Not only are there great waterslides at sea, but there are also entire waterparks to get soaked at onboard cruise ships. Here are the best now and into the future.
AquaLab, AquaDuck and AquaDunk ~ Disney Cruise Line
Between the waterparks and waterslides on the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, Donald Duck’s mischievous nephews – Huey, Dewey and Louie – have got all sorts of playful water experimentation to subject their uncle and guests to. The fantastic AquaDuck water coaster is available only on the Dream and Fantasy, and the free-fall AquaDunk waterslide is just on the Disney Magic. Otherwise, the interactive AquaLab can be enjoyed on the Magic, Fantasy and Wonder.
Aqua Park and Kid’s Aqua Park ~ Norwegian Cruise Line
From the Norwegian Epic to the Norwegian Escape, the Aqua Parks and Kid’s Aqua Parks are extensive areas to enjoy a good splash. Up to multilevel play structures for children are in the direct path of pop jets, geysers and all sorts of streams, and waterslides from the tame to the thrilling include body and raft slides to free-fall ones where the bottom drops out from under you into a speedy descent.
Doremi Castle Aqua Park ~ MSC Cruises
The MSC Preziosa already features the Doremi Castle Aqua Park and what the cruise line touts as the longest single-rider body waterslide at sea with the Vertigo. Plus, the MSC Divina has a waterslide as well, but the upcoming MSC Seaside is set to up the ante with an extensive waterpark with a shaded play structure and four waterslides including a slideboarding variety that will combine the attraction with an interactive video game to see how well riders can respond to illuminated prompts while onboard.
Perfect Storm, H2O Zone and Splashaway Bay ~ Royal Caribbean International
On a number of new ships like the Harmony of the Seas and remodeled ships like the Liberty of the Seas, there is quite the variety of waterslides and soak zones to take advantage of. The former has two body slide racers and a champagne bowl variant, and the latter has a boomeranging raft slide. Meanwhile, the Splashaway Bays and H2O Zones entertain with everything from drench buckets to a literal spinning whirlpool.
WaterWorks ~ Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival is easily the cruise line with the most waterparks onboard with a total of thirteen ships featuring its signature WaterWorks collection of waterslides and splash zones, and another two are slated to receive the series of attractions. Besides a huge drench bucket and other fountains, there are open-air, enclosed, free-fall and champagne bowl body slides as well as its newest Kaleid-O-Slide raft slide that features alternating stripes of color to create a neat chromatic strobing effect as riders follow the tubular path.
Jason Leppert is the Editor-in-Chief of Popular Cruising, the leader in video cruise reviews.
