Do cruise ships cause sea sickness?

Question

I had a terrible time whale watching some years ago. I really want to go on a cruise, but fear similar results. I have heard that the use of a patch or pills help. Is this true? I have also heard that you do not feel very much movement on a cruise ship. Please advise!!!!

Answer 1

I also went whale watching off the coast of
Alaska with my wife, and two children.
My 5 yr. old daughter and I did not get sea sick,
but my 9 yr. old son and my wife had sea sickness bad.

When we went on our first Disney Cruise, my wife again got sea sick, and my son a little. They did not think they would get sea sick again, didn't take my advice in taking a sea sickness pill an hour before we left from Florida, and it happened again.

When we went on our Mexican Riveria Cruise, a year after the Disney Cruise, they did take a pill an hour before they left, and they both were just fine. My wife loves to go on cruises, so we go on one now, once a year.

I would also recommend you Call your Doctor, to see which might be more effective for You - the patch or the pill. It may just depend on the individual's mind, how they react to it, as to
determining which is more effective.

There is nothing wrong with experiencing sea sickness. I get a little of an ill feeling whenever I go Hang Gliding. Some call me a fool, but it a great experience, so I go hang gliding twice a year.

Take Care, & you may want to Call your Family
Physician to see which might be best for you.
For my wife and son, we bought the sea sickness pills, over the counter at CVS.

Answer 2

As stated by many, todays large cruise ships do not rock anywhere nearly as much as a fishing boat or anything small. If you get a little motion sick, you shouldn't have too much of a problem. If you get very motion sick though, or frequently get car sick, you might still have issues. Here are some ideas to make it less of a problem: 1) Take over the counter anti-seasick pills before you get on the ship/before the ship pulls anchor. 2) Eat lightly the first night of the cruise. Ginger is helpful, so is drinking soda very slowly. 3) Pay attention to what makes you sick, if you tend to get sick when you are not looking at your surroundings, then make sure to get a room with a porthole. If you tend to get sick when you do see the water line bobbing, get an inside room with no windows. 4) Research the cruise before you go. For instance, cruises to the Caribbean out of Florida will feel most 'active' at sea on the very first night and the very last morning as they pass over ocean currents. But once those are done, it's generally very smooth sailing. Also check on what the weather will be like at different times of the year. Cruising the Caribbean in Autumn will mean much rougher seas than cruising the Caribbean in early Summer. 5) Don't psych yourself out too much. Sometimes all it takes to make yourself seasick is being worried that you'll be seasick, and so every little twinge of your stomach is a 'sign' that you're feeling ill, when maybe it's just a bit of gas.

Answer 3

The newest and modern cruise ship now have stabilizer that prevent the ship from rocking side to side and most of the newer ships are so long that there is little or no front to back motion either. I have been on many cruises from the Caribbean, to Panama, to Mediterranian, to the BAltic and have never gotten sea sick. The most like chance of you getting sea sick would be if there was a sudden terrible storm. But if the ships knows a storm is coming they will stear away from it and even change the order of port stops to stay away from bad weather.

The best cruise to go on if you are concerned about getting sea sick would be an Alaska cruise through the inside passage. That cruise would never have a hurricane and the inside passage does not have as much ocean motion as the Caribbean or a transatlantic. If you went whale watching you probably went in a 50 to 100 foot boat. Cruise ships are almost 1,000 feet long and cut through waves that would toss that small boat around.

Answer 4

no, not at all. the cruise ship is soo big that you cant
even feel it, not even while sleeping. i actually slept
better :-), the only time i really got sick was at the
formal dinner in the dinning room. there hardly any
windows and i could feel every move that ship made
both nights of the formal (you have 2). however, i went
during huricane Rita, so yours might not be as bad
and yes you can get pills or a patch but you HAVE to
get a note from your doctor. they wouldnt let me get one
because they said "i had no reason to" because my
doctor didnt write a note saying i had motion sickness
when i dont at all [except cruisingg]

have funn, be safe.

=]

** editing -- i had a balcony room, if you have a room
w/ no windows, you will prolly get more sick **

Answer 5

I went on a cruise and some of the people that took the pills got over the sickness however they had blurred vision till the stuff wore off. There are lighter stuff that works too. The person I went with got sea sick but the worse came when we came back. They got land sickness bad and was horribly sick for two days. I never knew that you could get sicker when back on stationary land.

One of the bad things about our trip is that the ship was trying to outrun to large storms and they pulled the stabilizers in. We were being knocked back and forth in the hallways.

Answer 6

From what I've heard you won't suffer from sea sickness on a cruise ship as they are very stable in water. If you feel that you may get ill, yes take your pills along or take a few moments to look at the horizon - that has helped me in the past. Talk to your travel agent as to what they recommend for berth accomodations - so that you won't feel ill in your sleep.
Also go for the bigger heavier ships instead of the smaller cruise types.

Answer 7

It depends on which time of year you go and the weather. I just got back from a week long cruise and we had gail forced winds, so yes there was a lot of movement. Just because it is a large boat doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of movement.

But, it is a wonderful time. They offer free motion pills and also have a shot if you have major problems. It is well worth it, even if you do get sick.

Answer 8

I have been on a cruise ship and I did not experience sea sickness. I think you should be fine on a cruise because it will be such a huge boat that you do not even feel it moving. There are also medications you can take if you do happen to get sick. You should really do it- it is a blast!

Answer 9

Very true...the motion on a large cruise ship is nearly imperceptible and will likely do nothing worse than rock you to sleep at night (or in the morning, if that's your cup of tea). Cruising is GREAT!

Answer 10

You can definitely get motion sick on a cruise ship. However, it is much less of a problem than it is on a smaller vessel. Dramamine works well, but it does make you drowsy.