February 17 sailing to exotic Western Carribean

I have a number of questions...

My bf and I will be sailing on Valor on Feb 17.  We are very excited.  This will be my third cruise cruise but the first with Carnival.  I have cruised with Royal Carribean and Celebrity before.  How does Carnival, and specifically the Valor, compare with other crise lines?

Does anyone have any tried and true motion sickness cures?  My bf suffers from motion sickness but he has never been on a large cruiseliner so we want to be prepared.

The cruise we booked indicated that we are stopping in Casa Maya but when I clicked on my cruise documents, the itinerary showed Cozumel.  Does anyone know which one it is?

Finally, we want to know if anyone has any recommended excursions.  We are interested in ziplining (has anyone tried it?  would you recommend it?  is it worth the money?), cave tubing (same questions) and swiming with stingrays.  Where is the best snorkelling?

Thanks!

karengrant,

As far as I know, and all the excusions we have signed up for, we will be going to Cozumel. Yes, everyone I have ever talked to loves the stingray swim, and finally we will get to do it this year as well.  Last year we went to Cozumel first and I ended up stepping on correl so I ended up with an infection and coul;dn't walk for two days.  I don't no personally about the zipline, but I read someones entry (I can't remember which site) and they said it was the greatest.  My wife is planning on doing the cave tubing because a guy at her work said that it was the best thing ever.  As far as sea sickness goes, every cruise I have been on, I see many wearing a patch behind the ear and it seems to help.  I have never been sea sick so I can't say yea or nay.  Will look forward to seeing you on the ship.  My wife and I are doing a back to back so we will get on on the 10th and stay on through the 24.

Hi there,

 I bet you are getting excited. I am counting down..we are leaving on April 13. I was on a small boat once and my sons had to deal with sea sickness. They told them to eat tuna. They said they used to hand out tuna to people to keep them from getting sick. I would also ask my family Doc as he could probably prescribe something, or give him a patch to wear behind his ear. The ships are so huge, I doubt that he will be sick.

Hope you have lots of fun!

Debbie

KarenGrant

I have never been on a cruise before but will be in 2009.  Sorry I can not help on the excursions.  I can offer a few suggestions on motion sickness.  The patch that the people are referring to is called the scopalamine patch.  It is a patch worn behind the ear for motionsickness.  It is recommended that he put it on at least six hours before setting sail.  It can also be worn on the plane.  The patch can stay on and work for three days. 
I don't know how well they stick when getting wet.  You get a few in a box and you have to get the whole box.  Another thing you can do for added reassurance is to take along some dramamine for motion sickness.  You can always try the other if one doesn't work.  Dramamine can make you tired but it can also work the opposite.  Dramamine is available over the counter.  Ask your pharmacist if both can be used together but I don't know if I would anyway.  Other people have told me to always keep some food in your stomach and have small frequent meals.  My husband and I will probably do these options I am suggesting since we both have weak stomachs when it comes to motion sickness.  Have a good trip and let me know if any of these suggestions work for you and also if you learned any more tricks.  We also are planning for an interior state room as less motion is felt supposedly

Thanks   

Hello karengrant

In Cozumel the Atlantis sub and most of the snorkeling adventures are good. I believe your itinerary changed like mine because of the tropical storms that destroyed the docking areas in Costa Maya. Some are getting a different stop or an extra day at sea. In reference to your sea sickness my wife likes the wrist band. My kids have used dramamine which can make you sleepy.

The only difference we found between Carnival and Royal Caribbean was in the food service. Royal Caribbean got the nod in the type and quality of food served. Carnival gets the nod in supplying a product for the younger group of  passengers. I hope this helps

Bonine works well for motion sickness and will not make you nearly as sleepy as Dramamine.  The seabands help a bit, but one that works really well without the side effects are ginger capsules.  You can get them at the healthfood store.  Be careful if you opt for the scapolimine patches - they can have some unpleasant side effects and definitely should not be used in conjunction with dramamine.  Have an awesome cruise!!!

Have been to Cozumel at least 3 times and always had a good time there. Did the stingrays and totally enjoyed it. I also get motion sickness but have never had a problem on a cruise ship will sail again on June22 on the Valor. If you don't want to get dramimine since I don't believe you are suppose to drink with it try sea bands I hear they work well. They work on pressure points on your wrist.Happy cruising

Hey Karen...

 I have sailed 10 times with Carnival and once with Royal Carribean.  You won't be disappointed.  The difference, I found, between RC and Carnival could be compared to...RC serves more "evening drinks (liquors)" and Carnival is more "beer".  I don't drink either, but juding from the type of people on board.  Someone else mentioned Carnival has a better kids program----AMEN!!!  I have a 9 year old who will be on his 9th cruise and loves it.

 Now, as far as sea sickness....unless the seas are extremely rough--like from an approaching storm, which is very unusual--you probably won't even notice you are on a ship, unless you look out the windows and see water.  But, nonetheless, the infirmary has sea-sickness pills available and so does the shops on board.

Cozumel is a nice island.  The zip-line is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, unless of course you visit Cozumel quite frequently.  The area was recently hit with a hurricane, so some of the shopping areas are still re-building.  Swimming with stingrays is an adventure too.  I prefer Grand Cayman's stingrays over any other island's.

 Well, have fun.  write back once you get back.  I'm going on 3/24.

 See ya