Smooth Sailing: How to Avoid Seasickness on Your Cruise Vacation

Cruising is a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and get some much needed relaxation.  When you are out on the ocean there is so much to enjoy.  In amongst all of the vacation vibes of cruising some people may struggle with seasickness.  I have personally experienced this as well as some members in my family and it doesn’t have to ruin your vacation.  With some pre planning and packing you can continue your smooth sailing.

Sail Away

This one I feel is a bit of mind over matter and is really simple to do.  If we don’t actually see that the ship is moving it may be hard for your brain to realize you are on the water.  This is why when the ship is sailing away it is important to be out on the deck where all the action is.  By doing this you are able to see the ship leaving the land.  With our kids we point out the land to them many times while we can see it and show them look there is the land we are out on the ocean.

I am not sure if there is real evidence on this working- but for our family we do it for each of our kids.  There is nothing negative to this strategy and you get a beautiful view of sailing away.

First Night

I cannot handle spinny rides.  Every so often I do get a bit of nausea due to motion.  I don’t know if it is real or in my head but it is there from time to time.  On my first cruise part of me felt that I was going to feel sick so I wanted to be sure that I didn’t.  At the time of writing this blog post I have been on 6 cruises.  I call my self a mid level expert.  My family has cruised in all seasons, including hurricane season.

I find the first night to be the worst for me personally.  The first night dinner I always feel a bit sick.  Now for most ships the dining room is at the back of the ship so you feel more motion.  I have gotten into the habit of taking a ginger gravol around 4pm on the first night of the cruise.

I don’t usually do a whole lot on night one because I worry that I may feel a bit sick.

Seasickness Prevention

We have a family with 4 kids.  So as you can imagine we travel with basically a pharmacy because you never know what will happen.  Since we have a child that has gotten car sick since she was an infant we are always prepared.  We carry all sorts of varieties of anti-nausea meds.  My daughter also uses sea sickness bracelets for at least the first 24 hours.  These have a little plastic ball that pushes into the wrist and has shown to prevent nausea due to motion.

There are also patches.  I have used these as well.  They go behind your ears or above your naval and are stickers.  The ingredients in them are supposed to prevent feeling sick as well.

What you Eat

Nothing on a cruise has made me feel sick necessarily.  It is important to keep in mind what you are consuming though.  Cruise ships have delicious food and lots of it!  If you over do it and then maybe hit some rough waters you may regret it and fast.

I believe when you are on vacation that you should indulge and eat the delicious food.  But don’t eat so much that you feel sick.  Cruise ships always have green apples out at the buffet.  These are supposed to help with sea sickness.  Make sure to bring a few back to your room to have if you start feeling unwell.

It is also a good idea to bring chewing gum or mints, these can help if you start feeling unwell.  Also remember to stay hydrated!

Stateroom Location

If you have cruised before you will know that you can choose to preselect your room or you can be assigned your room close to the sail date.  We have done it both ways.  The benefit to selecting you room is obvious-you get to choose where your room is.

A lot of people say that mid ship is where you need to be to not feel the motion of the ship.  And while this is true.  It is important to note that no matter where you are on the ship-you are still on a ship.  So you will feel something.

Also if you hit rough waters (and you do sometimes) it is not going to matter where your room is, you are going to feel it.  Most nights with typical weather you will feel the ship a bit as you are laying in the bed.  On a good night I actually find it a little relaxing, a bit of a sway or rocking to sleep (ha).

We haven’t stayed towards the front of the ship but we have stayed more to the back and you can definitely feel more at the back than mid ship.  But in my opinion any night on a ship feeling the ocean is better than a night at home!

I hope these tips have helped you be prepared if you experience sea sickness on your cruise.  For more family travel tips check out Blog – Together We Can Travel.