Jet Lag Tips

[lucky346]

HI All!

Super excited about our upcoming Epic western Mediterranean trip in May.The only other cruise we've done was to Alaska (and we live in Seattle, so no real time zone issues there).

 

However, this one will be a big one. I'm looking for tips/ ideas/ suggestions on how to best handle the time change (either before/ during/after) so we don't feel absolutely awful our first days.

 

Specific details if that helps:

Leaving Seattle on an 8:00 AM flight on the 13th. This will require us to leave home at 4 AM (possibly earlier depending on when shuttle requires us to be picked up....but assume between 3:30-4 AM). Arrive in Philly at 4:20 eastern time (1:20 PM our time). Leave Philly 7 PM (4 PM our time) and arrive in Barcelona at 9 AM local time (so midnight our time). And I have a tour picking us up at 10 AM for a 4 hour city excursion before dropping us at the port at 2 PM. At which point we can obviously pass out. :D Except I also made dinner reservations for 6:30 so need/ hope to be awake for that! :rolleyes:

 

So....any ideas? I'm especially worried because I have a horrible time sleeping on planes...even when we've done red-eye flights I rarely sleep. I could try to take something that will make me drowsy and hope it helps, I suppose.

 

Thanks!!

Robin

[karenj4546]

I always attempt to get into port at LEAST one day early. With our upcoming cruise (Baltics), we leave Denver at 8:20 in the morning and get to Copenhagen at 11:30 the next morning. We'll head to the hotel, leave our bags, go eat and walk for awhile and do everything we can to stay up until around 7PM. By the next morning, we'll have had a full nights' sleep and have one day in Copenhagen. Early to bed that second night (probably around 9PM), and by the day we get on the ship, we'll all be fully rested and used to the time difference. I can't sleep on planes, either.....

[buddy1755]

on our grand med cruise on the Spirit in 2015, we stayed awake as long as we could. Our cruise left from Venice, we had two days prior to the cruise, when we got to Venice we walked around and went for supper stayed awake as long as we could, i think it was 10 pm before we went to bed, the first two days on the ship were sea days so we had time to rest before the Athens.

[Bellyflopchamp]

Never cruised after changing time zones, but have traveled to Ireland for work. I did not sleep much on the plane, but when I got to the hotel around 6am I took a quick 2 hour nap. Then walked around Dublin for a while and tried to stay awake as long as possible. I was in decent shape by the second day.

 

That being said, I would highly recommend not flying in the day you board, especially since you are traveling over seas. One small delay could be disastrous for you. You will also be exhausted during that first day or two as well even if all of your flights run perfectly on schedule. You really should consider flying in at least one day early, maybe 2.

[BostonGal35]

for Europe, we chose to fly over (Boston to Copenhagen) on a thursday overnight flight, which got us there Friday morning. Cruise left Sunday.

 

i try to sleep on the plane as much as possible.

 

upon arrival Friday, resist the urge to nap. assuming all times local, try to make it until at least 8pm that day before going to bed. get up the next morning at your usual time (although you'll probably wake early). motor thru your day sightseeing, etc. to keep busy. try to then make it until 9pm. wake up the morning of the cruise at your usual time.

 

hydration is key for me, both from the plane ride and exhaustion. i bring an ENORMOUS bottle of water on the flight to drink. i think drink as soon as i arrive.

 

they say it takes 1 day for every hour time difference to fully recover from jet lag.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Wow. That's a challenging first day...especially since you've never traveled internationally before. I travel a lot for work and for pleasure and have been to Asia, Africa, and Europe--pretty much at least one or two overseas trip a year for the last 10 years or so. Here's what I do:

 

I book my flight so that it arrives around noon or later, if possible. No matter what time my flight is, I never, ever take a nap when I arrive. I've never successfully slept for more than about 20 minutes on a flight (even when I fly business class for work trips and have a bed!). so I generally arrive pretty tired (I'm also from the west coast, BTW). I never drink alcohol on the plane--I drink either juice or water to stay hydrated. I try get up and walk or stand once every hour or two. It actually does help!

 

When I arrive I drop my bags off at the hotel and explore the area. I've never done a tour upon arriving -- I prefer to explore on my own that first day. I look for a little restaurant out of the touristy areas and enjoy a leisurely meal. Sunlight and activity are the enemies of jet lag (or so Rick Steves says!). I force myself to stay awake until 9 p.m. and then I take some melatonin and finally lay my head on the pillow. Every time, I've slept really well and I usually awaken between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. It's my tradition to head out and watch the city awaken--it's a completely different view. I've always been amazed that that's all the adjustment I need. I'm good to go for the duration of the time spent overseas. Now, when I get home it's entirely different story! It takes me several days to readjust.

