fishee

Hello,

Planning on taking my 80 year old parents on an Alaska cruise and we are considering a small company with small boats. Reviews of the company are excellent but I'm a little concerned about the smaller size and if they might become sea-sick.

The boats are 100-144 feet long and take only 45-60 passengers. Here are some pics:

http://www.alaskandreamcruises.com/a...hip/admiralty/

Any feedback greatly appreciated!

HappyTrvlr

We spent a week on Lindblad's Sea Lion in SE Alaska and didn't have any problems with sea sickness.
It held around 70 passengers. We loved it and can't imagine cruising there in a large ship. We were constantly among the whales and visited small villages. Have a wonderful trip.

nytraveler

if someone is subject to seasickness they will probably get it on any boat - and likely planes too. it's true that you can feel more on a smaller boat - but barring very rough weather pf they haven't had it before unlikely they will here

if they don't know suggest a day cruise to find out

HappyTrvlr

It's not rough on Inside Passage, protected waterway.

tuckerdc

For just-in-case, the SeaBands (elastic wristlets) can be effective should the need arise. Helped DH who had a pretty bad case. Some folks are prone to motion sickness; some, despite a bit of 'lumpy weather,' are not. Hopefully your folks will discover themselves in the second category.

Improviser

No easy answer to this one. There are several factors that determine whether an individual will get seasick or not and NO ONE is immune to it.

Yes, size does matter but size alone does not.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...article571424/

If they are prone to being seasick they may be on a ship of any size.

ileen

I get sea sick even on turbulent planes as well sometimes in the car on very windy roads.

I have used the SeaBands wrist band effectively.
In addition, I really love eating Crystallized Ginger pieces.

They are wonderful, very tasty and keep nausea away. I really like the Trader Joe brand. You can find some other brands in grocery stores.

A bag of this ginger candy is always in my purse. I dont leave home without it. So buy some and try it.
Have a wonderful trip.

nytraveler

Well - I get seasick standing on a solid dock and watching the boats go up and down - also on any plane and in the back seat of cars. - esp limos which tend to sway.

And wrist bands or ginger do nothing to help _ i must have dramimine. In my case - and often - caused by the specific shape of the inner ear. (But some people do get only in rough seas.)

Improviser

I am fortunate to not suffer from seasickness. I've spent a lot of time sailing in sailboats and only once was I sick. It was in extremely rough water but I think it had more to do with my excessive consumption of alcohol the night before. ;-)

I once was on a overnight ferry in not rough seas but with long swells which rocked the boat up and down, up and down, up and down.

When I went up from my cabin to the dining room for dinner, the room was almost empty. I asked the waiter where everyone was and he said, 'in their cabins being sick'. Later that evening I heard from another crew member that the excessive toilet flushing was clogging the disposal system and people couldn't flush their toilets. In the morning the Captain of the ship told me he had had several irate passengers demanding the ship be stopped and anchored (ummm, bit deep for that).

Funnily enough, it seems seasickness can be a 'learned' thing. My Brother and I both sailed from a very early age. In his early 20s he bought a small (23ft.) sailboat with a cuddy cabin that allowed him to overnight in it on the Great Lakes. On one trip he misjudged the weather, got into some rough seas and was seasick for the first time.

Every time he went out on his boat for even a couple of hours after that he got nauseous at least. He finally gave up sailig altogether. Clearly, it was a psychological reaction, not a physical reaction since he had never suffered before from seasickness.

tuckerdc

One more note - would assume that even a small ship of the size OP mentions would have a doc on-board. There is a shot, physician or nurse administered, that is verrrry effective in putting an end to the sea-sickness. The 'shot-ee' may sleep for quite a few hours after, but after that - it's clear sailing.

TC

I have used the SCOPOLAMINE patch for seasickness. They work like a charm. One patch lasts 3-5 days. Stick it behind your ear or on your thigh. Just remember to put it on about 24 hours prior to need. They do make you a little sleepy the first few hours (which is why I put it on the night before we depart just as I go to bed), but after that there is no side effect.

nytraveler

Scopalomine works wonderfully for some people - about 80% - but does nothing for about 20%. I know, I'm one of the 20% and was deathly ill on a (granted very rough) crossing from Oslo to Copenhage.

But this was a huge ferry (10 stories high carrying a huge number of cars and trucks) - but the seas were so rough you had to hold onto the wall to be able to walk without falling down. They shut the elevators - and the dining room was empty.

TC

NYT...did you put it on in advance? They really do take from 12-24 hours to get into your system and work. I know....because I used to forget to put one on when we sailed the Caribbean. I would be deathly ill the first day and fine after that. I was able to ride out some tough storms without problem. My one and only commercial cruise hit the edge of a hurricane. We bounced around so much that no one was allowed above deck for two days. Never again!

nytraveler

Yes. This is not my point of view. The clinical data shows that it does not work for a significant percentage of patients. This is true of almost every medication.

If it works for you that's great - but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone.

Improviser

There is only ONE known sure cure for seasickness. Stay off boats!

My favourite description of it (I can enjoy such things as I do not suffer from it as I have said) goes like this. 'At first you are afraid you will die, then after a few hours you are afraid you will not.'

OK, funny to me or after the fact perhaps but not at all funny to someone while they are suffering. ;-)

TC

"There is only ONE known sure cure for seasickness. Stay off boats!"

Actually, Improvisor, even that isn't true. Many people, including myself, suffer from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). It is the exact same phenomena as seasickness only without the boat or water.

nytraveler

Yes, people with sever motion sickness often also suffer rm vertigo or similar - as I said, in large part a function of the shape of the inner ear.

But for the OP - you really need to confirm if your parents are subject to motions sickness at all. Will make a huge difference.

Mara

Just about two years ago I was on that very boat - or its twin - for a week's Inner Passage cruise. My first cruise actually and I never even felt like I was on a ship.....it was quite wonderful!
Hope that helps.

Peter_S_Aus

Seasickness (more properly called motion sickness) is an interesting one. I’ve read that it comes about by the contradiction between what the sufferer’s sense of balance is telling them and physical reality. So your inner ear is telling you what should be up, down and horizontal, and your eyes tell you something else – the horizon IS horizontal by definition. Having to unscramble that contradiction in your head is not easy.

However, in a car, the driver does not get car sick even if the passengers are turning green, so maybe the act of steering into corners automatically brings eye and inner ear into alignment. In small boats, the person at the helm does not suffer, even though in heavy weather, it’s like dancing down a tight wire combined with the running of the bulls in the dark, mentally draining. Lose it, and the mast is in the water.

Throw in a few other complications like maybe stress or unfamiliar smells, and there is a pretty good recipe for nausea. The smell of diesel fuel oil makes me sea sick, but the smell of lube oil, methylated spirits or petrol don’t make me sick, so it’s not a hydrocarbon thing. And stress sets me off too – I’ve been green at the start of every ocean race I’ve done, pretty humiliating when we’re barely outside Sydney Harbour and the waves are running about half a metre. After a while it settles down – but I do make sure that the caps on the fuel cans are screwed down tight.

None of which helps the OP and the likelihood of sea sickness. However, the brochure indicates a cruising speed of about 10 knots, which is a fairly stately pace. Plenty of deck space to be outdoors and that helps a lot. Best place to be (if it’s allowed) is in the pilot house. And the scenery looks amazing – I’m a tad jealous.

Improviser

The Inner Passage is no guarantee of smooth seas Mara. It can get rough there as well.

Often, swells are as likely to cause people to be seasick as rough water where you get more of a corkscrewing affect. Also as noted, some people just get seasick for no apparent reason. ie. psychological rather than pysiological.