Seasickness

Getting seasick is just a fact of life. It is not the intent here to scare people away from cruising. In fact the purpose is just the opposite as we offer some information to help deal with the condition. Some people seem to get it worse than others but you should not allow your fear of getting seasick kep you from experiencing one of travels best options.

Afraid of Getting Seasick

Maybe you would love to try cruising but have a big concern? If you are worried about taking a cruise because you are prone to seasickness, or motion sickness, you are not alone but you need not worry too much. There are thousands of people that have faced that fear and have gone on to become enthusiastic frequent cruisers.

Seasickness is caused by a conflict between the inner ear, where the human balance mechanism resides, and the brains visual perception regarding its surroundings. The inner ear where balance is controlled, has small hairs bathed in fluid that detect changes in both up-and-down and side-to-side movement. With movement at sea the body moves along with the ship causing the balance mechanism to register motion while often your eyes see your surroundings as a relatively stable scene. Confused by this perceptual incongruity, the brain responds with a cascade of stress-related hormones that can cause nausea, vomiting, and vertigo.

For most people the good news is seasickness normally occurs in the first 12 to 24 hours at sea if there is detectable movement and subsides once the body acclimates to the ship’s motion. It’s rare for anyone to get or stay ill after the first day or two at sea, but there are some individuals that do have more trouble adjusting.

Try Ginger Root

There are a number of motion sickness remedies available that include Dramamine and the patch and even acupuncture, but there is one that we swear by. When back before our first cruise my wife asked her doctor about a prescription for the patch he said he had something better. While he wrote the prescription he recommended that she take ginger root capsules. A couple of years before, while on vacation in Australia he visited the Great Barrier Reef and the Aussies told him to try ginger root. To his surprise he handled the trip to the reef with flying colors.

My wife had a serious issue with seasickness and had been reluctant to take a cruise. One summer she decided that the cruise she most wanted to take was an Alaska cruise and if her seasickness got the better of her, at least she got to see Alaska. On that cruise she started taking ginger root capsules and she hasn’t had any real problems since and we have weathered a number of storms at sea.

We have a friend who cruises a lot and she was getting acupuncture treatments on the ship to help with her seasickness. After she started taking ginger she no longer needed those treatments. The recommended dose is 550mg taken with meals. Don’t take it alone or you’ll probably taste the ginger for hours afterwords.

Select The Right Stateroom

If you’re prone to bad episodes there are also some other things you can to reduce the risk of getting seasick. The problem is actually a severe form of motion sickness. It is particularly severe on ships because during higher seas the motion can be unusual and persistent but the good news is it rarely lasts for long. If your concerned about how well you’ll do consider booking a cabin that can reduce motion. The staterooms less prone to feeling the ships motion are located in the center of the ship half way between the stern and the bow and near the waterline. Think about a seesaw where the riders go up and down but the center stays relatively still. If you do suffer a bad episode a nap is just what the doctor ordered.

Bon Voyage and smooth sailing!