Multiple Sea Days , Yes or No?

[Bristol5]

Strongly considering a cruise with 5 or 6 sea days in a row.  I have never been on a cruise with more than 2 sea days in a row.  HAL no longer has the cooking classes or the internet classes, etc. so how does one keep busy on these days?  I do well with the 2 sea days, actually look forward to them, but a little concerned about 5! Would love to hear about others' experiences.

[Alberta Quilter]

Where would you be going?  If to Hawaii, there should be a Hawaiian group onboard with ukulele and hula classes, and Hawaiian crafts.  But they’re not onboard on the way back….

[cruising Katie]

I love my sea days, gives me a chance to sleep in, if I want to, eat or not at any specific time.

I love to read, but after a busy day of new ports and tours I just want to have some dinner, and go to bed.  On a sea day, I can walk around the ship, meet up with new or previous met passengers, or just stay out on my balcony read or just watch the waves.  I can always find something to do, like taking pictures of the ship and your favorite staff.

Kate      

[Haljo1935]

I've done that twice - once on a TA (Rome->FLL) and RT San Diego->HI.

 

For me, the ideal itinerary is a balanced mix of port and sea days, so I was a bit concerned about how I'd like all those consecutive sea days. Plus I live on my balcony & the HI was an inside cabin so that was another level of stress.

 

I filled sea days by: going to Sea Day brunch & PG lunch, wine tasting, afternoon Tea, using a Thermalpass 2 times each day, visiting recently re-opened libraries, attending port talks & lectures, reading (napping if I'm being honest) tucked into a corner of Billboard Onboard. A lot of time was spent walking deck-by-deck front-to-back looking at the art installations; HAL really has an amazing collection of art on each ship. I used the time to really decompress and unwind - something I just don't do at home. I did not chase dots, color or attend other "summer camp" activities. 

 

While I enjoyed the time and was never bored and would do another TA, I still prefer a mix of sea & port days. 

Edited April 13 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Bristol5]

Yes, the Konningsdam to Hawaii.  Great to know about the extra classes, that sounds wonderful.

I also enjoy the freedom to just sleep in and relax. Thank you both for your quick response!

[Haljo1935]

13 minutes ago, Bristol5 said:

Yes, the Konningsdam to Hawaii.  Great to know about the extra classes, that sounds wonderful.

I also enjoy the freedom to just sleep in and relax. Thank you both for your quick response!

The RT San Diego->HI I did was this past Dec '23 - Jan '24 on the K'dam. So, you'll have a GDC (Grand Dutch Cafe) which means a great alternative for lunch.

The ukulele, sarong tying & other classes were usually SRO, so go early if you plan on attending. Also, the presentation on whales 🐋 is fantastic!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We love sea days.

[doone]

I love sea days as well, I have never been bored.  I enjoy sitting around the pool.  Love to roam the ship and have a drink or two in different bars.  Then I enjoy a mixology class or two, great way to meet your fellow passengers.....

 

[mcrcruiser]

We have done the Hawaii  Cruise R/T SD many times . Walking & meeting fellow passengers ,gym time & pool time  . Sauna & Steam room time & may be a massage  .  Going to lectures . On cthe way ti Hawaii , Ukulele classes , Hula classes & making   Hawaiian leis  ie 

[Mary229]

For me it is about the percentages.  What percentage of sea days to shore days overall?  And on sea days is  there scenic cruising?  On my recent Tahiti cruise the 60% of sea days with only vast swaths of the Pacific Ocean was confining for me.  I wasn’t bored as much as I didn’t like the lack of physical activity.   Then again I also recently went to Antartica with 50% sea days, these sea days were broken up a bit more and some “sea days” were enthralling scenic cruising.   On my regularly scheduled transatlantics there are usually only 5 sea days back to back  but they are followed by days and days of intense shore touring.

 

 The only one I will never repeat is the Transpacific and that would include a round trip to Hawaii.  I would happily sail one way to Hawaii but not round trip as there would be balance with the one way trip. 

