Do you ever feel guilty sleeping in?

[Beachnut53]

Part of a achieving a great vacation is understanding the difference between your mate and yourself. I am a LARK and DH is an OWL. It is very important to to him to have the opportunity to sleep in.....believe me over our 30 years together I have come to understand the "benefits" of having him sleep in when he wishes....Your stewarts are the least of your concerns.....let everyone sleep in until they wish to wish.....your will reap your rewards in the longer term ....trust me!:)

[GORDONCHICK]

I am up at 4:30 for work every day, so my idea of sleeping in is until 7-8am. DH still gets up early, goes and spends an hour on the computer for work, reads, and then comes back to wake me up by the time we discussed the evening before. However, I still will have DS (8) with me in the cabin, so there's a good chance I won't sleep until the desired time, but that's life.

 

The only time I want to up early is if we have an excursion.

[Senoj84]

Lol, yes I do feel guilty about it. That's all I did my last cruise and it was partly because it was my second time on that ship and I saw everything before the first time I sailed on the ship, which happened to be my first cruise and I had new cruiser fever ( I did everything and saw everything). The second cruise was different. So, I slept a lot of the time, I was just that tired. I felt bad for being lazy on my vacation, lol. My grandmother in my in her 70's slept less than I did and I'm in my mid twenties. I felt bad but I kept telling myself it's my vacation and I'll spend the time however I want, even it's catching some zzzzzzzzz's. :D

 

PS My gmom snores loudly so that kept me up a lot of nights, so I had to sleep when she was gone, that was my other excuse. ;)

[momofmeg]

I am a morning person-I love a cup a coffee on my balcony watching the sun rise. I had not thought about the steward, but I do not think they care-they soon learn your habits-so they clean the "early birds" cabins first. It takes them some time to clean all the cabins anyway-they may appreciate the schedules varying-if we were all early birds and all wanted our stateroom serviced befroe 10 a.m. on sea days-they would have a problem.

[BonnieVA]

It takes them some time to clean all the cabins anyway-they may appreciate the schedules varying-if we were all early birds and all wanted our stateroom serviced befroe 10 a.m. on sea days-they would have a problem.

 

Good point!

 

After reading all these responses I might even start sleeping in on sea days ... well, no, I hate to miss anything. But I'll consider it, lol.

[Traveler353]

Definetly not. I am on vacation, I do not have to be anywhere. Reality of it is that I still wake up my normal time off or on vacation most days. Too many years of waking up at 6:00AM I suppose.

[Rockportgirl]

Now you can pick apart my words in this post.

 

I don't know why this is such a popular thing to do on this board. Maybe people should just "let" people say what they want without looking for something to attack in their comments?

[momofmeg]

I don't know why this is such a popular thing to do on this board. Maybe people should just "let" people say what they want without looking for something to attack in their comments?

 

Well there are those who love to pick apart posts-but I did not read his as doing that to hers.

[michmike]

We travel with another couple who are life long friends of ours. Both of them like to sleep in on sea days or on days where we don't have an early morning excursion planned. We typically get up about 7 and have generally arranged w/ room service to bring a continental bfast about 7:30. We enjoy that on our balcony, read our books and then join our friends for bfast about 9:30, or 10, generally heading for the lido.

 

B'fast twice in one morning.. can't beat that!! So thank God for friends who sleep in. And as others have said.. the cabin stewards quickly adjust to your patterns. So no need for concern.

[RetireeWannabee]

I figure that if I vacate my cabin at some point and stay out a few hours it will be serviced. I don't bother worrying about schedules on a cruise, except for knowing port times and excursions. I sleep until I wake up (ideally).

 

Feel guilty? not a chance. Y'all should thank me for getting my beauty sleep and resist considering what I looked like without it.

[cathyz]

Ok, so the stewards do not mind people who sleep in. That's what I really wanted to know. I know they have a big job, work all day & take care of so many cabins ... & I actually sympathize w/ these hard-working people. I don't care how long my family (kids ranging from 5 to 16) sleeps on sea days as long as we're not interfering in their jobs.

 

And, although I am not an AM person, I also wake up early when I'm on vacation ... I burn the candle at both ends, staying up late (I'm usually one of the last to go to bed) & getting up early (I'm always the 1st one up). I don't want to miss a thing.

