Will I get seasick?

Question

My mom wants to go on a cruise. I want to go to, of course, since I've never been on one...but that's just the thing. I'm scared of getting seasick...I've never gotten seasick before...because, well, I've never been out at sea! So what should I do? Do those patches really work, JUST IN CASE? Because I will be very nervous and I don't want my whole time to be spent with my head in the toilet. LOL. So, thanks people.

Answer 1

I was on my first cruise earlier this year and I feared the same thing. I took along non-drowsy Dramamine and took one a day and that seemed to do the trick. The first day on the cruise I didnt take anything and I did notice the motion, it made me sick and I missed dinner because of not feeling well. After that, I started the Dramamine and all was fine afterwards. there was one night towards the end of the cruise that we had some rough waters where I was laying in bed and could feel the ship rocking. I just laid there, closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. I was ok, but I could still feel it.
You will be okay if you do take something along whether it be Dramamine or something else. There are many options out there now to choose from.

Answer 2

Here my advice to you as a frequent cruiser and someone who has been on almost 20 cruises.

(1) All of the new ships now being built have automatic stabilizer that all but eliminate any rocking from side to side. And these newer passenger ships are so long, most 900 feet to almost 1,000 feet, that the front to back motion is also all but eliminated.

(2) Cruise ships generally move from port to port overnight, generally about 6:00 PM. You go to dinner between 6 and 8 PM, maybe go to the evening show and maybe the disco and then go to bed. And when you awake the next morning you are in a new port. So you sleep a good portion of the time when the ship is moving. Then to further reduce ship motion, select a cabin on a lower deck and in the middle of the ship; there is less motion there, and select an outside or balcony cabin so that you can see the ocean and horizon as that reduced the chancce of getting sea sick..

(3) Cruise ships make every effort to stay away from bad weather, even changing the order of port stops if weather is bad at one.

(4) The best cruise to go on if you want to be pretty certain that there will be little motion is a cruise to Alaska. Those cruises go through the "inside passage" which is an inland waterway (rather than open ocean) where the motion of the ocean is minimal. Its almost like cruising down/up a river and in many places you can see the land/terrain on both sides of the ship.

(5) There are some options to combat sea sickness if you are really sensitive to motion. One is a prescription from your Dr for either pills or a patch that is applies behind the ear. Another option is a wrist bracelet that you can purchase at boating stores. And, if you go and do not get any of these, the ship will have a doctor who can dispense sea sickness pills.

Answer 3

Most likely you will not get seasick. First of all the cruise ships are big and thus don't move much. Second, the cruise ships have stabilizers that help prevent the side to side movement of the ship.

I get seasick easily, and I have never gotten seasick on a cruise ship. One trip I did take ginger. I like ginger because it is not a drug and because it is the only thing that worked on Mythbusters. Another trick is to eat bland foods (bread, crackers, apples ...)

Seasickness is caused by a conflict between the eyes and ears. If you are inside you cannot see the ship's movement. However, your ears will detect the movement and this can cause seasickness. So, go outside where you can see the horizon.

This can work the other way too. That is why some people (including myself) get seasick playing video games. In this case the eyes see movement, but the ears do not.

Answer 4

You can bring along motion sickness pills that you can pick up at the local pharmacy. They normally work within 45 minutes of taking it. For myself, I've used the seasick patch twice for two cruise trips and can vouch they work very well. You'll need to get a perscription from your doctor though. Each patch last 2 to 3 days. No worries about getting sick.

Answer 5

No one knows whether they will get seasick until they have been on a cruise. We were on one last year and approximately 90% of my shipmates were seasick the first nite as the seas were pretty rough. However, not one of our party experienced any symptoms.

Go on the cruise with your mom, if you get sick, they will give you patches. I really doubt if you will, most people don't.

Have fun and don't worry about it.

Answer 6

I would just bring some motion sickness medicine with me...For the most part though you don't really get seasick. You can feel the boat shaking while they are loading the passengers on the first day, but that's for like engines or something I bet.

It's like a smooth moving, on water, giant hotel ship.
Hehe
Bon Voyage~

Answer 7

I had never been on a cruise prior to this year and I don't get motion sickness, normally. But when my husband and I went to Greece, we experienced some rough seas at one point and I was surprised at how quickly I got ill from it. Awful! So bring plenty of meds to help out and be careful the time of year that you choose to go. Hurricane season is the worst.

Answer 8

I was SO worried I'd get seasick I was searching for the ginger pills, stacked up on dramaine, bonine, etc.

AND.....I was just fine. I could stare at the water and not even get a little queasy.

Answer 9

I have been on many small boats and hardly ever feel bad . The large ships on a cruise reduce the rocking motion to almost nothing and they are built with special stabilizers . Your odds of getting sick are slim to none .

Answer 10

There are some very good medicines now for motion sickness.If you do not get car sick on trips around then you are not likely to get sick on a cruise.The ship really you can't tell its moving that much.Enjoy your cruise!!Stop worrying about it and just go have a great time!