Ideas for new activities on cruise ships

[messej01]

My husband and I (early 40s no kids) love cruising but do find the list of activities could be improved/broadened. There seems to be a lot of Trivia.

 

We've come up with a few ideas but was wondering what other people think of these ideas or any other ones?

 

• Treasure Hunt (separate ones for adults and kids)
  
• Self guided photography trails with points of interest
  
• More tours of the ship (maybe just one or two areas)
  
• Progressive dinners at speciality restaurants
  
• Skills from staff passed on via classes (fruit carving, singing lessons, cooking lessons)
  

[sewgood]

I do agree with you there is a lot of trivia.

With the amount we eat on a cruise my husband and I like to do some more active activities to burn through some of those extra calories.

We enjoy the carpet bowls if it is not taken too seriously.

Princess has introduced star gazing on the upper decks. We have yet to try it out though (hopefully will in March).

Someone posted you can buy used decks of cards from the casino for $1US.

Maybe next time I'm cruising I will try to build a house of cards when it's not too rough.:D

[SinbadThePorter]

Princess has introduced star gazing on the upper decks.

 

That's interesting, I'd certainly be willing to give it go.

 

Maybe as an extension of that, some sort of small planetarium and some beginners courses in celestial navigation.

[sewgood]

I haven't been on HAL but I think that they have cooking lessons on specific ships that passengers get involved in.

 

Celebrity in 2015 had themed cooking demos and tips on quiet a few days.

 

Some of the cruise directors staff who take the choir do a good job with the lessons others it is just a job that has to be done.

 

The progressive dinners sound great if the logistics could be worked out.

[The_Big_M]

I'd love to see more like the above.

 

However, Celebrity have gotten rid of almost all their activities staff, so added staff activities aren't likely. Though they've added more chargeable activities like ship's tours.

 

RCL does have more activities, but it varies depending on itinerary and cruise director and activities manager. If you actually catch up with them early in the cruise and it's a longer one, something may be arranged.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

On the newer HAL ships they have a special theatre set up for cooking demos. Princess also have cooking shows where the Chefs perform ,usually a fairly simple dish and on occasions the show is followed by a galley tour.

I dont think all the activities are set by the cruise lines , but rather the Cruise Director and the talent of the staff he has on board.

We have been on HAL cruises where tours of the ships Art collection was very popular. It was interesting to learn the history of many of the works on display. They also had Treasure Hunts and coffee mornings where members of the Staff, eg Navigator, Engineer etc talked about their role on the ship.

[sewgood]

On the newer HAL ships they have a special theatre set up for cooking demos. Princess also have cooking shows where the Chefs perform ,usually a fairly simple dish and on occasions the show is followed by a galley tour.

I dont think all the activities are set by the cruise lines , but rather the Cruise Director and the talent of the staff he has on board.

We have been on HAL cruises where tours of the ships Art collection was very popular. It was interesting to learn the history of many of the works on display. They also had Treasure Hunts and coffee mornings where members of the Staff, eg Navigator, Engineer etc talked about their role on the ship.

 

Hal seems to offer some different things to the normal cruise fare. Sounds great.

[Vader1111]

Hal seems to offer some different things to the normal cruise fare. Sounds great.

Depends greatly on the ship and cruise director.

 

I was on Oosterdam a couple of years ago and the only activities they had were cooking demonstrations, digital photography lessons and trivia.

 

I have no interest in cooking, or photography lessons, so sea days were very long and very boring.

 

The problem was a lack of staff. They only had 3 staff running all of the entertainment - the CD, the DJ, and the girl who ran the cooking demonstrations. No staff = no activities.

[cruisine21]

Depends greatly on the ship and cruise director.

 

I was on Oosterdam a couple of years ago and the only activities they had were cooking demonstrations, digital photography lessons and trivia.

 

I have no interest in cooking, or photography lessons, so sea days were very long and very boring.

