Intro to Pickleball Clinic - Has anyone taken this class on Royal Caribbean?

[Sigyn]

I signed up for an Intro to Pickleball Clinic on our upcoming cruise because I've been very interested in pickleball but know nothing about it. My teenager has played before with his friends, and agreed to do the class with me. He's been trying to get me to play with him. I figured that it's always good to know the rules and basics when you start a new game, and this intro class is at 8 am on our first sea day so, if nothing else, it will get us up and out of the cabin and ready for our first day at sea. 

 

Has anyone else taken this course? Is it a new thing? I'm very curious about it. It's not cheap, $70 pp, but then, nothing ever is on a cruise. It sold out within an hour of being offered. 

[slyster]

interesting!  I have not seen that as an option in my cruise planner, but I will admit, I haven't looked for it either.  I have never played pickleball.  I have friends who have tried convincing me to play.  I am 53 years old.  I planned on learning at home and then playing on board.  I have been told it's very easy to play.  I do not think I would pay $70 unless I didn't have anyone at home to play with.  

 

I can almost see why taking an introductory course in pickleball was worth it.  You play with people at a beginner level.  

 

I would want to know how long the class is.  It's probably an hour?  I'm tagging along in your thread in case I learn something new.  

[Mum2Mercury]

I was excited to see this thread title, as I've been wanting to learn this game -- but $70?  No way.  

[dianawill]

What ship(s) are offering classes? We first played on a ship but now have taken a clinic and pay regularly on land.  The avg rate around here for an instructor is $30 to $50 depending on the number in the class

[Sigyn]

1 hour ago, slyster said:

interesting!  I have not seen that as an option in my cruise planner, but I will admit, I haven't looked for it either.  I have never played pickleball.  I have friends who have tried convincing me to play.  I am 53 years old.  I planned on learning at home and then playing on board.  I have been told it's very easy to play.  I do not think I would pay $70 unless I didn't have anyone at home to play with.  

 

I can almost see why taking an introductory course in pickleball was worth it.  You play with people at a beginner level.  

 

I would want to know how long the class is.  It's probably an hour?  I'm tagging along in your thread in case I learn something new.  

I think it's an hour long. I'll let you know what it was like after we do it. Our cruise is on April 1. It was listed under "Onboard Activities" with cooking classes and other such events for the cruise. They offered it on each of the three sea days for our cruise at 8 am, and each class is limited to 10 people, so only 30 people out of a ship of about 6,000 people will get to do it. It just appeared one day about 25 days before our cruise and it filled up very fast that same morning. 

 

1 hour ago, dianawill said:

What ship(s) are offering classes? We first played on a ship but now have taken a clinic and pay regularly on land.  The avg rate around here for an instructor is $30 to $50 depending on the number in the class

This is on Harmony of the Seas. 

 

Good point about the cost. I pay $80 an hour for a personal trainer twice a week at home for my regular workouts, so this is no different, except Royal limits this to 10 people in the class and my personal workouts are 1:1.

Edited March 18, 2023 by njsmom

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, njsmom said:

I signed up for an Intro to Pickleball Clinic on our upcoming cruise because I've been very interested in pickleball but know nothing about it. My teenager has played before with his friends, and agreed to do the class with me. He's been trying to get me to play with him. I figured that it's always good to know the rules and basics when you start a new game, and this intro class is at 8 am on our first sea day so, if nothing else, it will get us up and out of the cabin and ready for our first day at sea. 

 

Has anyone else taken this course? Is it a new thing? I'm very curious about it. It's not cheap, $70 pp, but then, nothing ever is on a cruise. It sold out within an hour of being offered. 

Personally I would save your money and take a lesson on land. I have played pickleball on 20 plus cruises post COVID and I have yet to meet one RCI employee who really understood the game of pickleball. Or another option is you could watchYouTube videos for pickleball beginners. There are a lot of good videos available. 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, slyster said:

interesting!  I have not seen that as an option in my cruise planner, but I will admit, I haven't looked for it either.  I have never played pickleball.  I have friends who have tried convincing me to play.  I am 53 years old.  I planned on learning at home and then playing on board.  I have been told it's very easy to play.  I do not think I would pay $70 unless I didn't have anyone at home to play with.  

Whoever told you pickleball is very easy to play is misleading you. It is fairly easy to learn the rules of the game, but it definitely is not an easy game to play. And unlike other sports, as your skills improve the game actually gets harder because you have to master dinking and drop shots to be competitive once you start playing more experienced players. Pickleball is also very tough on your body, which surprises a lot of new players, including me when I first started playing a few years ago. 

[slyster]

47 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Whoever told you pickleball is very easy to play is misleading you. It is fairly easy to learn the rules of the game, but it definitely is not an easy game to play. And unlike other sports, as your skills improve the game actually gets harder because you have to master dinking and drop shots to be competitive once you start playing more experienced players. Pickleball is also very tough on your body, which surprises a lot of new players, including me when I first started playing a few years ago. 

Thank you for sharing that and for the heads up!

