I own a travel agency specializing in bespoke luxury trips, group vacations, and exclusive cruise experiences.
Unfortunately, I get motion sickness in cars and on buses, airplanes, and ocean cruises. I got married in Venice, Italy in 2000 and after over a week riding water buses (vaporetti), I started to get motion sickness when I was in a museum looking at a painting. I felt like the ground was moving!
Since then I've learned how to deal with my motion sickness and have talked to many clients about it as well. Here are several tips I've learned.
1. Try Dramamine
Dramamine works well for me on planes, in cars and on buses. There is a non-drowsy formula which is great if you don't want to fall asleep. But the regular Dramamine is lovely on long plane rides when I do want to sleep.
Dramamine could work for you on an ocean cruise, but try it out first in other situations to see if it helps at all.
2. Get a Stateroom in the Right Location
However, for an ocean cruise, I really need more help than just Dramamine. An important factor when dealing with motion sickness on an ocean cruise is to get a stateroom in the correct part of the ship. Contact me and I will help you select the right location on the ship to avoid seasickness.
3. Book the Right Itinerary
There are several ocean cruise itineraries that are known for rocky seas. You should avoid these and choose a cruise with ports that are closer together. Using an expert like me to book your cruise will help you avoid famously tumultuous routes!
4. Try the Patch
"The patch" (scopolamine) works well for me and my clients who get motion sickness. The patch is a tiny round sticker containing prescription medicine that you place behind your ear and leave there for three days. You then place a new patch behind the other ear and continue rotating every three days. The patch is prescription-only, so discuss it with your doctor.
5. Test Drive the Patch
I suggest getting a prescription for the patch well before your cruise and trying it out to see if it causes side effects and if they subside. For me, the side effects cease after a couple of days, and I was glad when I learned this.
You may also want to see if the patch actually works for you before your cruise by wearing it while doing something that normally causes you motion sickness.
6. Put the Patch on Early
I put the patch on about 3 days before I get on an ocean cruise (even though the manufacturer claims it is only necessary to apply it 4 hours in advance) because I want the side effects gone before I go on vacation.
7. Leave the Patch on for 3 Extra Days
NOTE: It is very important to leave the patch on for around three days after your cruise to give your body time to readjust to being on land. The first time I used the patch, I made the mistake of removing it as soon as I got home. I was then seasick for the next three days! I have since spoken to clients who had the same experience.
I now leave the patch on for three days after I get home, and this works like a charm. No seasickness.
8. Bring Extra Patches
It's also important to get a lot of extra patches because they fall off. The maker of the patch claims it will stay on for three days, even in the shower, but mine always fall off. When it falls off, you are supposed to put on a new one (not reuse the one that fell off). Once when I was on a cruise I ran low on patches and had to skip snorkeling because I couldn't risk losing anymore! That was a bummer.
Take extras!
9. Take a River Cruise
If all else fails, go on a river cruise. River ships barely move at all, and I don't need the patch, Dramamine, or anything else for motion sickness when I'm on one. Yay.
Contact me for the best ocean and river cruise options. I'm an expert.
