Balcony + Sleepwalker

[JWestShuh]

My husband and I are booked for our second cruise, our first balcony room. I am a tad bit worried and I am hoping that my fellow CC'ers will be able to put my fears to rest. My husband has had a tendency to sleep walk - usually brought on by alcohol, sleep deprivation and/or stress. I have been told my others who have cruised in a balcony stateroom that is it not a big deal, that I can put the lock on the door, put the couch in front of the door, etc. I was wondering if any of you who have sailed in a balcony room (particularly the NCL Dawn) had any suggestions on ways to make the sliding glass door safe and secure from the inside. I have been thinking of an alarm of some sort and was wondering if that would work. If I can't come up with a good solution, we might change to an oceanview. Any advice would be appreciated! P.S. My husband thinks I am being silly :)

[Toyz711]

buy one of those door alarms...they have portable ones. any movement they go off. you can set the sound to low, as to not bother the neighbors. get 2, one for the regular door, don't want him wandering the halls, either.

[d man]

Have him sleep with his life vest on.

[silkhair1]

There is a lock on the balcony door and I think it would be hard for him to unlock it. They also make sliding door stoppers (a babies r us safety item) that you can put on the door. It is a huge suction cup that sticks to the door and you can't push it open. Worked great for us with the kids in a balcony on the ship. Good luck!!!!!

[peanutJMV]

D man, hilarious.....LOL

 

 

All joking aside,

Alot of good suggestions here.

I would be concerned if my DH was a sleepwalker, would scare the h---out of me and I wouldnt sleep.

 

Yes the balcony doors do have a good lock and they pull the curtain closed.

Portable alarm is a great suggestion.

 

 

 

 

 

Have him sleep with his life vest on.

[CC Help Michell]

NO offense intended, but we used this product (actually it was very similar, not this exact one) for my grandmother before her Alzheimer's became so severe that we moved her to a nursing facility with wireless wristband alarms.

 

http://www.alzstore.com/Alzheimers/door--window-alarm.htm

 

They are reasonably priced, and effective. The alarm is really LOUD... as I have cause to know. For that sleepwalking worry, I wouldn't rely on the balcony locks (thought I truly think they are effective for small kiddos) -- but sleepwalking adults are still adults and may work the lock unconsciously.

[d man]

You would be surprised what people can do when they are sleep walking. Trust me, I know from experience. Unlocking a balcony door would be a piece of cake for me.

[kapoho2]

d man......you just gave me the biggest laugh I have had in a long time :D

 

I do realize that this is a very serious subject...but thanks...I needed that laugh today.

[cruise4kicks]

I would add my voice to those who advocate the use of an alarm. I've done some remarkable things while sleepwalking; no lock or restraint has held me. If my conscious mind knew it was there, so did my sleeping mind. An alarm will at least wake YOU up. Then you can enjoy your balcony cabin, no worries! :)

[jollycruise]

Thank you so much for starting this thread. I have wanted to ask this question for months now but didn't have the courage:o. I booked our first cruise and we got a balcony also. After almost a year of no sleepwalking problems....Off I go out of no where. I have been so worried about this. I have gone as far as to unlock two locks in my house and walk outside way to far. The only thing that woke me up was someone had their sprinkler running and my socks got wet and then I woke up. Scariest damn thing ever. For some reason I carried the tv remote with me on this little adventure. I will be moving furniture every night to block that door and whatever else I can do. Thanks to everyone for the ideas. I especially loved the slepping with the life vest on...I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard! OMG that was funny.

[Harley-Davidson_Family]

d man......you just gave me the biggest laugh I have had in a long time :D

 

I do realize that this is a very serious subject...but thanks...I needed that laugh today.

 

Me to! That was so funny. Honestly, I am one to put the sofa and chair in front of the balcony door and front door because I never know if I am going to be the one to walk out that door. Never occured to me to wear a life vest! :D

[Stockjock]

In my opinion, if you are honestly concerned about this then you should switch to an ocean view room. The odds are strong that nothing bad will happen, but imagine how you'd feel if something did.

[JWestShuh]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I think I will look around at some alarms and extra door locks. If anyone has pictures of the sliding door on the Dawn or any NCL ship and could send it my way, I would appreciate it. For those who said that a regular lock wouldn't hold you when you were sleep walking...that is so true. The first time it happened I had no idea that my husband was a sleep walker, and he walked right out the front door which was locked and bolted shut (luckily I was awake and in the living room). The second time I ever saw it, he had taken the hair clippers out and was getting ready to cut his hair. He hasn't done this in a very long time (knock on wood), but I am still nervous. Some of my coworkers have said that I should handcuff him to the bed ;)

[karriec]

On my first cruise DH and I were in an inside cabin and I apparently got up and was about to go out the door when DH woke me up. Thank goodness because I do not wear anything to bed and would have given someone in the hall a free show ; ). I think my sleep walking is a result of eating chocolate to late at night? Good luck with the door alarm.

[SleepwalkerHusband]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I think I will look around at some alarms and extra door locks. If anyone has pictures of the sliding door on the Dawn or any NCL ship and could send it my way, I would appreciate it. For those who said that a regular lock wouldn't hold you when you were sleep walking...that is so true. The first time it happened I had no idea that my husband was a sleep walker, and he walked right out the front door which was locked and bolted shut (luckily I was awake and in the living room). The second time I ever saw it, he had taken the hair clippers out and was getting ready to cut his hair. He hasn't done this in a very long time (knock on wood), but I am still nervous. Some of my coworkers have said that I should handcuff him to the bed ;)

 

 

I remember no such things....then again I was sleeping.

