Surviving long trips TO the cruise

Does anyone have any tips to share for long flights to your cruise destination. Our flight time is slightly less than 10 hours.

We know to get up every couple of hours, we have electronic devices for movies, music, books and if all else fails, we have Xanax....

Anyone have any additional tips/suggestions?

Tips for a tween aged child?

Thanks!

Just take plenty to read, rent the movie, if avail., and keep thinking about the fun you'll eventually have!

I hate flights over 5 hours....just TOO long! I can't sleep sitting up, so that's pretty much out, for me!

Sorry I don't have better suggestions...but I feel your pain!!!

I agree, 10 hours is a massive flight!!!

Wine was my friend last time i did that , but never again, made me feel worse. Books, movies, sleeping tablets should cover it.

Where are you going ?

Our longest flight has been 14.5 hrs. We've done that a few times. Sleep works well for us to pass the time and we don't sit on coach on a flight that long. For a 10-hr. flight I'd suggest getting at least 'economy plus' seats. The airlines have different names for that, but the extra 4-6 inches of leg room makes a lot of difference.

Fortunately, I'm able to sleep on planes. I get on, have a glass of wine and ambien, put on my eyeshades, and wake up later.....Sometimes I'll stay awake for dinner, depends.

I don't have kids, but I have a husband who doesn't sleep well on planes - not in coach, at least, and can act like an 8 year old:rolleyes: The last long flight we did together was for our Black Sea cruise in September, and we bought Premium Voyageur seats on Air France - husband took his ambien and was able to sleep on that transatlantic flight a little, thank goodness!

Otherwise, I read my Kindle and he watches movies on the AVOD system. I try not to fly planes that don't have seatback systems for long flights. (you should be able to check the equipment of your flight on the airline website, and check seatguru for specifics)

I always have my personal comfort items in the bag under my seat - lip balm and moisturizer, water bottle (filled at the airport), eye shade, coolmax blanket (packs up small), kindle & headlamp, mp3 player & earbuds (if sound is a real problem for you, you might want noise cancelling headphones). A pen to fill out immigration forms before I land:D

Have a glass of wine with dinner, put on earphones, listen to music and use eye shades to rest as much as possible. Did this on our RT air from San Francisco to Rome. We also go a day ahead to get a good nights sleep before we board.

There are no two ways about it...... long flights stink even in first class IMO

I cannot sleep on planes and at the most get a short 'doze'.

I hate long distance flying and do much less of it now than we used to do.

Try your xanax and maybe it'll put you to sleep.

Good luck.

Do NOT give your kids sugary drinks or candy before or during the flights

some people do like to sleep

We spent a 6 hr flight with 2 kids loaded on sugar kicking our seats all night & the mother no where in sight :eek:

They say to drink plenty of tomato juice, it is supposed to help your body on a long flight rather than alcohol.

There are countless tips available at reputable websites online, but I do know you are not supposed to drink alcohol or caffeine - both interfere with sleep patterns. Drink more water than you usually would, stretch your legs and feet hourly, get up and walk if you can.

Our longest flight was 9 hours, and it was long enough for me. I survived by using my iPod and comfortable, tight fitting ear buds. If the flight is overnight, they will dim the cabin lights and encourage you to sleep, even if it's not time for your body to do so yet. When we flew from Vancouver to London, with the time difference we would have been arriving in the morning, so they "made us" go to sleep so we would start to get accustomed to the time change. Just a heads up. :)

Enjoy your cruise.

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Bring a portable video game system for your kid. When I was a kid I always played my Gameboy while flying. You could also bring playing cards, Uno, Mille Borne, and other portable games to play together. Maybe your kid would enjoy a book of puzzles or Mad Libs.

Do NOT give your kids sugary drinks or candy before or during the flights

some people do like to sleep

 

We spent a 6 hr flight with 2 kids loaded on sugar kicking our seats all night & the mother no where in sight :eek:

How does a Mom hide from her kids on an airplane? :D

Obviously, if you live in NC and your flight time is 10 hrs, you're not sailing out of Fla. Well, if you want to see what's at where you're going, you really don't have a choice. Bring books, video games, magazines, take a nap and just make the best of it. We recently had a 22 hr flight (3 segments) which was not a cake walk, but the trip was worth it!

I trust you're flying a day or two early? Stressing over whether you're going to make the ship won't make for a good flight.

