After five short cruises in the past six months, it’s time for Ilene and me to take a longer cruise. Next week we’ll fly out of Austin, Texas to San Francisco to board the Caribbean Princess on an 18-day cruise down the West Coast of Mexico to the Panama Canal, Aruba, and then disembarking at the Port of Fort Lauderdale.
This cruise includes six stops, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Hualtuco, Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Fuerte Amador, Panama; and Aruba. The cruise also includes ten full days at sea and one day transiting through the Panama Canal. On this trip, the longest back-to-back sea days are only two days long as opposed to our last long trip from California to the Hawaiian Islands which included four back-to-back days at sea.
With so many days at sea, I thought I’d take some time and talk about things to do on an ocean cruise when you’re not in port.
1. Pool
It’s not just about swimming, although in warmer climates it’s nice to have a pool to cool off. Hanging around the pool or whirlpool is a great way to:
- Catch up on your reading
- Listen to music
- People watch
- Catch up on your vitamin D
- Work on your tan
2. Casino
Casinos are generally not open while in port so sea days can be spent in air-conditioned comfort playing your favorite slot machine or table game. Cruise lines will have lots of special activities going on at the casino including slot tournaments, Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments, lotteries, etc. Just a heads up on casinos, though, if you’re a non-smoker, as we are, many of the cruise lines still offer only smoking casinos so the smoke can be a bit thick. Carnival cruise lines and some others are now offering both smoking and non-smoking casinos.
3. Activities
Everything from Bible studies to Bingo is usually available on sea days. Are you a trivia person? You’ll love the trivia contests. Want to explore the intricacies of the martini, wine, or bourbons? You’ll find an activity for that. Many cruise lines offer exploration lectures about the flora and fauna of the regions you visit as well as the important stuff-where to find shopping opportunities while at your next port!
4. Socializing
If you subscribe to Cruise Critic boards or Facebook Groups they’ll usually have some sort of Meet & Greet or some other activity to help people get to know each other. There are plenty of single meet-ups, LGBTQ get-togethers, as well as veteran appreciation gatherings, etc.
5. Lounging
Sea days will find groups of like-minded folks pub crawling at the available purveyors of adult libations…bars. You might have a cigar lounge on board where you can enjoy an enclosed area for cigar smoking and enjoy one of the bourbons you fell in love with at the bourbon tasting activity I mentioned before.
6. Just Relaxing
Grab a book, grab your AirPods and find a quiet spot to sit and enjoy the gentle, if any, rocking of the ship. Promenade decks usually have lounge chairs lined up for just that type of travel. Oh and I mention the spa? All the ships and cruise lines we’ve sailed offer spas with a plethora of treatments, massage therapy, aromatherapy, and wellness centers (yes some people consider that relaxing). Oh, and make sure you look into the thermal spas found on most ships; you’ll be glad you did.
Ilene and I will bring a couple of books to read and I also bring my sketchbook and watercolor palette for sea days. Sometimes I’ll sketch or paint what I see on the ship or I may use a photograph to sketch/paint what I’ve seen while on one of our excursions. We don’t have any problems staying busy on sea days, even on a longer cruise and we’re looking forward to many relaxing, fun-filled days at sea on the Caribbean Princess.
What about you? What are your fun things to do on sea days? Please comment below and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!
Now! Go on vacation!
