ACTIVITIES OUTREACH!!

[varoo]

On 10/2/2019 at 7:46 AM, hcat said:

.......... Bought a tee shirt..,proceeds  went to a  bc  support / research group...Survivors, friends family, supporters  and many Officers attended.,.SRO..

 

Speaking of tee-shirts, they need to change the ones they sell for the World Wildlife Fund.  We keep  seeing the same dark blue coral reef shirts sold on cruise after cruise, year after year. 

 

They are missing out on a lot of potential sales that way.

Those shirts make nice cruise souvenirs and the money goes to a good cause, so many of us would certainly buy another if only the World Wildlife Fund would offer a different style, for a change.

 

[Cwspy]

I love the ideas that have been posted!

Top of my list would be:

1. Astronomy class to view the lovely sky that many of us miss at home (lecture and top deck). The dark skies at sea would be perfect for that, especially if a portion of the deck could be minimally lit to darken the space a while for viewing.

2. Lectures about the culture and history of the area (these could be held in the Celebrity Central smaller auditorium day prior to arriving or theater during the day/  past lectures could be available on TV to view in the cabin for those that can't make the lecture.

3.  Murder mystery party sounds fun, too!  

4. Due it yourself scavenger hunts where guests would roam the ship locating specific stops, complete a form with the answers and turn it in. On the second to the last night on board, there would be a drawing from the pool of forms with all the answers correct. There could be three hunts to appeal to different interests around the ship (Libations), (Art), (Nautical)

 

5. Something nautical to create and take home.... Shell picture frames or boxes were popular gifts that sailors used to make to bring home to loved ones.  I would think some people on board would be interested in a quick class where you could make a small shell covered frame to use at home with your favorite picture from the trip.

The glass blowing is popular not only because it is different, but you get to take something home that you created.  Something else like this could be fun and a money maker for the ship. 

 

That's all I have for now - I am enjoying this thread and the ideas put forth!

 

 

[ConnMom]

There are some great ideas being shared here.  I love the suggestions for lectures on various topics, especially cultural or historical background of the places we are visiting.  Book discussions would be interesting, especially if titles were provided in advance of the cruise.  I would also love a piano bar option in the evening.  I have participated in all of these activities on other cruise lines; lectures during the day and the piano bars in the evenings have always been well attended.

   Good thread - I look forward to seeing some of the activities on our next cruise.

Cheryl

[Baron Barracuda]

It saddens me  that many of the great ideas posters are proposing are not new at all, they are activities that existed on X less than five years ago that were eliminated due to budget cuts.  Many activities had little cost.  Acquaintances taught dance classes on X.  They did not receive pay or even a free cabin, just a discounted fare

 

On Eclipse So. Carib sailings they once held wonderful informational (non-sales) talks in Celebrity Central ahead of each port visit.  Topics included island history and culture, currency, points of interest, favorite beaches, best modes of transportation, etc.  Were always standing room only.  Talks no longer exist, but informational (non-shopping) maps still available at guest services if you ask.

 

DW spent an entire 14 night So Carib sailing in origami class learning to make a swan.  Each night she folded hundreds of pieces of paper.  It's now prominently displayed at home.

 

There were once jewelry making and drawing classes.  Last sailing arts and crafts consisted of coloring book pages and colored pencils.  Laughable.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2019 by Baron Barracuda

[hcat]

The short lived astronomy talks were great  but the on deck portions were often  cancelled b/c of wind conditions.  Might work out  in a night  the ship stays late in port.

 

So much fun to view the night sky, spot stars, constellations  & planets! 

[marraclc2]

2 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

It saddens me  that many of the great ideas posters are proposing are not new at all, they are activities that existed on X less than five years ago that were eliminated due to budget cuts.  Many activities had little cost.  Acquaintances taught dance classes on X.  They did not receive pay or even a free cabin, just a discounted fare

 

On Eclipse So. Carib sailings they once held wonderful informational (non-sales) talks in Celebrity Central ahead of each port visit.  Topics included island history and culture, currency, points of interest, favorite beaches, best modes of transportation, etc.  Were always standing room only.  Talks no longer exist, but informational (non-shopping) maps still available at guest services if you ask.

