Bonine or Dramamine

[javander0524]

1st time cruiser. I’m a bit worried about seasickness, more for myself than DW or kids. Which is better for seasickness?

 

[cruisehopeful]

Bonine works great for me. I usually take it in the afternoon around 3pm and it keeps me good through dinner and I can sleep off the majority of the drowsiness. It's supposed to be non drowsy, but it absolutely knocks me back. I took a Dramamine once driving through mountains I was so tired from it that I couldn't do a full hike like I normally do.

 

[lklgoodman]

I also use Bonine, haven't tried Dramamine. I always start taking it the day before our cruise starts and continue it for a few days after. I once had land sickness after a cruise and it was worse than seasickness. I also take ginger candy with me. Anytime I start to feel queasy I use the candy and helps a lot. It needs to have real ginger in it, not just ginger flavor. They also have green apples in Cabanas that are suppose to help if you feel sick. I've gotten seasick on 2 out 5 cruises. Both time it was only for about an hour when we were in rough seas. The majority of the time I never feel any movement on the ship, but it's good to be prepared. I always feel a little queasy the first night when sailing out of Port Canaveral while crossing the gulf stream.

 

[Geomom]

DD19 gets seasick. She takes Bonine and that works for her. It's non-drowsy. I tend to feel a little queasy on day 1 of any cruise until I get my 'sea legs.' I just use the Dramamine Naturals, which is just ginger, so that is non drowsy and I have real ginger hard candy. Regular Dramamine makes most people pretty sleepy, so I wouldn't recommend that.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I swear by Bonine. The active ingredient in Bonine is meclizine. You can buy generic "Bonine" and it works just as well. Meclizine is non-drowsy, while Dramamine makes you drowsy. Dramamine II is the same as Bonine.

 

[Allison]

I just use meclizine. I take a low dose because it can cause drowsiness and it definitely does for me.

 

[Allison]

Meclizine is non-drowsy

A side effect of meclizine is drowsiness.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

A side effect of meclizine is drowsiness.

For some, maybe. I have never felt drowsy taking Bonine (meclizine). Everybody's response may be different. All I know is it works for me. OP, I would recommend trying it out before the cruise to see how it makes you feel.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I swear by Bonine. The active ingredient in Bonine is meclizine. You can buy generic "Bonine" and it works just as well. Meclizine is non-drowsy, while Dramamine makes you drowsy. Dramamine II is the same as Bonine.

I agree with the Bonine. On our two Disney cruises, I didn't take anything because I don't get seasick, I get post-cruise land sickness. So on our Med cruise this summer I took Bonine every day and 5 days after and had no symptoms at all! I gave it to my kids too. I see other people saying it can cause drowsiness, although in myself and my girls we did not experience that.

 

[Tikibear]

Scopolamine patches for us. No drowsiness. No forgetting to take a dose.

 

[Allison]

For some, maybe. I have never felt drowsy taking Bonine (meclizine).

That's great that you don't have that side effect. I wish I didn't. I just wanted to make sure it was clear that meclizine is not actually a non-drowsy product.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I take Bonine the night before I get on the ship and then in the evenings afterwards. If it makes me drowsy, it doesn’t matter much at that point.

 

[msmama]

Bonine doesn't make me tired (though I do take it late afternoon/evening). Dramamine knocks me out cold.

This will be the first time I'm giving my son bonine from Day 1. He got hid HARD CORE with sea sickness on our last cruise. He's 11 1/2 so I figure it's close enough to 12 which is what the box recommends.

The medical center on board does have single serve packets of seasickness meds, but they're the drowsy making kind, I believe. If you say you're not feeling well, in my experience, the CM's are very helpful. They brought me soup, crackers, and green apples for dinner one night without me asking (I may have looked a little green, lol).

Also, I feel like alcohol seems to exacerbates seasickness symptoms. Like one drink makes me feel like I have a hangover. And the seasickness gets worse if I get dehydrated. So drinking lots of water and cutting down on alcohol makes me feel better.

 

[Geomom]

Bonine doesn't make me tired (though I do take it late afternoon/evening). Dramamine knocks me out cold.

This will be the first time I'm giving my son bonine from Day 1. He got hid HARD CORE with sea sickness on our last cruise. He's 11 1/2 so I figure it's close enough to 12 which is what the box recommends.

The medical center on board does have single serve packets of seasickness meds, but they're the drowsy making kind, I believe. If you say you're not feeling well, in my experience, the CM's are very helpful. They brought me soup, crackers, and green apples for dinner one night without me asking (I may have looked a little green, lol).

Also, I feel like alcohol seems to exacerbates seasickness symptoms. Like one drink makes me feel like I have a hangover. And the seasickness gets worse if I get dehydrated. So drinking lots of water and cutting down on alcohol makes me feel better.

I believe the ships have chewable generic Meclizine, or at least the Wonder did in August 2016--I got some samples for my oldest daughter, who was 16 at the time. Just outside the health center they had a bin of seasickness meds and info sheets on seasickness--so you didn't have to go see anyone.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

That's great that you don't have that side effect. I wish I didn't. I just wanted to make sure it was clear that meclizine is not actually a non-drowsy product.

In all fairness, the box does say "less-drowsy" formula and it "may" cause drowsiness. But, like I said, it doesn't make me feel drowsy.

 

[tlprice]

Neither. I hate how they make me feel. My daughter and I both use sea bands. They work much better for us, but I've heard a few people say they don't work for them. My first cruise, I brought a little of everything (just in case) and to see what would work best for us.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I don't need it, but my husband found Bonine to make him drowsy and it didn't work well. He now only uses Dramamine Naturals, which doesn't make him drowsy at all and prevents motion sickness. If he forgets to take it then it gets rid of his existing motion sickness within minutes of taking it. He gets car sick easily so he uses it regularly and it always works well for him.

 

[deliela999]

The non-drowsy dramamine is the same as bonine. I had never heard of bonine until people here talking about it so I looked it up. I did fine with the non-drowsy dramamine. I brought enough for all of us but of course only I needed it. I hate the taste of ginger, probably because people kept telling me it would cure "morning" sickness that lasted all day every day and it didn't do anything.

 

[Shanon1217]

I take Dramamine, non-drowsy formula. I also start it the day before. My first Disney cruise, I had no clue. The first night out, we had 18-20 ft seas. The green apples really do help! But I don't take any chances anymore!

 

[bumbershoot]

If you think you might take it, you need to check out how it affects you first.

dramamine non-drowsy naturals: ginger
dramamine less-drowsy: meclizine HCI 25mg
dramamine for kids: dimenhydrinate 25mg
dramamine: dimenhydrinate 50mg
dramamine chewable: dimenhydrinate 50mg

bonine ginger softgels: ginger
bonine: meclizine HCL 23 mg


Or organized a different way:

dramamine non-drowsy naturals: ginger
bonine ginger softgels: ginger

dramamine less-drowsy: meclizine HCI 25mg
bonine: meclizine HCL 23 mg

dramamine for kids: dimenhydrinate 25mg

dramamine: dimenhydrinate 50mg
dramamine chewable: dimenhydrinate 50mg

(this is all directly from the dramamine and bonine websites)