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What is a cruise ship like in the middle of the night?


Freshycat
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I remember one of my favourite memories at a tropical resort was wandering onto the beach late at night after everybody else was in bed and looking at the stars. It was incredibly dark and we stumbled around like crazy, but the stars were amazingly clear. I wonder what it is like for a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.

 

How are cruise ships for stargazing? Are the lights in common spaces on 24/7 or do they dim it? Is there always some party hopping or does it get pretty quiet after a while? Do they close most public areas or are there still lots of places to wander to find an empty promenade deck? If they allow people to walk around at, say, 4 or 5 am, are there safety concerns about the darkness and what do they do about it?

 

We're on the NCL Getaway in August 2019. We have a balcony, but that wouldn't afford a panoramic view and I wonder about the feasibility of roaming the ship when everybody is asleep. I love being the only one awake and having the world to myself.

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It's like a resort hotel, except at sea. There are plenty of spots to see the stars, but at sea, there's lots of humidity, so the sky's are often hazy or cloudy. The ship does keep lights on....don't want another ship running into you, do ya??? Nope! But, if it's clear enough and you're not near land, you can have a pretty good view of the night sky.

 

You may CERTAINLY roam about whenever you want! No restrictions, unless the weather is bad enough to close the outside decks. Unfortunately, you will not be the only one up at night!!

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I hardly ever see stars at sea, the new ships are so lit up they really don't offer good stargazing. Plus you'll be able to see all the other ships that are cruising with you. You'll be in a pack of about 3 or 4 and you'll see them in the same ports you'll be visiting.

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How are cruise ships for stargazing? Are the lights in common spaces on 24/7 or do they dim it?

 

In pirate infested areas the ship is as dark as possible. Everywhere else, unfortunately (!), the ship looks like a Christmas tree. I'm starting a new thread immediately! :)

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The back of the ship at sea around 2am is just about one of my favorite places in the world. It's usually quiet except for the sound of the water being churned up behind the boat. I've had good luck stargazing, but it does depend on the ship and how many lights are on. I always enjoy looking out over the horizon and seeing the twinkling lights from the other ships in the distance. All in all, a very peaceful place to be.

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For stargazing - take a look at Cunard's enrichment speaker schedule - when there is a speaker from the Royal Astronomical Society featured, there is a [weather permitting] stargazing session - often with some telescopes. The enrichment schedule only goes through the end of 2018, so I don't know if that will be a feature of our next cruise.

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Spent almost 40 years at sea so have spent many nights on the Bridge. Star gazing opportunities abound, but are primarily dependent on the weather and moon phase. However, on a crystal clear night and new moon, in my opinion, nothing beats the night sky.

 

Unfortunately, the more modern cruise ships have lights on the outer decks 24/7, except when transiting pirate waters, so it does negatively impact the experience. Don't know NCL ships, but you should find somewhere on the upper decks to enjoy the night sky.

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My DW and I love sitting out on the balcony with the lights off listening to the ocean slapping upside the ship and gazing out into the blackness to see if we have any ships nearby...and reflecting on how lucky we are to be having this experience together.

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It's like a resort hotel, except at sea. There are plenty of spots to see the stars, but at sea, there's lots of humidity, so the sky's are often hazy or cloudy. The ship does keep lights on....don't want another ship running into you, do ya??? Nope! But, if it's clear enough and you're not near land, you can have a pretty good view of the night sky.

 

You may CERTAINLY roam about whenever you want! No restrictions, unless the weather is bad enough to close the outside decks. Unfortunately, you will not be the only one up at night!!

 

Once again, cb, spouting nonsense. The reason the night sky is "hazy or cloudy" is "light pollution" where the ship's lights wash out the darkness and the stars fade. Really, only having all the thousands of lights on a cruise ship is what keeps ships from running into each other? 99% of the ships crossing the world's oceans (those that are not cruise ships) have exactly 5 60w lightbulbs lit up (range, masthead, port, starboard, and stern running lights), and they manage to not hit each other thousands of times each day.

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Yeah, I always try too and have never been successful in all my several cruises. The ships just put out too much light and the sky/clouds tend not to cooperate either.

 

On the bright side, it's the best time to explore the ship and take pictures of the ship without having a ton of people in the way. That or EARLY morning. I'm a night owl (2:30 AM as we speak) so I'd much rather stay up than wake up early. Land resorts seem much darker at night than cruise ships.

