What do you do on sea days?

[LindaJ+]

I vaguely remember there were maybe cooking classes or Q&A sessions with the Captain ... but that's a while back.  What does HAL offer currently?

[CruiserBruce]

Depends on the ship, but KDam had the session with the Captain a month or so ago.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

On the Koningsdam, HAL now has an entertainment team.  Besides the Ask the Captain, they had cooking demonstrations.  There were games and trivia during the day, along with an occasional Coffee Chat and dance sessions and lessons.

[Gunther1]

Sea days are my favorite on any cruise.  I walk miles and miles of laps on the promenade deck, with occasional breaks to take naps on the same :). 

[OlsSalt]

Relax, move from meal to meal, browse the library, listen to books on tape, walk the 360 deck a few times, attend onboard lectures, watch the sea go by, go to the gym, people watch poolside. Take a break from port-port-port. 

[albingirl]

I'm really into the read, nap, eat mentality when we are at sea.  It's as simple as it gets.

[SetAnOpenCourse]

On sea days I enjoy the sea.  That is why I cruise, and why a full promenade deck is essential for me.

[Torquer]

For me, there is nothing better than taking an afternoon nap on the lounge chair on my balcony (Pinnacle and Neptune) wrapped in the blanket HAL provides.  Listening to the sound of waves and occasional birds puts me to sleep in a minute.  It's a delightful change from the port adventures.

[ShipWalker]

DW and I make use of the FREE dry saunas on the ships. (lido deck, on the left between the pool and Green house Spa reception desk)

Edited April 19, 2022 by ShipWalker

[OlsSalt]

Pedicures and hair-highlighting are also ways to spend OBC on at-sea days.

[syesmar]

1 hour ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

On the Koningsdam, HAL now….

they had cooking demonstrations….

I am happy to hear they still have cooking demonstrations! Do they give out to printed recipe cards? On my last cruise, they phased them out mid-cruise to save paper waste. Are the demos on the World Stage? Are they offering samples (not offered my last sailing)? Thanks!

Edited April 19, 2022 by syesmar

[mightycruisequeen]

Hanging out in a sun lounger by the aft pool, watching the wake of the ship, and usually end up watching the inside of my eyelids for a while.😎

[4966and556]

I love sea days.  Walking around the deck. Reading somewhere.   Swimming.  Spa time. Napping.  Cross stitching.  Watching the sea.  I loved Trans Atlantic cruises when I used to do them. 

[doone]

I love sea days as well.  I love sitting in a lounge chair by the pool with a cocktail looking out at the water and just relaxing............I can't wait to do this again..................

[MISTER 67]

Love sea days. On ships with the full promenade and steamer chairs I will be reading from around 8AM until 11AM then go play some slots until lunch. After lunch it's back to the promenade for more reading until around 4PM. Back to the cabin to shower and shave and then to the Ocean Bar for a cocktail before dinner. My wife is a knitter and spends her days in the Crows Nest. I usually read 3-4 books on a 7 days cruise. 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

33 minutes ago, syesmar said:

I am happy to hear they still have cooking demonstrations! Do they give out to printed recipe cards? On my last cruise, they phased them out mid-cruise to save paper waste. Are the demos on the World Stage? Are they offering samples (not offered my last sailing)? Thanks!

 

The cooking demos were on the World Stage with the Cruise and Travel Director and one of the chefs.  They did not give out samples or printed recipes.  You might be able to get a copy of the recipes at Guest Services.  

 

BTW, on the Koningsdam, you could still get copies of the NY Times crossword and Sudoku puzzles in the Crow's Nest near the computers on the starboard side.

[kochleffel]

My last cruise was a Bermuda itinerary that started to seem like a cruise to the Bermuda Triangle, because we kept sailing back and forth alongside the island, often in sight of it, without being able to dock. I had had a successful upgrade bid and was assigned to an aft (very deep) balcony, and I spent a lot of time reading or napping in the lounger there. I also went to more of the daytime events than I usually would, chiefly music but also several Q&A sessions. I didn't participate in any of the bizarre games the CD put on. There were some movie screenings that I also skipped.

