Getting ready to go on my first cruise (Alaska) sea sickness??

Question

Will the movement of the ship give me vertigo? What kind of clothes should I take? We are going in June 2009..but i need to plan ahead..should i get passports now?? Has anyone ever been on an Alaskan cruise?

Answer 1

first off the ships these days are so big that you dont even fell anything. There are cruises with malls in them and nothing tips over and you barely ever feel a thing

Trust Me you will be fine

and no i have never been on an alaskan cruise i dont really like the cold

and passports take about 6 weeks to get back to you so i would get a passport by November just to be safe

Hope i helped

Enjoy your cruise

Answer 2

Talk to your dr to see if you can take Dramamine ( otc)

take sweatshirts pants and a pair of short or talk to a travel agent. Get yoru passport..now  

No, but I have been ona cruise and that is why you need ot chek inot the medical ASAP

Answer 3

Cruising to Alaska the Inside Passage your are traveling in the middle of 2 bodies of land so the water is very calm. I have been on 23 cruises to Alaska & you do not even feel the ships movement while docking. Most people use the patch behind the ear which is offered on the ship.

Clothes - normal summer attire. If you plan to dress up for dinner then I would suggest you either check the dress code for the cruise line or take a dress you would wear to a wedding or any other formal gathering.

Passports - may as well get them now, that way you are 1 step closer to your first cruise.

Do not worry about the movement of the ship. Alaska is a Beauitful cruise with Amazing SCENERY, WILDLIFE & meeting people from all over the world. It will be a cruise you will talk about for years to come.

ENJOY.

Answer 4

Cruise are fun i have been to 4 already, some people get sea-sickness ia'm one of those, the ships are big, and have a lots of room, places on the boat it self has every thing in it, stores in the mall,  restaurant dance ball game room. and yes the ride  is smooth, but i still get sick on a boat, and some people do .to go, to your doctor before you go on your tri,p, because

ifyou suffer from  vertigo, or have problems with your stomach, you will get sick a little, some people, vomit, some just  get dizzy, the  boat, don't move around, and they are big and ride pretty good on the water,  but  it depend  on the person, make sure you sit in the middle, ask the  criuse personal if you can  bring some of your personal things as in  green tea with lemon,.,  sour lemon,  peppermint,  gingerale, , doctors recommended these things, and  for vertigo is these lollipops, they are call "Queasy-pops. they are naturally flavored lollipopo, they cost 9.23, you can get them in any pharmacy, they will help if you get sick, they are drugs free, and are recommended it for dry mouth, and it is also, an energy boots,  i have been to germany, Ireland, and canada, and we all went  on a cruis eand had a good time, although, i get sick  i still love to go an cruise,s take at least 3 sets of clothing, long sleves sweters, pair  of long and short pants,  and a jacket, it get cold at night, and in the mornings,  try to get your pass port now, because in   june most people that work, for  immigration, go on leave  or take they vacation, take all of your medication with you,  and don't forget to sit in the center of the ship. If you need any more information, email me, or send me a note. take care ttul. peace.

Answer 5

I have been to Alaska twice, once on business in June and then on a cruise inside passage and land tour in May. The weather in Alaska on land can be very pleasant; maybe in the 70's during the day, in June. It will be cooler at night.  It will likely be rainy in a couple of your port stops like Juneau and Ketchkan. Not a downpour but scattered showers.  

It will be pleasant on ship while you are in inside area but breezy and chilly on open decks. When you get near the icebergs and glaciers it will be cold. And I mean like hat, coat and gloves cold. But the way to dress is layer your clothes so you will be warm enough when its cold but not too hot when you are in warmer areas. Instead of a ski jacket, take a lighter one that you can wear comfortably over a sweater or hoodie. Take some long sleeved shirts and slacks. Take a cap or hat and even gloves. Think underclothes, shirt, sweater, jacket for your dress each day.

Most ships that do the Alaska cruises have areas where you can see things without being outside. They also generally have a solarium, a glass covered pool and hot tub area. And of course the ship will have a gym. What you need to pack is not that much different from any other cruise or trip.  So you can take things to enjoy these activities on ship.

The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00PM. So take:

- swim wear,

-sun glasses and sun screen, lotions,

-a warmup suit or sweats to relax on ship in,

- a hoodie and a jacket that you can wear over it,

- a hat and gloves for when you get near the glaciers and ice fields,

- a rain poncho because it will likely rain in Ketchakan and/or Juneau,

-a book if you are a reader,

-your music player,

-sneakers and clothes to workout in if you like to use the gym, -good walking shoes,

-your camera, and binoculars,

-other personal toiletries.

Your cabin will have towels and soap provided, including pool towels. It will also have a generic hair shampoo so you do not need to bring that unless you like a specific brand. They do not provide tooth paste, mouth wash or lotions. They DO provide a hair dryer.

After 6:00 PM they request that you wear "sports or resort casual" attire. That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, (like a bank employee), shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc. You can still wear shorts and swim wear in the pools and spas but not in public areas like dining rooms and restaurants, show rooms, bars, casino, etc. Don't over pack , take clothes that you can mix and match tops and bottoms and plan to wear each piece twice.

