Port intensive cruises and jet lag

[andrcan]

I’m wondering if seasoned cruisers can share their tips on how do they fight jet lag when going on the cruises to the parts of the world with time zones being several hours apart from theirs. I always arrive a few days in advance to the departure port time zone as it takes me 2 to 5 days to get over the jet lag. Otherwise my memories of port intensive cruises get clouded in the first couple of days by the semi-zombie state of mind and body. Tried melatonin, it worked well, but prefer accommodating naturally though slowly. How do others deal with it?

[Host Jazzbeau]

(1)  We fly in at least one day ahead and go straight to the hotel for a nap [if the flight is arriving at the crack of dawn, we pay for a room from the night before so it will be ready]

(2)  Take lots of pictures – that way you will have proof to your brain that you really were there! 🤣

[FlyerTalker]

4 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

(1)  We fly in at least one day ahead and go straight to the hotel for a nap

 

OTOH, I highly suggest NOT taking a nap.  Yes, that first day you drag, but push yourself through the day and get a solid night's sleep.  Yes, that first day is tough - but that's why you come in a day or two early.  This shocks your system into being on the new time.  By napping, you just postpone the system adjustment.

[blag]

Much the same as you. If flights are involved we overnight local to the airport before the flight (both outbound and return). 

Like you, we take 2, 3, 4, even 5 days in the port of embarkation. This allows our no-longer-resilient bodies time to adjust. Similarly, we very rarely fly home on the day of debarkation.

 

[the mice]

We fly in ahead of time, and I use my frequent flyer miles to fly business class, which is especially helpful on overnight flights.   This lets us get some sleep on the plane and eliminates the need for a nap upon arrival.   Ever since we started flying business class we find we have adjusted quite well to dealing with jet lag.  And if we are flying to London, we prefer a daytime flight which arrives in the evening, so we eat and go to bed and wake up ready to go.  But, of course, everyone's body reacts a bit differently.  Hope you can find something that works for you and helps you adjust more quickly.

[blag]

26 minutes ago, the mice said:

We fly in ahead of time, and I use my frequent flyer miles to fly business class, which is especially helpful on overnight flights.   This lets us get some sleep on the plane and eliminates the need for a nap upon arrival.   Ever since we started flying business class we find we have adjusted quite well to dealing with jet lag.  And if we are flying to London, we prefer a daytime flight which arrives in the evening, so we eat and go to bed and wake up ready to go.  But, of course, everyone's body reacts a bit differently.  Hope you can find something that works for you and helps you adjust more quickly.

I see you are doing a 'land trip' to Puglia later this year. Puglia's a lovely part of Italy that we know well, seeing as we can drive there from home in about 6 hours (on a good day). October shouldn't be too hot, but it can still be quite toasty. In fact we were down there in mid-January. There were ladies sunbathing down on the beaches!

Of course I don't know how much time you have on the trip, nor how structured it is, but I'd be happy to give you some pointers.

[the mice]

17 minutes ago, blag said:

I see you are doing a 'land trip' to Puglia later this year. Puglia's a lovely part of Italy that we know well, seeing as we can drive there from home in about 6 hours (on a good day). October shouldn't be too hot, but it can still be quite toasty. In fact we were down there in mid-January. There were ladies sunbathing down on the beaches!

Of course I don't know how much time you have on the trip, nor how structured it is, but I'd be happy to give you some pointers.

Thank you for the kind offer.   We are doing a private 6 day excursion with a guide who runs a small tour service.  We will be based in his home town and on our own for dinners, but he will take us out each day for touring.  He's flexible and open to suggestions based on our interests.   I'm quite excited about seeing Puglia - we LOVE Italy (and I am of Italian and Slovenian heritage).  Unfortunately we were to do this in the spring together with a small group tour of Calabria but that one was cancelled so we moved the Puglia tour as a prequel to our fall Azamara cruise.     5 years ago we spent 10 days touring Sicily - one of my favorite trips ever.    If  you wish, you may contact me at:   themice <at> verizon <dot> net. 

Grazie!

 

And we now return to our regularly scheduled topic 😉

[joyride]

I've been trying to adjust a bit before our trip by going to bed early and getting up really early. I've only been to Europe once, and that time we had a couple days in Rome before our Cruise.. I was so full of adrenaline when we got there, I was fine. The first couple days were a bit foggy, but it was OK. That was a much longer trip, and I was younger. HAHA. This time we are only doing one night pre-cruise and flying home on debarkation day. Yep, it's going to be a whirlwind. I figure I'll sleep when we get home. LOL I have planned a very mellow day for our first port so we have most of the afternoon on the ship to just relax. Hopefully it all works out. I'm looking forward to the time that we can take our time more and do longer trips. My husband is still working and also playing music for an upcoming Opera and Theater groups, so his summer is full. Anyway, sorry, I digress....See you on the ship Andrcan, I'll look for you napping by the pool!

 

[laurieb]

we fly in at least a day early, and try to stay up until what normal bedtime would be.

 

[azalice]

I guess we are lucky to some extent because we fly daytime only, which normally means we land at Heathrow about 10:00 pm after our day flight out of JFK. After a decent sleep, we continue on to whatever European city we are going.We avoid overnight flights because I am never able to sleep on them.

[Baynanno1]

Depending on flight times and connections, leaving from Sydney at 6am, we may overnight in Dubai (if no good connection), then have at least two nights at the embarkation port prior to the cruise.

Mostly fly back on debarkation day.

[les37b]

Obviously things are dependant on the flight times and the difference in time zones crossed. Generally I try to jump headfirst into the new time and go to bed at the new norm. I try not to sleep before then. Biggest pain is waking at 3 am because you haven't adjusted. It's difficult not to do so, but have found my practice personally works best for me.

 

The exceptions would be where I've had a very long overnight return home, completely knackered and arrived early morning like a zombie. That happened recently.... I slept from 11am to next day 12 midday like a log. You can't fight that and it did actually get me remapped very quickly.

 

[andrcan]

Thanks for sharing your tips! This time, to my surprise, we managed to avoid the struggle even though we didn't get to sleep on the plane. Got to BCN at noon, checked in the hotel at 3pm, then tired ourselves by walking around before and after the dinner, got up early next day and went on a self guided wine tour to Priorat area with food and wine pairing (well, 4 courses and 7 wines do not exactly form pairs but after the first four wines no one cared anymore). Got back to the hotel late, and then we slept like the babies ever since! 🤷 We tend to believe, it was due to your advise!