What To Do On A Cruise: Part 2
Hello Friend! Welcome back! I’m happy you’re here! I hope you had a lovely week! With September drawing to a close I’m getting excited for the Halloween spirit that I’ve been seeing pop up in my community, especially from decorations! I absolutely love holiday decorations! Literally for any holiday! Special events included too. I love dressing up a space to make it feel special and festive. It brings me so much joy and I love making a space feel magical or spooky. But let’s dive into festive topics a little bit more next week. This week we are finishing up our list of stuff to do on a cruise! If you haven’t read Part 1 click to read that too!
Let’s get started with:
Photo by Travel Weekly
The Pool Deck
When most people think of cruises, they generally tend to think that swimming is the only activity to do on board (aside from drinking). And yes, swimming is a big activity. Cruises over the years have dramatically expanded on the pool areas of the ship to essentially turn the pool deck into its own water park. You will find various water slides, a condensed water ride, and almost always a surfing type of activity. (Royal Caribbean calls theirs the “Flow Rider”) Plus for the adults there is an adult swimming pool and lounge area, and lots of hot tubs throughout. Swim up bars, regular bars, and drink delivery to your area of the pool deck are also features included for adults. Often there is also a Froyo station manned by a pool deck attendant (For food safety reasons) and lots of toppings are also often available.
Often times the cruise staff will host activities or contests alternating with live bands or DJ’s playing music on the busier sections of the deck. The adult swim area usually remains an oasis where people can retreat if they just want to be near a quiet pool and sunbathe.
RCI’s Wonderland
Specialty Dining
Specialty Dining is usually what you see as an add-on option on your “A La Carte” ships or partially included brands. You pay additional money to eat at these restaurants but get nicer selections of food and drink than you would find in the buffet and main dining rooms. These places usually have a theme or a branded celebrity chef that will inform you of the experience you can expect to have. Some restaurants are your nice Italian-themed or Japanese cuisine restaurants and sometimes you will find a place where the staff are cagey about the food because there is no menu and everything is a culinary surprise (with considerations for food allergies.) Is paying extra for the nicer restaurants worth it? If you’re a foodie, I’d say yes. If you’re on a tight budget, then the main dining room and buffet will also be a perfectly fine choice. The menus change every day in the main dining room so you will not be bored of your selections there either.
Photo from Don & Heidi Bucolo
Shopping
The cruise companies are very good at giving all passengers ample opportunity to spend as much money as possible on board their ships. On the main promenade deck that tends to be a mid-level deck and mid-ship, there are kiosks and store fronts throughout the deck. The store fronts usually carry high end brands for cosmetics, leatherworks, jewelry, and anything that qualifies for duty free shopping. The kiosks rotate their product out and tend to open for special sales, information sessions from the spa about their services, and any other departments that depend on guests spending the extra dollar for an item or service. There is also likely another area of the ship with the highest end brands of jewelry like Cartier, Rolex, Tiffany, and Swarovski usually surrounded by the fine dining specialty restaurants.
Kid's Zones
The kids have somewhere to go where only kids their age are allowed to enter (and the Youth Staff who take care of them during the day), These areas are designed to be the most entertaining and attractive place for children so that they will give their parents the much needed break they deserve. Areas are usually divided into age groups, toddlers through 6 year olds, 7 through 12 year olds, and 13 through 17 yr olds. Sometimes the teens get split between older and younger depending on the number of kids in the youth area at that time. The youth staff have loads of age appropriate activities for each group and every day the activities change. If the group is small, sometimes youth staff will escort their group to the buffet for lunch and back. The Youth area isn’t 24 hours. It operates more like a day care with drop off in the morning and pick up in time for dinner. Sometimes there will be special events for the older teens like a silent disco or special movie screening that happens after dinner but it is not a nightly event.
Specialty Acts
Aside from the main stage performances, there will also be special acts that come on board and change every cruise. This gives the performers a few nights off per cruise to rest and recuperate their voices and bodies. Instead there may be acts like comedians, magicians, or even acapella groups that come on and perform, keeping the entertainment fresh every night. If you really enjoy comedy, there is likely a comedy club on the ship where the comedians do a more risqué version of their show. The main stage is often more censored to appeal to families and the comedy club may have a staff member checking ID.
Ship Tours
If you are curious about the ship, you can usually sign up for a special tour. You will join a tour group, usually earlier in the morning and your guide will take you around the areas of the ship that usually only crew members are allowed to go. Depending on the ship you may be able to get a glimpse of the crew mess, tour the engine room, and maybe even go up to the bridge and speak with the captain. There aren’t too many tours available per cruise because it can end up impeding the daily activities of the crew. These areas aren’t designed for guests to go in as the areas are usually pretty bare of unnecessary finishes like carpeting or decorations. Some areas may also be dangerous to go in without the proper training or knowledge, so if you do take a tour, please stick close to your group. You will absolutely get lost if you end up separating from the group.
Theme Nights
The cruise staff like to throw theme nights. 1970’s or 1980’s parties are the most popular across the board. Usually close to the end of the cruise, the cruise staff will have a giant dance party for the whole ship playing music correlating to the chosen theme. The most entertaining part is seeing how the cruise staff is dressed because they usually have silly costumes and even sillier dances. There is also always a formal night on all cruises 4 days or longer. On formal nights, the bridge crew and the captain will meet and greet the guests in their formal uniforms and everyone dresses in their evening wear or cocktail dresses for dinner and their nighttime entertainment. The event starts around 5 p.m. or whenever your dinner seating is. Theme nights don’t usually apply to the pool deck or the buffet. So if you want to keep casual the whole cruise, you have the option!
There is still more stuff to do on board a cruise that I haven’t touched on fully, but Part 1 and Part 2 cover the majority of the activities available. I hope it gives you more of an idea of what taking a cruise might be like and perhaps interests you a little more!
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