As the world prepares for summer, many of us are expecting to take to ferries and cruises to travel to far-flung locations to soak up the sun.
But since one in three people suffer from sea sickness, these watery journeys to and from paradise may be hell for those predisposed to the nausea caused by rolling waves.
An experienced cruise worker has now revealed her top tips to avoid sea sickness before it even started, honed after years at sea.
Lucy, a cruise ship worker who goes by @cruisingascrew on Instagram, revealed five ways for ordinary people to abate sea sickness symptoms while on holiday.
Lucy, a cruise ship worker who goes by @cruisingascrew on Instagram, (pictured) revealed five ways for ordinary people to abate sea sickness symptoms while on holiday
Location is key
Lucy said in a recent video that one of the most important things to be aware of, if trying to mitigate sea sickness, is that your location on a ship will determine how bad your symptoms are.
She said: ‘When you are booking your cruise, and you are selecting your cabin, you want to make sure your travel agent puts you in a cabin that’s in the middle of the ship.
‘And I do mean as central as you can get. You want to be mid-ship, you don’t want to be forward or aft, but you also want to be in one of the middle decks.’
She said that the higher or lower on a vessel you are, the more you will feel the motion, meaning the more likely it is you will become sea sick.
The cruise worker also recommended booking a cabin with a balcony overlooking the sea: ‘One of the worst thing for sea sickness is being in an inside cabin. When you’re seasick, your equilibrium is thrown off so something that really helps your mind when you’re in this state is seeing the horizon.’
Try to limit days on sea
Lucy recommended that those who know they suffer from seasickness ought to limit their sea days as much as they can.
While this can be difficult for longer cruises, she said that there are many cruises that prioritise days spent on land which may be better for first time cruisers.
She said: ‘When I worked on cruise ships, we would have people coming on their very first cruise, and it would be a two-week transatlantic crossing.
‘They’d spend the whole time throwing up, and then vow to never go on a cruise again.’
She said that cruises involving multiple days of seafaring at a time were for more experienced cruisers, not beginners looking to dip their toes in the waters.
‘Trust me when I say there is nothing worse than finding out you are prone to seasickness, and it’s your first sea day of five. You’re not going to be having a good time.’
Lucy also recommended checking routes, as some bodies of water, like the Bass Strait south of Australia or the Bay of Biscay, are notoriously choppy, meaning they’re more likely to induce seasickness.
Avoid going to the ship’s medical bay, if possible
The experienced cruise-hand recommended passengers stay away from the medical bays of vessels.
Lucy said: ‘Not only is it time consuming, it’s also very expensive if you end up needing medication or needing medical assistance.’
She recommended bringing a small bag of essential items along, including sea sickness medication.
She also recommended non-invasive measures, including sea bands and sea sickness patches, which can help alleviate symptoms.
Go all-natural!
Lucy also recommended several naturally-occurring cures.
She emphasised how quickly ginger teas can help with symptoms, along with ginger ales.
She also said eating greens apples was a ‘firm favourite’ cure for sea sickness among crew members.
‘The reason a green apple works is that it contains sugars and acids that can settle the stomach’, she said.
Stop drinking water
Her final recommendation was to avoid drinking water when nauseous, as this can exacerbate these feelings.
She said: ‘I’m pretty sure it wasn’t until my second contract that one of my managers said “that’s one of the worst things you can do if you’re feeling sick”.’
Lucy said that filling up on water means that the stomach gets even more upset, as liquid ‘sloshes’ around.
Instead, limiting water intake and loading up on ‘stodgy and carby’ foods can help settle upset stomachs and ‘stabilise’.
‘I know the last thing you feel like doing when seasick is eating, but if you can eat just half a slice of bread it will make you feel a bit better.’
