In May my DH and I are doing our first cruise. I’m concerned about getting seasick. What are some suggestions from veteran cruisers? I plan to take ginger chews for myself and peppermint for DH (he doesn’t like ginger). Should I take something else as well? Do pills, bands or patches work best?
Our cruise is on the Dream if that makes any difference.
Don't take any medication in advance of your first cruise, because there is a good chance you won't need any. A cruise ship is not nearly as rocky as most non-cruisers imagine them to be. The exception is when there are high winds, which is rare, but even then, it won't necessarily make you sick. I get motion sickness from anything involving spinning, and can't even go back and forth a few feet on a swing set without feeling dizzy, but I've consistently been fine on cruises without any medication or anti-sea sickness strategies, even when we sailed forward on the Fantasy on a very high winds cruise. On the first night of our Alaskan Wonder cruise, as the ship sailed into the open Pacific a bit, I felt slightly woozy at dinner, but it went away on its own within an hour. That was the sum total of my seasickness in 6 cruises. My son has been the same: he sailed every cruise with me, got sea sick for one evening only on that very rocky Fantasy cruise (our 2nd cruise, and our later Fantasy cruise on the same itinerary was not rocky btw), never took medication & recovered quickly, and never had any other discomfort before or since.
Different people have different constitutions, but my point is, one should never assume that one will need to be medicated. I think threads labelled "seasickness" tend to attract posters who are prone to seasickness, and they often recommend medicating in advance, which is unnecessary for many people. Bring some remedies with you (Bonine or Dramamine, ginger candies, maybe Sea Bands, etc.- I've never used any of them but it can't hurt to have them just in case), but don't take them in advance of your first cruise. Give your body a chance & see how it acclimates on its own. Otherwise you could end up needlessly medicating yourself for every cruise you take in the future.