New Cruiser and Patch

[Roop]

Do you recommend the patch for a new cruiser on a 7 night western Caribbean?
Any other suggestions?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do you recommend the patch for a new cruiser on a 7 night western Caribbean?
Any other suggestions?

Personally, I don't recommend the patch for anyone, unless they've exhausted all other forms of sea sickness remedies.

The patch can have serious side effects. Have read up on those? https://www.drugs.com/sfx/scopolamine-side-effects.html

Are you certain you will get sea sick? While being susceptible to other forms of motion sickness can be an indicator whether you will get sea sickness, it's not that definite.

It's important to talk to your doctor about what medications would be appropriate for you. Many ship's doctors won't even recommend the patch and don't have them onboard for dispensing.

 

[clten]

Are you just being cautious or are you fairly sure you're going to have motion issues? If you are fairly sure, I'd talk to your doctor about what they would recommend. If you are just being cautious, I'd recommend sea bands (uses pressure points, works for some, doesn't work for everyone). Then there are the over the counter medicines (I don't use so I'll let others give recommendations). I recommend bringing ginger. I don't know where you are located but Trader Joe's has a very nice chocolate covered ginger. We don't get seasick but usually bring some along and have given it out on several cruises to tablemates who has had some motion issues. They have ginger ale and green apples on board if you do find yourself feeling a little queasy.

 

[OKW Lover]

As a new cruiser you probably don't know if you'll get motion sickness on the ship. I'd say that most people aren't bothered by it on today's huge ships. However, yes some folks are bothered. From what I've read, the patch can cause as many problems as it cures. Blurry vision and dizziness are two of the most common complaints.

My wife is prone to motion sickness so she takes bonnine when we cruise. Even then, some days she doesn't bother as the movement isn't that bad.

 

[ABDGurl]

Do you recommend the patch for a new cruiser on a 7 night western Caribbean?
Any other suggestions?

On my first cruise, I got the patch because I was worried I'd get bad sea sickness. After about 72 hours, I had to take it off because it made me very dizzy. I felt worse with it on, but I also had never used it before. Now when I cruise, I take Meclizine. It's a less drowsy form of regular Dramamine. Actually, Dramamine brand sells Meclizine as "less drowsy formula". You can also try a chewable form by Bonine. I've found both at Target. Hope that helps. Have a fabulous time!!! Just got back from a 4-day Bahamian cruise on the Dream and it was wonderful.

 

[Pooh2]

I recently had the patch for surgery. Still got very sick and extremely dizzy to boot.
I've had better luck with seabands and bonine on a ship/plane.
If you know you get sick, take the bonine the night before you sail so it's in your system.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

You can also try a chewable form by Bonine. I've found both at Target.

I love Bonine. Been using it for years, on plane, boat and bus rides (and cruises). Recently, it's been getting hard to find. Not at my local Wal-Mart, or three nearby drug stores. Target huh? I'll have to look there. For our trip last August, I had to resort to buying it from Amazon. I know, not the best plan, but I could not find it elsewhere. As far as I can tell, the stuff I got in the mail was the real thing, and it seemed to work.

 

[nlflores]

Bonine is great! We took our first cruise last January and according to the crew, the first two days out of port were "the roughest in several years". Even then, only my DD and DW got motion sick, but that was after being in the Spa very high up in the forward part of the ship. They had their eyes closed getting a massage and the up and down motion in the very front of the ship affected them. They both took Bonine that day (and each day for the rest of the trip) and had no problems. I found that sipping Ginger Ale occasionally to settle my stomach was all I needed. I would stay away from extreme remedies like the patch unless you're sure you needed it. Ginger pills and Bonine are far gentler and usually do the trick.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

it's been getting hard to find. Not at my local Wal-Mart,

Are you looking for the brand name Bonine? I know WalMart has generic meclizine (the ingredient in Bonine).

 

[anricat]

On my first cruise, I used generic Bonine. I've used Bonine all my life to combat (pretty serious) motion sickness. I really didn't feel great and I had a lot of vertigo.

Then the next time I traveled (not a cruise) I realized that generic Bonine wasn't working for my air travel either and I chucked it and got brand name Bonine. I haven't had any issues since. I've actually experienced this before. When I was pregnant, I had very serious nausea and vomiting (like, we had to go to the ER and I had to have two bags of fluids serious). I was on a prescription medication for my entire pregnancy for this condition. Once, when I got a refill, the pills were slightly different - a different manufacturer and they didn't work! I went back to the pharmacy and they got me the other brand and they worked. The pharmacist said that this wasn't completely uncommon. Sometimes generic medication formulations can vary slightly.

Anyway, I always buy brand name Bonine.

