Seasickness can spoil your cruise in a hurry, and the fear of getting seasick can stop you from having the holiday of a life time.
Here are 11 non-medicated cruise ship motion sickness prevention tips. Some of the tips you need to know before even booking your cruise vacation.
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The good news is that most modern cruise ships have state of the art stabilizers to help keep movement to a minimum.
Hopefully you will find the gentle motion of the ocean to be soothing or that you hardly notice the movement at all.
However, there are a few ways to help prevent cruise ship motion sickness or at least minimize any symptoms you may develop.
Keep reading for my personal experience with cruise ship motion sickness.
11 Cruise Ship Motion Sickness Prevention Tips
#1 Choose a large cruise ship
Larger ships are your best option as they often feel less movement that the smaller ships do. Newer ships are likely to have better stabilizers.
#2 Choose the right itinerary
For new cruisers concerned with cruise ship motion sickness, choose an itinerary that has fewer days at sea and more port days. Or even test out cruising by choosing a 3 or 4-day cruise first.
#3 Cabin Selection
If you are prone, or worry you could be prone to motion sickness, choosing the right stateroom location is key.
Choose a cabin that is more in the middle of the ship (mid-ship). Cabins at the front (forward cabins) tend to feel the most movement, followed by cabins at the back (aft cabins).
Also choose a low to mid numbered deck.
A mid-ship, lower deck will have the least amount of movement.
#4 Sea-Band Wristband
Sea-Bands are washable/reusable wrist bands that apply constant pressure to an acupuncture point.
Be sure to read the directions on these acupressure wristbands so that you position them properly, that’s important.
I share my experience with these below. You can find Sea-Bands here.
#5 Ginger Pills, Ginger Tea, or Ginger Candies
Ginger is commonly known to help with motion or sea sickness. Read the label carefully and take only as directed.
Ginger tea or ginger candy are also worth a try. These are things you would want to bring from home, I haven’t seen them offered onboard.
#6 Essential Oils
According to Essentialoilhaven.com, there are a few essential oils that can help with nausea such as peppermint oil and lavender oil. If you plan on applying the oil directly to your skin make sure that you buy an oil meant for that as not all are.
Many people prefer to try natural remedies before going straight to seasickness medications.
#7 Fresh Air
Often just getting a breath of fresh air can curb the nausea. Step out onto an open air deck and inhale that fabulous sea air. Take a few deep breaths.
#8 Saltine Crackers & Flat Soda
This tip came from crew member on Celebrity Cruise Lines the day I was feeling seasick. You should be able to get crackers at the buffet restaurant.
I have also heard people say to drink a carbonated beverage. I say try both. Get 2 glasses of ginger ale, let one sit and get flat. Drink the other as you munch on those pieces of square salty goodness.
#9 Have a light meal
If you are feeling symptoms of seasickness, it is a good idea to have a light meal. It is said that an empty stomach can make your symptoms worse. Avoid greasy foods and spicy foods. Try something light.
#10 Focus on the Horizon
I often hear people suggest this, so it must work for some and it’s definitely worth a try if you are feeling a little woozy. For me it had the opposite effect.
Seeing the horizon, then seeing almost all sky made me even more aware of the movement. I found I was better off people watching by the pool.
This leads me to my next point…
#11 Distraction
I know this one sounds lame and it is definitely easier said than done, however, try not to focus on the motion.
If you are full on nauseous, I realize this likely won’t help, although if you are just feeling off or worried about getting seasick before the ship has even sailed then this might help.
It was huge for me as I’ll explain more below.
Stop questioning how you feel, stop watching the waves and instead try to find one of the fun activities going on (preferably mid ship and preferably outside).
Top 15 Tips for First Time Cruisers and What to Expect on a Cruise are posts that might be of interest to you as well.
My experience with sea sickness
Thankfully after 21 cruises I have only had seasickness symptoms one day, and that was on a cruise to Bermuda from New York. This cruise was during hurricane season and we experienced rough seas.
I’m even more thankful that my kids haven’t experienced sea sickness on any of the cruises they have been on.
My biggest issue on my first cruise was worrying that I’d get seasick. I spent half of my first cruise worrying that I wouldn’t feel well. After all, I had felt nauseous on ferry sized boats.
On that first cruise I wore Sea Bands acupressure bands from the moment I stepped on that glorious Princess ship.
The problem for me was that wearing them from the start in hopes of preventing sea sickness, kept it on my mind. Whenever I’d catch sight of the bands on my wrist, I’d be asking myself “How do you feel?”, “How’s the movement?”.
Halfway through the cruise I took them off and stopped worrying that I might feel nauseous. I never did feel seasick that cruise. This experience is why I added “distraction” to my list.
I let worrying about something that never even happened on that trip get the best of me. Once I stopped constantly thinking about the ship’s movement, I had a fantastic time.
I still pack my Sea-Bands each cruise just in case. Thankfully I haven’t had to wear them again, aside from that one blah day.
Other cruise ship motion sickness prevention tips
As a last resort, if you experience motion sickness and these tips don’t help, the ships have doctors and a medical center on board. They could give you motion sickness medications to help you with your symptoms.
You could also see your doctor before leaving for their motion sickness medication suggestions.
Seasickness can be a common concern for first time cruisers, however, I hope these 11 cruise ship motion sickness prevention tips will help you prepare for your next cruise so that you can have a good time.
I hope the fear of seasickness doesn’t stop you from trying a cruise.
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