[slyster]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

I think it's an hour long. I'll let you know what it was like after we do it. Our cruise is on April 1. It was listed under "Onboard Activities" with cooking classes and other such events for the cruise. They offered it on each of the three sea days for our cruise at 8 am, and each class is limited to 10 people, so only 30 people out of a ship of about 6,000 people will get to do it. It just appeared one day about 25 days before our cruise and it filled up very fast that same morning. 

 

This is on Harmony of the Seas. 

 

Good point about the cost. I pay $80 an hour for a personal trainer twice a week at home for my regular workouts, so this is no different, except Royal limits this to 10 people in the class and my personal workouts are 1:1.

 

Great!  Looking forward to hearing your experience!  I will be on Allure, same class in August!

[Mapleleafforever]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Whoever told you pickleball is very easy to play is misleading you. It is fairly easy to learn the rules of the game, but it definitely is not an easy game to play. And unlike other sports, as your skills improve the game actually gets harder because you have to master dinking and drop shots to be competitive once you start playing more experienced players. Pickleball is also very tough on your body, which surprises a lot of new players, including me when I first started playing a few years ago. 

I know of a recently retired 68 year old gentleman who was playing rec doubles pickleball with his wife when he broke his ankle and fell into her causing her to sustain a broken hip. Double whammy. A lot can happen with that much action in a small space, one must really know their limits. 

 

 

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, njsmom said:

Is it a new thing?

Looks like the marketeers have figured yet another way to separate you from your money.

[Sigyn]

41 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Looks like the marketeers have figured yet another way to separate you from your money.

I don't look at things with such a negative viewpoint. I spend $80 an hour twice a week at home for sessions with my personal trainer. This is no different to me, but even a bit more fun since it's something new and on vacation. 

[Biker19]

11 minutes ago, njsmom said:

This is no different to me, but even a bit more fun since it's something new and on vacation. 

And RCI thanks you for the purchase. BTW, lots of folks who play could probably provide the same training on the ship. But you do get guaranteed court time this way.

 

Biker, who learned to play pickleball on a ship many years ago.

[mac66]

$70?    Yeah....no.   The best way to learn pickelball is just show up. Pickelballers are usually more than eager to share the game with newbies.Takes 5 minutes to learn the rules. A few volleys will help your figure it out. Then just play.

[Sigyn]

7 minutes ago, mac66 said:

$70?    Yeah....no.   The best way to learn pickelball is just show up. Pickelballers are usually more than eager to share the game with newbies.Takes 5 minutes to learn the rules. A few volleys will help your figure it out. Then just play.

I'm not very athletic. A bit of a clumsy dolt, actually. I am more comfortable being spoonfed how to do something new in a sport. 🙂

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

I'm not very athletic. A bit of a clumsy dolt, actually. I am more comfortable being spoonfed how to do something new in a sport. 🙂

I would be very careful playing pickleball if you are not athletic and a bit clumsy. Unfortunately I have seen too many people hurt playing pickleball, usually from falling down awkwardly. Also, a pickleball hurts if you get hit with it when it is hit hard, which is very common with beginners who swing too hard without having too much control. 

[Sigyn]

43 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I would be very careful playing pickleball if you are not athletic and a bit clumsy. Unfortunately I have seen too many people hurt playing pickleball, usually from falling down awkwardly. Also, a pickleball hurts if you get hit with it when it is hit hard, which is very common with beginners who swing too hard without having too much control. 

I better get the medical insurance, then.

[SbbquilterUT]

Not sure of you have time but many public recreation departments are now offering novice classes.  $70 is really steep.  It is a great game - mix up badminton, ping pong and a bit of tennis.  

[Sigyn]

I actually bought medical insurance. I always do for a cruise. This was a good reminder.

 

The idea of a public rec course is a nice one. Unfortunately, I never have time at home. I'm crazy busy with my job. But I love that they do that. 

[moposh]

On 3/18/2023 at 10:13 AM, njsmom said:

I signed up for an Intro to Pickleball Clinic on our upcoming cruise because I've been very interested in pickleball but know nothing about it. My teenager has played before with his friends, and agreed to do the class with me. He's been trying to get me to play with him. I figured that it's always good to know the rules and basics when you start a new game, and this intro class is at 8 am on our first sea day so, if nothing else, it will get us up and out of the cabin and ready for our first day at sea. 

 

Has anyone else taken this course? Is it a new thing? I'm very curious about it. It's not cheap, $70 pp, but then, nothing ever is on a cruise. It sold out within an hour of being offered. 

You're right.  It's not cheap.  Is it just one session?

[Sigyn]

For those wondering about this experience, I cancelled it so I don't have any feedback. Sorry!

[jean87510]

Pickleball is very popular in my neck of the woods in NJ.  There's many beginners sessions for free.  It is not something I'd start on a ship as I have twisted my ankle a couple of times.  

I am pretty athletic so I enjoy it but I play for fun.  A lot of groups at least in my area are very impatient with newbies and not helpful.  I was lucky to learn with fellow fun loving individuals and stuck with them.  Others are turned off by the pettiness.  If learning to play, I would start on land and find a good group.  It isn't complicated but sometimes others will make it complicated with the rules applied when it benefits them.  Watch some videos about it on YouTube.  I do it 2x a week and have fun but I have found a group of people who play for fun and don't act like it's the US open.