For our second cruise (before I realized the Bonine situation) I did buy a patch and I used it for three days, changed it out and then after the fourth day, I started having a lot of trouble focusing on things close up. I was having a hard time reading my book or menus. I was squinting and holding it far away from me - the whole nine (and no, it wasn't on my fingers, I made sure to be extremely careful of touching my eyes after application). Our final day was in CC and I realized when we got back on board, my patch had fallen off. I didn't put another one on, but I was fine.

Since then, we did Alaska and I used Bonine all week and was fine (but we had a really smooth cruise, so who knows). We have another one coming up and I'll take my patches, but they are a last resort.

 

[KCBelle]

I am extremely prone to motion sickness so I tried the patch. It affected my vision so much I had to take it off. I know I didn't get it in my eye but still couldn't see anything up close. I have used generic bonine and had great success and I wear Quesy beads (a more stylish sea band). Green apple takes away any break through quesiness

 

[Soontobegoodsell]

We use Dramamine for the cruises. My husband always gets sick the first night and this seems to help. Same with the seabands.

 

[ghtx]

I love Bonine. Been using it for years, on plane, boat and bus rides (and cruises). Recently, it's been getting hard to find. Not at my local Wal-Mart, or three nearby drug stores.

Are you looking for the brand name Bonine? I know WalMart has generic meclizine (the ingredient in Bonine).

Also, it's the same thing as Dramamine's "Less Drowsy Formula".

 

[scrappinginontario]

Just looked and Bonine is available online at Target. Hoping the stores carry it too as we'll be stopping at Target on our way to the airport. Bonine is not available in Canada but I found it worked really well on my 2 previous cruises.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Are you looking for the brand name Bonine? I know WalMart has generic meclizine (the ingredient in Bonine).

I couldn't find Bonine or meclizine at the stores I mentioned. The generics do work for me, as I have tried it in the past. Correct, Dramamine "less drowsy" is meclizine, and thus not actually related to Dramamine at all except for the branding. But I couldn't find this either. I am hopeful to find it at my local target. If I get over there to look for it, I'll report back. I'm guessing you can't get it from Amazon if you live in Canada?

 

[Julylady]

If you are a first time cruiser, I would not wear a patch. The vast majority of cruisers have zero motion sickness issues. As a precaution, I would also bring some Bonine tablets. Take them 24 hours before getting on the ship. In my experience, the first night is when I experience the most issues with motion. If you start feeling off, head to the middle of the ship where the effects of the motion are much less pronounced. If you don't feel any motion sickness after 48 hours, stop the Bonine.

The patch makes most people dizzy and sleepy. Not fun when on a cruise.

 

[JenPinks]

I took Dramamine the night before our cruise and every night of the cruise out of Galveston 2015. I was sick most of the trip, I'm a little scared for our upcoming Alaskan cruise and will bring me of arsenal of different meds, but not the patch. I have heard to many negatives.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I took Dramamine the night before our cruise and every night of the cruise out of Galveston 2015. I was sick most of the trip, I'm a little scared for our upcoming Alaskan cruise and will bring me of arsenal of different meds, but not the patch. I have heard to many negatives.

For me, the medicine in Dramamine never helped ANY of my motion sickness issues (cars, boats, planes, amusement park rides) whereas the medicine in Bonine or "Dramamine Less Drowsy" works great. If it works for you in one type of motion sickness, it is more likely to work for you in other situations. Same for side effects.

 

[Shanti]

Do you recommend the patch for a new cruiser on a 7 night western Caribbean?

No. Bring Dramamine and Bonine in case you begin to notice seasickness, but you shouldn't medicate before finding out if you're prone to seasickness. Some people even get severe landsickness while withdrawing from the patch after the cruise- it's not side-effect-free, so you don't want to use it unless you know you'll need it.

I sometimes suffer from motion sickness on land (in particular, any kind of spinning makes me quite ill) and I felt queasy on a motorboat on Lake Michigan once, but I've found that I am not prone to seasickness on cruise ships at all. I've sailed on the Magic and the Fantasy, and the latter faced rough winds and felt so much movement that even the CMs were joking about it, & we had a higher deck, forward cabin, but I never felt ill in the slightest. Brought containers of medicine that were never even opened.

So keep an open mind and be prepared with pills, but don't pre-medicate unless you already know that you're prone to seasickness.

 

[EpicBilynn]

I found out I get seasick on my first cruise. I had other things and I had taken preventatives, but they didn't work for me. I tried the patch and we get along just fine. However, my ex (boyfriend at the time) also tried the patch and he had some side-effects he didn't like so he took it off. So if you decide to try the patch make sure you have a back up plan in place in case you have bad side-effects.

On a side note, I want to try something other than the patch that I haven't tried before, but I don't get car sick or air sick so has anyone tried motion sickness medicine out at an amusement park? Six Flags is down the street and I definitely get sick on some of the rides *side eyes Batman real hard*