The Motion of the Ocean

Dibs on the ginger ale and the toilet, not necessarily in that order.

One day a guest approached me and though she was a much older woman, she looked exceptionally frail for her age. The reason for this was made apparent the moment she paused midway into the casino and pressed a hand to her stomach. I thought she was going to hurl right there on the Lucky 7s.

"How do you handle it?" she gasped at me. She was so pale I could have hung her in a window and seen light through her. "I've taken Sea-Calm and I still feel like I'm about to fall over."

I told her you get used to the motion of the ship after a while. Unfortunately, by 'a while' I meant in 'a month or so', and her twelve-day cruise wouldn't be enough to do anything but convince her not to cruise again. I felt bad for her because the worst part about seasickness is that there's no way to escape it. There's no solid place of calm on a ship. Everything is always moving to the point that jumping overboard seems like a viable option for relief.

But I’ve learned that seasickness isn't the only thing to contend with on a ship at sea. There are several pros and cons about traveling over the waves in a big, beautiful bucket.



Motion sickness will always be the major consideration for passengers on a cruise ship. I would have expected as much of the staff, but it's rare that I hear of any of the crew becoming seasick. I think at this point only my roommate and I, being newbies, are still affected when the ship hits rough weather. Thankfully I'm becoming more inured to it; I haven't been sick since that first night. My poor roommate -- well, her nickname is "Kermi", short for "Kermit", so I'll let you draw your own conclusions. (hint: she becomes green).

It used to be difficult remaining in our room since we're at the very front of the ship which sees the most dramatic motion, but we're adjusting to the ocean and all that life on it entails. I find it interesting that on stormy days they close the port holes in the crew mess hall because otherwise it'll look like we're sitting in front of washing machines. In one of our neighbor's rooms you can hear the crashing of the waves against the bow of the ship. It's pretty awesome. Creaks and groans are very common and make me feel like I’m on a clipper ship rounding the Horn.

Rough seas are gradually becoming something I find entertaining. It's a bit ridiculous walking down the hall and stumbling to one side and then the other, especially when it's a wide corridor in the crew area and several people are all doing the same side-to-side stagger. My favorite type of ship motion is when it's going up and down and you're trying to walk somewhere. As the ship drops into a dip, you feel like you're flying in mid-step. When the ship rises on the swell you're suddenly doing leg presses with each step. Climbing stairs absolutely requires you to hold the handrails, and standing at a table in the casino means you get a leg and ab workout as you struggle to stay in place behind the table as you're dealing.

The motion of the ship affects other areas of my life. You haven't worked out until you've used gym equipment while at sea. On a treadmill, not only are you running forward but you're running from side to side, often having to brace yourself against the side rails. Not to mention you're doing walking leg presses when the ship rises and falls. Ditto with the elliptical machine. It becomes even more challenging when you do weight training. Squats can become unexpectedly and shockingly more difficult as the ship pitches, and sometimes I have trouble not staggering sideways when I'm doing lunges while the ship is rocking from side to side. On those days I sometimes give up and use the machines.

Dancing during rocky weather means you're moving all over the dance floor, haha. Maybe I'm a better dancer then ;) And then there's taking a shower while trying not to fall *out* of the shower. Drying your feet off can be tricky if you do it like me, balanced on one leg and then the other.

This leads to the mystery bruises most of us are covered with. Bruises on our knees, our thighs, elbows, arms -- you name it. Most are gained by falling into pieces of furniture, doors or walls. I fell out of bed once and had a humongous bruise on my inner thigh. It's pretty difficult remaining bruise-free when you live in the close quarters that we do.

But for me, all of that is forgiven because of a great perk about working on a ship: you sleep like the dead. That rocking motion can knock me out at any time of the day. Often my roommate and I succumb and take naps during the day between work shifts. At night, nothing feels better than crawling into my bunk, drawing the curtains around me so I'm in my nice, dark cocoon, and closing my eyes to be rocked to sleep like a baby. I know for a fact that I will miss the ship when I have to sleep on land again. Maybe I'll buy a waterbed.

And now we come to the reason you read this post, which was to ask, Tricia, what can I, as a future cruise passenger, do to avoid spewing up the delicious buffet food I intend to devour while onboard? Well, there are several ways I've seen passengers try to combat seasickness. Many take Calm-Ease and Sea Calm and Dramamine, all of which make you so tired you may as well have popped a couple of Vicodin and called it a day with your teddy. If you're going the drug route, I recommend something with Meclizine as the active ingredient (Bonine is a brand name but you can find generic at Walgreens and other pharmacies). It's non-drowsy and as long as you take it an hour before things get rough you'll be golden.

Passengers also swear by Sea-Bands, which use acupressure on your wrists. I've read that they have a psychosomatic effect, i.e., it's all in your head. But hey, if it works for you then it's what you should use. As far as the circular band-aids behind the ears with drugs in them, I haven't used them so I can't attest to how well they work but you do look less than cool wearing them, if that's a consideration for you.

Mostly, you need to pay attention to the weather and act accordingly. If it's a windy day, the seas will be rough. Try to eat lightly and avoid a lot of liquids, even water. The last thing you need is more sloshing action. Stick to midship where the rocking motion is less intense and hang out on lower decks if you can for the same reason, although sometimes a shot of fresh air will do wonders for you. All else fails, get drunk and go to sleep. Tomorrow you'll be in Cabo.