Why You Should Wake Up Early On Your Next Cruise
Olden in Norway offers scenic sailing for several hours before the port arrival.
David NikelCruise passengers naturally focus on what they will do once the ship reaches port: excursions, museums, restaurants and walking tours. Yet in some destinations, the approach to port can be one of the most memorable parts of the entire day.
A dramatic sail-in can take an hour or more, passing islands, mountain walls, historic waterfronts or quiet coastal communities long before the gangway opens.
The catch is that it often happens while much of the ship is still asleep.
The Journey Can Be Part Of The Destination
Not every cruise arrival is worth setting an alarm for. Some involve little more than an industrial harbor slowly appearing on the horizon. Others are very different.
Norway's fjords offer some of the most obvious examples . A ship heading for destinations such as Flåm, Olden or Geiranger may spend hours traveling deep into a fjord before reaching the port.
For passengers awake early enough, that means watching steep mountains rise on both sides of the ship, passing waterfalls and small farms and seeing settlements gradually appear along the shoreline.
By the time the ship docks, you have already experienced a significant part of the destination.
Stockholm provides a very different kind of arrival. Cruise ships approaching the Swedish capital can spend several hours navigating the Stockholm archipelago , a vast landscape of islands, rocky outcrops, summer houses and small communities.
The scenery is less dramatic than a Norwegian fjord, but the constantly changing view makes the arrival itself part of the attraction.
Some Cities Are Best Seen From The Water
Natural scenery is only part of the appeal. Certain cities reveal themselves particularly well from the deck of a ship.
Approaching Istanbul by water offers a sense of the city's geography that is difficult to appreciate from the streets, with Europe and Asia divided by the Bosporus and minarets rising above the waterfront.
Kotor in Montenegro is another classic cruise arrival. Ships approach through the Bay of Kotor , surrounded by steep mountains before eventually reaching the compact fortified town at the head of the bay.
Montenegro's Kotor offers a scenic approach on Mediterranean itineraries.
Even when the final destination is familiar, arriving by ship can provide an unusual perspective on it.
That is one of cruising's understated advantages. A flight delivers you to an airport, while even a scenic train journey often ends with a run through industrial districts. A ship, by contrast, can make the arrival itself part of the experience.
Sailaway Deserves Attention Too
The same principle applies when leaving port. Passengers often return from a long day ashore and immediately head for dinner, just as the ship begins retracing one of the most scenic parts of the itinerary.
In Norway, a late-afternoon or evening departure can provide another chance to experience the fjord, this time in different light and without the early alarm.
Long summer evenings make sailaway particularly rewarding across Northern Europe . Around midsummer, daylight can linger well into the evening, while farther north the midnight sun can remove darkness altogether.
There is also something satisfying about watching a destination slowly disappear rather than simply stepping aboard and considering the day finished.
Research The Route Before You Cruise
The challenge is knowing which arrivals are worth waking for. Cruise lines sometimes highlight scenic cruising in the itinerary, but not always.
Arrival time is a helpful clue. If a ship is scheduled to dock in a Norwegian fjord at 8 a.m., the most scenic part of the approach may begin several hours earlier. An alarm set for 7 a.m. could mean seeing only the final few minutes.
Ask onboard, too. Officers, destination staff and experienced crew members often know when the ship will enter particularly scenic waters. That's especially true for ships that operate on the same itinerary many times in a season.
There is no need to spend the entire morning outside. In cooler destinations, one of the advantages of modern cruise ships is that observation lounges and even the buffet can offer excellent views without requiring passengers to stand on an exposed deck.
A balcony cabin can come into its own here as well. Room-service breakfast overlooking a Norwegian fjord is one of those rare cruise experiences that can be both indulgent and practical.
Not Every Early Start Is Worth It
Cruises already involve enough alarms. Port-intensive itineraries can require several early mornings in succession, so there is little sense sacrificing sleep for every arrival.
The trick is to identify the handful of places where geography makes the journey special.
On some cruise days, the destination begins when you walk down the gangway. On the best ones, it begins long before the ship reaches the dock.
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This article was originally published on Forbes.com