 

The problem was a lack of staff. They only had 3 staff running all of the entertainment - the CD, the DJ, and the girl who ran the cooking demonstrations. No staff = no activities.

 

 

 

I love cooking classes. When we did Alaska on the Solstice they had Apple iPhone/iPad classes. I loved the dance classes on the Pacific Eden in the Dome. A different style of dancing everyday. A great way to burn up calories. Our relocation cruise on the Radiance also had dance lessons.

 

When we went on the Carnival Spirit. They had walk a mile with the cruise director a few times.

 

 

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[messej01]

IPhone/iPad classes sounds great; I'd love to pick up a few tips and tricks.

 

I'll definitely look into the dance classes on Eden, I have two left feet but I'll give it a go.

 

 

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[Vader1111]

IPhone/iPad classes sounds great; I'd love to pick up a few tips and tricks.

 

I'll definitely look into the dance classes on Eden, I have two left feet but I'll give it a go.

 

 

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Classes on the Oosterdam (Dec 2014) were all Microsoft, not Apple.

 

I've seen dance classes on several ships, particularly P&O and RCI.

[Vader1111]

I love cooking classes. When we did Alaska on the Solstice they had Apple iPhone/iPad classes. I loved the dance classes on the Pacific Eden in the Dome. A different style of dancing everyday. A great way to burn up calories. Our relocation cruise on the Radiance also had dance lessons.

 

When we went on the Carnival Spirit. They had walk a mile with the cruise director a few times.

 

 

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Dance classes aren't my thing, but each to their own. Glad you enjoyed them.

[6666oz]

On the calm days at sea I try and do something on offer to keep myself amused, even if its not a normal activity for myself,

whiskey and Martini master classes are great fun with a good barman.

 

On the Carnival legend I did the galley tour and was very entertaining and was quite amazing to see how it worked,

tours of the bridge would be good to.

Edited January 3, 2017 by 6666oz

[linanles]

Princess has introduced star gazing on the upper decks. We have yet to try it out though (hopefully will in March).

 

We were on Diamond Princess recently and they had "star gazing" on the list of activities. Unfortunately it turned out to be an overcast night so they rescheduled it. Guess what, another overcast night, in fact it was overcast for most of the cruise.

 

I just wonder what you would see through a telescope on the desk of a moving ship given the angle of view of a telescope is so narrow.

 

I've found some of the activities are no more than promotional talks and not educational. Especially the digital photography or GoPro lectures. All they talked about were the features of the cameras they had for sale on the ship. I'd put them in the same category as Art appreciation, foot analysis and weight loss/well being, all just advertising.

[Haoie]

Went on RCI for the first time last month - I really enjoyed the talks the CD did with the various heads of staff. Many dance classes [i even learnt a flash mob dance!]. Multiple trivia each day.

 

2 open floor debates were held, a 3rd was scheduled but cancelled possibly due to the controversial topic- Euthanasia.

 

Didn't have a cooking demo. That would've been good to see.

 

I'd like some karaoke or live music during the day. There was basically no music before 6.

[messej01]

We were on Diamond Princess recently and they had "star gazing" on the list of activities. Unfortunately it turned out to be an overcast night so they rescheduled it. Guess what, another overcast night, in fact it was overcast for most of the cruise.

 

I just wonder what you would see through a telescope on the desk of a moving ship given the angle of view of a telescope is so narrow.

 

I've found some of the activities are no more than promotional talks and not educational. Especially the digital photography or GoPro lectures. All they talked about were the features of the cameras they had for sale on the ship. I'd put them in the same category as Art appreciation, foot analysis and weight loss/well being, all just advertising.

 

I agree that some of the talks are really just promotional spiels on items for sale. I don't mind a few things for sale at the end but the educational elemental could be much better.

[messej01]

Went on RCI for the first time last month - I really enjoyed the talks the CD did with the various heads of staff. Many dance classes [i even learnt a flash mob dance!]. Multiple trivia each day.

