What are the sunrise/sunset times for Alaskan cruises? Are they a problem?

[chaseg03]

I heard they can be wonky, thanks for any help? (7 night cruise btw)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I heard they can be wonky, thanks for any help? (7 night cruise btw)

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/usa/Alaska.asp

This will give you an idea of those times.

Typically, it's not a problem. The rooms do have black out curtains. I'd suggest bringing a clothespin along to hold the gap closed between the curtains, though.

 

[Dug720]

The only people I've ever heard of it being an issue for are and Muslim crew members (or travelers) if any of Alaska season falls during Ramadan as they are only allowed to eat when the sun has set so that time is limited in a place like Alaska. I only realized this on my first Alaskan cruise which was on HAL - Ramadan ended a couple of days into the cruise, actually the night before the captain's toast because he mentioned if any of them seemed a bit tired it could have been because they had a big celebration the prior evening to mark the end of Ramadan.

I personally didn't find it a problem either year - the second year, on RCCL, I had an interior cabin.

 

[MUN]

I heard they can be wonky, thanks for any help? (7 night cruise btw)

I didn't think they were wonky at all on our Alaskan cruise.

 

[xlxo]

Thankfully there is only one time zone change for embarkation and a second time zone change for debarkation.

 

[anricat]

Thankfully there is only one time zone change for embarkation and a second time zone change for debarkation.

Close, but not quite. The very first day at sea you're still on Vancouver time, so you don't change until Tuesday night (or first thing Wednesday morning). (I'm assuming this year's cruises are again Monday-Monday.) On the way back, you change Saturday evening (or first thing Sunday morning), which last year was Ketchikan, then you have a day at sea Sunday on Vancouver time, then the next day is debarkation.

 

[Geomom]

It depends on when your sailing is. The closer it is to the summer solstice--around June 21st, the more daylight hours you have. Our sailing was in August, and it seemed pretty normal to me--around 5:30AM-9:30PM was the earliest sunrise/latest sunset times.

Of course this only matters if you have SUN!
We only had sun on the 2 sea days, the rest of the time was cloudy/foggy/misty/rainy.

 

[Drusilla99]

We were on the 4th of July sailing last year and the large amount of sunlight didn't bother us at all, and we go to bed fairly early and still sleep in. The drapes blocked the sun, and made our room super dark. Our teens loved the late sunlight because it made the days last longer to them. We also had beautiful, warm weather, so when the sun was up, it was sunny!

 

[GPaLarry]

Late sunset also means the Northern lights, if available, are going to be hard to see. We head to Alaska with the mouse in June, so we will see. Has anyone seen them on their cruises??

 

[mmouse37]

On every cruise I bring a chip clip or even use a hair clip to keep the drapes closed.

MJ

 

[SummerMagic]

We have a funny story with that. On our first Alaskan cruise (Not DCL) my step dad got up really early the first morning. He looked out the window and saw it was a bright sunny day. After confirming the time with my watch, he pulled open the curtains, announced how beautiful it was and he was going to breakfast. I grabbed my phone and told him it was 4:30 and that breakfast wasn't being served yet. He asked why my watch said 8:30, and I told him it was still set to eastern time. He closed the curtain and went back to bed. Lol

That was the only issue we had. I thought it was pretty cool to be walking around at 11 pm and still have light.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Late sunset also means the Northern lights, if available, are going to be hard to see. We head to Alaska with the mouse in June, so we will see. Has anyone seen them on their cruises??

Generally, northern lights are visible further north and in dark skies.

You can find the spread of the the aurora here:
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/Alaska/

 

[bbel]

Late sunset also means the Northern lights, if available, are going to be hard to see. We head to Alaska with the mouse in June, so we will see. Has anyone seen them on their cruises??

Yep. As long as it's not cloudy, it's not uncommon to see them on Skagway night. I've seen them from deck 10 during freezing the night away deck party, and from the front of the ship after finishing work (midnight onwards).
The Skagway locals always seem to know if there's a chance of seeing them.

 

[chaseg03]

We were on the 4th of July sailing last year and the large amount of sunlight didn't bother us at all, and we go to bed fairly early and still sleep in. The drapes blocked the sun, and made our room super dark. Our teens loved the late sunlight because it made the days last longer to them. We also had beautiful, warm weather, so when the sun was up, it was sunny!

Off topic but how did your teens like it? I will be fifteen at the time of sailing and am getting very used to dream class ships. Now I'm going back to Magic class so how did they like it. What'd they do most if the time? Thanks!!!

 

[Aaron88]

I heard they can be wonky, thanks for any help? (7 night cruise btw)

I guess it would change slightly later in the year but here are the times from the first cruise from mid May 2016:
Day at Sea. (Sunrise 5:27 am, sunset 9:52 pm) -- set clocks back one hour when you go to bed.
Day at Sea in Tracy Arm Fjord (Sunrise 5:27 am, sunset 9:52 pm)
Skagway all ashore 7:15am, all aboard 7:45 pm (Sunrise 4:04 am, sunset 9:52 pm)
Juneau all ashore 6:45 am, all aboard 4:45 pm (Sunrise 4:08 am, sunset 9:39 pm)
Ketchikan all ashore 11:15 am, all aboard 7:45 pm (Sunrise 4:16 am, sunset 9:08 pm) -- set clocks forward one hour when you go to bed.
Day at Sea (Sunrise 5:24 am, sunset 9:18 pm)

 

[chaseg03]

I guess it would change slightly later in the year but here are the times from the first cruise from mid May 2016:
Day at Sea. (Sunrise 5:27 am, sunset 9:52 pm) -- set clocks back one hour when you go to bed.
Day at Sea in Tracy Arm Fjord (Sunrise 5:27 am, sunset 9:52 pm)
Skagway all ashore 7:15am, all aboard 7:45 pm (Sunrise 4:04 am, sunset 9:52 pm)
Juneau all ashore 6:45 am, all aboard 4:45 pm (Sunrise 4:08 am, sunset 9:39 pm)
Ketchikan all ashore 11:15 am, all aboard 7:45 pm (Sunrise 4:16 am, sunset 9:08 pm) -- set clocks forward one hour when you go to bed.
Day at Sea (Sunrise 5:24 am, sunset 9:18 pm)

Thanks!

 

[Drusilla99]

Off topic but how did your teens like it? I will be fifteen at the time of sailing and am getting very used to dream class ships. Now I'm going back to Magic class so how did they like it. What'd they do most if the time? Thanks!!!

Mine were 14 & 16 at the time, both girls...they hung out in vibe, went swimming, watched movies, played video games and each made their own set of friends. Our rule is, they have to eat dinner and do excursions with us, other than that, they're free to go. They've been on all the ships

 

[chaseg03]

Mine were 14 & 16 at the time, both girls...they hung out in vibe, went swimming, watched movies, played video games and each made their own set of friends. Our rule is, they have to eat dinner and do excursions with us, other than that, they're free to go. They've been on all the ships

Good to know, I'm just one ship away after alska! Thanks for answering!

 

[GPaLarry]

Reason I mentioned the Northern Lights is that we have seen them, rarely, from here in Portland, OR and when we lived in Syracuse, NY. They are in miniature and sometime faint, but great to see. Clear nights are critical.

 

[Prose]

Photos from our Wonder cruise, first week of June 2011....(sorry it's so big...good Lord, Photobucket's editing function sucks....)

Sunrise, around 4am....

Sunset, around 10:30pm...