Ship size? 1st timer question . . .

[littleone9699]

I'm actually asking this question for my mother, who does tend to get motion sick. As long as she takes something she's usually okay, but my father REALLY wants her to go on a cruise and she's never been on one before. She thinks she should just go on a 3 day cruise to see how she does . . . my question is, will that mean a smaller ship and maybe she would feel the motion more than on a larger ship? Maybe not, just curious what to tell her. I don't get motion sick and didn't on our 1st cruise, so it's hard for me to tell . . . thanks!!!

[Essiesmom]

At the risk of being misconstrued...After you reach a certain size, size no longer matters. I would say after you pass say...30,000 tons, all ships would be about the same. Especially the newer ships...no more than 20 years old. they all have stabilizers and behave pretty well. Just try to get a midships cabin, not too high up. Where you sail will have some effect, too. The Caribbean is pretty calm, except when you have hurricanes...And the Med., too. Open ocean like Atlantic can be a bit rough, although I did not find our Pacific crossing rough at all. EM

[tcs1366]

I too have "motion issues"

this was my first cruise, so i brought Bonine and Dramamine with me.

 

even though the first few days, the waters were very calm, i took a BOnine every morning, just to see how I would react, [sleepy or not] and i did just fine.

 

half way thru the cruise, the winds and waters picked up and it was rocky, but i was still fine.

 

DH did make sure our cabin was mid-ship.

 

a few in our group did get sea sick, but they also were not taking anything for it.

 

HTH

 

tcs.

[LindaJ+]

I ahve taken Dramamine for bumpy plane rides for years but I have never heard of Bonine. Is it OTC?

[cruiserbryce]

while I do have to say that the comment above about anything above 30,000 tons being basically the same seems a little off I have to generally agree that most of the ships that sail the short Bahamas or Mex cruises should give a newer cruiser a good intro to cruising in general and give them an idea of whether or not it is in fact for them

[tcs1366]

Yes -- Bonine is OTC.

I found both at Walmart, so if you see Dramamine, the Bonine should be close by.

 

I just wanted to have 2 brands, in case one made me drowsy.

I ended up giving away my Dramamine to a lady who was sea sick.

[cb at sea]

The OLDER ships have less stabilazation equip. than the newer, bigger ships. But let me tell you, if the seas are rough, you ARE going to feel it on ANY ship. Yes, some of the ships are huge, but when they're alone, in the middle of the ocean, they are dreadfully small, in comparison! And no matter the size--it FLOATS!

As the other posters have suggested--take something to negate the effects of any motion. That way, you won't be bothered and will have a great trip!

[GTO-Girl]

I'm actually asking this question for my mother, who does tend to get motion sick. As long as she takes something she's usually okay, but my father REALLY wants her to go on a cruise and she's never been on one before. She thinks she should just go on a 3 day cruise to see how she does . . . my question is, will that mean a smaller ship and maybe she would feel the motion more than on a larger ship? Maybe not, just curious what to tell her. I don't get motion sick and didn't on our 1st cruise, so it's hard for me to tell . . . thanks!!!

 

I understand your mother's thinking about doing a 3 days but keep in mind that usually a short cruise, because it's a cheaper cruise, may give you older, smaller ship and the passengers (no flames please) can tend to be big partiers........:o

 

I have had friends at work who usually do 7 days cruises come back from a 3 or 4 day cruise very disappointed......

 

Just wanted to give you a heads up. I would hate for her to not enjoy her very first cruise.

 

Happy Sailing

 

Dianne

[GORDONCHICK]

The newer the ship, the newer the technology. And count me among those who don't think older ships on shorter cruises are a good intro to cruising. The passenger mix is completely different, and you just barely get into the swing of being on the ship and then it's time to get off!

 

As a person who suffered from seasickness, Bonine is a God-send for me! I take one the day before the cruise and then one every day on the ship, plus a couple days afterward.

 

Make sure to book far enough out to get a mid-ship cabin location and that will help when you sleep. But keep in mind that most people don't spend a huge amount of time there.

