Cruising Comfort Even on a Hard Mattress

I have discovered an unexpected benefit in cruising. I am able to sleep better and wake up more refreshed even after making merry the night before.

One of the disadvantages of growing older is that beds become less comfortable. This fact was brought home to me recently when we stayed at a hotel in La Palma. The mattress was so hard that I found it difficult to get to sleep. In fact I was so sleepy during the day that I yawned too widely and dislocated my jaw (temporarily).

The benefit I get from cruising also happened on the trans-Canada train journey. It is, I think, because the movement causes you to change position sufficiently to move the pressure points to a different part of the body before they become uncomfortable. The harder the mattress the more important it is, particularly so for people who are, for example, developing arthritis.

This argument applies to ships only as long as the ship is rolling sufficiently to change the pressure. So does a cruise on a ship with stabilisers give you as good a night's sleep as one rolling on the ocean waves? Presumably not but then perhaps complete stabilisation is not achieved. Not only do stabilisers increase the fuel consumption but they also reduce the speed the vessel is capable of. So maybe the captain reduces their effect at night time.

A cruise on a river, for the reasons mentioned above, may be much less comfortable at night. The worst in my experience occurred on the Yangtse river. The Chinese vessel was navigating the Three Gorges. The bunks were a hair mattress on a board. They were not merely uncomfortable, they were painful, but fortunately we were able to supplement the mattress with additional pillows to soften the bed under our hips and shoulders.

The question that arises is how much do hoteliers consider the comfort of their clients? We have guides to restaurants and star ratings for hotels but is it not time to give a star rating for the bedding. I am told that water beds are the most comfortable. Presumably this is because the pressure is distributed evenly over the whole body. On the downside it is reported that if you get used to a water bed then other beds are so comparatively uncomfortable that you can't sleep on anything else. It seems difficult to win.

So can we do anything about it, like setting up a list of accommodations with adequate comfort for sleeping. Suggestions welcomed.

Derrick Grover has travelled extensively. He has had numerous articles published. He is also an experienced photographer and supplies high quality images to support his writing. Articles and photographs are on http://www.travoto.com. Contact for this article is bed@travoto.com