Any ship activities on port days?

[janelledocb]

Greetings all!  We have the wonderful opportunity to visit Europe next May/June and we are likely booking our first Oceania cruise and European cruise (yes, more former Celebrity loyalists here!).  With the updated Mediterranean itineraries, they now have either zero or one sea days and thus, we plan on picking a day or two to stay mostly on the ship.  Question though, will there still be things like activities to earn O points, talks, mahjong and other activities that are typically offered on sea days?  I understand the ship won't be chock full of activities, but are there some?  Thanks in advance and appreciate everyone's comments on CC, they have helped prepare us for what to expect on Oceania (both the good and not so good).

[PhD-iva]

Oh yes, many sea day activities. I generally play bridge and go to bridge lessons, so I’m not the best resource on other options. Trivia comes to mind, and not just on sea days…..

You’ll get some good responses soon! Enjoy your cruise!

[janelledocb]

 

10 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Oh yes, many sea day activities. I generally play bridge and go to bridge lessons, so I’m not the best resource on other options. Trivia comes to mind, and not just on sea days…..

You’ll get some good responses soon! Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you, good to hear that there are activities, even on port days.  The 12 day cruise we are thinking of has a port stop every day but we also want to enjoy the ship 🙂

[PhD-iva]

26 minutes ago, janelledocb said:

 

Thank you, good to hear that there are activities, even on port days.  The 12 day cruise we are thinking of has a port stop every day but we also want to enjoy the ship 🙂

Oh yes, there are activities even on port days, maybe just not as many as on a sea day. With O’s pax profile, many will stay on board from time to time. Perhaps to take a break from long excursions or perhaps to skip a port they’ve previously visited. 
The spa will have some good specials if you’re so inclined, although the prices have gone up quite a bit!

[sitraveler]

Very limited activity on board on port days

[PhD-iva]

1 minute ago, sitraveler said:

Very limited activity on board on port days

OP please let us know on which ship you are sailing. Responses can be more specific, thx!

[Mura]

They would be crazy to assume that no one will be on board on port days.  It is true that when we were in Haifa a few years ago, the concierge informed us that the ship was virtually empty.  Most passengers had opted for tours to Jerusalem (this was a overnight port stop) 

 

We stayed on board because a few years earlier we had toured Israel with a cousin who was an licensed tour guide for two weeks. For this stop we stayed on board so that we could visit with her again.

 

It's your vacation ... spend the time how you want to!

 

Mura

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

Oh yes, many sea day activities. I generally play bridge and go to bridge lessons, so I’m not the best resource on other options. Trivia comes to mind, and not just on sea days…..

You’ll get some good responses soon! Enjoy your cruise!

As someone who tried a bit of bridge (a tiny bit, briefly) about 50 years ago, but never enough to really understand or study, I'd love to take some lessons. Are there lessons for real beginners?

[PhD-iva]

21 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

As someone who tried a bit of bridge (a tiny bit, briefly) about 50 years ago, but never enough to really understand or study, I'd love to take some lessons. Are there lessons for real beginners?

On many itineraries, yes there are bridge lessons targeted to beginners and separately to intermediate players. The more sea days an itinerary has, the more likely it will have sponsored lessons. 
On most ships, one can “sign up” for a bridge game with other players. If there’s a card room, there’s probably a sign-up sheet…..

[janelledocb]

Thanks everyone.  The Riviera specifically has 12 port days in a row.  Vista has one sea day of 12.  We like Riviera's itinerary better though.  Now that I am typing this, I imagine we might be so exhausted half way through that we might just sleep in late and enjoy a lot of room service for a day 😄
Hmmm, that's a great point about Bridge, I might do some online lessons prior to the trip to learn ahead of time!

[YourWorldWithBill]

7 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

On many itineraries, yes there are bridge lessons targeted to beginners and separately to intermediate players. The more sea days an itinerary has, the more likely it will have sponsored lessons. 
On most ships, one can “sign up” for a bridge game with other players. If there’s a card room, there’s probably a sign-up sheet…..

Thanks. We're on a 10 day with one sea day, but I'll take what I can get.

[firsttimers68]

Table tennis, baggo, shuffleboard, golf are all usually played for Big O points on port days. Enjoy!

[Mura]

On 11/8/2023 at 10:21 PM, janelledocb said:

Thanks everyone.  The Riviera specifically has 12 port days in a row.  Vista has one sea day of 12.  We like Riviera's itinerary better though.  Now that I am typing this, I imagine we might be so exhausted half way through that we might just sleep in late and enjoy a lot of room service for a day 😄
Hmmm, that's a great point about Bridge, I might do some online lessons prior to the trip to learn ahead of time!

