Motion sickness

[dolphinkiss21]

Hi all...ive been around on the WDW boards for a while but my fiancee and I are planning on taking a Disney Cruise in 2008. He is a long time CM as am I so we can easily get all the details taken care of, but my main concern is how badly I will get motion sick. I was on a 131 foot schooner (supposed to be for 6 weeks) but i only made it to the first port 2 days out and had to fly home becuase i was basically unconscious for those 2 days from motion sickness and dehydration. I know a lot of people say that you can barely feel the ship move, but it still makes me a little nervous because my only boat experience was so bad. Granted the other schooner was itty bitty and was tossed all over the sea by the littlest waves. Hopefully someone on here can give me an insight into how bad it really could be for someone thats sensitive or maybe some remedys that work. I was unable to take dramamine on the schooner because of the drowsiness...we had to be fully alert for watches and such.
Sorry if i rambled at all! I know all you mousepadders out there are so helpful!
Thanks!

[Niwel]

The stabilizers on DCL are amazing. You feel movements most at the way front and back of the ship -- but it is minimal. May people opt for the behind-the-ear patches or the bracelets.
The closer to the center of the ship you are (and the farther down) the less you feel anything).
Hope that helps a bit.

[dolphinkiss21]

Originally Posted by Niwel

The stabilizers on DCL are amazing. You feel movements most at the way front and back of the ship -- but it is minimal. May people opt for the behind-the-ear patches or the bracelets.
The closer to the center of the ship you are (and the farther down) the less you feel anything).
Hope that helps a bit.

thanks...that does make me feel a little better...i would rather not spend my entire trip so sick that i dont know my name...lol that had to be the worse feeling in the world! they gave me ginger...now, for minor sickness that works wonders...but i should have been lifted off and taken to a hospital, not given ginger...lol

[Andrew]

I get terribly seasick, so for both of the (non-DCL) cruises my wife and I have done I've requested scopalamine patches from my doctor. They go behind the ear and look like a small band-aid. Result: no seasickness on either cruise. Just be very careful to wash your hands after applying the patch, because if you get scopalamine in your eye it will dialate your pupils for hours.

[dolphinkiss21]

Originally Posted by Andrew

I get terribly seasick, so for both of the (non-DCL) cruises my wife and I have done I've requested scopalamine patches from my doctor. They go behind the ear and look like a small band-aid. Result: no seasickness on either cruise. Just be very careful to wash your hands after applying the patch, because if you get scopalamine in your eye it will dialate your pupils for hours.

thank you!!!! ill have to look into that...its prescription i assume? but thats good to know that you didn't get sick at all! yay! now we can start planning!

[Andrew]

Yes, scopalamine is a prescription medication. You'll see many many people onboard wearing the patches. It's very common.

[dolphinkiss21]

great..i knew you mousepadders would be able to ease my worries!

[cstephens]

Originally Posted by dolphinkiss21

I was unable to take dramamine on the schooner because of the drowsiness...we had to be fully alert for watches and such.

My recommendation is to take the equivalent that doesn't have the drowsiness factor. I believe Dramamine actually has a non-drowsy formula, but I've never tried it. Bonine is the name brand that I sometimes use, but the drug name you're looking for is mezclizine, and it's available in lots of generic brands, which is what I try to buy. I use it for motion sickness and nausea and it usually works for me.

[Two Bears]

There is a product out there called Bonine. It is very effective and does not have a drowsiness factor at all. It is similar to Dramamine but much better. I do not think that you will need it all though as the stabilizers on the ship are excellent and really do take the majority of the motion away from the ship.

[LeslieM]

The scopolamine patches work great...but be careful to drink because they do dehydrate you. I never actually had to use them on the cruise and we had a lot of wind and wave action, especially on our last night.

My only problems were on the first night, caused by being up for too many hours and having several cocktails celebrating!

[mc06367]

Has anyone used the bracelet for motion sickness? Does it work well? Is it something you can buy without a prescription? I am not worried about the Magic, but more for a couple of excursions we will be doing on smaller boats.

[Tony]

We've never used the bracelet, but I do know that they are available without a perscription. In fact, the last couple of times we've cruised, they have been available for purchase on board.

[Andrew]

The bracelet did nothing for me.

[iheartflounder]

Just so you know, ships in the Pacific will have a bit more motion than a Caribbean sailing so keep that in mind. I cruised last year on RCCL out of Long Beach and wore the Sea Bands. I was pregnant and wanted a drug-free alternative. I get seasick very easily. You can definitely feel the boat moving but I was not seasick at all, not sure if it was the bands or just smoother seas.

After I got my "sea legs" I actually loved the motion at night when sleeping and slept so well! Have heard others claim the same.


As an aside, I actually kept the Bands on the first two trimesters of my pregnancy they worked THAT well on land to keep my morning sickness at bay!

[C.C.]

I'm prone to seasickness and have only been sick on one cruise out of five and that was in very high seas in the Atlantic. My waiter gave me an apple to eat and I was fine 15 minutes later.

[TikiBird27]

Hi DK--sorry for the delayed response, but I wanted to chime in, anyway.

