I get terrible motion sickness, and OTC medications (Bonine, Dramamine, etc.) do not work for me. Last summer, I took a cruise to Bermuda -- straight into a hurricane (Hannah, IIRC). Before pulling out of port, the captain warned of rough seas, so I headed right to the infirmary.

The doctors prescribed me Dilatin (since then, I have learned that Tegretol is also used for motion sickness). It actually worked. I still got slightly nauseous, but nothing like what I normally experience, and the ship was being tossed around like a toy boat.

Hope that helps...being sick is never fun, especially on vacation.

Is there a typo and you mean Dilantin, the anti-seizure medication?

http://www.scuba-doc.com/moresea.htm

Thanks for sharing...

Bonine and ginger is what I constantly recommend^ Ginger helps with upset stomachs as well...

Someone mention that you should take the medication before the cruise.
I think he has a point there but be careful about the medication. Or better yet ask a professional about it.

I know I'm replying to an old thread, but I was just wondering about this. I would have thought that an interior room would've been better because the lower you are on a ship the less movement you feel, and the higher you are the greater the movement?

Yes, that works for me too, although I've never been really seasick too much. (Never been on a cruise bigger than an overnight-ferry trip anyway). So, whenever on a ship, I always eat - not too much, not an empty stomach, and a little bit every so often.

The real trick with seasick remedies is you have to take them BEFORE you need them. They have to be in your system at least 24 hours ahead of when you might be affected, which you will not know. Some trips can be perfectly calm, others unexpectedly rough.

Alaska Inside passage does have some notorious rough patches. The Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and South Africa in Feb/March was deadly - relentless up, down, side to side "corkscrewing" for days on end. Yet we have found the Malaaca Straights from Singapore to Malaysia to be 100% like glass each time so far even at different times of the year Jan-April. Southern Caribbean in January again was almost 100% like glass. Mexican Riviera in December was very smooth.

So you have to decide if you want preventive use of these product because they will not help much after the fact.

The best combo I have found is starting Bonine and crystallized ginger chunks a day before and then a Bonine at night and munch on ginger chunks throughout the day. It is the most benign combo for me, though there is some daytime drowsiness the first few days. That is why I take it at night when drowsiness can be welcome.

Be sure Bonine, even though it is OTC is okay for you to take. Try some out before you go to see what side effects you might feel. I wear contact lenses and worried about dry eyes but this was not a problem. Even ginger can cause some stomach upsets. I don't like the capsules myself but find I like the crystallized ginger chunks even in their own right.

If my baggage and weight allowance allows it, I also pack along some bottles of the very wonderful Australian Bundaberg brand ginger beer. Ginger ale is worthless, but occasionally in some parts of the world ship will carry Schwepes Ginger Beer which is also quite good.

Another definite vote for ginger in any form, crystallized ginger is the easies one to consume.

Ginger beer is definitely good, ginger ale less so. The only issue is that many commercialized ginger ale is not made with 100% ginger. Schweppes is one of the more authentic brand, then there is Vernors form US.

If you are cruising the Caribbeans authentic ginger beer is easy to find. It should have a gingerly bite to your mouth and lips after you take a sip. If not try another brand.

[QUOTE=
If you are cruising the Caribbeans authentic ginger beer is easy to find. It should have a gingerly bite to your mouth and lips after you take a sip. If not try another brand.[/QUOTE]

I believe the 'bite" to ginger beer comes from the addition of cayenne and not a part of brewed ginger. Try the Australian brand Bundaberg to see what the finest of ginger beer can taste like (Cost Plus World Markets carries it).

I tried ginger beer where ever I could find it on our Caribbean stops and found it all singularly undrinkable, muddy tasting and/or overly hot - all very off flavors.

Some of the best hand-made ginger ale was at a hotel bar in Kerela, India. Macerated ginger, simple syrup and sparkling water - this was a soda, not brewed ginger beer, but the freshness of the flavors made it sparkle.

The bite of ginger is different from the bite of the peppers. I should re-comment on the bite for I can tell the difference between them. I am an Oriental foodie so my palate is different.

A good ginger ale will help alleviate the nauseous feeling from motion sickness whether you are on planes or ships.

There are dried ginger with a real bite that really works that I get at Chinese medicine shops. It is translated as "old raw ginger". No need to bite or chew, just a piece in your mouth like a cough candy.

I've had really good experiences with Scopace, the pill form of the scopolamine patch. I'm pretty susceptible to motion sickness, can't do anything in a car besides look out a window. A couple of years ago we took a boat tour out of Seward, AK. It was supposed to go to Kenai Fjords but due to rough seas, we got a tour of resurrection bay instead. The tour started out with a quite good prime rib & salmon buffet. About halfway through, we had to cross the bay, where it meets the gulf of Alaska. At least half of the passengers lost their lunch. I was fine because I took scopace before we departed. I can now also do 'heads-down' tasks in a moving car, like read a book or play with a smart phone.

I first read about scopace in a flyertalk trip report. I'm pretty happy to have found a 'cure' that works for me.

I hear you about the bite of "old raw ginger", but if you google search ginger beer and cayenne, you find a raft of recipies that all include cayenne with is the more common addition to cheaper ginger beers or ales. Most likely this cayenne short cut was an attempt to replicate the real thing using less authentic ingredients.

I hope you can find some Bundaburg Ginger Beer because this search for a really good packaged ginger beer has way more losers than winners and happy to have found it as well as the hard to find Schwepes Ginger Beer. Vernor's doesn't do it for me, but I understand that is about the closest more natural concoction.

It was fairly easy to find bottled good stuff across the Indian Ocean under various brand names, but here in the US there is a lot of really bad stuff out there, mislabeled as far as I am concerned. BevMo! carries the worst but at least over-prices their stock Bundaberg, Trader Joe worthless, and the winner for price and availability is Cost Plus World Market.

+1 about the best ginger beer found around Indian Ocean

I'm relatively new to cruising. I sailed on the Celebrity Solstice in April '10 and the Celebrity Summit in July '10. During rare rough periods, the swaying, occaisonal quick vibrating bumps and looking out the window seeing the waves never bothered me night or day. Both cruises were overwhelmingly calm. Its just like a giant, moving hotel building that you get used to.

It was strange but I had no symptoms - until the cruises were over and I was off the ship! Then I would feel nauseous. I would see walls inside and buildings outside swaying due to my brain still thinking it was on a ship. It took about 24 hours after the cruise ended for the symptoms to go away.

So for some, the seasickness happens after the good times are over!

All we did was take a 24 hour NON drowsy Dramamine each day! That was perfect!