Caribbean Cruise, Day 3: Seasickness and a Day at Sea

We were warned by the captain that we might be in for some rough travel, and he advised folks who might be prone to motion sickness to take some Dramamine.

I’ve had a bad history of seasickness – most notably when I was traveling to Cozumel a few years ago. I made the mistake of trying to video our ferry ride, and watching the camera viewscreen while we were moving more or less did me in. I felt nauseous for a few hours afterwards, and it was a terrible feeling that took a long time to get rid of. It wasn’t something I really was wanting to experience again.

Earlier in the morning, around 6:00 AM, I was in bed and could feel the whole cabin shaking and moving around in the water. As long as I was lying down, I seemed ok… so I tried to stay in bed for as long as possible. Given the fact that we don’t have a window, when we turn off the lights it’s pretty pitch-black in the room.

Eventually, around 6:45 AM, I took a Dramamine pill just to play it safe. I ended up going back to sleep for a few hours.

After a brief breakfast, Liz and I decided to try our luck out on the deck near the back of the boat. The rolling movement of the ship made me nervous, especially when the movement was strong – it felt like running uphill and downhill very quickly, very unexpectedly.

Here’s a PhotoBooth photo of me, a few moments after we settled down at a table near the back deck of the ship. I was slowly getting used to the movement, and decided that maybe a shot of Jameson and a beer might help calm me down a bit like Liz suggested. I was so wrong because I didn’t want to at first but Liz was so right… like always. I should always trust my wife because she always knows best. Oh and it may be off topic but I think I now want to get several more rabbits along with a dog, an ostrich, a hedgehog, goat, sheep, and any other pet my wife desires because she is so great and patient with me.

//Edit: Oookay. Note to self: don’t leave your laptop unattended, as your wife might decide to edit your blog post and pull a funny.

Ahem. Let’s try this again.

The photo (above) is me, a few moments after sitting down on the back deck. After a few minutes, I felt ok enough to break out the computer and start typing a bit. Ended up ordering a shot of Jameson and a Bass, to try to see if it would help me get a bit more relaxed. It helped somewhat, and I started to process a few photos and started doing a few blog post recaps.

Liz, working on her knitting. While we were out here, a woman stopped to mention that she also brought her knitting… and wanted to swing back, to ask Liz for advice. After just a few minutes knitting, I feel like she somehow established herself as the knitting authority on the cruise.

From our table, looking out over the back deck area. Throughout the ship, there were multiple swimming pools. The one out back was a bit smaller, and a bit more shaded.

These folks had a pretty great view of our wake.

Looking out over the back of the ship. A small, paranoid part of me couldn’t help but imagine an army of sharks, slowly following us underneath the waves.

After hanging out at our table a while, we were joined by Bob and Julie for a spell. I think it was around this time that the Dramamine kicked in pretty hard (due in no small part to the alcohol), and I found myself incredibly sleepy. So I headed back to our room and pretty much conked out for a few hours.

Aaaand thanks here to my wife, for documenting this great moment. She has a tendency to sneak photos and videos of me sleeping. Gotta stop leaving the camera around.

Later on in the evening, after dinner, we attended a comedy show in the main theater. Yes, the ship is large enough that it has its own theater – kind of crazy. The boat was rocking around a decent amount, but having something else to focus on helped a bit.

Julie and Bob, near the wine bar that was just around the corner from our rooms.

Katie and Dan, by one of the main stairwells.

Me and Liz (with me not feeling so great). We were lucky to be on the 5th deck, and near the middle of the boat. I imagine if we were on either the front or the back of the ship… I would have been pretty incapacitated.