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Useful Info
Updated on Mar 15, 2021
Useful Info
Cruising to the Bahamas or Jamaica can be a dream come true. The exciting nightlife, excellent food, beautiful beaches and bustling shopping areas all add up to a perfect vacation. If you’re prone to travel sickness, you may have never dared to make your way to St. Maarten or St. Thomas via cruise ship. Luckily, there are numerous remedies for sea sickness that can make cruising the delight it’s meant to be.
Before you even set foot on a Caribbean cruise, you will have to choose your stateroom. You may be tempted to pick a room on an upper deck for its proximity to activities or a forward or aft facing room with a balcony for sweeping views, but if you’re prone to motion-activated nausea, your best bet is mid-ship. The steadiest rooms are the ones on a low deck even below the water level. If all you plan to do is sleep in your room, then this might be the cheapest and safest option to avoid motion sickness.
There are plenty of natural remedies for motion sickness that range from old wives’ tales to tricks your mother taught you. You never know which ones are going to work for you, so pack them all and keep trying different ones until your nausea subsides and you can enjoy all the shipboard activities.
Anti-nausea or pressure point bands rely on the traditional Chinese medical practice of acupressure which asserts that energy flows through different areas of your body and can be manipulated by pressure. The knitted bands generally have a small plastic dome attached to them which pushes on the P6, or Nei-Kuan, acupressure point inside your wrist. Clinical studies have proven that wearing these bands can help relieve nausea in some people.
Aromatherapy has also gained supporters from those suffering from sea sickness. Some people swear by a combination of ginger and lavender in a personal diffuser or roll-on applicator, but peppermint is the most widely used.
Scopolamine patches go right behind the ear and work for up to three days. They require a doctor’s prescription. Likewise, promethazine, an antihistamine that also helps with motion sickness, can be taken before you embark on your cruise. Before to check with your doctor about possible side effects such as drowsiness and dry mouth.
While you’re waiting for your various motion sickness remedies to kick in, go on deck and breathe in the salty air. Keep your eyes on the horizon and avoid looking at your phone or other nearby objects. Avoid cigarette smoke, spicy food and alcohol until you get your sea legs. If you plan on catching up with your reading during your cruise, consider audio books instead that you can enjoy while walking around the outdoor track in the sunshine. Before you know it, you’ll be in Cozumel or San Juan living your dream vacation.