Early (and I mean EARLY!) risers...

[whale-watcher]

Alaska was the best cruise for early risers -- so much daylight. Some of our best pictures (and whale sightings) were at 5am! Even in the Caribbean, there is nothing better than starting the day with a beautiful sunrise and great cup of coffee; now only if I could find that great cup of coffee onboard.....

[Merion_Mom]

Well, speaking for me- I am a nurse and I am so used to getting up around 5-5:30am every morning it is just in my blood. I actually love that time of the morning- very peaceful! I just get some hot delicious coffee and sit out on the balcony enjoying God's beautiful world and watching the sun rise. :D

Trust me..............God's world is JUST as beautiful at other hours! ;)

[whale-watcher]

Trust me..............God's world is JUST as beautiful at other hours! ;)

LOL - :D

[harrodsfan]

I am not an early riser at home but when cruising for some reason when the boat slows down to come into a port I wake up. Love to have room service coffee and sit on balcony and watch us get into port. I just love going to bed in one place and waking up in a whole new place. My favorite thing about crusing.:) Hotels don't do that!

[Retired not Expired]

Trust me..............God's world is JUST as beautiful at other hours! ;)

 

LOL. True but this tired old body ain't.:o

[Happy ks]

Who ARE you people???? :D :D

 

3:30 or 4 A.M.? Getting UP? I'm sometimes just going to BED then!!!!

Carol

 

I absolutely love getting up this early! I have for years, with the DH and kids, it is the only time I get my own personal, quiet time. If my Sunday newspaper isn't here by 5am, I'm very disappointed. Of course, I'm well known to zone out on the couch by 8:30pm!

 

I love to get up early on a cruise, you really have the ship to yourself. We walk laps, have coffee, watch the ship pull into port, have an early breakfast with no crowds. I actually sleep better on cruise ships than I do at home and sometimes sleep in until 6am, late for me!

 

I actually find it a bit amusing when I read about people being upset by being awakened early, say 8 am, for me, that is almost mid-day!

[kenandlaura06]

Trust me..............God's world is JUST as beautiful at other hours! ;)

 

I agree, but my job doesn't permit me to sleep in--I have to be at work before 7 a.m. !:(

[sharonmp]

I too am a early riser, althought I am not as early as some on this board. I suppose I will be up and going anywhere from 5:30 to 6:30. On the other hand my hubby could sleep the day away. He is a shift worker and usually works the midnight shift, so he is use to sleeping in the day.

 

I will most likely get up, get ready and head out the door and find a glass of juice and watch the all the activity. This is a first cruise for us, and I am looking forward to a relaxing time.

[curlyd]

Like Sharonmp my husband works nights (32 years of wedded bliss?) anyway I myself get up at 4 am leave house at 5:15am at work at 6:30am. Usually on the weekends my body clock still gets me up at least by 5 and since Bill is still at work (his weekend Wed & Thur) I can read the weekend paper and be ready to move when he gets home. I hope I still wake up early on the cruise and am able to get out without waking him - Don't really want to use an alarm clock but definately want to see the sun come up. First cruise and can't wait!!!

[2cruiseagain]

I’m not old and I’m not an early riser at home. But, when you are 7-8 hours ahead of your normal body clock, you have no idea what time it is in the middle of the night in a dark cruise cabin. Notice there aren’t any clock radios? Welcome to a Mediterranean cruise… I could get up at 4am or sleep until 11am. Most of depends on how late we stayed up with the kids or that stupid room service door hanger I put out stating how necessary it was to have cappuccino at 7am…

[kenandlaura06]

Like Sharonmp my husband works nights (32 years of wedded bliss?) anyway I myself get up at 4 am leave house at 5:15am at work at 6:30am. Usually on the weekends my body clock still gets me up at least by 5 and since Bill is still at work (his weekend Wed & Thur) I can read the weekend paper and be ready to move when he gets home. I hope I still wake up early on the cruise and am able to get out without waking him - Don't really want to use an alarm clock but definately want to see the sun come up. First cruise and can't wait!!!

 

Have fun!

[Gingee]

I tend to be up earlier on a cruise. I can tell the movement of the ships. I like to see when we come into a port. I am always wondering what it is doing outside, etc. Plain old nosy.

[Merion_Mom]

I agree, but my job doesn't permit me to sleep in--I have to be at work before 7 a.m. !:(

But that's just during the school year, right? Me, too, so I'm on vacation, and posting at 2:30 in the morning, and on my cruise, I stay out and up late, and DO NOT AWAKEN WITH THE DAWN!!!!! :D

 

Carol

[whale-watcher]

For some reason, it is backwards for me --- I tend to wake up even earlier on vacation days, bounding out of bed full of energy...

[redwings1958]

I love waking up early and getting to the shipshape room right at 6 and working out as the sun is rising. Absolutely and totally gets me ready for the day. Then once my workout is done, its off to the cafe for some coffee and rolls, and people watching. And another plus is I don't feel guilty about "overeating" because I know I'll burn it off.

