I'm a first time cruiser, traveling with my friend (experienced cruiser) and our 19 year old daughters. Any tips on avoiding seasickness? (I get nauseated just standing on a dock.) How about the patch? IS that better than the 24 hour formula of Dramamine II (or Bonine)? I am looking forward to a great trip!

I've been on a few cruises, but last year was the first time I experienced just mild seasickness.  I'm going to try Ginger Caplets.  Someone said they work great for seasickness and there's no drowsiness.  I've taken Dramamine for nausea before and it really knocked me out. Ask your doctor about the patch, it may not have the drowsy effect, I'm not sure. I just hate being tired on vacation, unless of course, it's from having so much fun!!

My wife and I, along with 3 of our kids are going on this cruise. We went on our first Carnival Cruise in April and had such a blast that we decided to take another vacation this year.

My wife got sick the first few days last time but purchased some Dramamine and everything went well after that.

Hi MyToyotaGuy, How old are your kids?

I went ahead and got a prescription for the Transderm Scop patch; I got an extra to try it out in advance to make sure it's not too much medication for me. The packaging warns that while you can drink alcohol when using the patch, the effects are intensified (of the alcohol) so one glass of wine will go a long way! (Not much of a drinker anyway.) I also plan to bring plenty of meclizine for my daughter, who is opposed to using the patch because of the delivery method (transdermal) of the admittedly harsh medication.

What region are you from? We're fromthe San Diego area.

Hi PowayGal,

We have 5 kids and this cruise we are taking our daughter who is 18 and two of our sons, ages, 10 and 14. We are from Arizona.. My wife and I went on a Carnival cruise earlier this year and had such a blast that we thought we would take another one with the kids.

How old are your kids ? Will they be coming with you on this cruise ?

My 16 yr old son and husband are staying home (my son has school), so I'll have my 19yr old daughter (goes back to UCLA--will be a sophomore-- later in Sept.) and my friend has her 19yr old daughter (going to be soph at Cal Poly Pomona) along as well. Our girls will probably go to the 17 an under teen clubs, because at 19 they are really too young for the 18 and up dance clubs. My friend and her daughter were on this cruise last year and found that a lot of older guys were in the 18+ clubs, and weren't comfortable there. Just not a situation they wanted to deal with right then!

Is your 18 yr old daughter a senior in HS, or a freshman in college?

Hi breeze3005,

I think you already sailed. Did the ginger caplets work for you? I hope your trip was great!

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PowayGal,

 I haven't sailed yet, but we are boarding today!!  Yippee, so excited, so when I get back I'll let you know about the ginger caplets!

 Nina

Nina--How was the cruise?? Everything you hoped for? How about the ginger caplets--I hope they worked for you! I hope you had a fantastic time!

Finally back from vacation. And the computer.  Amazingly enough, I didn't suffer from the seasickness, so I didn't try the ginger.  Last year I had lost my hearing and I'm thinking that I may have suffered from seasickness due to that.  In the meantime, I received a cochlear ear implant, so my balance seemed better.  I'm sorry that I can not comment on whether the ginger tablets work or not.  I do still have sea legs though.  Ginger is not working for that.  I guess because it's after the fact.

 The cruise was awesome.  The excursions we did were great.  We did the Sail and Snorkel Fiesta.  It was described by the cruise director as being the "Party excursion" so I was a little worried because we have boys 12 & 13.  It wasn't like that at all.  It was definitely a fun time but the "Partiers" were not out of control and a lot of fun. The Carnival Videographer was on this excursion and my family made the video on several occasions.

 We also did the Horseback Riding in Ensenada.  That too was a lot of fun, and a nice alternative for Ensenada.  The lady, Rita, that runs the ranch was awesome.  They provide refreshments and Tacos after the ride.  Took pictures of everyone and had those for purchase.

Nina

Thanks for the great input, Nina! Glad you did not get seasick, and how funny that the 'sea legs' last more than a few hours!

I agree about the sealegs.  We just got back yesterday morning and last nigt I still had sea legs.  What a weird feeling.  I did not get sea sick but we did have some motion during our cruise.  Saw lots of people with the patches behind their ears.  Also noticed that there are motion sickness tablets available at the infirmary and pursers office if needed.

My daughter got sick on our excursion in Ensenda (went to the blowhole) and someone gave her a bracelet that puts pressure on her wrist to eliminate motion sickness.  Not sure if it helped since I think she got sick due to the antibiotics that was given to her for an ear infection and she hadn't eaten in the morning. (That's a whole other post).  Either way...she didn't get sick anymore after putting on the bracelet.

canette:

Saw lots of people with the patches behind their ears.

I am going to be one of those people with a patch behind my ear! I do hope it stays on with hair washing, swimming, etc. I haven't heard any complaints about them falling off prematurely. Maybe I should bring an extra one, just in case??

DId you see the news (John broke the news on the blogs) that Elation is getting dropped to shorter cruises in about 6 months? I've never been on a cruise before, but 5 days seems pretty short. I've heard that 3 day cruises can seem rushed, not relaxing. Maybe that's just my friends, though.