The combination of balmy sea breezes and glittering night skies is so irresistible that cruise travelers have been known to sleep on their balconies or on their ship’s open-air decks. If you’d rather sleep under the stars in style and comfort, look to the lines that are creating on-deck glamping opportunities.
It’s a rare find, but a few cruise lines do offer sanctioned sleeping experiences out on public decks. And this camping aboard is not a no-frills affair; you’ll be pampered with plush bedding and added touches like rose petals and champagne.
If falling asleep to the lapping of waves or unobstructed views of the constellations sounds dreamy, book a sailing on one of these cruise lines for the ultimate glamping at sea experience.
SeaDream Yacht Club
Laid-back cruise line SeaDream Yacht Club is known for what it calls Balinese Dream Beds that line the top deck of its twin 56-cabin yachts. By day, they’re a comfortable spot for sunbathing, reading, or napping in the Caribbean or Mediterranean sunshine. By night, they transform into your private bedroom under the stars.
Available on a first-come, first-served basis, you can reserve the extra-large Balinese bed at the front of the ship by the hot tub for an outdoor overnight experience. The crew will create a cozy sleeping spot with sumptuous linens, pillows and a duvet, and will leave rose petals a bottle of champagne for a nightcap. Guests can don their SeaDream-provided personalized pajama sets for this decktop sleepover. Bathrooms are conveniently nearby.
Having sailed on SeaDream, I had heard that most guests don’t last the night, so if you can tune out the late-night socializers at the deck-top bar and drift off to dreamland until the sunrise wakes you, you’ll be a star among your shipmates. But if you sneak back to your stateroom at 2 a.m., that’s OK, too. After all, the glamping experience is complimentary.
While sailing in the Galápagos on the Celebrity Flora, you can reserve a night in glamping cabanas that include a seating area for dinner alfresco.
Photo by Quentin Bacon/Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises has put together a sunset-to-sunrise program for Celebrity Flora cruisers in the Galápagos who want to experience more than sleeping on deck. Each night, “Galápagos Glamping” is available in two pairs of cabanas, which can each accommodate up to two people each on the ship’s outer deck. The cost is $299 per two-person cabana, but previous glampers still rave about the experience online.
The evening begins in your sitting-room cabana with a campfire-themed alfresco dinner paired with cocktails, followed by a stargazing session led by naturalists. This is your chance to learn about equatorial constellations that combine a mix of Northern and Southern hemisphere stars.
At bedtime, you can brush your teeth in the nearby public bathrooms before retiring to your sleeping cabana, which has been made up with a double bed. You’ll hardly notice the other couple (the other pair of sitting and sleeping cabanas are on the opposite side of the deck). In the morning, the crew will bring you breakfast in bed before you return to the cabin to get ready for your day in the islands.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions
Glamping isn’t only reserved for warm-weather cruises. National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions offers a polar version with evenings spent in glass-enclosed sleep pods on the decks of twin expedition ships National Geographic Endurance and National Geographic Resolution.
Each ship features two geodesic domes furnished with a king-sized bed, which is kept toasty warm with hot water bottles, fur blankets, and a fluffy duvet. You’ll be provided with eye masks to block out the midnight sun, earplugs, and a fleece-lined pullover for those middle-of-the-night bathroom runs (over by the elevator banks).
Prior to sleep, guests can enjoy a late-night soak in the ships’ outdoor hot tubs, sip complimentary champagne, and gaze at the glacial scenery. If you’d like to see stars, don’t choose a summer solstice sailing when the sun hardly sets. Fall and spring are best for northern lights viewing in the Arctic region and southern lights viewing in Antarctica.
In the morning, the crew will deliver coffee and croissants, so you can break your fast in your cozy cocoon with views of whale pods and penguin colonies.
A night in the glass pods is complimentary and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The glass-encased sleeping pods on the National Geographic Endurance have the added bonus of a nearby hot tub.
Photo by Ralph Lee Hopkins/courtesy of National Geographic – Lindblad Expedition
Azamara Cruises
Azamara Cruises, which puts a strong focus on the destinations it sails to, doesn’t offer a true glamping option, but its Stories Under the Stars event is so campfire chic that it gets an honorable mention, even without a sleeping component.
The event takes place on each ship’s pool deck (Azamara sails a fleet of four ships), where guests can enjoy desserts like s’mores, spiked hot chocolate, and chocolate-forward cocktails. Participating passengers can curl up on lounge chairs under a blanket beneath the night sky.
Once everyone has settled in, a designated destination expert will regale attendees with tales of local legends and folklore. In Alaska, you might hear Tlingit stories like “How Raven Stole the Sun” or Gold Rush adventure stories; in Europe, you could learn the tale of Melusine, the serpent princess of medieval folklore, or the legends of Norse mythology.
Unfortunately, once the speakers conclude their nighttime tales, you do need to go back to your cabin to sleep. The Stories Under the Stars experience is only available once per cruise on nine-night sailings or longer and is weather dependent.
Virgin Voyages makes it easy for any passengers with a terrace to sleep outside on one of the provided hammocks.
Courtesy of Virgin Voyages
Virgin Voyages
If all you want is to sleep on your balcony without added fuss, consider a cruise on Virgin Voyages. All of this adult-only cruise line’s balcony cabins are outfitted with the signature red hammocks, which might be the most comfortable balcony furniture we’ve ever relaxed in. Here, you really can spend the night under the stars, swinging gently to the motion of the ocean.
