Is Alaska 4 hr time difference?

[Flintstone]

Is it a 4 hr time difference from EST? What tips to you all use to tick your body and not be awake every morning at 3 am???

 

9/2000 Carnival Tropicale

12/2001 NCL Norway

9/2002 NCL Norway

10/2003 Disney Wonder

6/19/2005 Sapphire Princess

[ElaineB2]

Yes, Alaska is 4-hr. time difference. I would appreciate tips also. It's something I didn't give much thought to, I just figured I'd go with the flow - since it will be light for so long, I'll probably be up half the night anyways. Plus, on vacation, I get by on very little sleep. Will need another vacation when I get home to catch up on sleeping!

[Gardyloo]

It used to be that Juneau was on Pacific time (EST -3), a little sliver of the state was on Yukon time (EST -4), Anchorage and the interior on Alaska time (EST -5) and much of the western part of the state on Aleutian time (EST -6.) That was 4 time zones in one state. Too hard for state government etc., so it was reduced to 2 zones some years ago.

 

The rule of thumb for jetlag is one day per hour time change before you're synched. Seems true in our case.

[tiggy]

We forced ourselves to stay awake until 10pm ADT the first two nights. The first day was very long (6am EDT to 10pm ADT), but it really did help get us adjusted. We did wake up at 4am our first morning in Alaska, but went back to sleep for another couple of hours.

 

Since it's light so much of the time, we discovered that we never really could tell what time of the day it was. We didn't change our clocks to Pacific time until we crossed into Canada.

 

Another trick suggested to us was to try to adjust to ADT a few days before you leave, if at all possible. We had other commitments before we left, so we didn't try this one.

 

Honeymoon in Alaska on the Dawn Princess

[gonnago]

We just returned to CDT and for some reason neither of us nor our friends experienced a jet lag. We arrived from Chicago to Vancouver at night and had no trouble with the two hour difference. Then ADT began in Ketchican and with the extended daylight, we just went with the ship's time and schedule and really never thought about our bodies' time.

 

We expected a problem and had none.

 

"Thanks to all for your help & advice. Our May 28th cruise was much better for it!"

[Genessa]

We flew into Fairbanks (July 6, last year)at 8PM Alaska time, after getting up at around 6 AM Eastern time and even though I didn't sleep on the plane, I couldn't fall asleep partly because it was so light out and partly because I was on my third wind and totally wired. I finally drifted off sometime after 2 AM Alaska time and woke every half hour - checked out the light behind the room darkening drapes (the room really did get dark, but somehow I knew it wasn't dark out behind the drapes) - it never got darker than very early twilight - and somehow had no trouble functioning.

 

Each day I managed to sleep for longer periods and when we got to Princess McKinley Lodge was able to sleep fine, the trees provided shade, which gave the illusion of dark

 

Never felt jet lagged or travel worn and we had an early afternoon flight back into NY from Vancouver and slept just fine then.

[jones721]

Oh dear! Not going to be much fun for us then flying in from the UK! There is an 8 hour time difference between London and Seattle - does that make it 9 for the cruise??!!

Tracey

England

[Gardyloo]

The ship's time will change when the next port's time zone is different. Vancouver and Seattle are both London -8; Alaska is -9.

[mpk]

Wow, I had thought that all of Alaska was on the same time. So does the ship nicely tell you when the time has changed, like a video message channel on the TV, etc?

 

Recipe for a missed shore excursion otherwise

[hooked-on-travel]

The Spirit was very helpful, with announcements and reminders everywhere to have people change their watches after dinner since waking up the next morning would be a new time zone. If you're northbound, you set your watch back. That means you'd just be early for shore excursions. Not so lucky for southbound, but it would be hard to miss all the announcements. Even the daily newsletter had it in huge type at the top.

 

I find going west easier on the body than east. As a night owl, I can handle a long day easier than a short one. As long as you get up extra early at home and go to bed only moderately early on vacation, you'll be ok. You may wake up kinda early, that will normalize. When I came home from Europe a couple years ago I crashed very early, but woke up early, too. I was getting to work at 6 am. My boss was pleased, but it didn't last very long.

[elephant98]

In most of Alaska, there is a four hour time difference from Eastern Standard Time (EDT). (four hours behind). I doubt that you will have much trouble with jetlag on your flight out to Alaska as you can avoid most jetlag by staying up four hours longer than usual on your internal, body clock. Its the flight BACK to the east coast that stinks. You won't be able to go to sleep until well after midnight EDT.

 

I suggest that you avoid taking any naps enroute. Also, upon arriving in Alaska, immediately reset your watch to the local time, and then try to go bed at your "regular" time (on the Alaskan clock). I agree that it is a bit disorienting to see the sun shining brightly outside at 10pm. Your body will feel like its time to sleep, but your mind will see the daylight and think that its only the afternoon. Because of this, on that first day, be sure to close your privacy curtain tightly. And, try to stay indoors after 8pm. This might not work well for others, but for us it was "out of sight, out of mind."

 

Try to get the normal amount of sleep the first night, and then wake up at your normal time the next morning. As tempting as it may be to sleep in because of your long day of travel the day prior, avoid doing so. Its been my experience that, if you get the "normal" amount of sleep, you will wake up the next day on Alaskan time.

 

Don't know if this helps, but it worked for us.

[Ann-Marie75]

So, when I arrive in Fairbamks, it will be 4 hours behind EST. At what port does the clock go ahead 1 hour? What is the time difference in Vancouver?

 

Ann-Marie

[geoherb]

Jetlag is harder when you're losing hours instead of gaining them. We did not have any problems staying up a little bit later the first few nights in Seattle and adjusting to Pacific Time.

 

By the time we got on the cruise ship last summer, our bodies had adjusted to the time change. I felt the jetlag, however, when we came home. It's a good thing we got back on a Saturday so that I had a day to adjust before going back to work.

[Gardyloo]

Ann Marie, look up three or four answers. Vancouver is 3 hours behind EDT. Same as Tijuana. All Alaska ports will be on ADT.

[luapram]

Anna-Marie

 

If you want to be precise -you will switch from Alaska time to Pacific Time [from 4 to 3 behind EDT]\\

 

This will bewhen you pass from the US Border into Canadian waters or Vice versa

 

The actual border is just north of Prince Rupert B.C.

 

Most cruise ships will tell you in their daily log but rest assured -when you are in Alaska [at least as far as Seward or Whittier] you will be 4 hours behind EDT and 1 hour behind PDT which includes Vancouver

 

Lu

 

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