[Nliedel]

I go running, you can walk too (just move over if you hear what sounds like a steam engine behind you, it's me). I also ust wander or get in a deck chair and watch the sun rise. I'm up at 4:30 most days and that does not change on vacation.

[Nliedel]

You can always go put a book and a towel on a bunch of deck chairs! :D

 

That was a joke BTW.

[Parrotgirl]

Carol - I'm with you. I have to get up at 6:00 in order to get to work on time (it takes me quite a while to get going in the morning or I'd be able to sleep until 7:00) but when I'm on vacation, it's time to stay up late and sleep late. I've been known to miss breakfast. I also try to schedule afternoon excursions because I'm grouchy if I have to take an early one.

 

I don't care about watching us arrive in the port of the day. I'll see it when I get off. Of course, that mostly works in the Caribbean where I've sailed numerous times and have been to most of the ports. Europe is another story and I force myself to get up "early" (not 4:00 or 5:00!!) since it's more port intensive.

 

I'm one of those people who would love a month long cruise of nothing but sea days. Or how about a cruise with nothing but night port visits? (Yeah, yeah, I know that it would be dark.):D

 

Patricia

[Bennett'sCruise]

I'm also up with the birds! (This morning is was 3:30 ....:o )

 

I thought this was just a saying until one cruise ... we were sailing into San Diego extremely early one morning. I was up and out on the balcony (per usual) before the sun came up. You could see the lights of San Diego waaaay off in the distance. Suddenly a sea gull came flying in and landed on our balcony railing. He and I sat there all the way into port (well, actually, he left about the time he sighted the first buoy). I always thought he was one smart bird ... why waste energy flying when you can hitch a ride on a luxury liner!

 

~D

[stitches12]

Well, I gotta admit... my usual wake-up time is somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00. I love waking up then... it's soooo quiet. Just wanted to pop in here and thank everyone for their comments... I've got some great ideas (esp. making sure I'm parked somewhere when I can watch the sunrise and see the Jewel pull into her Caribbean ports). Also liked redwings1958 suggestion to get to the ShipShape room by 6 and get that out of the way. Heck, I may as well get up like I do at home... I'll be too excited to sleep anyway!!

 

Patricia, I'm one of those "month-long cruise of nothing but sea days" people, too. With all the activities available aboard ship, it sounds great to me!

[kenandlaura06]

But that's just during the school year, right? Me, too, so I'm on vacation, and posting at 2:30 in the morning, and on my cruise, I stay out and up late, and DO NOT AWAKEN WITH THE DAWN!!!!! :D

 

Carol

 

Even when I am on vacation (and on Saturdays) my body still wakes up at 5 a.m.! I hate it!

[Boxer_Mom]

Wanna hear something really sad?

Last year was our first cruise and usually I am very much a night person. For some weird reason, we decided not to go to the first nights dinner (we had late seating) and I FELL ASLEEP before 9pm! My husband was a little disappointed but he was tired too. We had been on deck since we left port as we traveled down the river. We live near New Orleans and my husband has been down that river a million times yet he wanted to be out there so we went!

I konked out and kinda regret it. We were in bed by 10 every night ( I know,,how silly) , when most nights I am lucky if I fall alseep by midnight,,,,and we got up around 7-8 every day. Usually we are up by 6am at home.

This year, I plan to stay up some nights and since we will have an owners suite with a nice big balcony, I definately plan to be up to watch a few sunrises. I LOVE sunrises and sunsets, I have so many pictures!

[Happy ks]

Some of the most gorgeous cruise pictures I have are of Vancouver, when we were returning. There were a few clouds in the sky, the dawn was not upon us yet. In the last moments of darkness, it cast a wonderful blue color over the city, it was ethereal. I would have missed it all if I were sleeping. The pictures are nice to look at, but the peace, the smell, the feel is not there in a photo.

 

To get into port at sunrise is beautiful, the air seems clearer, many ports are very colorful and you cannot see the contrast when you are too close up. I guess if you haven't experienced some of these things, you don't know what you are missing. I jut love the peace of the early morning, I get out of the way when the throngs arrive.

 

Most everyone else seems to love the battle grounds of the buffet and the hawking of the loudspeakers in the morning.

 

We also like to walk the decks late at night, when everyone else is at the show or gambling and drinking. The sky and the ocean are wonderful at night and the decks are not the least bit crowded. Give me peace and beauty any day over crowds and chaos.

[texancruzer]

Sadly I am one of those people who can sleep anywhere anytime.....but when I go on vacation, cruise or land, I wake up early.....NOT 3 OR 4 THO!! that is still yesterday in my book. On our first cruise I would wake up and stick my head under the blackout curtain (so not to wake dh) and watch the sun come up (sometimes) and the sea go by. Then I would oooch back under the covers and lazily think about what all I was going to do that day. :D