 

Almost everyone on the ship had the beverage package, so it was a very happy group most of the time.

 

Ordinarily I would have walked laps on the deck and used the fitness center, but I had Achilles tendonitis and needed to limit activity. It would also have limited what I could do on shore. I did go to the spa for acupuncture.

[MISTER 67]

17 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

My last cruise was a Bermuda itinerary that started to seem like a cruise to the Bermuda Triangle, because we kept sailing back and forth alongside the island, often in sight of it, without being able to dock. I had had a successful upgrade bid and was assigned to an aft (very deep) balcony, and I spent a lot of time reading or napping in the lounger there. I also went to more of the daytime events than I usually would, chiefly music but also several Q&A sessions. I didn't participate in any of the bizarre games the CD put on. There were some movie screenings that I also skipped.

 

Almost everyone on the ship had the beverage package, so it was a very happy group most of the time.

 

Ordinarily I would have walked laps on the deck and used the fitness center, but I had Achilles tendonitis and needed to limit activity. It would also have limited what I could do on shore. I did go to the spa for acupuncture.

Were you ever able to dock?  Bermuda is a great place and it would be sad to miss it.

Edited April 19, 2022 by MISTER 67

[FlaMariner]

7am to Gym

8am Shower

8:30am Breakfast from lido buffet and sit at lido pool

9:30am figure out activities and where we will meet for lunch (read book, go back to gym, walk promenade, go to 10am talk)

12 noon Lunch in Lido or MDR

1pm. Cooking presentation or other afternoon activity or read book, gym, walk, sunbath, pool

4:30pm Get ready for dinner

5:15pm MDR

6:30 walk thru casino and head to show or music walk or both....Enjoy show or music walk....

10pm lights out

 

"rinse and repeat" on Sea Days.....love 'em.

 

 

 

 

[MISTER 67]

29 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

Love sea days. On ships with the full promenade and steamer chairs I will be reading from around 8AM until 11AM then go play some slots until lunch. After lunch it's back to the promenade for more reading until around 4PM. Back to the cabin to shower and shave and then to the Ocean Bar for a cocktail before dinner. My wife is a knitter and spends her days in the Crows Nest. I usually read 3-4 books on a 7 days cruise. 

BTW I've been known to doze off while reading, not hard to do with all that fresh air and relaxation.

 

[kochleffel]

34 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

Were you ever able to dock?  Bermuda is a great place and it would be sad to miss it.

 Only on what was to have been our third and last day there. If we hadn't docked at all, the cruise would have been illegal, since Bermuda was the only port.

 

[ski ww]

I like to get up early in the morning, watch the sun rise, wander around the ship when every one is still asleep. Have an early morning coffee. After breakfast find a deck chair on the promenade deck & read. Some times they have guest speakers in the morning and or afternoon. I used to sit in the the MicroSoft lectures, don't know if the still have them.  

[groundloop]

Sea days are when I try to talk myself into going to the gym but wind up cruising the buffet for desserts instead.  🤣   

 

[SonuvaBeach]

6 to 7AM( approximately):Get up before wife and go out on deck to take                                                   photos of the sunrise...My wife likes to sleep late

7AM...go to the gym

8AM...Get gourmet coffee and croissants and bring them back to the cabin    for balcony breakfast

9AM...swim for 60 minutes or until the pool gets crowded, whichever comes first

10-1PM..Sit at the pool and try not to let my wife catch me oogling girls in skimpy swimsuits as i  pretend to read a book or look out on the ocean

1-2PM...Long walk on the promenade

2 to ???PM...back to the cabin...for...

??? to 5PM.  Nap and dress for the evening

5 to 6PM....Happy Hour and photograph the sunset

6 to 8:30...More Happy Hour, and the evening music entertainment or the production show

8:30 DINNER!!!

10 to 11PM. More Happy Hour... walk out on the  deck...try to get moon photos

11PM...Back to the room for... and then some sleep...

I do enjoy sea days 😃:

 

Edited April 20, 2022 by SonuvaBeach

[kazu]

Surprised no one has mentioned lunch in the Pinnacle Grill.  A very nice thing to do on sea day 👍