My 11 year-old daugher has experienced queasiness on a couple prior whale watching trips that, truthfully, were anything but calm. This will be her first cruise so I have no idea whether the gentle motion of the ship will affect her or not.
Has anyone cruised with a "queasy" kid or am I worrying over nothing? What to give her if we do discover she is queasy? Any advice would ve helpful?
Ships these days are not like Whale watching vessels, they are loaded with stabilizers. That said, anyone if already prone to motion sickness stands a risk of the experience again.
For an eleven year old, medication is not the way to go unless your physician prescribes something. Strongly suggest discussion with doctor, better safe then sorry.
Non-medication tips:
Sea bands which are worn on the wrists have been shown effective.
Ginger cookies and gingerale
I usually give my kids bonine if they ever feel queasy. It is small and chewable and non-drowsey. It also lasts for 12 hours. My doctor says they are fine for kids.
Good advice from both. I get queasy in a car, train, plane, even a swing at the park! But so far (touch wood!) I've never been queasy on a cruise ship (Nordic Empress, Maasdam, and Imagination). Must be pretty good stabilizers. However, I do take precautions when going on a shore excursion that involves a tender to shore, or a catamaran ride as part of the excursion. They tend to be rocky, and I don't take chances. That's when I take Gravol (or Bonine or Dramamine which I think is the US version).
Hope your daughter has lots of fun!
Everyone has given you great advice. Sea bands have always helped my 9 year old except when we were on a very small sailing ship. Put them on as soon as it feels slightly rocky -- no side affects!
Smooth sailing,
Luisa Frey Gaynor
Family Cruise Edtior
for the little queezies - Ginger works best - Ginger Ale, ginger cookies, go to the store and get some crystalized ginger candy -one of the best cures is fresh air. If she starts feeling it - get her outside on deck with plenty of diversions - DO NOT GO TO YOUR CABIN - that's the worst thing to do. A glass of ginger ale, fresh air and diversions do it for me. Try to stay away from the drugs- try the patch or the bands.
If you are concerned about side effects, especially with a child, do not use the patch. They have the possibility of multiple side effects including dry mouth and double vision. The bands work fine for some people. Dramamine will cause drowsiness, but Bonine or Meclazine are non drowsy and are quite effective. Talk to your pharmacist for concerns about children.........Barb
I went to the local Super Wal Mart to get Sea Bands today. They said that they only special order them, at least at that store. They also said that they get at least two people a day asking for them. Does that make any sense? Anyway, tomorrow it's off to Eckerd or Walgreens. My 9 year old does get carsick, so we want to be prepared.
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Lake Mary, FL (Just outside Orlando)
NCL Norway '90
Carnival Holiday '92
Costa Atlantica March '03
Carnival Triumph Sep '06
I purchased the sea bands at Super Stop & Shop here in CT. There were 7.99 for the pair. You can also purchase them in any Marine Supply Store ie US Boat, Boaters World, etc. We were on Princess last March and my husband used them and they worked great! We're going again this April with the kids so I plan on purchasing them for everyone - just in case. The ginger candy/cookies sound like a good idea. I'll start trying to track that down. thanks for the advice and good luck!
I used the sea bands on my two sons (3yr and 5yr) last year when we cruised with Disney. My 5 year old suffers from motion sickness, he has to ride in the front seat in cars or he will be ill. I found the sea bands inconvenient for my 3 year old because they have to stay in-between pressure points on the wrist and he kept moving them around. They did not work for my 5 year old either. I put them on him prior to flying and he still got sick on the landing. I purchased Bonine also as a back up because I really didn't want to medicate my 5 year old. I did however have to use it , with my doctor recommending 1/2 tablet. This worked very well as long as he took it regularly. We made the mistake of thinking he was fine after a few days on board and didn't give him the Bonine one day, he was very ill that night! Next year we will be sailing with Norwegian and I will pack the Bonine again.
Good luck and have a great cruise!
FOR YOUR FIRST CRUISE TAKE A MEGA-SHIP LIKE THE VOYAGER AND STICK TO THE WESTERN CARRIBEAN. THE EASTERN CARRIBEAN HAS STRONG CROSS CURRENTS BETWEEN SAN JUAN AND ST THOMAS-ST JOHNS AND AT TIMES CAN HAVE ROUGH SEAS. THE BIGGER SHIPS ARE MORE STABLE. WE HAD A COUPLE OF BAD STORMS ON BOTH THE RADIANCE AND THE VOYAGER AND DIDN'T GET SICK. GOOD LUCK.............................................. ...................RADICAL
I purchased 4 pairs right on the ship that we were on. We hit one rough day and I wasn't nauseas just felt like I was out of sorts, I guess I had a touch of it, along with running around and being tired. I will bring the Bonine and our bracelets. Have fun
This is my very first cruise. It is to the Mexican Riveria on the Carnival Pride. I am so afraid of getting sea sick. I get sick just thinking about it. My husband is going with me and I hate to ruin his time. I get car sick, etc. etc. It is terrible. There is smoking on the cruise and we are not smokers. I know they allow people to smoke in their cabins and we have one with a balcony. Has anyone had a problem with smoke smells? any help I can get, I would appreciate. I have suffered from inner ear infections. Not of lately. Can you suggest any type of excercise I can do a head of time or tell me how to prepare a head of time. Thanks for anyu help you can give me. Dottie
P.S. Cruise instructor said to make sure I fill my stomach before sailing. They have a buffet and she said to really eat a lot. Do you reccomend this.
I get very motion sick too. I was afraid to cruise, but two cruises later I can say that I never got sick once. I believe that bonine (over the counter chewable tabs) saved me! Chew one in the morning before you get on the ship, and one every morning, every day, and you will not believe how wonderful you will feel. My sister who cruises all the time recommended bonine to me, and I am so glad she did. The Smoke on the ship would normally get to me too, but it was not bad since I was never nausiated. Good Luck!
I am a pharmacist and all the above are great ideas! Dramamine ( the original version ) causes more drowsiness etc than Dramamine II which is the same as Bonine or the prescription drug Meclizine aka Antivert....our first cruise is in March with the kids and I hope they don't get sick!!
I know someone caught this but I just want to reinforce the knowlekge that the patch IS A DRUG. The patch is merely a slow release system to deliver the drug.
I vote for the childrens chewables, they are safe and a dose in the am will keep the quesyness away all day, I also get carsick ( so do my 2/3 of my kids and we found the ships to be way better than car travel( in terms of the chances of not getting sick) ,Relax and try not to assume you'll feel anything at all, you might be surprized and not feel sick at all, these ships are huge!!
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