 

If you can change your flights I STRONGLY encourage you to do that! Flying in the day of is not a good plan. One delay, and you could miss the ship. I would be very stressed with the itinerary you've laid out.

 

Good luck!

[The Other Tom]

Sleep aids are available over the counter, as well as prescription. Since you are flying "all night" and arriving in the morning, I would try to sleep as much as possible on the plane. I use ear plugs and a ball cap pulled over my eyes. Maybe consider a small neck pillow.

 

You are arriving at 9 am and have a tour at 10 am ? I've never flown into Barcelona but picking up your luggage and going through customs/immigration usually takes a while. Personally, I would cancel the excursion and go directly to the ship.

 

In my experience, AVOID TAKING A NAP !! It's always best to get on local time as soon as you can.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

 

You are arriving at 9 am and have a tour at 10 am ? I've never flown into Barcelona but picking up your luggage and going through customs/immigration usually takes a while. Personally, I would cancel the excursion and go directly to the ship.

 

I meant to comment on that and missed it. I agree! There's a very good chance they'll miss the excursion. I've never gone through the process in Barcelona as it's been the second stop (usually Amsterdam is the first for me) so I breeze right through--except last time I picked up my luggage in Barcelona that alone took about 40 minutes! But, if you have to go through Customs, it can certainly take a while.

[Son of a son of a ...]

We took the PHL to BCN flight you are taking. We fought to stay up on the day of arrival at BCN. We made it to about 6:30 PM and then went to sleep. Luckily, we arrived the day before embarkation.

 

We drank some wonderful coffee and explored BCN, but out butts were dragging.

 

We would have been better served to have taken a two hour nap in the early afternoon of arrival. Heck, we nap in the afternoons on the weekends so it would not of matter much.

 

You will have a sea day on the first day and you will pretty much waste 1/2 of it with lag. I agree with other posters re: go the day before.

[gottacruisemore]

Hi Robin,

 

I don't know how realistic changing your flights are at this point, but from the itinerary you have outlined definitely cancel that excursion.

 

As others have stated you're taking a chance with flying in day of, and with connections, any delay would make catching your tour problematic. Then once you get there customs and baggage claim pretty much make that improbable.

 

I would seriously consider taking something, try Zyquil if you don't want a prescription. That's a long trip to not get any sleep and once you land there's a lot to get through including the boarding process.

 

I know you were just asking about jet lag suggestions, but I hope you really heed what others are saying.

 

toni

[SeahawkSiren]

HI All!

Super excited about our upcoming Epic western Mediterranean trip in May.The only other cruise we've done was to Alaska (and we live in Seattle, so no real time zone issues there).

 

However, this one will be a big one. I'm looking for tips/ ideas/ suggestions on how to best handle the time change (either before/ during/after) so we don't feel absolutely awful our first days.

 

Specific details if that helps:

Leaving Seattle on an 8:00 AM flight on the 13th. This will require us to leave home at 4 AM (possibly earlier depending on when shuttle requires us to be picked up....but assume between 3:30-4 AM). Arrive in Philly at 4:20 eastern time (1:20 PM our time). Leave Philly 7 PM (4 PM our time) and arrive in Barcelona at 9 AM local time (so midnight our time). And I have a tour picking us up at 10 AM for a 4 hour city excursion before dropping us at the port at 2 PM. At which point we can obviously pass out. :D Except I also made dinner reservations for 6:30 so need/ hope to be awake for that! :rolleyes:

 

So....any ideas? I'm especially worried because I have a horrible time sleeping on planes...even when we've done red-eye flights I rarely sleep. I could try to take something that will make me drowsy and hope it helps, I suppose.

 

Thanks!!

Robin

 

Wow! That schedule sounds very stressful to me. I would never consider flying in the day of the cruise. Too many things can go wrong (on our last cruise one of our flights was cancelled and we ended up at our destination a day late - it's a good thing we built in 2 days of travel time).