Actually, on Carnival at least, they don't work 'all day'. They work from early a.m. to noon and then have from noon to 5:00 off and do the evening cabin activities until they're done. You can usually get hold of them from noon to 5:00, but it would interrupt their rest period. And sometimes, they are allowed off the ship if in port.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We sleep in days at see

[Happy ks]

Sleeping is one of my favorite pastimes on a cruise, I don't feel the need any longer to do it all, see it all. But, that's in the afternoon, as in nap time.

 

I'm another one that feels 7 am is sleeping in, but that's just my normal clock. We love to have our morning coffee on the balcony and enjoy watching the ship pull into port.

[Putterdude]

To each there own....its your vacation, sleep if you want. I tend to be up around 6:30 or 7 for fear of missing something. DW like to sleep and will sometimes sleep in, if she does I will bring her some breakfast from the buffet. I do confess to having an afternoon nap though on sea days.:)

[momofmeg]

Sleeping is one of my favorite pastimes on a cruise, I don't feel the need any longer to do it all, see it all. But, that's in the afternoon, as in nap time.

 

I'm another one that feels 7 am is sleeping in, but that's just my normal clock. We love to have our morning coffee on the balcony and enjoy watching the ship pull into port.

 

That is what we are doing also-the difference on sea days, is we are just looking at the ocean-however we do go out a little earlier than you, so we can also watch the sun rise. Our body clocks have us getting at 6 am-unless it has been a very late night-and as we are both in our fifties now-late nights are a thing of the past-we are always in bed by midnight/1 am at the latest. Even if it is 1 am-we are still up at 6:30. Of course, we usually take a short nap in the afternoon also!

[PBC29]

Funny story I've only been on one cruise last Feb MSC cruiseline. My mom and her friend had one cabin I had my own so waking them wasn't an issue if I wanted to be up to see the sun rise which was 6 out of the 7 days I could.

On the first day I woke up around 5am showered and dressed opened the cabin door to the hall and my steward was getting the carts ready in the "secret stewards hallway" as he called it. Anyway I went up to the top deck to get some fresh sea air as I had an inside cabin. Had breakfast with some early birds like myself on the open air deck on the back of the ship great view during breakfast. Went back to the cabin about 2 hours later being 8am fully expecting the room not to be cleaned yet but it was. Probably because he saw me leave dressed and knew I was the only one in the cabin.

So that was how the first 3 days went, however the 4th day I did sleep in until 7am. I got up took my shower and as I was in the shower I heard a sound in my cabin wrapped a towel over myself opened the bathroom door and my steward was making my bed I laughed said good morning went back in the bathroom got dressed as my clothes were in the bathroom with me came out again and he had finished the bed and was literally waiting with windex and tile cleaner for me to come out.

He joked since I didn't have my card in the lights slot by the door for the signal to say the cabin was in use he came in as he figured I was out like the last 3 days and came in and started cleaning. I said I'd be out the rest of the cruise before 7.

However my mom and friend were heavy sleepers and didn't get up until 9 most days except one which was an early port day. Their beds/cabin wasn't cleaned until just before lunch by the same steward. He told me the first day he and his 2 man crew had 45 cabins to handle so it was nice to get one out of the way so early. Being one person I made little for him to clean as my towels were used twice regularly and I took out my own trash to his garbage cart.

If you want to sleep in go ahead its not bothering anyone the stewards usually made 3-4 rounds to the cabins anyway they are bound to be empty at some point.

[morriscats]

I am not a morning person in the least but when our family has cruised I have always pestered them to get up early. I feel like we're being a nuisance to the cabin steward if he can't get into our cabins ... I don't want them to have to backtrack! Now I realize it's our vacation & we can sleep until whatever hour we want, but I feel like at a certain hour it's time to pull the "do not disturb" sign off the door & get out of there!

 

Am I being reasonable or should I let them sleep in on sea days? Does anyone else feel like this? And at what time do the stewards just give up, pack up & take their cleaning supplies back to the closet???

This is exactly how I feel. I don't want the room steward to be put out in any way. I wish I did not feel this way as there are a few times that I am sleeping so good - but maybe it is a good thing. So much to do and see. Do you also "clean up a little" before the steward gets there???

[BonnieVA]

This is exactly how I feel. I don't want the room steward to be put out in any way. I wish I did not feel this way as there are a few times that I am sleeping so good - but maybe it is a good thing. So much to do and see. Do you also "clean up a little" before the steward gets there???

 

OMG! After so many responses - finally someone else who has the same problem as me, lol!

 

And, yes, we travel as a family of 6 - in 2 cabins of 3 each - & we probably have some of the neatest cabins on board. Clutter & messes put me in a foul mood.

[morriscats]

OMG! After so many responses - finally someone else who has the same problem as me, lol!

 

And, yes, we travel as a family of 6 - in 2 cabins of 3 each - & we probably have some of the neatest cabins on board. Clutter & messes put me in a foul mood.

Maybe we need to take others advice??? Don't know if I can change though;)

[BonnieVA]

Funny story I've only been on one cruise last Feb MSC cruiseline. My mom and her friend had one cabin I had my own so waking them wasn't an issue if I wanted to be up to see the sun rise which was 6 out of the 7 days I could.

On the first day I woke up around 5am showered and dressed opened the cabin door to the hall and my steward was getting the carts ready in the "secret stewards hallway" as he called it. Anyway I went up to the top deck to get some fresh sea air as I had an inside cabin. Had breakfast with some early birds like myself on the open air deck on the back of the ship great view during breakfast. Went back to the cabin about 2 hours later being 8am fully expecting the room not to be cleaned yet but it was. Probably because he saw me leave dressed and knew I was the only one in the cabin.

So that was how the first 3 days went, however the 4th day I did sleep in until 7am. I got up took my shower and as I was in the shower I heard a sound in my cabin wrapped a towel over myself opened the bathroom door and my steward was making my bed I laughed said good morning went back in the bathroom got dressed as my clothes were in the bathroom with me came out again and he had finished the bed and was literally waiting with windex and tile cleaner for me to come out.

He joked since I didn't have my card in the lights slot by the door for the signal to say the cabin was in use he came in as he figured I was out like the last 3 days and came in and started cleaning. I said I'd be out the rest of the cruise before 7.

However my mom and friend were heavy sleepers and didn't get up until 9 most days except one which was an early port day. Their beds/cabin wasn't cleaned until just before lunch by the same steward. He told me the first day he and his 2 man crew had 45 cabins to handle so it was nice to get one out of the way so early. Being one person I made little for him to clean as my towels were used twice regularly and I took out my own trash to his garbage cart.

If you want to sleep in go ahead its not bothering anyone the stewards usually made 3-4 rounds to the cabins anyway they are bound to be empty at some point.

 

I forgot to say that this was a very good story. You had a lot of patience to not get too upset that he was IN your cabin while you were in the bathroom ... & waiting for you to come out. Holy cow!

 

 

Maybe we need to take others advice??? Don't know if I can change though;)

 

Yea, I doubt I'll change ... but I'll try.

[beachchick]

OMG! After so many responses - finally someone else who has the same problem as me, lol!

 

And, yes, we travel as a family of 6 - in 2 cabins of 3 each - & we probably have some of the neatest cabins on board. Clutter & messes put me in a foul mood.

 

We don't get up early unless we have a reason and we don't worry about inconveniencing the stewards because we know that they know passengers keep to all kinds of schedules.

 

As for neat cabins, we don't "clean up" before the cabin steward comes in to clean. OTOH, we are kind of neatnicks for our own sakes. Clutter, mess, and so on make me feel unsettled and uncomfortable. I'm the same way at home though; it's not cruise specific. In a small stateroom or even a nice suite, we simply can't tolerate a complete slobby mess. We also don't feel that the steward should be expected to pick up our clothes or tidy our things, so we stick to our usual "keep it neat as you go" routine. (The only issue we have between us is that my DH has "flat surface syndrome" and will neatly pile things on any and all flat surfaces, whereas I am an "open flat surfaces are a good thing" chick and keep my areas less covered. We reached an agreement on the issue decades ago.)

 

beachchick

[lovingUT]

We don't get up early unless we have a reason and we don't worry about inconveniencing the stewards because we know that they know passengers keep to all kinds of schedules.

 

As for neat cabins, we don't "clean up" before the cabin steward comes in to clean. OTOH, we are kind of neatnicks for our own sakes. Clutter, mess, and so on make me feel unsettled and uncomfortable. I'm the same way at home though; it's not cruise specific. In a small stateroom or even a nice suite, we simply can't tolerate a complete slobby mess. We also don't feel that the steward should be expected to pick up our clothes or tidy our things, so we stick to our usual "keep it neat as you go" routine. (The only issue we have between us is that my DH has "flat surface syndrome" and will neatly pile things on any and all flat surfaces, whereas I am an "open flat surfaces are a good thing" chick and keep my areas less covered. We reached an agreement on the issue decades ago.)

 

beachchick

 

What's your secret for coming to an agreement on neat vs. messy. After 37 yrs. of marriage we're still battling that one. Clutter clutters my disposition & makes me crazy. My DH, on the other hand, believes in a filing system in which everything he touches is left where he dropped it so that: "He knows where it is." That's his story and he's sticking to it.

I win the battle, because I tidy up after him. He wins the war......because I tidy up after him!

Guess I've answered my own question.....if we're still married after 37 yrs. we have reached an agreement.

 

Yes, our cabin too will be tidy when the steward enters. I don't like a room with an unmade bed, clothes thrown over a chair, wet towels on the floor. The smaller the space the quicker the mess takes over..IMO. Raised by a super neat Mom and it stuck yet clutter in other people's homes doesn't bother me. I admire their relaxed dispositions that can do it.

 

As to sleeping in....haven't done that since our son was a newborn 30 yrs. ago. Old habits are hard to break. I'm a sunrise/sunset person so anything after 6:00am feels like I'm missing out.

[beachchick]

lovingUT:

 

Well, it's not really a matter of messy vs neat because he isn't really messy and isn't at all "slobbish" (if that makes sense). It's more a matter of cluttered flat surfaces (piled very neatly with magazines, notebook/notes, printouts, personal items, etc.) with nowhere left to put stuff unless he moves something. Versus that fact that I prefer to see open spaces on tables, countertop, etc.

 

So what we do is this: He has his "zone" or area and his own desk. He has a few small tables that are his alone. I don't fuss over them or put stuff in his area away. He piles things on and under the tables and in his space. When we have company, he puts most everything away; he also dusts and keeps his area generally clean. For all the little "things" he wants to have at hand, I bought him a few nice tan baskets lined with muslin. They're about the size of a small shoebox and fit on/under his table or behind his chair. That way things are "put away," but easy to access--and I'm not getting irritated with him because he isn't leaving things all over the place. Plus he can easily move his baskets and put them away as needed.

 

I have my own area, desk, and space where I'm sure someone would label me quite AR. In that regard, I guess I am because I keep things put away and have plenty of open space on/under my tables and am uncomfortable if I don't. I've always felt the need to have things well organized. My DH respects my space and does not let his personal things spill over into it. Well...The other day, I did catch him putting a small stack of papers on the arm of the sofa, which is basically part of "my" area. (I've kind of claimed the sofa and coffee table. When we have company, I put my stuff away just like my DH does.) Anyway, I picked up the papers, handed them to him, and told him to find another spot because I was drawing the line. Of course, he did. And of course, I teased him about it and he teased me.

 

Our decorating tastes are pretty simple. We like clean lines and don't care for rows and rows of knick-knacks (or as I call them, "something we have to dust"). We prefer to have fewer, but special, decorative items. We have lots of artwork, but a fair amount of open wall space too. Neither of us can tolerate a dirty house, which is a good thing because our house is pretty modest. It would feel too small if we didn't keep it pretty clean and usually tidy. That has never been an issue, so we never had a need to compromise on it. He's always done a share of the house chores without complaint because he wasn't your "typical" slobby bachelor before I met him. He has always had his piles of stuff, so we agreed a long time ago that we would respect each other's personal spaces and keep the "common" spaces tidied up. He never has been one to just leave things here, there, and everywhere, so I've never felt the need to tidy up after him.

 

That's what has worked for us for a very long time.

