Tefilas Haderech - Cruises

QUESTION: I am going on a several-day cruise. When do I recite Tefilas Haderech?

ANSWER: One recites Tefilas Haderech on the first day when the boat leaves the city. However, Minchas Shlomo (2:60:4) writes that it is questionable as to whether one can recite Tefilas Haderech on the subsequent days, since the boat continues traveling by day and by night. Ordinarily, during a trip when one stops to go to sleep, this acts as a break, and one is required to recite a new bracha in the morning. However, in this case the boat continues to travel even while the passengers are sleeping. It is therefore questionable whether sleeping on a boat constitutes an interruption. To avoid this issue, one should incorporate Tefilas Haderech into Shmoneh Esrei in the bracha of Shema Koleinu, which also ends with the bracha of “Shomei’a tefilla.” If the boat were to dock in a port overnight, then one could recite the bracha of Tefilas Haderech in the morning.

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