How does a Mom hide from her kids on an airplane? :D

 

Easy ....sit at the back with her friend during the flight

she even left a small baby with the 2 boys aged about 8 & 9 :eek:

Obviously, if you live in NC and your flight time is 10 hrs, you're not sailing out of Fla.

The OP has a countdown clock for Pride Of America (not everyone has signatures visible), so I'm assuming they are flying from NC to Hawaii.

great suggestions above. But yes, get into your destination a few days before. my last trip we made our flights but my luggage didn't get there until a day later. luckily we started the cruise the day after my luggage arrived. :rolleyes: So my other suggestion is to pack 1 outfit (or at least a top and undies) in your carry on.

I do know you are not supposed to drink alcohol or caffeine - both interfere with sleep patterns. Drink more water than you usually would, stretch your legs and feet hourly, get up and walk if you can..

Some of us find a glass of wine is not a bad thing. To each his/her own;)

On my first flight from the Left Coast to FLL, (I always take the red eye) the flight attendant asked me what I wanted to drink. I asked for a glass of white wine; I got it, popped a Temazapam (sleeping pill) and was wide awake the entire flight:(. Now I just accept that I'll be awake for the entire trip. The big problem is that I'm awake from about 7:00 a.m. the morning before my flight, all night during the flight, and all day on the ship until about 9:00 that night when I finally start to unwind. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get around that.

Check out http://www.seatguru.com to make sure you don't get a seat that doesn't recline or an equipment box under the seat in front of you. We frequently take an aisle and window hoping that the middle stays empty. If it doesn't the person assigned to the middle never minds taking the window instead. Sometimes it works and we get an empty seat between us, but for the most part the planes are packed to the gills!:rolleyes:

On my first flight from the Left Coast to FLL, (I always take the red eye) the flight attendant asked me what I wanted to drink. I asked for a glass of white wine; I got it, popped a Temazapam (sleeping pill) and was wide awake the entire flight:(. Now I just accept that I'll be awake for the entire trip. The big problem is that I'm awake from about 7:00 a.m. the morning before my flight, all night during the flight, and all day on the ship until about 9:00 that night when I finally start to unwind. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get around that.

You'd probably be best served by either leaving a day earlier to give yourself a day to catch up on sleep before the cruise, or just take a daytime flight the day before, even though you end up feeling like you wasted a day travelling. But at least you aren't a zombie on the first day of the cruise. I do realize though that it can be hard to take that extra day to travel.

My Doctor prescribes valium just for flying I get about 10 pills and take one the night before, i before I get on the plane and one on the plane. I hate airplane rides and without these pills you wouldn't see me board a plane.

Sharon

You'd probably be best served by either leaving a day earlier to give yourself a day to catch up on sleep before the cruise, or just take a daytime flight the day before, even though you end up feeling like you wasted a day travelling. But at least you aren't a zombie on the first day of the cruise. I do realize though that it can be hard to take that extra day to travel.

This is great advice for a number of reasons! We missed our first day and a half of our Hawaiian cruise because of mechanical problems with the plane. :mad: Lesson learned, we always fly in a day or two early now. If we are going to Europe or port that we haven't been before, we build in a day of rest and a couple days of local sight seeing. :)

Be sure to bring some additional snacks for your tween. Nothing can make traveling with kids more miserable than when they're hungry and cranky. If you decide to bring fruit or veggies, and not all of it is eaten, be sure to leave the leftovers on the plane since you can't import fruit and veggies into other countries, (this may not be applicable to your particular instance, but may help others.)

Since your trip is so long, I would also pack a couple of little surprise "gifts" that you can pull out when they start to get bored. These should be small and quiet, but have good play value such as a new game card, or other small amusement. It is much like traveling with little kids, you just need more food (if they are a boy), and fewer, but more expensive toys. :D

10 hours is a hop skip and a jump for us..... We travel overseas fairly often and usually have 2 long haul flights in a row. Sometimes it's just one 14 hour flight which is way better. Years ago I did it a few times with 3 small children. Not fun.

But now I look at it as time out, I watch a heap of movies, read a book and doze a little, never sleep. 10 hours is really no issue, its all about your mindset. My (now) early and late teenagers watch movies, play games, snack and they are fine. Then we have to get over the jetlag....:rolleyes: