It's almost time for my cruise and I am scared..

[Rabb it]

I felt like a lot of the times, you forget you're on a ship. Unless you are staring out at the sea of course. But doing normal things around the ship, shows, movies, you don't really think about it.

Sometimes the ship can sway, we didn't know how sea sickness would affect us on our first cruise either. I took a Bonine in the morning and never got seasick. I didn't take any more Bonine for the rest of the trip, it was a 5 night, and I felt fine. I don't know if this means I'm not a seasick person or that the ship never swayed enough to cause motion sickness.

 

[FlyingBelle]

DH had many fears about cruising (sea sickness, rogue waves, pirates, legionaries disease, etc. - not kidding!). I finally convinced him to take a Disney cruise and he LOVED it! We've been on a few cruises since.

For mild sea sickness - try eating green apples. No side effects and can help the sour stomach. Most ships I've been on offer sea sickness pills at no charge - they usually have a basket of them at the infirmary.

As for being out at sea... I got real nervous once. It was my first Disney cruise and we had to leave Castaway Cay a little early to avoid a storm. The boat was really rockin' that night! We were on a pretty low level and I could see the water splash up against the porthole. I don't think I slept much that night, kept watching the tv station that had the video cam of the deck. (I don't know why).

Now since then, we've seen videos of ships in really terrible weather where glasses are falling off the bar and furniture sliding across the deck. And guess what? The ships still made it back to port safe and sound! Now I don't worry nearly as much. The captain and crew want everyone safe as well and they communicate with other ships in the area and ports to avoid the really bad weather.

I fly a lot, and I'm a little the same up in the air. It's a control thing - I have no control, so I worry. When I'm driving a car and the weather gets bad, I pull over. Can't do that at sea or in the air! But I keep an eye on the flight attendants - as long as they are calm, no need for anyone else to be worried either!

 

[belac]

I am a fan of Bonine, and yes take it as a precaution the night before. Since we fly in the day before it also helps me fall asleep in the hotel. Strange bed, pillows, cruise excitement....need something anyway. Once on the ship I am good and don't use anything.
I don't usually get sick and we went through hurricane Isabel way back when, but DH got sick that time, that night he took the Bonine and he was great the rest of cruise. He doesn't like small boats either, turns green, literally.
We both and DS (child dose as prescribed by his doctor) used it on the channel crossing between Cozumel and the Mexican Mainland (horror of a ferry ride, think roller coaster on the water) and all of us were fine. We were warned about that ferry ride so I was prepared. I do also get ginger-ale and pretzels to have in the room, just in case.

I believe that to get the best effects of Bonine, you do start the night before or as early as possible for it to take affect once on board. So an example with the ferry, we took it the night before and were fine. Others, who were not so lucky, made use of the little bags the ferry crew handed out to everyone.

I do always NEED it when back on land (Land Legs) something terrible. The longer the cruise the worse on land for me.

 

[Main Street Matilda]

My mother, who is easily the most apprehensive person I know, thoroughly enjoyed her first cruise. She doesn't know how to swim, is afraid of heights (she has to sit away from the windows on the Disney monorail!), gets uncomfortable in crowds and is easily disoriented. With all of that, she loved our last cruise. The ship is large enough that being out on the open ocean is not overwhelming. Surprisingly, the motion of the ship didn't bother her at all even without motion sickness medication.

I will confess, on day 1, I feel a bit off from the ship's motion, but not queasy or sick. I would prepare myself for that but if you aren't prone to motion sickness, you will likely adjust. By day 2, that odd feeling was gone.

Truth be told, as we are looking forward to our next cruise in May - my biggest fear is packing!

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

Not sure what ship you're sailing, but for the first time when we were on the Fantasy a couple weeks ago they had actual ginger ale in the drink stations on deck 11. The real stuff with actual ginger in it.

 

[Tractortom]

Its hard to be anxious if you think of the ship for what it is, a very large hotel, that moves. When it comes to water, anything deeper than you are tall can be problematic, if you can't wade to shore, it could be a problem. HOWEVER the cruise ships today are VERY safe. Lot's of redundant systems, multiple engines, lots of electronics, and a never ending stock of RUM for those times you are feeling a little anxious. Just wander out on the deck to the nearest bar, down a few and I'll guarantee that you'll get to to loving the entire cruise process. Been on lots of cruises, and the only thing I get anxious about anymore is the drive home and all these ancient Florida drivers, who can't see, or react. Would much rather stay on the ship where I'm safe and walking around with a drink in my hand is encourage.

Tom in Okeechobee, FL

 

[mandylovesdisney]

I take it the night before because it makes me drowsy. If I take it in the morning, I need a nap by mid-afternoon. If I take it at night, I sleep through the drowsiness.

Hmmm.... maybe it IS the bonine and not relaxation at sea making me take those afternoon naps by the pool! hahaha I sleep so well when on the ship, it's amazing. I might try the nighttime pill taking on my next cruise to test this.

 

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

I was the same way feared of sleepless nights onboard, possibly sea sickness. My daughter has horrible car sickness. I worried about possible problems and spending days trapped at sea and then a few months before we were to leave the Costa Concordia had its accident and that sure didn't help. Then we went and I must say we had a wonderful experience and as soon as we stepped foot onboard it was pure excitement and relaxation you truly forget you are even moving until you look out a window. We even had a rough sea evening and we still weren't anxious and my DD wasn't sick once not even a tummy ache once

 

[jrabbit]

Bring pills with you, but don't take them unless you start to feel ill,

The problem with this is that the pill are not magic and it takes a while to start feeling better - so you could easily "loose" 4-8 hours or more because you are feeling miserable (dang, I'm starting to sound like my wife!!)

 

[Amandine]

I am anxious also. I keep having nightmares about hitting an iceberg. My husband has assured me repeatedly that our odds of hitting an iceberg in the Caribbean are nil. I know that, when I am awake, but apparently asleep I do not still know that!

 

[andeesings]

I wasn't anxious about anything related to being surrounded by water- but I get seasick. VIOLENTLY seasick. I look at a watercraft, and I get sick. I wanted to try a cruise so my friends and I decided on a three night which I just returned from because I figured if I was going to be miserable I might as well be miserable for a short amount of time.

I have a terribly high tolerance for Bonine because I also love roller coasters. I take three (!!) pills an hour before the activity that may cause sickness begins (amusement parks and airplanes). **NOTE: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. My mother, who also suffers from major seasickness and still gets dragged around by my father, takes a pill every morning at 9 and every evening at 9, as they're 12 hours.

My anxiety at being on a ship was really tying me in knots. I spoke to my doctor and we decided on the Transderm Scop patch, which is scopolamine. I put the patch on, put seabands on, had ginger gum and had bonine as a backup. I didn't need anything but the patch! I was aware of EVERY little movement of the ship, but it didn't make me dizzy, queasy, or vomit as boats normally do. I did take off my second patch a day after we left the ship- it was a mistake as now I'm getting some odd disembarkation dizziness. But I'll be alright.

The important thing to remember about seasickness is to stay ahead of it. Once you're feeling it, sometimes it's too late to do anything about it, though the ginger gum helped my friends on that first night. I HIGHLY recommend the patch, as someone who gets VIOLENTLY motion sick and boy did that patch work. Sometimes it causes dry mouth but that didn't bother me, I just carried bottled water around.

 

[darnheather]

Big hugs! You will love it. I was also very worried about sea sickness because while I don't suffer from motion sickness per say I do get sick at the movies! Both of my kids have terrible motion sickness. I bought bonine tablets online through Amazon. We all took one tablet at dinner starting three days before the cruise. It was the first time neither of my kids barfed on the drive to Florida! Throughout the cruise we continued to take a tablet with dinner and for the first time in years I really enjoyed the movies and I was even able to comfortably watch the 3d movies for the first time. Now, I can't be 100% sure that we needed the bonine but for the peace of mind it gave us and considering there were zero side effects it was well worth it.

If you feel comfortable let your stateroom attendant or servers know you are nervous. They will help put you at ease. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[BruinEd03]

I was a little skeptical about cruising, but I ended up loving it. They've got tons of life boats if anything does happen. Furthermore, I've actually seen the crew drill for situations during our port days.

As for sea sickness, I usually take children's dramamine because the full ones make me super drowsy. They are chewable and you can dose as needed. The trick, as others have mentioned, is to take it before you actually need it. Once you feel sea sick, it's too late. I would start dosing the night beforehand so it's in your blood stream - at least that's what my former scuba instructor swore by (and I've followed).

Others have used sea bands, I haven't tried that before. I'm trying the patch this time.

 

[The Hunchback]

Our first cruise I had to keep reminding myself we were at sea. I sometimes felt like we were at a Disney hotel/convention center. We stayed busy with the various activities and barely noticed any motion.

You'll have a great time. Stop worrying and relax.

 

[mevelandry]

I am days away from paying my cruise in full. I am getting a little scared. I never been on a cruise ship before. I guess I am afraid to be out in the middle of the ocean. I also worry about sea sickness.
Tell me about how you got over your fears to cruise!

Also, do you recommend the sea sick bracelets or pills?

If you are worried about sea sickness, get ginger pills or sea sickness meds (bonine, dramamine etc). And start taking them before the ship starts sailing (my DH and I take it right before the fire drill.)...

Being out in the middle of the ocean... Everybody is different but you should know that the ship is huge, you will see other ships once in a while and there are coast guards and helicopters ready to help if anything happens. You will have a fire drill before sailing (it's mandatory) where you will learn where to go and what to do if you need to evacuate the ship. Trust me you'll feel more secure once you are onboard.

 

[meldobe]

I was really nervous before our first cruise in case of sea sickness, we went on a 3 night ( booked a 7 initially but i made the others change it) i wore the bands and took sturgeron (uk motion sickness pills) a few times per day and i had no motion sickness at all and absolutely loved it on the ship.

Only movement i noticed was on the first night, i carried on taking the pills for a couple of days after we got off too.

We are going on a 7 night in 2 weeks and i am really looking forward to it, i have my bands and pills.
I started taking the pills the day before - i take them when flying or driving long distances anyway.

 

[jrabbit]

I am anxious also. I keep having nightmares about hitting an iceberg. My husband has assured me repeatedly that our odds of hitting an iceberg in the Caribbean are nil. I know that, when I am awake, but apparently asleep I do not still know that!

Here is the Wonder catching a "baby" Iceberg in Endicott Arm at the beginning of August this year. We caught one at Hubbard Glacier this year too.

 

[Dug720]

Just remember. There was PLENTY of room on that door for Jack - idiot just wouldn't get on it.

(Also they are now required to have enough lifeboats for ALL souls on board.)

 

[kiford]

I keep telling myself that the ship is so huge and i won't feel in danger.

The ship is so huge you often forget you're on one unless you're looking outside. It's more like being in a hotel. We've occasionally left port and until I go on deck I didn't realize we were even moving.

 

[mhconley]

The ship is so huge you often forget you're on one unless you're looking outside. It's more like being in a hotel. We've occasionally left port and until I go on deck I didn't realize we were even moving.

Unless of course the ship is rocking so hard you have to hold on to the handrails just to keep from falling down. It was like that when we skirted hurricane Joaquin in October 2015. Luckily, sailing through seas that rough is a very rare occurrence.