Here we have another edition of Mailbag Monday. Today I answer three questions I received in my email inbox. Today I’ll be answering questions about the effectiveness of sea sickness pills, Carnival room service and “tendering” into a port. If you have any questions you would like me to answer you can shoot me an email via the blogs contact form. Just remember if you don’t want to post your question publicly just include that instruction somewhere in either the subject line or the beginning or end of the submission.
Do sea sickness tablets really work?
I am going on my first cruise this August. Something that worries me about cruising during hurricane season is the condition of the seas. I would expect that the waters will be more rough than normal and was wondering if those seasick pills you see actually work.
Seasick remedies come in all shapes and sizes. Some people swear by Ginger, the patch, acupressure wrist bands
My advice for someone who is prone to getting sea-sick would be to try multiple remedies. What you don’t want to happen is to be on the ship with a “cure” that doesn’t work. A cruise costs thousands of dollars, sea-sick remedies cost less than 20 dollars each. Stocking up on a few different cures for sea-sickness to bring along on your cruise is probably the best way to assure you get something that works for you.
On the Carnival Cruise ships, is the 24-hour room service free?
I’ve been seeing people say different things, like that the food is free but beverages are not. I tried to look for answers on the Carnival website but didn’t find what I was looking for.
Yes the room service is free on board Carnival Cruise ships. Some cruise lines have started charging a surcharge during certain hours as a deterrent to people making late night room-service orders for food that will not be eaten. As far as I know Carnival hasn’t instituted anything of the sort, yet. However, that isn’t to say everything is free. Anything that would cost you money from the ships bar will cost through room service. So, alcoholic beverages as well as soft drinks won’t be free even though room service technically is free. Also you should probably tip whoever brings the room service order to your cabin. It doesn’t have to be a lot but you should tip something. As a general rule of thumb I tip just a couple of dollars minimum, but if I make a large order I tip more.
What does the term “tendered” mean?
I will be taking a New England cruise this fall and one of the ports says “tendered”, but all the others say docked, what exactly does this mean?
The term “tendered” is one that everyone encounters if they cruise enough. What it means is instead of the ship docking in the port it will anchor off shore. Passengers will then be shuttled to the mainland via smaller boats.
There are a couple of reasons why tendering may be necessary. There could a glut of ships in port on that particular day, or your ship could simply be too large to dock. In these instances passengers will need to be ferried back and forth between the ship and shore.
Tendering can be fun because it gives you a unique view as you approach the port. However, tendering is not without its drawbacks. If you have mobility issues, tendering is less than ideal. Another drawback is the lines to leave the ship and particularly when returning late can be longer than you would like them to be. Tendering services are run by the port of call and not by the cruise lines so they aren’t as streamlined as what you are used to on the ship. Some ports are better than others so there is no way to tell what your experience will be like unless you have visited that port in the past.
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In regards to the Seasick question.. I have been on 3 cruises and find myself experiencing Seasickness usually for the first couple of hours after we set sail. I have tried pills, bands, foods and as strange as it sounds the only thing that seems to settle it is rest and Beer. Once I feel it start to Kick in I go lay down for about 30 min, then I get up and find a bar and just sip a beer while checking out the ship. I usually feel much better after a couple of hours and pretty good for the rest of the trip.
As you had said, different things work for different people and this is my fix.
Thanks for sharing Stace894, more proof that there is no cure all for sea-sickness. That is exactly why I think it’s important for people to be prepared to try a few different things until they find something that works. The thing I like best about your cure is by the time you get over the seasickness, you’ve already started the party.