[kitty9]

There's more to having a bumpy cruise than the size of the ship. Other issues are the age of the ship, modern stabilization, the draft of the ship and the kinds of seas. I cruised on, what was at the time the largest cruise ship in the world, the QM2, and we hit a storm and it was one of the worst rides I've ever experienced. I've also been on Crystal, a ship that's only 50,000ton, where we had 40ft seas, and I wouldn't have known it if I hadn't seen green water washing over the windows on deck 6---the ride was so smooth. The type of wave is also a big issue. Whitecaps don't necessarily mean you're going to feel the motion. Large swells are actually rougher than waves.

[f7prez]

I know Royal Caribbean offers 3 & 4 day cruises on the Navigator of the Seas. Gorgeous ship. Also one of the largest. I highly reccomend it. Bring Bonine and take your first dose the day before boarding ship. This way it is in your system working. I take mine just before dinner time each evening.

[keyguide]

I understand your mother's thinking about doing a 3 days but keep in mind that usually a short cruise, because it's a cheaper cruise, may give you older, smaller ship and the passengers (no flames please) can tend to be big partiers........:o

 

I have had friends at work who usually do 7 days cruises come back from a 3 or 4 day cruise very disappointed......

 

Just wanted to give you a heads up. I would hate for her to not enjoy her very first cruise.

 

Happy Sailing

 

Dianne

Agreed about the short trips. Also the shorter trips (bahamas) are not far and the ship goes very slow ,and when they go slow they tend to roll back and forth and that seems to get the "greeners" sick faster than high seas. Another point is now that fuel is so high they may not tend to deploy the stabilizers as soon as they would have a few years ago.

[kat89447]

I agree with the 7 day cruise. It gives you port and sea days so you get to try both. Ginger works well for my family and sea bands. The kids like the ginger candies or ginger snaps and gingerale. The shorter cruises seem to let you just get your sea legs and then they are over. There was a great saying I heard on this board. "the more you pay, the more you sway" stay in the mid ship area and for me I like the balcony so I can get a little fresh air when I get motion sick.

[elkaybee]

Hi- We were seasick day 1 of 4 day cruise. Dramamine didn't help. Tried the sea band bracelets - they were wonderful. Kept them on the rest of the cruise, I wan't taking any chances. Hope y'all have fun.

[NCTribeFan]

Ginger is great! I tried ginger capsules + bonine in December and had zero problems. And I'm one who gets sick riding in the front seat of a car driving down the interstate! Because of that, I had tended away from the longer cruises with more days at sea. Besides, I cruise to see the ports. If I just want to eat, drink and sit by the pool, I'll go to an all-inclusive!

 

We had pretty large swells the last day and sea and I felt fine.

 

I personally love Carnival's Fantasy class ships. They're older, but several have undergone recent upgrades. They aren't too small. Cabins are good size. The ship is large "enough" without having 3000+ passengers. Easy to learn your way around them, too. They have some good 4 and 5-day itineraries that would give her a good idea whether she'd enjoy cruising or not.

 

Don't book during spring break time, or during mid summer when the ships will be full of partying college kids or screaming younger ones. I have yet to see a Carnival ship full of wild drunks (as many want the world to believe), even on a 4-day Bahamas cruise in June, but I avoid those times simply because it costs much more to cruise then and I prefer not so many kids on the ship.

[littleone9699]

Thanks for all the insights! I will make sure to pass them along to my mom. My dad would be THRILLED to go on a longer cruise, just as long as mom isn't sick the whole time!!!

[Rock Chick]

I'm glad you posted this. I suffer horrendous motion sickness as a car passenger, on coach journeys, on ferry crossings, on fairground rides and even on horseback! :eek:

 

Fortunately I've always been ok on small cruise ships in an inside cabin in the Med or Caribbean, but I'm now booked on Voyager for a transatlantic crossing with an aft balcony cabin!! Glutton for punishment???

 

I'm bringing crystalised ginger, peppermint teabags and buccastem pills. When I arrive in the USA I'm heading straight for a pharmacy to buy this wonderful Bonine which I keep reading about on these boards, also some ginger pills (if I can't get hold of these in the UK). :)