising is not for everyone.

[jfb128]

If you have handled the North Sea then Rome to Venice ought to be a piece of cake. I would go for the cruise. The Mediterranean is not nearly as rough as places like the Irish Sea and the North Sea.

[meow!]

Any experience on the eastern Mediterranean in October? Thank you.

[surfklutz]

Any experience on the eastern Mediterranean in October? Thank you.

 

Med should be fine then - I was in an even smaller boat during a gale ( in July) and we did fine. I am guessing you will find much rougher seas on your South America trip.

 

I have cruise my entire life and ALWAYS take non drowsy bonine every morning on a voyage. I have never had trouble - and I am like you on a fishing trip.

[surfklutz]

Med should be fine then - I was in an even smaller boat during a gale ( in July) and we did fine. I am guessing you will find much rougher seas on your South America trip.

 

I have cruise my entire life and ALWAYS take non drowsy bonine every morning on a voyage. I have never had trouble - and I am like you on a fishing trip.

[kabuka]

Any experience on the eastern Mediterranean in October? Thank you.

Although I wasn't on Oceania, I did the eastern Mediterranean end of October beginning of November on Galaxy (in Rhodes with the Oceania ship). It was rougher than any of my previous cruises. Even the captain on the Galaxy seemed to want to apologize for the rough waters. I didn't have any problems, but I love the movement. I agree with others, the middle of the ship has less movement. Oh, and by the way, it snowed in Istanbul while we were there. Didn't even know it snowed in Turkey, but it does and it did. So we had some crazy weather.

I am glad that I went in October though because it is the end of the season. Crowds were really non-existent except at Ephesus and of course Athens.

[usavvy2]

If you are prone to seasickness any cruise ship may not be right for you. ... cruising is not for everyone.

 

Yes, but I've sailed these ships to these places without using those cute little bags they placed on the handrails. However, as you can see these ships were just about all twice as big (or more) than the Oceania ships.

 

1. Celebrity Millennium (W. Europe & Greek Isles BCN - VCE) 09/05

2. Royal Princess (European Explorer LHR - FCO) 09/04

3. RCI Legend of the Seas (transit Panama Canal MIA - SAN) 2/0

4. HAL Maasdam (E. Carib.) 12/03

5. Royal Princess (Norwegian Fjords LHR rt) 07/03

6. RCI Enchantment of the Seas (W. Carib.) 06/03

7. NCL Dream (South America around the Horn EZE - SCL) 01/02

8. Celebrity Galaxy (Scandinavia /Russia AMS rt) 08/01

9. Celebrity Galaxy 06/01… cancelled enroute due to prop trouble

10. Sun Princess (Panama Canal MIA - SJO) 02/01

11. RCI Nordic Empress (Bermuda NYC rt) 06/00

12. Celebrity Galaxy (S. Carib. SJU rt) 01/99

13. Carnival Celebration (W. Carib. TPA rt) 03/97

14. NCL Dreamward (b4 stretch) (W. Carib. FLL rt) 03/93

15. Regency Sun (Alaska YVR - ANC) 08/89

 

I DO sometimes get "dock rock" after getting off. Now that you know more of the story...

 

Would you chance Oceania if you were me, given this history? And, if so, mid-April? late May? early June?

[LHT28]

 

Would you chance Oceania if you were me, given this history? And, if so, mid-April? late May? early June?

 

Only you can make the choice!

 

If you take the seasick meds with you just incase you have a problem

I would think you will survive.;)

Many passenger wear the patches, bands etc...and seem to enjoy Oceania.

[usavvy2]

Thanks!

 

I'm leaning toward going for it! (I really want to see Cinque Terre.) I just looked up the tonnages on my previous voyages and found that our cruise to AK aboard the Regency Sun had a tonnage of only 25,500 (818 pax), and although it was rough once outside the Inside Passage headed north, DH & I were amongst the few in the dining room that evening.

[meow!]

Thank you kindly for the replies!

[twscott1961]

Hi Sara,

 

I take Bonine on every trip, and I never get sick, even take it for the plane ride. I'll let you know how I do after our Sept. cruise on Insignia. We are mid ship on deck 7. I say go for it, and try to get inside cabin, mid ship, and low deck.

 

Tammy

[garykool81]

Yes, I take Bonine. I wear the Rx patch. I wear the Rx brand of the Relief Band. I keep pretzels or crackers on my stomach on the fishing boat. And I'm still curled up on the ice box sicker than a dog!

 

So do I spend my money on a small ship like Oceania's? or not? (I'm also booked on the Journey from Buenos Aires up to Rio for Carnaval next January.) AM I CRAZY? :eek:

 

You might want to try taking ginger pills (GNC carries them) AND Bonine together. I've done this over the past several trips, and I've never had a day of sea-sickness.

 

You sound very similar to me -- I typically don't get seasick unless it gets pretty bad, and then my body adjusts to it (usually) after a nap. I am also far more prone to feeling ill on a small boat than on a larger ship.

 

I just spent a week in March aboard Windjammer's Polynesia (a 1938 schooner weighing in at less than 300 tons), and didn't have a single hour of illness -- and that baby moved a LOT more than any cruise ship :-)

 

Either the ginger/Bonine combo has done the trick, or my threshold has just increased with experience. Who knows...

