How difficult is it to sleep with such long days?

[Dizzneefan]

We do not sail until next June but I was wondering how difficult it is to sleep with so many daylight hours? We have an aft cabin so if we close the curtains, do you still find it difficult to sleep? I am not accustomed to any light in the room so do you think I might need sleep aids to help?

[trophy_23]

We had no trouble even though it was light until midnight. Closed the curtains and it was dark. We are so busy during the day that we crash when it comes to bed time.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[slider728]

I am not accustomed to any light in the room so do you think I might need sleep aids to help?

 

Personally, I have no issues with the summer nights up north, but I grew up in Alaska.

 

However, I have worked the graveyard shift for years and know a thing or two about sleeping when it is light out :)

 

You can go the sleep-aid route if you like. However, I'd recommend getting a good quality sleep mask. It was the best thing I ever did in the years I worked nights.

 

My personal favorite runs about $10 on Amazon. It is the Dream Essentials Sweet Dreams Contoured Sleep Mask. They don't last a long time, but it will get you through a week on a cruise ship.

 

I personally don't care for sleep aids as they make me feel kind of groggy the next morning sometimes.

 

Just my 2 cents for what its worth :)

[Dizzneefan]

Personally, I have no issues with the summer nights up north, but I grew up in Alaska.

 

However, I have worked the graveyard shift for years and know a thing or two about sleeping when it is light out :)

 

You can go the sleep-aid route if you like. However, I'd recommend getting a good quality sleep mask. It was the best thing I ever did in the years I worked nights.

 

My personal favorite runs about $10 on Amazon. It is the Dream Essentials Sweet Dreams Contoured Sleep Mask. They don't last a long time, but it will get you through a week on a cruise ship.

 

I personally don't care for sleep aids as they make me feel kind of groggy the next morning sometimes.

 

Just my 2 cents for what its worth :)

 

I had rather go the mask route myself instead of the aids. We have two excursions that leave around 7:20-7:30 and I don't want to fall asleep and miss anything! Of course if we have such early starts, and are accustomed to CST time zone then NEITHER may be necessary.

[JimAOk1945]

We have been on two Alaska cruises, both were in August. We had no trouble sleeping. The drapes kept our room very dark.

 

Happy cruising!

[SparkleBee]

I think you will be too pooped from the day's events that you will sleep just fine! I usually don't sleep very well but on my last cruise (Baltic) I crashed each night and slept all the way thru. I think an interior cabin helped.

[Putterdude]

We have never had a problem. The cabin curtains blank out the light pretty well....some people bring along a couple of clothes pins to make sure they stay closed.

[peety3]

We store a small spring/"alligator" clip with each of our two laundry bags so whenever we travel we have at least one clip to keep the drapes shut. That said, I'm usually so tired from the activities that I'm constantly debating: nap, or listen to naturalist/look for whales/etc.

[AryMay]

We have only been home a few days and my husband swears he still feels "off" from the long days. I didn't seem to be bothered. As others have said...with our drapes closed, our cabin was very dark.

 

The issue I noticed was that you lose track of time pretty easily. Since it stayed light, it was easy to forget how late it was getting in the evening and we often stayed up longer than we intended.

 

If I woke up during the night, I would always get out of bed and peek out the balcony door. I NEVER saw it completely dark outside regardless of what time it was. The sunrise and sunset times were shown on the TV in the cabin. For our cruise (first week of June) the earliest we had sunrise was 3:53 a.m. and the latest sunset I saw listed was 11:20 p.m.

[bottom-dragger]

you complain it might rain

and you complain it might be sunny

 

karma is in balance

[agabbymama]

I've been to Alaska in May and another trip in August. While as one poster stated you were aware of staying light longer, so had to watch the clock closer, it didn't interfere with my sleep at all.

 

First cruise we only had an Ocean View and never even opened the curtains. The second cruisetour we had a Balcony cabin and just closed the drapes. The land portion of the cruisetour, the hotels all had double drapes. So no problem being dark once the drapes were closed. We usually head to bed around 10:00 pm, regardless of where we are.