 

We too are flying out of Seattle next month for a Mediterranean cruise leaving from Barcelona but will be on the Spirit, not the Epic. We are flying out 3 days prior. Our flight times are similar to yours where we are getting up at 3:30 am for a 6:30 am flight from Seattle to Newark. Then we fly all night from Newark to Lisbon, then from there to Barcelona where we will arrive around noon the following day. We did not book any tours for the day of our arrival but will spend that first day getting acclimated and adjusting to the new time zone and maybe do some exploring close to our hotel. I too cannot sleep on planes and am not counting on getting a second wind in Barcelona that first day which is why I did not want to commit to anything that first day that requires being somewhere at a specific time. Our second day is full with tours and other things.

 

I agree with others here about rescheduling your flight, if possible, to arrive in Barcelona at least the day before the cruise. You may not even make your tour if that starts an hour after your plane lands. That sounds very risky to me.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Jetlagged787]

If you cannot change your flights you should at least cancel that tour. You're never going to make it in time and will probably sleep all the way round anyway.

 

I hope the rest of your trip goes well.

[4774Papa]

I always attempt to get into port at LEAST one day early. With our upcoming cruise (Baltics), we leave Denver at 8:20 in the morning and get to Copenhagen at 11:30 the next morning. We'll head to the hotel, leave our bags, go eat and walk for awhile and do everything we can to stay up until around 7PM. By the next morning, we'll have had a full nights' sleep and have one day in Copenhagen. Early to bed that second night (probably around 9PM), and by the day we get on the ship, we'll all be fully rested and used to the time difference. I can't sleep on planes, either.....

Your solution is exactly what we do. We always get to the port at least a day in advance, usually more so we can do some land travel. We try to stay awake until about 7am and sleep for 12 hours. After that jet lag is pretty much gone.

 

I think it is a mistake to go to sleep during the day that you arrive, since it will mess up your sleep cycle for a few days.

[Laszlo]

HI All!

Super excited about our upcoming Epic western Mediterranean trip in May.The only other cruise we've done was to Alaska (and we live in Seattle, so no real time zone issues there).

 

However, this one will be a big one. I'm looking for tips/ ideas/ suggestions on how to best handle the time change (either before/ during/after) so we don't feel absolutely awful our first days.

 

Specific details if that helps:

Leaving Seattle on an 8:00 AM flight on the 13th. This will require us to leave home at 4 AM (possibly earlier depending on when shuttle requires us to be picked up....but assume between 3:30-4 AM). Arrive in Philly at 4:20 eastern time (1:20 PM our time). Leave Philly 7 PM (4 PM our time) and arrive in Barcelona at 9 AM local time (so midnight our time). And I have a tour picking us up at 10 AM for a 4 hour city excursion before dropping us at the port at 2 PM. At which point we can obviously pass out. :D Except I also made dinner reservations for 6:30 so need/ hope to be awake for that! :rolleyes:

 

So....any ideas? I'm especially worried because I have a horrible time sleeping on planes...even when we've done red-eye flights I rarely sleep. I could try to take something that will make me drowsy and hope it helps, I suppose.

 

Thanks!!

Robin

 

 

 

Wow, your going to be wasted sleep or not. Sorry to hear your flying into PHL. With the exception of the International Terminal its a dump. What airline are you flying into PHL? Like most others I agree, try to leave on Tuesday

[lucky346]

Thanks, everyone, for all the feedback. There's no chance of switching flights at this point, so I'm going to stop reading because those posts just make me nervous. Good thing we have trip insurance, I guess. I'm writing down all the ideas about jet lag and we'll just see how it goes. We'll be exhausted and just expect it....and I'm going to stay positive and assume it will all work out. The tour is actually a private tour and if we're not through in time or there are delays we do get our money back, so I'm not going to fuss about that one. Either it will work out or it won't.

 

Wishing you all happy sailing!

Robin

[buggins0402]

If you are young and used to pulling all nighters, can sleep a bit on the flight and let the adrenaline excitement of your European trip carry you through the first day ....have heart ...you'll make it.

[karenj4546]

Have a wonderful trip!

[Jetlagged787]

Have a great trip Robin. Do come back and let us know how you got on.

[rayness]

Have a good trip and I'm glad you started this thread. I'm flying to Copenhagen but I'm going to arrive 2 days early and I wondered about jet lag. Plus I'm going to wear some compression socks on the plane too.

 

 

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[Laszlo]

Thanks, everyone, for all the feedback. There's no chance of switching flights at this point, so I'm going to stop reading because those posts just make me nervous. Good thing we have trip insurance, I guess. I'm writing down all the ideas about jet lag and we'll just see how it goes. We'll be exhausted and just expect it....and I'm going to stay positive and assume it will all work out. The tour is actually a private tour and if we're not through in time or there are delays we do get our money back, so I'm not going to fuss about that one. Either it will work out or it won't.