Your cruise will have a formal night when you can wear your best stuff and get pictures taken, and maybe meet the ship’s Captain. The formal nights are REQUESTED not required attire. You will not be denied entry to the main dining room if you decide not to dress up, as long as you are at least sports casual. But most people do dress up; a suit or tux for men and a gown or party dress for women. Women should take a shawl or other wrap for the formal dress.

Some other packing tips:

- Its best to pack using soft-sided luggage because with space limited in your cabin it fits under the beds better if its not hard sided luggage.

-Take a small carry-on bag for the last night of the cruise. On the last evening you will be required to put your luggage outside your cabin by about 2:00 AM so that they can start taking it down to the lower deck for offloading the next morning. So you will need a small bag for your toiletries and your clothes that you sleep in.

- If you want to use the pool, hot tub, or gym as soon as you get on the ship, take clothes for these in your carry on bag because your checked luggage will likely not get to your room until much later in the afternoon, maybe by @ 6:00 PM.

- If you are taking your cell phone, MP3 player or other item that needs to be plugged in take an extension cord as the plugs in the cabin are generally not in the best places and there are usually only one or two.

- Take a small bottle of hand sanitizer and/or hand wipes. There are generally sanitizer dispensers at the entrances of restaurants, the buffets and dining room, but some times the are not there or not working. The sanitizer helps prevent the spread of the Norwalk Virus that sometimes occur on cruise ships.

- Take a can of air freshener for your cabin bathroom; it has no exhaust fan.

You are not likely to get sea sick because the motion of ships is generally no more than a car traveling down a highway. There are several reasons I don't think you will need to worry.

(1) All of the new ships now being built have automatic stabilizer that all but eliminate any rocking from side to side. And these newer passenger ships are so long, most 900 feet to almost 1,000 feet, that the front to back motion is also all but eliminated.

(2) Cruise ships generally move from port to port overnight, generally about 6:00 PM. You go to dinner between 6 and 8 PM, maybe go to the evening show and maybe the disco and then go to bed. And when you awake the next morning you are in a new port. So you are busy or sleep a good portion of the time when the ship is moving. Most of the time you will not even know that the ship is moving.

(3) Cruise ships make every effort to stay away from bad weather that would affect the ship, even changing the order of port stops if weather is bad at one.  There are some parts of the cruise to Alaska when the ship is in open waters and the seas may get rough.  But most of the cruise through the inside passage is like cruising on a river, little or no motion at all.

There are some options to combat sea sickness if you are really sensitive to motion. One is a prescription from your Dr for either pills or the patch that is applies behind the ear. Another option is a wrist bracelet that you can purchase at boating stores.

http://www.biobands.com/motionsickness/w...

And, if you do not get any of these before your cruise, the ship will have a doctor who can dispense sea sickness pills.

I have also been told that Ginger is useful in controlling nausea and vomiting. So, if you can, take along some ginger crackers, cookies, or candy, or other forms of ginger such as tea, gum, or capsules.

Yes you should get a passport because All Alaska cruises either start in Canada (Vancouver) or make a stop there.  So technically you will be leaving the country and a passport will be required.

For your cruise to Alaska you need to do some research on what exactly you want to do on your cruise because there are a lot of options on an Alaska cruise in terms of the departure port, ports stop, the order of the itinerary. Some Alaska cruises for example begin in Anchorage or Seward and cruise South while others start in Seattle or Vancouver, Canada and cruise North. Some cruises are longer than 7 days if you want to do a land tour, which you can do either before or after the ocean voyage.

Several cruise lines do Alaska cruises and cruise tours and in my book the best would be Celebrity, Princess, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean, and maybe Norwegian. So you do have a lot of choices for good cruise lines. But that means that you have more options to sort through.

Answer 6

I went on an Alaskan cruise on the Sun Princess last June.  I will answer your questions from personal experience.

Cruising through the channel the second day of the cruise gave many people horrible seasickness.  The people with Dramamine and the patches did much better.  I found that I felt sicker on this cruise than the ones that I have taken in the Caribbean.  You may not have this problem, but pack seasickness medications just in case!  The rest of the days were not nearly as bad.  You may want to talk to your doctor before taking any seasickness medications.

Take layers of clothing.  When I went in June, one day, it was nearly seventy!  However, another day, it was much colder.  The coldest day was when we sailed through Tracy Arm Fjord.  Cruising the Inside Passage is also cold from what I have heard.  Be sure to bring sweatshirts and sweatpants, but also some lighterweight things.  It rained a few days when I was there, so a raincoat or rain poncho may also be helpful.

I would get my passport as soon as possible.  You can never have it too early.  My passport got delayed when I got it and I could have missed my cruise because of it!

I enjoyed my Alaskan cruise.  It was my favorite cruise to date of the five that I have been on.  Hope you have a wonderful time!

Answer 7

Normally you will not ever feel the ship move.  There are parts of the ship where you may feel it more than others, but most of the time you shouldn't feel it.  However, if you run into bad weather (I've had this one time) you will definately want to have a seasickness remedy (pills or patch).  Good to have with you just in case.  Get your passport as soon as you can.  Don't wait until the last minute - it will just stress you out.  As for clothing, back mostly casual with a few fancy pieces for the formal nigts, and less casual for other dinners.  Be sure to pack clothing appropriate for the excursions you plan or swimwear for the pool.