 

beachchick

[lovingUT]

lovingUT:

 

Well, it's not really a matter of messy vs neat because he isn't really messy and isn't at all "slobbish" (if that makes sense). It's more a matter of cluttered flat surfaces (piled very neatly with magazines, notebook/notes, printouts, personal items, etc.) with nowhere left to put stuff unless he moves something. Versus that fact that I prefer to see open spaces on tables, countertop, etc.

 

So what we do is this: He has his "zone" or area and his own desk. He has a few small tables that are his alone. I don't fuss over them or put stuff in his area away. He piles things on and under the tables and in his space. When we have company, he puts most everything away; he also dusts and keeps his area generally clean. For all the little "things" he wants to have at hand, I bought him a few nice tan baskets lined with muslin. They're about the size of a small shoebox and fit on/under his table or behind his chair. That way things are "put away," but easy to access--and I'm not getting irritated with him because he isn't leaving things all over the place. Plus he can easily move his baskets and put them away as needed.

 

I have my own area, desk, and space where I'm sure someone would label me quite AR. In that regard, I guess I am because I keep things put away and have plenty of open space on/under my tables and am uncomfortable if I don't. I've always felt the need to have things well organized. My DH respects my space and does not let his personal things spill over into it. Well...The other day, I did catch him putting a small stack of papers on the arm of the sofa, which is basically part of "my" area. (I've kind of claimed the sofa and coffee table. When we have company, I put my stuff away just like my DH does.) Anyway, I picked up the papers, handed them to him, and told him to find another spot because I was drawing the line. Of course, he did. And of course, I teased him about it and he teased me.

 

Our decorating tastes are pretty simple. We like clean lines and don't care for rows and rows of knick-knacks (or as I call them, "something we have to dust"). We prefer to have fewer, but special, decorative items. We have lots of artwork, but a fair amount of open wall space too. Neither of us can tolerate a dirty house, which is a good thing because our house is pretty modest. It would feel too small if we didn't keep it pretty clean and usually tidy. That has never been an issue, so we never had a need to compromise on it. He's always done a share of the house chores without complaint because he wasn't your "typical" slobby bachelor before I met him. He has always had his piles of stuff, so we agreed a long time ago that we would respect each other's personal spaces and keep the "common" spaces tidied up. He never has been one to just leave things here, there, and everywhere, so I've never felt the need to tidy up after him.

 

That's what has worked for us for a very long time.

 

beachchick

 

I'm impressed.....how admirable of you both.

Considering that my 69 yr. old husband was born into a male dominated generation & family that had very traditional gender roles, while I, 10 yrs. younger, (hippie generation) was raised by a very independent mother who was widowed at 33 & never remarried, we've come a long ways in the art of compromise. He's redeemed himself by willingly doing the grocery shopping & vacuuming, since retiring, so I keep my muttering (mostly) to myself when I pick up the trail he leaves from one end of the house to the other.

He also sleeps in while I get up early, giving me mornings mostly to myself.....bless him.

Happy cruising.

[BonnieVA]

It's more a matter of cluttered flat surfaces (piled very neatly with magazines, notebook/notes, printouts, personal items, etc.) with nowhere left to put stuff unless he moves something. Versus that fact that I prefer to see open spaces on tables, countertop, etc.

 

That's exactly how we are. DH has piles & piles of stuff ... magazines, papers, church bulletins, bills (:eek:), etc, throughout the house. Mainly he has them on my beautiful granite kitchen island that you can't see since it's half covered by his piles. I have no idea why he saves all these things but he does & it drives me crazy. If I were to go through his stuff & throw most of it away he'd never miss it ... except that he'd notice the piles had shrunk! Unlike you, we have not come to an agreement over this; I have just folded to the fact that he will always be like this & clutter my house & therefore my mind (the clutter drives me bonkers). To top it off, we still have 4 kids in school so, during the school year, the remaining parts of the counters are covered in kids' papers that we need to process, etc. Ack!

 

So you know all the papers that come to your cabin on cruises? I am the one who daily sorts through it all, saves the necessary ones (remember, we have 2 cabins so I do this in both), & takes what we don't need to the recycling bins onboard. That way he can't make piles on the desk in the cabin!!