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Once again, cb, spouting nonsense. The reason the night sky is "hazy or cloudy" is "light pollution" where the ship's lights wash out the darkness and the stars fade. Really, only having all the thousands of lights on a cruise ship is what keeps ships from running into each other? 99% of the ships crossing the world's oceans (those that are not cruise ships) have exactly 5 60w lightbulbs lit up (range, masthead, port, starboard, and stern running lights), and they manage to not hit each other thousands of times each day.

 

The only problem with trying to educate this poster is that they never return to the same thread again after posting their comments to learn from their inaccuracies. They post their typically incorrect information then go to the next thread to repeat the process.

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The only problem with trying to educate this poster is that they never return to the same thread again after posting their comments to learn from their inaccuracies. They post their typically incorrect information then go to the next thread to repeat the process.

 

Yeah, I know, she is a "drive by" poster, but I want to deflect others from the nonsense.

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On the bright side, it's the best time to explore the ship and take pictures of the ship without having a ton of people in the way. That or EARLY morning.

I've noticed the same - ship is pretty deserted at 3am with only the occasional night owl/insomniac prowling about. I've also not had much luck stargazing from aboard cruise ships.

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I personally have no desire to be out on deck after dark .I have always felt this way.

 

I would love to live someplace where there would be 24 hours of sunlight.

 

Iceland fits the bill, but only a few months out of the year (and of course there is 24 hour darkness in the other season). I remember playing softball at 2 in the morning without lights.

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Thank you for the insight, everybody!

 

I hardly ever see stars at sea, the new ships are so lit up they really don't offer good stargazing. Plus you'll be able to see all the other ships that are cruising with you. You'll be in a pack of about 3 or 4 and you'll see them in the same ports you'll be visiting.

 

That is very interesting! Are the routes just this crowded, or is there some reason that ships try to sail as a pack?

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You'll be in a pack of about 3 or 4 and you'll see them in the same ports you'll be visiting.

 

 

Are the routes just this crowded, or is there some reason that ships try to sail as a pack?

 

Not sure where Sauer-kraut has seen 3 or 4 ships sailing in a pack. :confused:

 

Yes, often that many in a port together. And all leaving within an hour or so of each-other but the ocean's a big place and we've rarely sailed in tandem with another for more than a short while.

Depending on where in the world, seeing another cruise ship in the distance or passing in the opposite direction is either a fairly common or a quite rare occurrence.

 

JB :)

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Thank you for the insight, everybody!

 

 

 

That is very interesting! Are the routes just this crowded, or is there some reason that ships try to sail as a pack?

 

Not sure where Sauer-kraut has seen 3 or 4 ships sailing in a pack. :confused:

 

Yes, often that many in a port together. And all leaving within an hour or so of each-other but the ocean's a big place and we've rarely sailed in tandem with another for more than a short while.

Depending on where in the world, seeing another cruise ship in the distance or passing in the opposite direction is either a fairly common or a quite rare occurrence.

 

JB :)

 

Sorry, I guess my hyperbole got the better of me. Usually if you are staring out at the distance you can see other cruise ships on the horizon. One year I was on a ship sailing to Mexico and that was the year of the swine flu and Mexico was "closed" so we had another day or two at sea doing circles in the ocean, as well as 3 other cruise ships. We could see everyone doing a sort of ring around the rosie dance. Again the ships were miles apart, but they were there.

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"Daddy, what's a Shipping Lane?"

 

Areas of the ocean which can be 50-100 miles wide, where ships will follow a course because the "great circle route" (shortest distance between points on a sphere) is there, or because the ocean currents run in that direction. It is not like an interstate, where ships are packed together, they can be on the same "shipping lane", at the same lattitude, and still be out of sight (line of sight is only 20-30 miles, depending on the height of the two ships. Ships don't follow a "lane", they vary course within a general swath to improve seakeeping, improve speed, reduce fuel, or just get away from a converging target.

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Areas of the ocean which can be 50-100 miles wide, where ships will follow a course because the "great circle route" (shortest distance between points on a sphere) is there, or because the ocean currents run in that direction. It is not like an interstate, where ships are packed together, they can be on the same "shipping lane", at the same lattitude, and still be out of sight (line of sight is only 20-30 miles, depending on the height of the two ships. Ships don't follow a "lane", they vary course within a general swath to improve seakeeping, improve speed, reduce fuel, or just get away from a converging target.

Guess I should've added /sarc?

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Guess I should've added /sarc?
LOL I couldn't help but laugh at his lack of sarcasm detection because I thought it was pretty obvious. I was ready to post something similar. :D Sometimes people are so eager to impress everyone with their knowledge, they miss moments that aren't so serious.
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