Norwegian Fjords Cruise - Am I Mad?

[Shoelaces7]

Considering booking a cruise to Norway on P&O Iona. We are looking at end of June 2024. We have never cruised before.

The reason I may be mad...

I get very bad motion sickness. Can't sit in the back seat of a car for too long, buses are a struggle, and can't sit backwards on the train. Absolutely fine in front seats of a car and front facing train seats. I went to a moving restaurant once and had to just avoid the views as it made me lightheaded.

Can you feel the ship moving? Any tips? Does anyone go on cruises sickness-free, despite being motion sick on other modes of transport? 👀

Do motion sickness tablets work?

I’ve done the same cruise a few times! Most of the time you forget you’re on a ship tbh but you will feel it occasionally. I get travel sick too but I can honestly say I never have been on almost 10 cruises now. The ships are so large, it’s not the same as being on a small boat.

Some people take tablets if they need to or those travel bands. Don’t let it put you off, it’s such an incredible experience, the fjords are just magical.

Anti sickness bands?

I’d start with a smoother cruise, the Norwegian fijords tends to be choppy.

I get motion sickness in all the same ways you do. Also severe morning sickness and suffer with nausea on theme park rides etc. didn't get even a little sick on a cruise we did. You can barely feel it moving.

I guess it depends how rough the seas are? I have some sturgeon tablets ready if needed but we didn't need them. We're doing a Norwegian cruise in the future too - it looks amazing.

Fjords are not choppy but the North Sea maybe. We've done 3 trips to fjords. One on Iona. Didn't feel a thing. Enjoy!

We’ve been on Iona in force 9-10 gales and it was surprisingly smooth, although we could feel it when at the extremes of the boat (right at the front/aft, on the top deck, on the lower decks).

I would recommend going for a midship cabin on a middle deck - we were on deck 12 in the midship and our cabin was very stable.

I also agree with PPs that the fjords themselves are very smooth - it’s the North Sea up and down which can be rough. They seemed to try and time the worst bits for overnight and once we were in bed, we found the movement of the sea very soothing.

I’ve just returned from a Norwegian cruise today!
Cruise ships have stabilisers so you don’t feel the swell too much. I felt it a bit, but if you were busy you didn’t really notice it (I feel more movement now I’m back on dry land as my brain is readjusting!).
The fjords themselves are smooth going.

I also get sea sickness but when I went to the Norwegian fjords on Iona last year I literally never felt a thing. I stayed in an inside cabin, midship & opted for a low floor as I’ve heard that the lower the better for motion.

Not sure if the North Sea was mild or if was the size of ship that made the difference but I was fine the whole time. Also see if you can buy Dramamine as that may help.

Hi OP

I get motion sickness like you describe - really bad in the back of cars (I basically can’t sit in the back seat), still feel a bit sick, but bearable, in the front and even sometimes when driving. I can’t really go on coaches or sit facing backwards on a train. I had my seat swapped to backwards on the Eurostar last year and had to stand for most of the journey.

The point of telling you all this is that I’m not too bad at all in boats! Have been on a short cruise and felt nothing as they are big ships. I can go on small boats perfectly fine as well - just this week had a trip on a speed boat type thing and was fine - a tiny bit nauseous when the boat was stationary but otherwise fine.

Oh yes and I can’t do certain funfair rides, like a pp said. And had morning sickness both times.

I'm exactly like you when it comes to travel sickness. We've been on Iona twice and found her to be a really stable ship with very little movement felt on a day to day basis. For the occasional time we've been caught in a storm I just knock back some stugeron and put on my sickness bands. if it gets a bit much I go to bed. It's never put me off cruising.

That's so interesting that you're OK on smaller boats too @GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing ! I remember being on a few of ferries as a teenager and throwing up. I've heard ferries are notoriously rocky though. That's a shame about your Eurostar trip!

I cant do funfair rides either! Exciting bunch we are, aren't we 😆

Thanks to PPs for advice on the best cabin locations to limit seasickness. Seems like Iona is relatively stable due to her huge size!

@Shoelaces7 I felt slightly sick on the smaller boat at times, to be totally honest, but nothing awful or that would stop me doing it again. Nothing like the awfulness of feeling car sick.

The Eurostar was a pain as I’d obviously made sure to pick forward facing seats!

@CampCroc I am going to the Fjords in two weeks please could I ask what sort of clothing you took . The weather looks quite cool .

We haven't done the fjords cruise but have done several in the Med (crossing the Bay of Biscay can be a little rough) and the Baltic. All big ships, they do use the stabilisers. I'm similar, can only sit in the back of the car if I can see clearly out the windscreen, can't sit backwards on trains or buses. Never had a problem with sickness, there has been mild discomfort occasionally, if they announce they are closing the swimming pools I get out the seasickness wristbands. I have sealegs for days afterwards though, we disembarked from one on Monday and I am still swaying a bit, feels like being drunk.