BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Cruises Seasickness

How do people combat seasickness? Stare at the horizon? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Does staring at the horizon work? Only once have I had a problem. We were in Alaska and the waters were a bit rough. The next morning when I got up I felt like I had a hangover.

My mother in law told me that to combat sea sickness, eat apples. Her father was a merchant marine and that was his advice. She says that it really works well.

A lot of people wear the patches.

Yup in essence the problem is an inner ear one where your visual balance does not match up with your body's inner sense of balance. Looking at the horizon helps your brain to sync them up. Definitely doing close-focus work (reading etc) makes it worse. It's like riding in a car, you can get sick if you read but you feel better when you look out the window <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I think I like the apple remedy. Pectin from the apples settles the stomach.

I suffer horribly from seasickness. Surprisingly, that didn't keep me from working onboard the Disney Wonder but I still got sick all of the time. I basically lived off of Dramamine. I've found that the worst times to get sick, except for hurricane type weather, is when crossing the Gulf Stream about an hour or so after debarking and on the way back into port (on the East coast).

Though I've had to always use Dramamine, ginger is supposedly very helpful as well as stimulating acupressure points on your wrist. And the worst thing that you can do is sit there and think about it. I was once stuck in a cabin lying on the bed watching the closet curtains swing back and forth with the waves...this did not help the way I felt, needless to say. Try to get up and about as much as you can and don't watch the movement of the waves or the curtains. I used to have to lead dance parties when I just wanted to hurl myself over the side of the railing with seasickness and somehow the nausea always seemed to pass when I wasn't thinking about it.

At meal times, ask for a broth based soup, lots of crackers, and hot tea such as chamomile or peppermint to calm your stomach. Waiters are used to seasickness and can easily accommodate your request.

Excellent suggestions! My dad is coming on the cruise with me and seems almost paranoid about getting seasick. I've heard from many people that you can "make yourself seasick" if you worry too much about it beforehand, so I'm trying to reassure him <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Unless the seas are really rough, it is hard to tell you're moving on these big cruise ships. Some people can feel the slightest movement - I can barely tell we're moving. I rely on the scenery going by. <G>

That's what I figure, once he gets on the boat he'll realize how quiet it is <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

did you book in room in a stable portion of the boat? DO you think having a window helps or hinders?

Center of the boat is very comfortable. A window is nice too. Fortunately, I rarely get seasick but when I did it was up in Alaska (hard to believe) when the winds were kicking up the waves during the night. I woke up seasick.

We were down low and it was SUPER stable. Everybody loved the gentle rocking motion, as if we were in a hammock. We saw others who had slept higher up who didn't enjoy it quite as much. I loved having the window, because you could look out and stabilize yourself.

The girl I recorded with in Nashville, Veda Radanovich, went on a Caribbean cruise and was seasick the whole time.

Well, I had only one problem ever until this cruise. The waters were really choppy but I was doing OK until dinner. The dining room was warm; we were being served too much food and the tomatoes and garlic put me over the top. When I returned to the cabin laying in the bed didn't help as I was rocking in the bed in the same direction as the ship was rocking. I got up and lay down perpendicular to the floor and then I went to sleep. I was fine the next day. The Baltic capitals were absolutely gorgeous.

Also, I am told that it is not wise to look at the horizon. And you're right, keep moving. If I hadn't gone to dinner and had I gone dancing, I would have been OK.

I'm going on my first cruise in December. It's an Eastern Mediterranean cruise. I've been on large ferries before crossing the English Channel, from Italy to Greece, and Germany to Denmark. I was always sick because of the diesel fumes. Do you have the same problems on cruise ships?

I've never had a problem with seasickness on a cruise ship, but my mother has had problems in the past. She's tried a number of different remedies, but Bonine always works best for her. It doesn't make her sleepy, like Dramamine often does, and it is very effective. Bonine is available at most drugstores. Cruise ships are very different than large ferries, so I've never experienced any issues with fumes. The best bet for people who think they may get seasick is to book a cabin on one of the lower decks in the mid-ships center area of the ship - and to come prepared with something like Bonine just in case. You'll have a great time!

Take ginger(in the form of a pill) at every meal. Start one day before your cruise. Also, the workers on the ships swear by eating green apples. Michele Harkins aka The Cruise Chic www.TheCruiseChic.com

My MIL's father was a merchant marine (early 1900). He told her to eat apples and crackers. She never gets sea sick. The ginger tea I brought along was very helpful.

Unless the seas are really rough, it is hard to tell you're moving on these big cruise ships. Some people can feel the slightest movement - I can barely tell we're moving. I rely on the scenery going by. &lt;G&gt; BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Definitely book a stateroom in the middle of the ship. The lower decks are even more stable than upper decks. A window helps a lot as well. I've used Bonine before on very small ships and it works well.