One of the best aspects of a cruising vacation is that once you get on the cruise ship, there are a ton of fun things to do that don’t cost you an extra penny. Every ship is different and not all of them offer the amenities and activities that I have listed below. But I have listed some of the fun activities that are available on some cruise ships. Always make sure you read a thorough review of the cruise ship you want to go on before you book your vacation.
Always check the daily itinerary on your cruise to see all the activities going on. It’s easy to miss them with so much going on at once, but at least you will know what fun things are happening
Catch a show. Everything from the Broadway musical shows to the magic shows to the comedians on cruise ships are usually very polished. You will get nothing but quality here. All the shows are free and are typically shown twice, so go to the first one to see if it will be any good and then come back for the late show if you want.
Play some trivia. You can always find a coffee shop or lounge somewhere on the ship that has some trivia going on. Often there are prizes to go along with these little activities too. They are always a blast and any lover of trivia should attend at least one.
Go swimming. Some of the newer cruise ships have 3 or more pools and some extra pools for the kids as well. Take some time to cool off and swimming in one of the spacious pools or you can even play in the water park that many Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line ships have with their huge water slides.
Go surfing. Royal Caribbean has the flow-rider on a several of their ships which allows you to surf or boogie board on a continuous wave of water. It’s a lot of fun, but hold onto your swim suit because that blast of water can wreak havoc on loose clothing.
Hit the golf course. Ok, so it’s just a mini golf course, but it’s still a lot of fun. Some offer 9 holes and others have a full 18 hole putt-putt course. Try to golf when it’s not so windy though, because they ball will blow around quite a bit.
Enter a competition. There are treasure hunts, belly flop competitions, men’s hairiest chest competitions, around the world basketball competitions, and more. Don’t hold back. Join a competition and make some memories.
How about some sports. So you’re a sports fanatic? Well then you might enjoy playing some basketball on the ship or volleyball, indoor soccer, ping-pong, shuffle board, and even hitting a few golf balls at the driving range.
Be a part of a game show. Practically every cruise ship has a newlywed game that is always fun to watch or even be a part of. There are prizes for winning this game so there’s some incentive for ya.
Listen to live music. You can always find a place at night to listen to live music, whether it’s jazz or oldies on a piano. They always take requests too so bring your list of favorites.
Catch a movie. There is usually a movie room on board the ship where you can watch some popular films on a big screen. The rooms can seat anywhere from 30 – 150 people, depending on what ship you are on and the sound quality is quite good. You can see a list of what is playing on your itinerary.
Hit up the Karaoke. My wife and I did the karaoke thing on the Freedom of the Seas and had a blast. The machine we were in even puts you on a screen and you can select whatever background you want to go with the music.
Video Games and Arcade. The arcade is always a fun place to go, but it’s not really free. So why do I have it on this list? Well, because it’s pretty cheap and just plain fun. You can play some air hockey there or challenge your friend to a race. There are also video game systems like the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 on board some ships that the kids can play in their kid zones.
Shopping. Down the main promenade you will find all kinds of shops. Of course you don’t have to spend money to go shopping right? You can just kind of window shop, which is what I always do. You can check out the jewelry or clothing shops on board and just enjoy your time. These shops are duty free as well.
Ice skating. Not every ship has an ice skating rink, but the ones that do are pretty awesome. Not only are you allowed to skate on them during certain times, but there are also ice shows that are spectacular to watch.
Whew, well the list will go on because cruise lines are always adding new and exciting things to keep the people coming back. Leave a comment below if I left anything off the list.
