Boiler Cruiser Posted August 29, 2015 #1 Share Posted August 29, 2015 (edited) For those of you who have been on Northern Europe cruises, how did you deal with the extended hours of daylight? Did the ship have room darkening shades and/or drapes in the staterooms? My DW and I will be on the Prinsendam next July. Sunset on July 22, 2016, ,when we will be in Oslo will be at 10:09PM (it will not be dark until 11:17PM), and it will start getting light at 3:27AM. We would love to benefit from the experience of those of you who have cruised to this wonderful part of the world. Edited August 29, 2015 by Boiler Cruiser Capitalize the title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cl61447 Posted August 29, 2015 #2 Share Posted August 29, 2015 It is dark enough with the drapes closed. But, what an unbelievable site. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted August 29, 2015 #3 Share Posted August 29, 2015 With the obvious exception of insides, all HAL cabins have a set of heavy, room darkening draperies. There can be gaps, so some people bring clothes pins, or use the extra slacks hangars w/clips to keep them closed. I love to see the outside, and can sleep with plenty of light, so when I had a balcony cabin on the Prinsendam, and went over the top of Europe, I left the draperies open all night. Had to remind the steward a few times that I didn't want them closed, as he was well-trained to do turn-down a certain way. I loved rolling over during the night, looking out at the mountains with patches of snow, then going back to sleep. Even when I have an outside cabin, I close the sheers, but leave the draperies open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted August 29, 2015 #4 Share Posted August 29, 2015 If you've got comfortable eyeshades, it'll be worth bringing them just in case. Our HAL room was fine for a cruise when we had uninterrupted daylight for several days (north of the Arctic Circle). We'd brought eyeshades after a bad experience on a similar itinerary on a Princess ship, which didn't have blackout curtains. But we rarely used the eyeshades on the HAL cruise, and usually only because something had disturbed one of the curtains and we couldn't be bothered to get out of bed to fix the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted August 29, 2015 #5 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Friends of ours were on a cruise and the first morning when they got up he said to her "Wow, I had the best sleep; we're going to have to get a set of those curtains - they really kept the room dark." She replied "We're in an inside cabin, you idiot." I still laugh thinking about this. Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowPrincess Posted August 29, 2015 #6 Share Posted August 29, 2015 We find the drapes are pretty effective, but like other posters in this thread we usually prefer to have the drapes at least partially open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted August 29, 2015 #7 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I'm VERY sensitive to light when I'm sleeping, but I find HAL's drapes very effective. So much so that I need to set my alarm on port days for fear of oversleeping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanner Posted August 30, 2015 #8 Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) I'm also very sensitive to light at night, so in addition to the good curtains provided by HAL, I use some of the clothespins I bring along to make the contacts good and tight. Between the darkness and the rocking of the ship, I get some of the best sleeping nights on board! Edited August 30, 2015 by Nanner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wander Posted August 30, 2015 #9 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Clothes pins are also a good idea for cabins on the walking deck, usually (always on HAL???) the Lower Promenade. Regardless of what others say, I frequently walk the decks after dark and if the curtains are not together and IF there are any lights in the cabin, you can see clearly into the cabin. I really try to not look in, but when walking along a fairly dark deck when you come to a window with a bright light the tendency is to look to the light without thinking. I work not to, and usually succeed but then if my mind wanders - there turns my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvertoGold Posted August 30, 2015 #10 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I take large binder clips for wayward curtains. If the curtains behave, I use the clips for stray papers, daily programs, menus etc. We agree with Ruth about leaving the curtains open, except for an afternoon nap (cruising is hard work, you know how it is ......) Once saw a beautiful flock of white birds flying along the side of the ship in the middle of the night. What a treat! Glad the curtains were open!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted August 30, 2015 #11 Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) Drapes..... Sounds like many of us agree: Bring a few clips in case your curtains do not perfectly meet to keep all light out. I have always found the curtains dense enough to really block the light if they are completely closed. Edited August 30, 2015 by sail7seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratheden Posted August 30, 2015 #12 Share Posted August 30, 2015 We only ever close our drapes to keep out the sun when it is hot or when we are adjacent to another ship in dock. We never close them at night. I love seeing other ships passing in the night if I wake up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunsetbeachgal Posted August 30, 2015 #13 Share Posted August 30, 2015 We did a Baltic cruise this past June on the Eurodam, and despite the curtains being closed I woke up at 4 AM several mornings when the room became light from the very early sunrise. We had an act balcony so it must have hit our window as the sun was rising. But no complaints here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted August 30, 2015 #14 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Neither of us can sleep with a lot of light. Do like HAL's draperies to keep out the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry1954 Posted August 31, 2015 #15 Share Posted August 31, 2015 We found as others mention, that clipping the curtains together helps those sensitive to any light. We bought clips for when we are by the pool on windy days to keep the towels clipped to the chairs. We use the same type in the room at night and they really work. harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisun Posted September 1, 2015 #16 Share Posted September 1, 2015 With the obvious exception of insides, all HAL cabins have a set of heavy, room darkening draperies. There can be gaps, so some people bring clothes pins, or use the extra slacks hangars w/clips to keep them closed. I love to see the outside, and can sleep with plenty of light, so when I had a balcony cabin on the Prinsendam, and went over the top of Europe, I left the draperies open all night. Had to remind the steward a few times that I didn't want them closed, as he was well-trained to do turn-down a certain way. I loved rolling over during the night, looking out at the mountains with patches of snow, then going back to sleep. Even when I have an outside cabin, I close the sheers, but leave the draperies open. Unfortunately Eurodam and NA do not have drapes, only a heavy sheer, not room darkening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted September 1, 2015 #17 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Unfortunately Eurodam and NA do not have drapes, only a heavy sheer, not room darkening Really? I beg to differ; we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam last year in November, and again this past February and both times we had the long heavy room darkening curtains. Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocF Posted September 1, 2015 #18 Share Posted September 1, 2015 We always have our curtains open as we like to be able to see out all night. I am used to waking at first light at home, so why change on a ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted September 1, 2015 #19 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I am used to waking at first light at home, so why change on a ship?What if it doesn't get dark until about 11.30 pm, and then first light is at about 2.00 am? Or what if it never gets dark all night? Or if the sun never sets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise sail Posted September 1, 2015 #20 Share Posted September 1, 2015 We did a Baltic cruise this past June on the Eurodam, and despite the curtains being closed I woke up at 4 AM several mornings when the room became light from the very early sunrise. We had an act balcony so it must have hit our window as the sun was rising. But no complaints here! We were on the Eurodam with a regular balcony from June13-July 7th on a Northern cruise and were bothered by light coming through our curtains they looked light blocking but they were not.Last year we did 3 weeks in Norway in the same timeframe on the Ryndam and had no issue with light.The Masdam also has light blocking curtains I think the quality of drapes is poor on Eurodam.I would suspect that the quality of curtains varies from ship to ship. Eyeshades are a small price to pay for a wonderful cruise in a beautiful area have a great trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcummin Posted September 1, 2015 #21 Share Posted September 1, 2015 When we sailed to the Top of the World, I learned to simply fold a washcloth in fourths lengthwise to cover my eyes. Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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