Cruises. Bored? Motion sickness?

I've never been on a cruise.  My wife has been on many and loves them.  Generally speaking I love the water, but haven't been on the deep sea in a really long time...for a reason. 

I want to make my wife happy.  I don't need help on what cruise line or where.  My FIL has quite high status with NCL, as in he has the cell number of captains, directors, etc...  My question is about boredom and seasickness.  I've always been worried that being "confined" to a ship all day would bore me.  I don't drink alcohol, so there's that.  What do you do all day?  What about getting sick?  Can you feel the boat rock?  Is seasickness a big thing on giant ships?

I'm less prone to sea sickness than average and yet I remember feeling queasy one time so it can be a thing even on large ships.

Check the typical sea conditions for the time of year and route for your intended trip...you can get a dramamine patch but I think the med makes you drowsy.

Like most people here, I love, love, love machines and systems so I'm very happy to just experience 100,000 tons in action...feeling how the ship responds to forces and watching the crew work.

Disclaimer:  I haven't been on a cruise since COVID.  Having said that, being a morning person, the food situation has been fantastic...everything fresh, everything available, and no lines.

I actually lose weight on a cruise as I get into a rhythm of eating lots of fruit and lean protein (fishy fishy fish).

The dietary transition tends to give me the $hits on day two.  We were docked in Anchorage one time when this happened to me and due to the tiny bathroom sizes, I managed to bump a towel into the toilet causing it to instantly absorb the contents and swell into a bowling ball of poo.  

Our room was on the port side so I couldn't just pitch the towel overboard and instead had to roll it up in a few additional towels and leave it for the room steward.

I am soooo sorry about that but my eldest daughter and I laugh about it to this day...good times! 

I've been on a few cruises, though generally not your normal type; my most recent ones have been to the far north Arctic (north of Svalbard) and to Antarctica (south of Argentina). 

As far as boredom goes, that's never been a problem (and I, like you, do not drink alcohol). There are generally plenty of things to do, and if nothing else I relish the time available to read a book on deck when weather permits. Seasickness is also rarely a problem; once, crossing the Drake Passage, I felt pretty green and stayed in my cabin all day but that was an exception. Dramamine can help, and there are now these fancy transdermal patches that apparently work wonders. 

You can feel the ship move, yes, but it's not at all like being on a small craft in brisk waves. It takes some significant sea movement to really do much to a larger vessel; that day on the Drake we had a full day of 6m swells with some quite a bit higher than that, but you won't encounter conditions like that on a normal cruise. 

Wife and I went on a Disney cruise and really enjoyed ourselves.

I know, you're thinking Disney = kids everywhere but we didn't find it that way. There's lots of kids-only stuff on the boat and that seems to keep them busy. There's also plenty of adults-only areas on the boat.

You can drink on a Disney cruise but only in the lounges or dining areas. This was a huge plus for me because I can't stand drunks and I didn't want to be stuck on a boat with a bunch of people who think being E36 M3faced 24/7 is how you have a good time.

We did the Alaska trip, met some very nice people who we're still friends with and saw some beautiful scenery. I barely noticed the boat moving around so no motion sickness at all. We made sure to get off the boat in every stop and just wander the town and look at stuff. There's plenty of excursions but they tend to be expensive and not very interesting to me. We did spend the money to go whale watching.

Have at least one dinner in the fancy restaurant on the boat. They will have a dress code so bring some nice clothes. The dress code is not enforced but the staff will make your time enjoyable if you make the effort. I packed a suit and the wife unit had a nice evening dress, the staff took very good care of us, recommended a great wine and the perfect dessert. The slobs at the table down from us showed up in a track suit and sweatpants and pretty much got ignored the whole evening.

Also, if you have connecting flights to get there, have the cruise line make all the arrangements for you. The extra cost is minimal and worth it when the boat has to spend an extra day in port because of a breakdown. Everyone else will be trying to call their airline to get the flights changed but the cruise line will take care of it all for you and the new tickets will just appear in your stateroom.

I don't have a frame of reference for motion sickness, so I can't help you there.

They will typically deliver a newsletter to you every morning that will have a fairly packed schedule for a sea day.  They tend to have plenty of activities of varying interests so you can pick and choose what to do.  There was typically a main show each night with some other entertainment options like stand-up or various live music options. 

Personally, I really liked the port days where everyone else got the hell off the boat and I could have the place to myself to read, drink, walk around, eat, and/or sit in the hot tub. 

Usually these things are too smooth and stable for anyone to get seasickness, but if the seas are really rough you'll be inside a 4+ storey building that's swaying back and forth where you probably can't even see outside, and that can cause some severe seasickness, if that happens your best bet is to spend more time lower on the boat somewhere you can see the horizon.

It can take some effort to avoid getting bored if you're not into the right things, being at sea is like being stuck inside a Vegas hotel/casino, or an all-inclusive resort with fewer outdoorsy activities. The most prominent activities revolve around partying, dining/drinking, watching shows and gambling. Shows are typically musicals or a comedy hour (if you're lucky you may get someone decent or above-average) or there may be a movie theatre. If you want to do something active that isn't partying, you'll have to see what activities are on the top deck (some have a waterpark or mini-golf and at least one has a go-kart track) or hunt around for other things to do inside, usually there's an arcade, quiz night, and some other games on the top deck.

