Woman who developed ‘land sickness’ while on first cruise explains why she’d ‘never cruise again'

A woman who went on her first ever cruise said it made her feel 'sick long after touching dry land'.

Brittany VanDerBill embarked on a seven-day cruise in February on the Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas.

Wanting to see if cruise holidays 'actually lived up to the hype', she spent a week sailing around the Eastern Caribbean.

However, for five days of the trip it rained on 'all three port days'.

Pexels

The contributing writer for Business Insider explained: "So, we scrapped our plans to visit beautiful beaches on St. Thomas and St. Maarten and instead slogged through puddles to check out local shops.

"We also had to evacuate early on our first port day at Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas due to an incoming storm.

"My friend and I got in a couple of hours of cloudy beach time that day, but we headed back to the ship when it started sprinkling.

"On our way back, Royal Caribbean announced we were leaving the island early. I appreciate the cruise putting our safety first, but I was still bummed."

Completely new to cruises, Brittany was aware of sea sickness, but didn't think she would get it so bad.

Pexels

Although her doctor prescribed her with preventative sea sickness meds, she said she 'had a negative reaction to it and had to remove it'.

And during her time on the cruise ship, she claims to have felt 'a lot of movement'.

"One night it was so bad that many of us had trouble walking in a straight line down the hallway," she wrote.

"Thankfully, other than a couple of hours of nausea I attribute to too much wine and not enough food, I didn't get sick to my stomach."

What surprised her the most was that feeling of 'sickness' did not go away after she landed.

Although she was on 'solid ground', she said she still 'felt like I was still on the cruise ship battling rough waves.'

"As it turns out, I'd developed 'land sickness', also known as mal de débarquement syndrome, where you feel as though you're still swaying on the ship once you get off," Brittany said.

Pexels

"Although it's somewhat rare, it's a form of reverse motion sickness that can last for months or even years after a cruise (or other triggering event).

"So far, anti-nausea medication and ginger ale haven't helped much."

Amid the seemingly rough experience, she did have some 'great laughs on board despite the rough seas and lack of sunshine'.

Even though Brittany won't ever go on another cruise, the travel writer admits that she could have just been unlucky and what she 'experienced probably isn't the norm'.

LADbible has contacted Royal Caribbean for comment.