Zuiderdam - stabilizers effective??

[newrivercruiser]

We cruised to the Western Caribbean on the Golden Princess in April, 2004. During the cruise the water was so rough that we couldn't dock at a port (the one south of Cozumel). I am prone to motion sickness but found that I never even got queasy even though we went to a movie - totally inside and at the very front of the ship. I decided this was due to the more modern "stabilizers".

 

I am scheduled to cruise the Eastern Caribbean in January from FLL on the Zuiderdam and another post indicated that the early part of the cruise could be rough.

 

How good are the Zuiderdam stabilizers, if any?? What do you recommend to prevent motion sickness and/or treat it? (I have found Bonine doesn't make me as dopey as Dramamine.)

 

Thanks for your input.

[eh2zed]

We cruised to the Western Caribbean on the Golden Princess in April, 2004. During the cruise the water was so rough that we couldn't dock at a port (the one south of Cozumel). I am prone to motion sickness but found that I never even got queasy even though we went to a movie - totally inside and at the very front of the ship. I decided this was due to the more modern "stabilizers".

 

I am scheduled to cruise the Eastern Caribbean in January from FLL on the Zuiderdam and another post indicated that the early part of the cruise could be rough.

 

How good are the Zuiderdam stabilizers, if any?? What do you recommend to prevent motion sickness and/or treat it? (I have found Bonine doesn't make me as dopey as Dramamine.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

They work well on the Zuiderdam. We sailed her in march and had some rough seas and there was no problem. Haven't needed anything since our first cruise in 1988 so not much good on the meds question.:) :D :) :D

[hammybee]

Stabilizers are designed to reduce the rolling motion caused by displacing the waves. Stabilizers do not prevent the pitch and heave of high seas caused y by wind. In fact, I believe when in high seas, the stabilzers are turned off on cruise ships so maximum speed can be achieved. It's the speed of a ship that mitigates the pitch and heave. There are so many more knowledgable about this stuff than I am and I am sure some will pop in here to share their view point and the technical stuff.

 

If prone to seas sickness, most people take Bonnine. A few of us, actually enjoy rough rides but at some point, enough is enough.

[Druke I]

Hammybee is pretty close to it.

 

Stabilizers are usually retracted in pitching seas, as they are designed only to reduce roll. Chief Engineers on ships often advise retracting them in calm seas also, as they have a very negative effect on fuel consumption and speed.

 

Depending where on the hull the stabilizers are located, they in fact may act like diving planes on a submarine, momentarily pulling the ship down by the bow in pitching seas, which is not a good thing on a surface ship. Most ships have the stabilizers located approximately midships, where the "diving" effect is minimized. It is normal for a hull to "porpoise" when cresting waves, depending upon their frequency and height, and if that becomes too severe, often the ship will be turned so the waves approach from the side rather than the front.

[MercedMike]

Well, leaving aside all the technical stuff, the fact is that most modern ships are so big it takes very rough seas to shake them up! Zuiderdam is not quite as big as Grand Princess, but we have cruised her and her sister Westerdam several times and never noticed any severe motion.

 

Of course, the worse the weather, the worse the motion! There is no guarantee that you will not hit the biggest swells the ship has seen all season!

 

My DW is prone to seasickness, and she swears by the ReliefBand. This is different from the SeaBands, which don't work for her. The ReliefBand has a small electrical current and she says she can feel her finger tingle, but it really works for her.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[leoandhugh]

to the OP you say "if any" I dont know of one modern cruise ship other than some very small ones, that do not have stabilizers. And they all work as designed to work. But nothing is going to eliminate motion in rough seas; the best that stabilizers can do is to reduce the rolling motion. They are pretty ineffective if the ship is pitching:) :)

[berylde]

We were on the Zuiderdam last April for eastern caribbean. Seas were rough going and returning.

 

Was easy to loose your balance. The desk gave out seasick pills that helped

[fcorey]

As many have posted here, stabilizers are not a cure all, they have their place and can be effective but if its really blowing they probably wouldnt be in use.

If you are really concerned mercedMike's recomendation of bands may be something to try, seabands work for me, I havent tried reliefband but it would be worth a shot. There is also over the counter stuff like Bonine. However if motion sickness is a constant problem for you it may be worth seeing you doctor before the trip and ask if transdermScop patches would be OK for you. They are a prescription medication, that looks like a little round bandaid, you wear behind your ear. Each is good for about 3 days. It doesnt hurt to be prepared, hope you have a great trip

[newrivercruiser]

Thanks so much for all your responses. I will definitely look into the "Reliefband" just in case. (I'm not sure I understood all the technical information - what's the difference between rolling and pitching (when stabilizers help and when they don't)?

[Druke I]

Rolling is when the ships rolls from side to side (think metronome).

 

Pitching is when bow goes down and then up (think teetertotter).

[Atomica]

Thanks so much for all your responses. I will definitely look into the "Reliefband" just in case. (I'm not sure I understood all the technical information - what's the difference between rolling and pitching (when stabilizers help and when they don't)?

 

"Rolling" is a side to side motion - left to right, port to starboard. "Pitching" refers to a forward to back, bow to stern motion. Stablizers are designed to limit the rolling motion on a ship, but have little or no effect on pitching. Rough seas are still rough seas :)

[bepsf]

I am prone to motion sickness but found that I never even got queasy even though we went to a movie - totally inside and at the very front of the ship. I decided this was due to the more modern "stabilizers".

 

This was the worst thing to do if you're prone to motion sickness.

Motion sickness is caused by the eyes perceiving stability, but the inner ears perceiving motion.

Placing yourself in an inside room looking at a screen is definately going to increase the chances of becoming motion sick - and being at the forward end of a pitching ship would only exacerbate this. The best thing to do is to be able to see the sea, and locate yourself as low and close to the center of ths ship as possible.

[hammybee]

And now you know more than most passengers do about the purpose of stabilizers. So if you run into some chop, any the guy next to you starts waxing about the lousy stabilizers, you can educate him. When his eyes glaze over, run away. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We never had any problems with the stabilizers when we were on the Zuiderdam.

[pilotdane]

I was on Maasdam last year and saw the satabilizers amazing effects.

 

We were leaving San Juan. A beautiful day with full sun, moderate wind and a large ground swell as we cleared the harbor. I was up on deck taking pictures of the ship pushing into the swell. The ship started to take on a decent roll. I was just getting ready to take a video of the ship gently rolling against San Juan in the background when the ship came up to level and STOPPED. It was like someone literally flipped a switch. No more roll until we entered Norfolk.

[heartofamerica]

I've cruised the zuiderdam twice...the first time there were gale force winds and 20 foot seas the second night...it was just a gentle rocking to us. The second one...we might as well have been walking on the boardwalk...rock steady all the way.

[HeartofTexas]

I must have been on the same cruise as Heart of America - it was one of it's first cruises (Oct 2003) and we had over 20 foot waves and quite rocky seas - the stabilizers on the Zuiderdam were not working (one of them we heard) so the other becomes ineffective. Plus there was quite significant vibration in the dining room. However I have read that these problems were remedied not long after that cruise and most posts I've read don't show this as a problem.

[newrivercruiser]

Thank you all.

 

Brian, I agree that going to the movie was the "worst" thing to do which is why I was so amazed that I didn't get sick!!

 

I will be traveling with 5 other ladies, none of whom have ever cruised, so Now I have a little more information to pass on!