These big boats have stabilizers that are deployed in rough seas to combat the swaying.

I doubt you would even notice anything. 

Reading a few books and having a daily nap on a cruise is a solid plan. Go see some shows. When they offer steak or lobster say "both". Don't book Carnival if you're not a fan of drunkenness. 

Did a Disney Alaska cruise, it was...ok.  Lots of rules on the boat, like my 9 year old could only go in the kids club designed for him, which stunk because the age group was 3-10 years old and was geared more towards the 3 year olds.  He wanted to be in the 11-13 and 13+ kids clubs because they had the video games, foosball tables etc.  He was let in for 1 hour a day.  They did have multiple movie theaters on the boat, which we took advantage of.  Hot tubs were tiny, they could hold maybe 3 people, which was an issue.  Lots of downtime, I didn't bring enough books.  Bring LOTS of books!

Food was fine, staff were incredibly nice and gracious, scenary was beautiful.  Wife booked an inboard room, which was like a cave and I hated.  I also found it strange that the TV didn't have access to the Disney channel, or any other channels.  Programming was extremely limited, to the point of not being watchable. 

It was worth going, but I'm not in any hurry to go do another one.

We took a cruise on Princess cruise line. I was very concerned about getting bored during the days at sea at the beginning and end of the cruise. That didn't really happen. We had a great time and would do it again. 

If you are seasick, get in the pool. 

We have been on lots of cruises, all on one line. Even heading to one right now.

WRT motion sickness, Bonine. Less drowsy and it works really well. And fast so I am told.

Since you are doing it for your wife, let her choose- for your first, there isn’t much difference in the lines, as far as I’m concerned.

Boredom isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes doing nothing forcefully is not a bad thing to do. But there are things going on all of the time, especially bigger ships. See shows, see live music. Even things you would not normally see or do.

And if you don’t like it, it’s only a week. Of that week, it will be at most 3 days at sea, more likely 2, and possibly one if you choose right.

We just did an Alaska cruise on Royal Caribbean this year and we didn't find ourselves bored at all. We did have a drink or two a day but that wasn't the main activity, there were tons of shows and activities to do throughout the day when the boat was at sea. We played a few different games of trivia each day, there was a pickle ball court, and tons of good live music. Some cruise lines also offer a behind the scenes tour of the workings of the ship and I would highly recommend doing it. 
I can't speak for the sea sickness but we have friends that have used the various medications on the market with success on cruises. 

All great responses, and reinforces why I've been so resistant to taking a cruise.  I don't drink, don't gamble.  Not a book reader.  I don't eat steak (Crohn's disease) or seafood (nasty).  From a culinary perspective my palate is very lame.  Simple chicken breast and veggies thank you, and a cold cuts sandwich for lunch with fruit.  Not into bored... sorry...board games.  Certainly willing to go see a show but it's not something I normally do.  Love swimming, so that would work.  A few days rest...check.  With my insane schedule, self imposed admittedly, that would be a positive.

I'm thinking if I'm going to do it, Alaska would be the place.  I could hopefully sit on the deck and watch the scenery.  

I guess my personality just doesn't mesh with what a cruise has to offer, they've never interested me.  Trying to find the right one to go on for the best chance of success.  

In reply to Chris Tropea :

Where did you sail out of? If the answer is Vancouver you sailed past my town.

Also my sister has sailed Vancouver, Hawaii, Vancouver twice and Miami to Europe once and was never bothered by seasickness.

Most all ships will have stabilizers to counter most seas, but they have limits.

The ship will roll and pitch around it's center of mass, so being closer to that will limit any effect.  E.g. being at the bow of a pitching ship will result sensations of increased and decreased gravity, while being at the center of mass will simply be a pitching sensation (or rolling if you are lying perpendicular to the keel of the ship).

Went on a "dude cruise" in 2022 - me, and a bunch of my bros (9-10 peeps total).  Still on a Covid hangover, so 4 nights, 5 days from Ft. Lauderdale were something silly like $130 a night for balcony single occupancy on Royal Caribbean.  

