First Cruise in 26 Years

[paradiseken]

Hey Folks!
DW and I are going on a ten-day cruise this Tuesday (Dec. 12th) to the Panama Canal. Stops will be Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Limon, Panama Canal, Cristobal and Montego Bay. It will be on the Coral Princess departing from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. This will be our first cruise since our honeymoon 26 years ago. Anyone been on this cruise? On our honeymoon cruise, we got seasick and didn't enjoy it very much. I think it was called the Bahama-Rama with NCL.

So, how can we keep from getting the Norovirus or falling overboard? Seems this has been coming up a lot on recent cruises. Thanks.

[paradiseken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat My wife and I took a 11 day one to Panama Canal from Houston a few years ago. Most of the same ports. Make sure you snorkel with the Stingrays at Grand Cayman - We liked that the best. When the seas are rough I usually get a bit ill. I take meclazine and it stops most of the motion sickness.

Someone else told me about snorkeling with the stingrays. Thanks CT! I'll check out the meclazine. Thanks again.

I should probably spell it right Meclizine.

http://www.drugs.com/meclizine.html

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Meclizine is a good idea; careful mixing with alcohol, and use it early if you feel queasy (don't wait) and you should be fine. Nowadays even rough seas are barely detectable on the big ship.

Another suggestion: lots of Purell or equivalent for hand disinfection. Those brass banisters and rails are everywhere, and everyone grabs them. I used it before eating and drinking, as well as just for good measure once in a while.

You will enjoy it - sounds like a great intinerary.

[Patrick]

I took a similar cruise a few years back. Yes, the stingrays in Grand Cayman are great. It's even better if you scuba dive because you can sit on the sandbar and attract the rays with bait. They'll swim up and eat the bait out of your hand.

In Cozumel there's a national park called Chankanaab where you can snorkel also. There are literally hundreds of tropical fish that will swim right up to you (no fishing allowed in this area). Also, if it's offered, trips to Chitchen-Itza (the great Mayan pyramid) http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_...hen_index.html or Playa Del Carmen (where there's a nature park) on the mainland are fun.

You can take diphenhydramine for the motion sickness. It's the same ingredient that's in Benadryl or Sominex. You can just get the cheapest OTC generic sleep aid that has diphenhydramine in it at your local drugstore or Wal-Mart. Bring your drugs with you - medical care on the ship is very expensive.

Have a great time and let us know how it goes.

Edited to add link and fix spelling.

[kowski]

Just got back from 7 days in the East Caribean today. We were on the Carnival Triumph. Don't believe any one that says the boat don't rock. The Christmas trees on board looked like they were dancing. And if your leaving today your in for a rougher trip than us cause the wind is a blowin.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Meclizine is a good idea; careful mixing with alcohol,

Yeah, the patches are pretty chewy if you're not careful how you swallow your drink. And the alcohol keeps them from sticking behind your ear.

In the last 26 years cruise ships have gotten a LOT bigger with active stabilizers. The rockin' & rollin' will be a lot less and may not cause any problems.

As for the Novovirus, NCL has hand sanitizers at the entrance to every food line. If your ship doesn't have them then you could carry a bottle of your own. Keep washing your hands, try not to touch your mouth/nose/eyes, watch out for the fresh/raw fruit & veggies. But I think the crews are much better at prevention than they were a year or two ago. Just in case you could bring a bottle of Pepto-Bismol or a pack of tablets...

Falling overboard requires some effort and not a little climbing. I wonder how many of those people were "assisted" over the side.. how are you & spouse getting along these days?

[Khan]

Quote:

Falling overboard requires some effort and not a little climbing. I wonder how many of those people were "assisted" over the side.. how are you & spouse getting along these days?

Captains Courageous?

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Yeah, the patches are pretty chewy if you're not careful how you swallow your drink. And the alcohol keeps them from sticking behind your ear.

Nords, meclizine and diphenhydramine are little pills. They are not chewy unless you forget to take them out of the bottle.

