The motion of the ocean.
People often ask, “What about motion sickness? Won’t I be nauseous on a cruise ship?” The short answer is: Not necessarily.
Yes, you’re on a ship, and by their very nature, they move. The difference between a modern cruise ship and, say, a ferry or a sailboat is vast.
Cruise ships are basically floating hotels with entertainment districts attached. Not only does the sheer size of the thing minimize the feeling of movement, but most are equipped with stabilizers as well, which greatly reduces the amount of movement that passengers feel. Will it all go away? No. You’ll still feel a little of it and honestly, that’s part of the fun!
If you want a cabin that will feel the least amount of movement, you’ll want to be lower on the ship and in the midship section. Simple physics states that the closer you are to the center of gravity or the fulcrum point, the less movement there will be. Aft cabins also feel less ship movement caused by water, but may feel more engine shimmy. Forward cabins will feel no engine shimmy, but more water-caused ship movement. The higher up in the decks you go, the more movement you’ll likely feel as well.
One of the things I recommend to clients who say they are prone to motion sickness is to absolutely NOT get an inside cabin. Even a porthole cabin is better, because you’ll be able to look out and your eye will be able to reconcile the motion that you’re feeling with a visual confirmation of that motion outside the ship. An inside cabin has, as you might have suspected, no window to anywhere and therefore no way to let your brain get its bearings.
“So what if I get seasick?”
There are a number of remedies for motion sickness, and each one is going to have a different effectiveness level and side effects. With any of them, your mileage may vary.
The classic is, of course, Dramamine. While there are those who can take Dramamine with no problems whatsoever, there are others who find themselves with dry mouth and drowsiness from it. Who wants to be sleepy for their whole vacation?
Others choose the scopalomine transdermal patch, and have great success with that. However, double-vision and more dry mouth are reported with that one. Not for nothin’, but if you’re trying to combat nausea based on your equilibrium being off-kilter, is double-vision really going to help that?
Acupuncture has become wildly popular, and is even being offered on some cruise ships now! Acupuncture can help cure a variety of ills, and has been incredibly effective against seasickness. Although there are those that quail at the thought of needles being anywhere near them, this has virtually no side-effects and is definitely something to consider.
Bonine tablets have been very very popular, with very few (if any) side-effects reported. They’re chewable or quick to dissolve, and should you go to the ship’s infirmary, you’ll likely see a basket filled with pill packets for those who are seasick. Those packets tend to contain bonine. I’d say that if it’s the one thing that ship infirmaries recommend first off (and provide for free), it should definitely be given a close look. I’ve seen for myself the effectiveness of it, and have been impressed.
Another old standby are SeaBands. They’re little terrycloth wristbands with a button that provides pressure on a particular spot on the inner wrist. Acupressure can be as effective as acupuncture in cases like this, and the SeaBands have no side-effects, nor are they something that you need to swalllow. Once again, these are incredibly effective, and one pair can last you years.
All in all, it may take you a day or two to get your sealegs, and if it’s your first cruise, you might be worried at first that you’re going to feel unstable the whole time you’re on the ship. After a while, though, your body will acclimate and you’ll be able to easily ignore most of the ship movement because your body will just move with it instead of fighting against it. There are those of us who greatly enjoy the feeling of movement, because it’s a continuous subtle reminder of where we are. I’m one of those people, but then again, I’m one of those weirdos who likes airplane turbulence as well, so take that as you will. For me, though, there’s nothing more soothing than lying in my cabin with the balcony door open, listening to and smelling the ocean and feeling it rock me to sleep.
Why do I still feel the world moving even when I’m not on the ship anymore?
The French call it “mal de debarquement” and it basically means that your equilibrium is so used to that constant movement, however subtle, that it keeps thinking you’re still doing it. Therefore, you can be on land during a port call or after disembarkation, and every once in a while you’ll feel a “wave”, as though you’re still standing on the ship. Again, for me, I love it because it sort of feels like I’m still on vacation. It’ll usually go away within 12-24 hours, and having a nap or a good night’s sleep will help your body readjust to being back on terra firma and give you your landlegs back. I think that feeling that, though, is also a signal from our bodies showing just how well we’re able to adapt to different environments. Generally, but the end of a sailing, you won’t hardly notice the movement of the ship at all unless you’re really working at it. That means that your body is doing its job and compensating for that movement. Therefore, it’s not until you take that particular stimulation away that you realize how much compensation work your body’s been doing. Personally, I find stuff like that pretty neat, but if you’re unsettled by it, keep your bonine or Dramamine handy and relax. It’ll be gone in a day or two.