• The ship is really neat.
• The boarding process and overall mechanics are satisfying if you enjoy that sort of thing.
• The views were cool.
• The balcony room was surprisingly roomy as a single, and I dug sitting out on the balcony in the morning enjoying my coffee.
• The food was really mediocre.  Just steam table garbage made to look fancy.  The "Chops" steakhouse was serving grade F circus meat.  
• The drinks were OK, pretty weak for someone from the midwest.  Sure you can have as many as you want, but my idea of a captain and coke is a glass of captain and open a coke next to it.  Not a shot of captain and 12 oz of sugar water.
• The place was pretty packed and this was at half capacity (remember - COVID).  Would have been hell if it had been packed.
• The one stop, Costa Maya, was horrendous.  Imagine if you will:
  • There is one economy, and its cruise ships stopping.
  • There havent been regular cruise ships in quite a while.
  • The ones that do stop are half capacity
  • There is $30k walking off that boat, and its up to you as a local to get as much as you can.
    • So - overpriced everything, hustlers on the ugly beach, biker gangs of teenagers trying to get you into restaurants.
    • Generally unsettling and awful
    • Full disclosure, I actually didn't mind, I travel to Mexico a lot and have a bit of Spanish, and I don't get intimidated super easy.  Some of my more passive and midwestern friends made a boogie back to the boat as soon as they could.  I was enjoying exploring the abandoned resorts and cruising around in my rented golf cart.  
• Last day at sea we got into some weather. Boat started swaying pretty good, to the point of pools being closed.  Everyone got seasick. 

For me, 100% pass on another one.  The value proposition for a group is terrible.  If I wanted a canned, safe, gringo experience with mediocre steam table food I would just go to one of the many all inclusives full of subservient brown people that gringos seem to like so much.  

In reply to Rons :

We sailed out of Vancouver and back into Seattle Washington. We really enjoyed both cities and wish we planned more than a day in each one one to explore. 

The wife, who gets motion sickness easily, and I have been on 2 cruises.

One was a Caribbean trip on Disney and the other was a Alaska trip out of Seattle.

She did not feel sick on either trip.

We felt the Disney was a better quality cruise line but you pay for it. 

The second was Royal Caribbean and it was good but not the same level as Disney.

If you get bored on the ships, you aren't trying. They have plenty of activities going on all the time.

Numerous friend groups of ours have tried to get us to go on one with them. 
 

My understanding is that if you like shows, casinos, pools, water parks, meeting a lot of new people, bars, clubs, and gluttonous amounts of food, the ship itself is fun. I don't like most of those things.
 

It is also a great way to see a ton of places/countries, though you're only getting the very surface level, maximum tourist trap version of that experience - but the surface level tourist trap of that experience is infinitely more than nothing of that experience, and you ARE a tourist. 
 

I've also heard nothing but negative remarks regarding Carnival. 
 

If I were to ever do one, I'd probably limit myself to something in the PNW (I want to see Alaska), the Mediterranean, or a transatlantic cruise. 

My wife and I went on our first cruise in 2023. It was on MSC and in europe, so not necessarily comparable to the Caribbean. 

My wife used the transdermal patch that goes behind the ear, and had no issues with motion sickness. She gets car sick as a passenger even just traveling 30 minutes away, so I would say the patches were effective. 

Breakfast and lunch were buffet style, plenty of choices for fruit, cold, and hot food. Dinner was more like a restaurant, and we had the same servers so they quickly learned our orders for beverages and made sure the had the wine my wife liked chilled and ready. 

We went with my wife's best friend from high school and her extended family, so we didn't really meet new people, but did have had people to spend time with if we wanted.

I think the part that makes it relaxing is that you don't have any projects, chores, or other responsibilities to manage. That makes it easier to read auto magazines or books, relax by the pool, swim, explore what the ship has to offer, or just nap. 

We had a room with a balcony, so we could get away from the hustle and bustle of the ship and relax watching the scenery. 
 

Id do it again 

Sleeperdude2 YouTube channel has two or three of his cruise vacations posted. His family is cool and funny, so I enjoy watching them. I think it depicts the cruise ship experience pretty well, although for a family with kids.

I have zero interest in doing one. The wife wants to, most likely an Alaska trip. I'd rather ride the train, personally.

Some things:

you don't have to meet people- we kind of go out of our way not to. 
 

shows- it's worth trying once to know. There is lots of different kinds- with a lot of guest acts. Some ships even have tribute rock bands. 
 

Alaska is amazing- and there is no way to see what you see from the ship on a land vacation. Just no land access. And you can pair a cruise with a train from anchorage to Fairbanks. But I'd also suggest a fall cruise to Canada and New England. 

For the port experience, it's really no difference than 99% of resorts.  You make it how you want to see it 

And if you are not sure if you would like cruising, I would not do a trans Atlantic. Unless the TA did Iceland and Greenland. Otherwise, a TA is a LOT of sea days and few ports. Kind of the opposite most would want to try. 

ddavidv said:

Sleeperdude2 YouTube channel has two or three of his cruise vacations posted. His family is cool and funny, so I enjoy watching them. I think it depicts the cruise ship experience pretty well, although for a family with kids.

I have zero interest in doing one. The wife wants to, most likely an Alaska trip. I'd rather ride the train, personally.

Take the train!  My wife and I rode "The Canadian" across Canada last winter and it was exceptional.  As a guy who has done both cruises and luxury trains, the train was 10/10.

I prefer sea days to land days. Especially in Caribbean ports where they herd you [Disney style] through a gauntlet of vendors selling things like wood trinkets custom carved... in china. 

If we do a cruise, we agreed it would be Alaska.  We live at the beach and have both been to the Caribbean multiple times.  Alaska cruises are just stupid expensive!!