[merryecho]

Usavvy- I feel your pain- I too get deathly seasick. I tried all of the otc drugs (bonine, ginger, etc.) with no relief at all, just a long nauseous nap. I had the same reaction to dramamine after surgery, and the doc prescribed phenergan. The cure was immediate, with no side effects. I now carry a prescription with me on every cruise and take it at the first symptom. I can drink wine with my dinner and enjoy the evening in the worst storms now.

[usavvy2]

Usavvy- I feel your pain- I too get deathly seasick. I tried all of the otc drugs (bonine, ginger, etc.) with no relief at all, just a long nauseous nap. I had the same reaction to dramamine after surgery, and the doc prescribed phenergan. The cure was immediate, with no side effects. I now carry a prescription with me on every cruise and take it at the first symptom. I can drink wine with my dinner and enjoy the evening in the worst storms now.

 

swell - a new Rx to try; I've never heard of it but will ask the Dr. about it. BTW, when looking it up online, I found that Rx hycosamine is also used as a motion sickness remedy. (I'll ask the dr. about that too!) Thanks for the tip.

 

(Hi Tammy. I don't want to wish our summer away but I can't wait to hear about your trip to Egypt et.al. I guess I can always cancel after our January trip on Journey if the small ship size makes a difference... or then again maybe I should just throw a rod/line overboard and start fishing!:cool: )

[Aussie Gal]

Phernergan has been around for many years. I used to give our daughter that when she was small and she will be celebrating her 40th birthday in January next year!

 

I just wonder if it makes you sleepy which a lot of antihistamine type drugs have the tendency to do.

 

I would definitely do the Med Cruise and try to get a cabin in the centre of the ship. The ship will move around if the seas are choppy and having a cabin in the middle of the ship will help a lot.

 

We have cruised on her sister ships (Pacific Princess and Tahitian Princess) and had a rough trip in January between Sydney and New Caledonia. We were in the Pacific Ocean though and the rollers are so much bigger and longer than the small Mediterranean Sea. Quite a few passengers were off colour including our friends.

 

Just go prepared and you will be fine especially as you have a lot of days in various ports and you will probably get your "sea legs" early after going ashore and returning back to the ship.

 

Jennie

[merryecho]

The PDR does list drowsiness as a possible side effect of phenergan, but it does not have that effect on me at all, whereas even the non-drowsy types of bonine etc. knock me out for hours. Of course everyone reacts to meds differently.

 

I don't know why more doctors don't offer it to patients who ask for sea-sick prevention, as it is what most shipboard docs give you in shot form, for emergency room prices. It may be 'too much information', but I carry pill and suppository, just in case I wait to long to take it and can't keep anything down.

[ClaudiaF]

Only time I got seasick was on huge Crown Princess during a hurricane in the Carib....that shipped rocked and rolled unreal..

never on THESE SHIPS.

Although everyone is different.

Yes, ginger is a great remedy ( think ginger ale too)..;)

[lahore]

Ginger, ginger, ginger. I take ginger tablets with me from the healthfood store, I take ginger tea (Asian stores), and ginger gums - we have them here in Australia. Touch wood, no trouble and we have had some ROUGH weather.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

USSavy, I say go for it. I too am prone to motion sickness, and was very worried the first cruise we took seven years ago. But we've done 6 cruises total now, all on small ships. I always try to get a cabin low down, and mid-ship. but I've never had a problem. I do wonder about Oceania, however. I've heard here on the boards that the O ships are not as stable as say, RSSC Voyager, which is one of the ships I've travelled on in rough weather (all my cruises have been on Regent so far). It's about the same number of pax roughly as the O ships, but the ship itself is heavier, and apparently more stable. One of these days I will put it to the test.

[LHT28]

I do wonder about Oceania, however. I've heard here on the boards that the O ships are not as stable as say, RSSC Voyager, which is one of the ships I've travelled on in rough weather (all my cruises have been on Regent so far).

 

Wendy

I see you have sailed on the Navigator & PG.

The Navigator is about the same size (GRT) as the O ships and PG is smaller than O ships if you survived those in any kind of rough seas then there will be no problem with sailing on O .

Of course the Voyager & Mariner are a bit larger then the O ships.

 

The bigger the ship does not mean the smoother the ride. It is all about the differnet conditions of the sea and ship. How far apart the waves are , how high the waves are , what angle they are hitting the ship etc....

 

Lyn

[merryecho]

Wendy

How far apart the waves are , how high the waves are , what angle they are hitting the ship etc....

 

Excuse me, I'm feeling a little queasy just reading this...

[LHT28]

Excuse me, I'm feeling a little queasy just reading this...

Have a green apple ...you will feel better!! :D

[Marra]

We just got back from the same cruise a week ago. I have never been on a ship before and most days never even knew I was on one. We were with a couple and the lady is always sea sick and was pleasantly surprised that she never knew she was on a ship.

 

We had one rough night that bothered me a little but for L, she said she never felt a thing. I think that the Med. is usually very calm and the ports of call are so beautiful that you won't mind being on a ship at all.

[bmk]

i am not the experienced cruiser that most of these people are, however i have been on three cruises, and one of them was a med. cruise. we were on the (then) raddisson diamond, which is a twin hull ship. there was no rocking whatsoever but i am sure that the twin hulls helped. i don't know why they retired that ship- it was great concept. anyway, we always stay center ship (and as high up as possible) and have never had any probelms. bonine and dramamine pills and patches may help but the dry mouth and drowsiness are unwelcome by-products. don't drink too much alcohol if they are calling for rough seas- it can make you even more dizzy. enjoy the cruise and concentrate on what you are "seeing" not "feeling".