 

Love,

 

Your husband

 

P.S. - All night handcuffs chaffe :D

[AFAMILY]

Have him sleep with his life vest on.

 

This is TOO funny!

 

But all kidding aside...I'd be very nervous if one of us was a sleep walker. The idea of the alarms sounds like a good idea to me.

[karfest]

We took our daughters on their first cruise when they were 10 and 12. We were in an outside cabin, they were in an inside, directly across the hall. They are very responsible and well behaved so we knew this arrangement would be fine. Well, the second night we heard a soft knock at our door (2am)- we opened it it to find youngest daughter in tears. It seemed she had gone sleepwalking (she had NEVER done this before) and woke up at the opposite end of the ship. She somehow manged to find her way back to our cabin. YIKES!!! This was 10 years ago and I still freak out when I think of all the things that could have happened to her.

 

Needless to say, hubby moved in with one daughter and the other moved in with me for the rest of the trip. She has never gone sleepwalking again.

[CanadianTwosome]

Okay... first things first... to the life vest suggestion and the sleepwalking hubby rebuttal - thanks for the laughs!! ha ha ha

 

Now... I think Karriec and Karfest's experiences illustrate that this is not simply a balcony/no balcony issue. If you're going to try using an alarm, you'll need two - one for the cabin door.

 

How about getting one of those wrist strap leashes used for wayward toddlers and sleeping attached? The ones I've seen have had a long enough strap to easily allow my husband and I to sleep together in a bed and not have a problem.

 

There are also devices you can get that parents have for children that are bracelets that set off an alarm if the child gets more than a specific distance from the parent.

 

Both of these solutions could work for either door, and would wake you up rather than trying to 'trick' the sleeper with a lock that they may be able to open easily.

 

I'm lucky... I don't sleepwalk when I'm really tired or stressed, I just talk. Good thing I have no secrets!! ha ha ha :p

[JWestShuh]

sleepwalking hubby rebuttal - thanks for the laughs!! ha ha ha

 

My husband's attempt to get more "involved" in our vacation planning. Gotta love him. :)

[d man]

Look at the bright side, if she catches you sleeping with another women, blame it on the sleepwalking.

[JWestShuh]

You know? I actually saw that excuse on a talk show once. She didn't buy it. Sleepwalker husband would have to come up with something better than that.

[JWestShuh]

Double post

[MrLee]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I think I will look around at some alarms and extra door locks. If anyone has pictures of the sliding door on the Dawn or any NCL ship and could send it my way, I would appreciate it. For those who said that a regular lock wouldn't hold you when you were sleep walking...that is so true. The first time it happened I had no idea that my husband was a sleep walker, and he walked right out the front door which was locked and bolted shut (luckily I was awake and in the living room). The second time I ever saw it, he had taken the hair clippers out and was getting ready to cut his hair. He hasn't done this in a very long time (knock on wood), but I am still nervous. Some of my coworkers have said that I should handcuff him to the bed ;)

 

 

I'm afraid this is the best picture I have of the balcony door.

[katiel53]

I think if my husband were a sleep walker, I wouldn't get a balcony cabin. I would be so afraid that something would happen. I would probably get an ocean view and put an alarm on the door.

 

Having 2 doors to worry about would keep me awake all night, every night.

 

I don't think I would go to sleep unless DH were with me and I could be on the side of the bed closer to the door. Along with the alarm, I probably would stack up the suitcases in front of the door.

 

I say all this having not been in the OP's position. I would be scared to death that something would happen to the love of my life. Hopefully, you will find some solutions to help you and you can enjoy the cruise.

[skibum1723]

I'm new here, but this thread definitely caught my attention. I'm not a habitual sleepwalker, but have been known to kick, reverse head positions or talk in my sleep. Once in college, I walked into a friends room and asked if I could use her bathroom (we had communals down the hall). She and her roommate put me to bed.

 

Never to my knowledge have I ever done anything "out of the bed" since then. And never really thought about it. But I was on the QM2 last summer alone in a balcony room, and randomly the minute I saw the door I panicked and thought "what if I jump overboard in my sleep!" So every night I went through an elaborate routine of laying out landmines in the room (pillows I'd trip over, suitcases, open drawers etc) and blocking the balcony door. I figured at some point I'd hurt myself before being able to successfully navigate to either door :-).

 

Fast forward to two weeks ago. I woke up the the middle of the night on all fours as I crashed into the floor. Apparently, I was dreaming about leaping off a bed, and acted it out in my sleep. I fractured my wrist and more. The doc said it's a sleep disorder during REM sleep. No clue what triggers it.

 

So subconsciously when I saw the balcony, I somehow knew I was doing *something* in my sleep on occasion. Next time I cruise, I'll make sure to bring one of those alarms that goes off when it disconnects from the bed post (ties to your wrist and hold by a magnet), and get a balcony room that doesn't hang immediately over the ocean. I've also found that lining pillows on each side of me seems to discourage me from moving.

 

Have fun on your trip!