When I was in high school my best friend had two maiden aunts who were expert bridge players and they gave us lessons.  I can't say I ever got any good (!) but I did enjoy playing.  At the time I had good friends from school who had regular bridge parties and I was invited to some of them.  They were kind enough to let me win the contract and have my partner play it out.  I usually came out pretty high in the score card with such shenanigans. 

 

Then when I moved to NYC about 10 years later I was on a bus&truck choral tour and there were avid bridge players among the company.  One day I was dragooned into playing out a no-trump contract and I actually won!  On my own this time. (But that wouldn't happen again these days!!)

 

Good luck with bridge lessons ... it's a great game.  It helps to have a brain ... keeping track of all the cards that have been played isn't all that easy ...

 

Mura

[Mura]

Hey guys, even with only one sea day and 10 or more port days, there's no rule that you always have to go on shore! I admit that when we've been to a particular port a number of times, and time is limited on shore, we've been known to stay on board for the day. Not often, but it has happened. If it's a port we really want to see, we'll usually try to find a private tour on our own.

 

(Not literally.  I usually try to find fellow shipmates at the Roll Call for people who would want to join us.)

 

Mura

[Hlitner]

Although we do sometimes stay aboard ships in port days, it is not our norm in Europe.  We do understand the tendency of many cruisers to wear themselves out with long port days, especially those who tend to book lots of excursions/tours which become very tiring.  Rather than staying aboard, we prefer to plan a few "lazy port days" where we simply do our own thing (our norm) and make it a relaxing day ashore.  Instead of running from place to place, spending hours looking at sites, etc. we will usually stay in (or close) to the port city and plan on a nice, long lunch.  A good part of European culture is defined by regional cuisines, and we are happy to test the theory with a good meal.  

 

Post on the appropriate European port boards and there are plenty of folks who can help you plan a relatively simple, relaxing port day (and even recommend cafes/restaurants).

 

Another option, we have often used, is for when we simply do not want to have lunch ashore.  In many of those kind of ports we will walk off the ship around 9:30 or 10, spend about 3 hours exploring the area within walking distance of the port and than head back to the ship for a late lunch and a relaxing afternoon on the ship.

 

Hank

[Harry Lake]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

plan on a nice, long lunch.  A good part of European culture is defined by regional cuisines, and we are happy to test the theory with a good meal.  

That's us! We're really into food and especially "regional cuisines."  We're going to be on the ship plenty. We don't need to eat all our meals there.

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, Harry Lake said:

That's us! We're really into food and especially "regional cuisines."  We're going to be on the ship plenty. We don't need to eat all our meals there.

There is a "sucker" born every minute 🙂

[YourWorldWithBill]

21 hours ago, Mura said:

Good luck with bridge lessons ... it's a great game.  It helps to have a brain ... keeping track of all the cards that have been played isn't all that easy ...

 

Mura

Many years ago when I actually had a brain, and was okay at other card games, I still had trouble remembering the cards played when I tried bridge. My mother was a bridge fanatic who was respected by everyone she played with, but teaching was not her specialty! 

[janelledocb]

On 11/11/2023 at 1:43 PM, Hlitner said:

Although we do sometimes stay aboard ships in port days, it is not our norm in Europe.  We do understand the tendency of many cruisers to wear themselves out with long port days, especially those who tend to book lots of excursions/tours which become very tiring.  Rather than staying aboard, we prefer to plan a few "lazy port days" where we simply do our own thing (our norm) and make it a relaxing day ashore.  Instead of running from place to place, spending hours looking at sites, etc. we will usually stay in (or close) to the port city and plan on a nice, long lunch.  A good part of European culture is defined by regional cuisines, and we are happy to test the theory with a good meal.  

 

Post on the appropriate European port boards and there are plenty of folks who can help you plan a relatively simple, relaxing port day (and even recommend cafes/restaurants).

 

Another option, we have often used, is for when we simply do not want to have lunch ashore.  In many of those kind of ports we will walk off the ship around 9:30 or 10, spend about 3 hours exploring the area within walking distance of the port and than head back to the ship for a late lunch and a relaxing afternoon on the ship.

 

Hank

Thanks Hank, your recommendations and your tip to seek advice on the European port boards to get relaxing port city ideas are very helpful.  And it's true that since hubby is visiting Europe for the first time, it might be especially hard for me to convince him to stay on the ship for an entire day. I'll try to select some port city days in between our "big" days like Civitavecchia/Rome.

[tigergoldman]

Anyone interested in joining in Dubrovnik game of thrones tour and godfather tour in taromina

also sharing transportation to Florence and to Rome ships tours too long

[MEFIowa]

READ your daily CURRENTS the night before to KNOW exactly what will be offered, exactly where and when.