But since you mention it , transdermal scopolamine is a patch you stick behind your ear every three days. It is probably more effective for prevention, but is quite expensive and has some side effects.

I once had a patient who cruised and got some patches from her son-in-law. I got a call from the ship's doctor inquiring about whether she had a seizure histiory since she had one on the ship. After some probing questions of her daughter who was with her, we figured out what probably happened: she made the mistake of applying the patches daily (not every 3) and also failed to remove the old patch before applying the new. Scopoloamine poisoning.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Nords, meclizine and diphenhydramine are little pills. They are not chewy unless you forget to take them out of the bottle.

Yeah, that punchline flopped at the Comedy Club's open-mike night, too...

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Yeah, that punchline flopped at the Comedy Club's open-mike night, too...

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa But since you mention it , transdermal scopolamine is a patch you stick behind your ear every three days...and has some side effects.

DW has used td scop on our last three cruises. Her only complaint the first two times she used them was that she suffered from dry mouth. The last time they caused hallucinations. As she dropped off to sleep she would do unusual things like sit up in bed and start steering her car.

Not sure she wants to use them next time.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! DW has used td scop on our last three cruises. Her only complaint the first two times she used them was that she suffered from dry mouth. The last time they caused hallucinations. As she dropped off to sleep she would do unusual things like sit up in bed and start steering her car.

... this being why I rarely if ever prescribe them. Classic example of the cure being worse than the disease.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat And if you think that these big boats won't rock, you should have been with us...

I always thought the end of that sentence was supposed to be "...on our honeymoon!"

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat The biggest Mega Ships in the World. And if you think that these big boats won't rock, you should have been with us in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico with 60 knot winds and 35 foot waves!

You're paying how much for the privilege of storm cruising?!? You should see what the Navy does to ship's meteorologists who send the navigators through that stuff.

Worst we've ever seen out here is the voyage to Fanning Island, two days at 26 knots, and maybe an occasional foot or two heave in random directions. Interisland is so smooth you hardly know you're underway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords You're paying how much for the privilege of storm cruising?!? You should see what the Navy does to ship's meteorologists who send the navigators through that stuff. Worst we've ever seen out here is the voyage to Fanning Island, two days at 26 knots, and maybe an occasional foot or two heave in random directions. Interisland is so smooth you hardly know you're underway.

We've crossed the Atlantic from Florida into the Caribbean a few times and it's almost always rough in February. Most of the time the waves are 15-20 feet. Sitting in the entertainment theaters in the evening when the ship has lifted it's stablizers and is underway, you can 'lose your breath' as a Megaship (70,000 gross tons) bobs up and down in the waves. Everyone gasps in unison as the ship falls to the bottom of the wave. Hard to believe from a ship that is 14 stories tall!

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat ...you can 'lose your breath' as a Megaship... bobs up and down... ...Everyone gasps in unison...

C-T, cut it out. We've already heard enough about your honeymoon cruise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! C-T, cut it out. We've already heard enough about your honeymoon cruise.

Yeah - And there is that too! - Don't come a Knockin when this Ship is a Rockin!

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat We've crossed the Atlantic from Florida into the Caribbean a few times and it's almost always rough in February. Most of the time the waves are 15-20 feet. Sitting in the entertainment theaters in the evening when the ship has lifted it's stablizers and is underway, you can 'lose your breath' as a Megaship (70,000 gross tons) bobs up and down in the waves. Everyone gasps in unison as the ship falls to the bottom of the wave.

We've never had that problem on the interisland cruises, and if we did I'd be the first one begging for a patch or a pill. That's why I joined the submarine force instead of the surface line.

"Diving Officer, this sucks. Make your depth 600 feet!"

[paradiseken]

This Forum is too, too much. I always get my daily laughs along with great advice. Thanks everyone, especially the clowns.

DW and I leave tomorrow and I'll try not to lean too far over the railing while gazing out to sea. Ya know, it would double her net worth if I were to fall overboard. Ha! Ha! Ha!