 

DW spent an entire 14 night So Carib sailing in origami class learning to make a swan.  Each night she folded hundreds of pieces of paper.  It's now prominently displayed at home.

 

There were once jewelry making and drawing classes.  Last sailing arts and crafts consisted of coloring book pages and colored pencils.  Laughable.

 

 

My husband and I made the origami swans too and still have them.  A crew member (not from the activities staff)  taught us to make the folds. We used cut up old brochures and magazines that had been on the desks in the cabins. So basically no cost, just a room to work in.

[Orator]

Many of the activities, such as Top Chef Competition, Smithsonian Lectures and Breast Cancer events came as a result from partnerships that Celebrity had with others. As these partnerships expired so to did the specific events. Perhaps future partnerships will lead to some new activities.

[fleckle]

23 hours ago, ConnMom said:

......  I would also love a piano bar option in the evening.  I have participated in all of these activities on other cruise lines; lectures during the day and the piano bars in the evenings have always been well attended.

 

 

Celebrity used to have a piano bar in Michael's Club in the evenings that was available to all passengers, but that was long before they started restricting Michael's Club access to suite and zenith passengers only.

 

The room was also used as the venue for the Captain's Club happy hour for a while, until they added the reciprocity with Royal Caribbean.

That caused the enormous increase in Captain's Club members,  overwhelming the capacity of Michael's Club and resulting in the need to move the happy hour to a larger venue.

 

 

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, fleckle said:

 

Celebrity used to have a piano bar in Michael's Club in the evenings that was available to all passengers, but that was long before they started restricting Michael's Club access to suite and zenith passengers only.

 

The room was also used as the venue for the Captain's Club happy hour for a while, until they added the reciprocity with Royal Caribbean.

That caused the enormous increase in Captain's Club members,  overwhelming the capacity of Michael's Club and resulting in the need to move the happy hour to a larger venue.

 

 

Back in the 90's Michael's Club was a cigar lounge. 

[villauk]

On 10/4/2019 at 1:59 PM, Orator said:

Perhaps future partnerships will lead to some new activities

 

 

I dread to think what they will be after reading the many comments on here about Eden and the new advertising campaign 🙈 😹.

[could travel all the time]

I agree with all the posts that mention enrichment lectures. I vividly remember an amazing astronomy lecture on an outside deck, along with some great cooking sessions. 

The activities these days, or lack there of, is really what made me hesitate booking another cruise. Last cruise, we attended a few what we thought were enrichment programs that quickly turned into a marketing sales opportunity. 

I’d love to see improvements in this department!  I’d take trivia and napkin folding no problem 🙂. 

[Ma Bell]

How about a Cornhole tournament.

[NMTraveller]

I would like to see locals talking about the ports that we are visiting,  teaching us a little bit about their culture,history, and language and not the shore excursions department trying to sell us an excursion or the shopping club telling us where to shop!

 

On a Princess cruise we had a lecturer that had been living in the Panama Canal for much of his life.  He was the highlight of the ship.

Edited October 6, 2019 by NMTraveller

[Orator]

8 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I would like to see locals talking about the ports that we are visiting,  teaching us a little bit about their culture,history, and language and not the shore excursions department trying to sell us an excursion or the shopping club telling us where to shop!

 

On a Princess cruise we had a lecturer that had been living in the Panama Canal for much of his life.  He was the highlight of the ship.

I've done several Panama Canal cruises with Celebrity and they've always had an expert lecturer that lived in Pamama. On several cruises they also had Mickey Live who was fantastic!

[NMTraveller]

8 minutes ago, Orator said:

I've done several Panama Canal cruises with Celebrity and they've always had an expert lecturer that lived in Pamama. On several cruises they also had Mickey Live who was fantastic!

I would like to see this on all cruise destinations.

Edited October 6, 2019 by NMTraveller

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, Ma Bell said:

How about a Cornhole tournament.

Had it on our recent Summit cruise. 

[Ma Bell]

39 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Had it on our recent Summit cruise. 

And here I thought I came up with something new. Oh well.😊