 

Wishing you all happy sailing!

Robin

 

 

Best of luck, noise canceling headphones are wonderful on long flights!

[reaton]

Slightly off topic, but I would also be aware that Philly can be horrible for connecting flights (not always, just that it is a possibility). 2 and a half hours seems like forever- until the connecting plane leaves early (this happened coming home through Philly from our last vacation).

 

 

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[zqvol]

HI All!

Super excited about our upcoming Epic western Mediterranean trip in May.The only other cruise we've done was to Alaska (and we live in Seattle, so no real time zone issues there).

 

However, this one will be a big one. I'm looking for tips/ ideas/ suggestions on how to best handle the time change (either before/ during/after) so we don't feel absolutely awful our first days.

 

Specific details if that helps:

Leaving Seattle on an 8:00 AM flight on the 13th. This will require us to leave home at 4 AM (possibly earlier depending on when shuttle requires us to be picked up....but assume between 3:30-4 AM). Arrive in Philly at 4:20 eastern time (1:20 PM our time). Leave Philly 7 PM (4 PM our time) and arrive in Barcelona at 9 AM local time (so midnight our time). And I have a tour picking us up at 10 AM for a 4 hour city excursion before dropping us at the port at 2 PM. At which point we can obviously pass out. :D Except I also made dinner reservations for 6:30 so need/ hope to be awake for that! :rolleyes:

 

So....any ideas? I'm especially worried because I have a horrible time sleeping on planes...even when we've done red-eye flights I rarely sleep. I could try to take something that will make me drowsy and hope it helps, I suppose.

 

Thanks!!

Robin

 

IMO it is much harder going west than it is east. Get your MD to give you something or enjoy a couple of glasses of wine and sleep on the plane.

[ducklite]

Stop telling yourself what time zone your body thinks it will be in, because it won't. Just focus on two things. Get as much sleep as possible on the overnight flight, and from the minute you land in PHL, think that you are whatever time it will be in BCN at that minute. Get into that mindset and act accordingly.

 

PHL is actually a decent airport to connect through as long as you aren't in an AA regional in or out of F, but you won't be from SEA. Legal Seafoods is a great place for lunch, but beware that it is a full 20 plus minutes walk from there to many gates in A unless you are doing the OJ dash.

 

 

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[mking8288]

Your body/biological clock is going to find it tough flying eastbound (to Europe from West Coast) ... it's probably really a polar route - expect to take 2 to 3+ days to get used to the new time zones. Flying home & westward, your adjustment will be a little easier - may 1 to 3 days to readjust fully in your "home" time zone again.

 

Basically, a combination of adjusting your sleep cycle, diet, exposure to lights, some exercise (walking is fine) and avoid alcohol while flying (it just make it worst) and watch your consumption of caffeine by following the suggested clock cycle. I had this paperback back in the early 1980's and used its proven steps - this is a simplified guide, adopted by troops going overseas - for your reading to aid in planning.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-jet-lag

http://www.nosleeplessnights.com/how-to-avoid-jet-lag/

 

You are probably not going to be able to follow all the steps & suggestions, but use the concepts & do the best you can to put it to use. Bring a decent set of noise-isolating headset against noise & a soft blackout eye mask, some energy bars and/or trail mixes of nuts to munch while in-transit, even if you are flying J (business class) - juices & water over soda (no alcohol) and coffee/tea at the proper time zone ... to jolt the body clock. Wear a watch & start adjusting to the new location's time zone before you leave home/office for the airport.

[sanger727]

We really prefer flying in a few days ahead of time so we are ready to go by the time the cruise rolls around... but the general principles won't change. Forget the time it is at home. All that matters is the time zone your in. Try and catch a few hours sleep on the flight over if you can, but either way, you MUST stay up the entire first day there. Can crash after dinner but a nap will make things worse. Slug it out w coffee if needed but stay up as late as you can the first day, go to bed early, and while you might be waking up earlier than usual the next couple days, you'll be on the new time when you get up.

 

That works great for US to Europe flights. Now, when we went to Australia, which is a much bigger time change, it didn't work at all. We really did need the few extra days early just to adjust. Wasn't hungry at meal times, would wake up at 3 am starving... was not a fun time change.

 

 

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