I'd get a prescription for the patches and bring some non-drowsy Dramamine just in case (the ship also has motion sickness pills onboard if you need them). For our 3-day Disney cruise, my husband got the prescription patch, but it turned out that he had an instantly bad reaction to them and couldn't wear them. It turned out that he didn't need anything.

I wasn't expecting to have any problems, but I ended up getting dizzy (not really nauseated, just dizzy!). I took the non-drowsy Dramamine and it helped a lot. It's also nice that they have a medical center on the ship that you can visit or call, and someone there can give you advice. I'd recommend taking the Dramamine (or whatever meds you might get) before the boat even starts moving, though--I think it works better. In any event, I had an excellent trip, even if I was a little dizzy!

Hope it helps, and have a great time!

[futurecm21]

I feel sorry for people like you who get motion sickness so easily. I can spend hours on a flight, and weeks on a boat without any problems, but again, I'm just a freak like that.

I have lots of friends who use the bracelets, and it really seems to help most of them. For the few times I did get nauseous when I was little, my parents had some kind of chewable medication they would give me, although I really don't remember what that was now. Sorry.

To make a long story short, going with the bracelets will probably help, but you really shouldn't have too many problems.

futurecm21

[Barbossa]

DW and I used the wrist bands on our Disney Cruise and they worked wonders for us. If I was prone to seasickness, though, I'd get the patch. Even my dad, who is an old salt 25 year navy veteran, uses the patch on long fishing trips.

One note about stabilizers: they're located at the center of the ship and can only reduce side-to-side motion. They cannot reduce up/down motion at the front and back of the boat. A lot of activities occur fore and aft: the shows, meals at Parrot Cay and Animator's Palate, etc. And some of the legs of the Eastern Carib journey had some pretty good seesaw action going on.

[MrsIncredible]

Originally Posted by cstephens

My recommendation is to take the equivalent that doesn't have the drowsiness factor...the drug name you're looking for is mezclizine, and it's available in lots of generic brands...

I never used to get seasick in my younger days, but ever since I've had children I get sick on anything (sadly, even the teacups ).

We were on the Wonder (DCL) during last August's tropical storm Ernesto (it even hit Castaway Cay while we were snorkelling--but that's another story) for my daughter's Make-A-Wish trip. I dreaded the motion sickness, but made sure to take plenty of mezclizine (CVS generic brand) with us and dutifully took it every allowable alotted time period. I had no sickness--except for while we were watching Dead Man's Chest in the movie theater. I had to leave. The boat was rocking a little and with the movie's cinematography that makes you feel like you are on a boat (but doesn't match the actual ship's movement)--it was just too much for me!

Enjoy your trip!

[NeilPage]

Go with the Scope patch (aka Transom). Put it on before you get on the ship (if flying, put on before flight and it will help with that too). Stay hydrated. You can swim, shower, etc. with the patch on. My wife will attest that they work great.

[AVP]

Some people experience motion sickness when the vehicle (plane, train, ship) makes quick side-to-side movements , others get it worse with long, rolling motions. The ship tends to the later. The Atlantic crossing on the Magic was pretty rocky according to those who had prior experience - it was my first time so I had no basis for comparison - and most everyone I saw had a patch or sea bands (one of the singers from Boyz 2 Men had sea bands on both arms).

I'm really, really lucky - the ship's motion doesn't bother me. I spent the days when we had the highest waves in the adult pool, wishing I had packed a boogie board.

AVP

[Walt'sbirthdaygirl]

Originally Posted by Barbossa

One note about stabilizers: they're located at the center of the ship and can only reduce side-to-side motion. They cannot reduce up/down motion at the front and back of the boat. A lot of activities occur fore and aft: the shows, meals at Parrot Cay and Animator's Palate, etc. And some of the legs of the Eastern Carib journey had some pretty good seesaw action going on.

Which might explain why our first night at sea (DW Dec '06) saw the Parrot Cay dining room empty out before the first course. It was a tought night, I normally don't get seasick, but ending up enjoying my grouper lying down in bed.

I would recommend visiting your doctor for the patch or starting with the non drowsy draminine as soon as you set sail.

[wishiwasthere]

When I cruise or fly I take Bonine or non drowsy Dramamine and they work great. I was considering the patch behind the ear for this upcoming cruise, but is it noticable? If I have my hair up I don't want to be taking pictures and have this patch showing.

I don't cruise often, but I've heard not even to wait until you get seasick to start taking medication. You should start before you board the boat. Is this true?

[DVC Mike]

My wife was told to use the scopalamine patch, but to be sure and try it at home before the cruise to see if she had any bad side effects. She is going to do that, and if she has side effects, she'll try Bonine on the cruise.

Our very first cruise will be April 27 - May 1, 2008 (4-night Bahamian). Hopefully, she won't get sick and it won't be our last cruise!

[motomickey]

NAVY LT MOTOMICKEY REPORTING IN--

be sure to keep your stomach full--one of the WORST things you can do on sea is to have an empty stomach--that makes you far more susceptible to seasickness

I advise MRS Motomickey to take Bonine 24 hours ahead of first shove off--she usually takes it maybe one day but then never really needs it--the DCL is AWESOME!

HAPPY SAILING, MATEY!