My DH and I took a river cruise in Europe last summer. We both get motion sick at the drop of a hat. We barely felt the boat move the whole trip and had absolutely no twinge of motion sickness at all. The boats usually move at night when you are sleeping. The rivers are not very wide and have little to no waves, only the wakes from other boats. Much calmer than lakes we've been to skiing. You'll be on a much larger boat. I've used Bonine in the past when I've been out on the ocean, and it worked well although it made me a bit sleepy. You could take it with you and then see how you feel. Sounds like a great trip.

I rarely get seasick, and take Dramamine when I do. On our last cruise I noticed several people with those patches behind their ears-I think it is a prescription but can't recall the name of it. I also know people who use sea bands that you wear on your wrists. Good luck!

I got a prescription for this, it is a patch

http://www.transdermscop.com/about-transderm-scop.htm

It works very well ( i get seasick a lot). However, it did make me drowsy.

Have fun!

I've seen a lot of people use and have success with the patches. We cruised with a dr. and his wife; he used them and she didn't. He said he'd suggested she wear one and she declined. She got very sick but rebounded nicely with the patch. .

We took a Normandy to Paris river cruise 8 years ago - what a fantastic trip! DH has issues with motion sickness and like annac54 said, you most likely won't even know the boat is moving. I used Bonine when I would sail with my teacher buddies, but it did make me sleepy once we were back on shore. I doubt that you'll have any issues at all, but I understand wanting to be prepared. Have a great time and I look forward to the trip recap once you've returned.

I think I took $40 worth of sea sickness meds with me on our cruise several years ago. Gin-gins, too. I never used anything, and I get woozy if my husband takes too many circles in a mall parking lot. I did feel better knowing I had meds with me if I needed them.

Thank you - all of you. That's just what I needed to hear. I used to think that there was something wrong with my internal wiring. It's reassuring to know that I'm not alone and that the meds worked.

I love those adorable figures on the Gin-Gins bag, I've never seen them before.

Thanks again -Maire

i've heard and read that you should start your dramamine/bonine whatever....4 hours before the trip begins

Definitely take motion sickness medication prophylactically, not reactively.

Also, try the acupressure wristbands. They have the advantage of not making you drowsy. I don't suffer from motion sickness, but I have a similar reaction to anesthesia and react badly to anti-emetic meds. For my last surgery, they used the patch behind the ear and the wristbands on me with great success.

Sea Bands

I've used them. Can't endorse them because it takes a lot to get me sick, but I didn't get sick while wearing them deep sea fishing and catamaraning with lots of chop.

When my daughter and family went to Disney a couple of years ago, she wore the patch so she wouldn't get sick during some of the rides. They were there for about a week. She noticed she couldn't see very well (she's had lasix). Her vision just kept getting worse by the day. Turns out that vision impairment is one of the side effects from the motion sickness patch. It clears up after the patch is removed.

With calm waters and stabilizers, I doubt you'll ever know you're on a boat. The last two Caribbean cruises we've been on, we had some pretty rough seas due to weather. Thankfully neither one of us gets seasick and actually enjoyed being "rocked" to sleep at night. It takes some big waves to rock a ship that's 3 football fields long!

Dramamine and eat lightly before you get on the boat, and continue doing so until you know if/how the motion will affect you. I once got on a boat shortly after lunch time that had an extremely rough 3 hour ride and I was one of the only people who didn't get sick. (Hundreds of people vomiting the whole trip is a weird experience I'll never forget!) I had checked the weather beforehand and knew the waves would be 8-10 feet, so ate only a light breakfast and skipped lunch. I am positive it helped.

I take meclizine (generic Bonine - way cheaper). I take it at might so any drowziness effects are gone by the time I wake up. I start a couple of days before my trip.

I am the queen of motion sickness. My earliest memory is of throwing up over O'Hare while the plane circled, circled, and as a child I mostly lived on dramamine (my mom said, "You were a very happy baby"), and to get on a plane for flights lasting more than three hours I have to fast completely for 24 hours and take a huge dose of ginger root as soon as I board the flight, but even I am not affected by river boating, even in a very small boat, although I still can't ride in a car as a passenger for long distances, only as the driver, and there is no question of my ever going deep sea fishing again.

I really don't think this is going to be a problem.

I think you'll be fine on the river. I use sea bands when ocean cruising and although I am very sceptical as to HOW they work, I do find they seem to work for me very well. If it is just placebo effect, sign me up. When I took them off to shower, I'd get out of the shower and say "I'm so nauseous, I think I'm getting food poisoning!" and then remember to put the sea bands back on.