[Dizzneefan]

you complain it might rain

and you complain it might be sunny

 

karma is in balance

 

 

I have not complained one time. I have asked some opinions and questions. Maybe some do not know the difference.

[bottom-dragger]

I have not complained one time. I have asked some opinions and questions. Maybe some do not know the difference.

 

never directed at you. just the cosmic dichotomy of the forum asking what to do if it rains or if it's sunny.

[Putterdude]

We have only been home a few days and my husband swears he still feels "off" from the long days. I didn't seem to be bothered. As others have said...with our drapes closed, our cabin was very dark.

 

.

 

My guess it was not the long hours of daylight but rater a condition known as "post cruise syndrome" that effects a lot of people after a cruise....including myself at time....but I kind of put it down not stuffing 12,000 calories into my body daily.;)

[AryMay]

My guess it was not the long hours of daylight but rater a condition known as "post cruise syndrome" that effects a lot of people after a cruise....including myself at time....but I kind of put it down not stuffing 12,000 calories into my body daily.;)

 

LOL! That would be ME you are describing!

 

My husband is one of those disgusting people who goes through the buffet and comes out with a plate full of fruits and vegetables...and then heads to the gym. Hard to live with someone like that. ;)

[normr]

We do not sail until next June but I was wondering how difficult it is to sleep with so many daylight hours? We have an aft cabin so if we close the curtains, do you still find it difficult to sleep? I am not accustomed to any light in the room so do you think I might need sleep aids to help?

 

 

We just finished a Canada cruise and sun didn't go down until after 9pm and sun came up at 3 am, the windows in our SA suite has short curtains so light was coming in and waking me, luckily I used all the pillows and bolsters to block the light on the rest of the nights

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[KirkNC]

We do not sail until next June but I was wondering how difficult it is to sleep with so many daylight hours? We have an aft cabin so if we close the curtains, do you still find it difficult to sleep? I am not accustomed to any light in the room so do you think I might need sleep aids to help?

 

We get inside rooms so it is plenty dark!

[fleckle]

We just close the drapes and have never had a problem.

 

Sometimes I even nap during the day with the drapes open using a soft, dark eye shade from an airline flight that I keep in my carry-on bag.

 

[sherryf]

We get inside rooms so it is plenty dark!

 

Me too! Plus, I'm usually so exhausted by the end of the day that I have no problem sleeping. I have more trouble waking up in the morning. ;)

[PennyAgain]

I always have sleep shades in my carry on bag. Always! Very handy for all sort of travel and while on long flights.

 

EBags has a fair selection.

[Mrs.Gosse]

Great question. In Germany when I was a teen I lived in the attic room and in the summer the sun was fully up by 530 and didn't go down till about 1000. My room had a giant skylight over my bed! Sleeping in the dark was NOT an option. I used a sleep mask we had gotten on the airplane and it helped a lot. It also helped my eyes from getting dried out since I sleep in my contacts! Bonus! :p I now use a sleep sound generator and I love it. It almost puts me RIGHT OUT! I am bringing mine with me.

 

BTW in the winter I went to school in pitch black and got off the bus in pitch black at 430. Weird.

[luvlake]

We are early risers and found that we had no problem going to bed once the curtains were closed. We did try to keep the same schedule that we keep at home. I do find it hard though to keep from taking one more peak at the scenery. We just can't get enough of it!:)

[hellokitty49]

We did not like the looooooooong days but if you lose the curtains and maybe use a eye mask thing you will be fine.

[DougH]

I just returned from a B2B and personally love the long daylight hours and have no problem sleeping with the curtains wide open. Its kind of fun to wake up at 3am and watch the scenery going by. If you close the curtains it should be easily dark enough for you to sleep.

 

What I found funny was when I got home the last few days waking up to a dark room seems very weird. :)