 

2 open floor debates were held, a 3rd was scheduled but cancelled possibly due to the controversial topic- Euthanasia.

 

Didn't have a cooking demo. That would've been good to see.

 

I'd like some karaoke or live music during the day. There was basically no music before 6.

 

The open floor debates sound most interesting. I can understand why they cancelled the Euthanasia one but I would have gone to listen.

 

Live music during the day would be good, especially if the whether wasn't very great or you just wanted to be inside for a bit (and didn't want to do Trivia)

[linanles]

One thing we enjoyed on our last cruise was the Ukelele classes. They provided two very big bins of ukeleles and still there were not enough to go round, it was that popular. We did 3 or 4 half hour classes then a concert performance on the last sea day. There was also a passengers choir and glockenspiel classes. Those people also performed on the last sea day.

 

While they were not promoting any sales we did buy a ukelele when we got home to continue learning.

 

We will do the glockenspiel classes on the next cruise if they have them.

More of this type of hands on activity would be good to see.

[Aus Traveller]

We were on Diamond Princess recently and they had "star gazing" on the list of activities. Unfortunately it turned out to be an overcast night so they rescheduled it. Guess what, another overcast night, in fact it was overcast for most of the cruise.

 

I just wonder what you would see through a telescope on the desk of a moving ship given the angle of view of a telescope is so narrow.

They don't use a telescope for the stargazing because of the movement of the ship. With this magnified 30 or 50 times, the field of view would be moving so much you wouldn't see anything. In addition, it wouldn't work with 100 people or more lined up to look through one telescope.

 

The stargazing has someone (either a member of the cruise staff or a guest lecturer) pointing out the features in the sky with descriptions. Binoculars are a very good aid.

[cruisine21]

I'd put them in the same category as Art appreciation, foot analysis and weight loss/well being, all just advertising.

 

I've heard of people getting talked into buying foot inserts after being told they can claim a rebate from their Health Fund. But you can't claim offshore health care services.

[linanles]

They don't use a telescope for the stargazing because of the movement of the ship.

 

That's what I thought but when I went to the one that was canceled the entertainment crew member was there with a telescope on a tripod.

[linanles]

I've heard of people getting talked into buying foot inserts after being told they can claim a rebate from their Health Fund. But you can't claim offshore health care services.

 

We went to the foot analysis and got the sales push about the shoe inserts but declined. When we got home we bought ones with the same shape but had a normal shoe liner attached so they didn't slide around in your shoe.

Cost on ebay $4.00 per pair with free delivery from China. Cost on ship approx. $200 pp.

[Aus Traveller]

We went to the foot analysis and got the sales push about the shoe inserts but declined. When we got home we bought ones with the same shape but had a normal shoe liner attached so they didn't slide around in your shoe.

Cost on ebay $4.00 per pair with free delivery from China. Cost on ship approx. $200 pp.

I bought gel shoe inserts from Chemist Warehouse for $29.:)

[Aus Traveller]

That's what I thought but when I went to the one that was canceled the entertainment crew member was there with a telescope on a tripod.

I am curious what ship it was on. On one ship, the Cruise staff mentioned that they were going to get a telescope, but we couldn't see how it would be any good. The reasons - movement of the ship; people lining up to have a turn; and the difficulty of someone not fully experienced finding the object in the sky. It is hard enough with binoculars, but very difficult with a telescope.

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

I so agree with the OP ....

 

Rather than rehash and bag the cruise companies about what is already on offer

 

ie cos the company wants to make coin out of it .....

 

let's offer up some original ideas ....

 

For example ...I happened to offer to show a few folks how best to use their binoculars on our last cruise

 

Most people thought they already knew how to do so until I demonstrated my method ....... and then their 'eyes were opened'

 

It did not involve any physical participation apart from using binocs ..... perhaps there are other people who have some similar skills/trixs to pass on to fellow cruisers ....:)