[mcrcruiser]

24 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

For me it is about the percentages.  What percentage of sea days to shore days overall?  And on sea days is  there scenic cruising?  On my recent Tahiti cruise the 60% of sea days with only vast swaths of the Pacific Ocean was confining for me.  I wasn’t bored as much as I didn’t like the lack of physical activity.   Then again I also recently went to Antartica with 50% sea days, these sea days were broken up a bit more and some “sea days” were enthralling scenic cruising.   On my regularly scheduled transatlantics there are usually only 5 sea days back to back  but they are followed by days and days of intense shore touring.

 

 The only one I will never repeat is the Transpacific and that would include a round trip to Hawaii.  I would happily sail one way to Hawaii but not round trip as there would be balance with the one way trip. 

Mary would you do the Japan /Korea itinerary  ?  About a one way to Hawaii or from Hawaii as far as we know it is done by Celebrity but from Vancouver only   

[Taters]

Hubby and I love days at sea and the more, the better!  We do love ports, but when there are 5 port days in a row it becomes too much.  We've been on 6 transatlantics and will board Westerdam in Yokohama in 2 weeks for our first transpacific cruise.  

 

The days at sea are a luxury for us.  We can forget what day of the week it is, catch up with each other like we cannot do at home because we are both so busy (still working).  We play cards, dominoes, and other games together (something we never get to do at home).  We enjoy any lectures and shows that might interest us.  We walk the decks, read, take naps, hang out with friends, new and old.  We love enjoying our meals and savoring our coffee in the mornings.  It never gets old for us.

[albingirl]

I really love sea days and I  generally wander around aimlessly. That's a fun thing for me. I never get bored as long as I have enough reading material. The cooking shows in the past were wonderful, but that's the past. 

[Mary229]

54 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Mary would you do the Japan /Korea itinerary  ?  About a one way to Hawaii or from Hawaii as far as we know it is done by Celebrity but from Vancouver only   

As long as it was fly one way. I have been itching to get to Asia and after much research, talking to other cruisers and my own recent experience I will only go transpacific one way and fly the other.  Currently airfares are very expensive so it may be a long time before I go. I have three trips to Europe planned and one to Alaska plus my roadtrips so my plate is full.  

[dockman]

The older i get the more i enjoy sea days.

 

  Maybe i am weird but i can sit and watch the ocean for hours trying to imagine what is going on below me and all the ships that have sailed these same paths and where they were headed. What the crew and passengers looked like,where they came from and where and why were they going, what were they doing, all the ships that sunk and the dramas that must have unfolded over the centuries.  All the various creatures of the deep and how very little we seem to know about the secrets of the sea.

 

To each his/her own but I do sometimes wonder if most passengers give five minutes to sit and look and marvel at the oceans.  Maybe that is why the promenade decks with nice chairs etc seem to be on the verge of extintion.

 

 

Edited April 13 by dockman

[Gunther1]

Sea days = heaven to me.  I can slowly walk miles and miles on the promenade deck…..with occasional stops for naps on the same :). 

[Kay S]

I would be happy with a cruise that did nothing but sail out on the open sea.  I cruise mostly to relax, and some of those port days are exhausting.  You will find me in the Crow's Nest with my book, probably staring out at the ocean most of the time.

[jeh10641]

4 hours ago, Bristol5 said:

Yes, the Konningsdam to Hawaii.  Great to know about the extra classes, that sounds wonderful.

I also enjoy the freedom to just sleep in and relax. Thank you both for your quick response!

Hi, Bristol5,

I have done a few cruises (three transatlantic) with 4-6 sea days in a row. I like doing trivia, reading, chatting with new/old friends, attending the lectures/shows (night and day), doing nothing and/or exercising (so I can enjoy more food on HAL ships!).

Jim

[0106]

5 hours ago, Bristol5 said:

HAL no longer has the cooking classes or the internet classes

On the 22 day Oosterdam cruise in February we had cooking classes on 4 sea days.  We had a morning and afternoon lecture every sea day.  On a 7 day Nieuw Statendam cruise there were water color and brush stroke lettering classes, also line dancing instruction.

 

I enjoy meeting new people and the relaxing pace of sea days and hope that you will too.

[kazu]

I’ve don the 35 day Hawaii, Tahiti & Marquesas  which ended up with more sea days than a transatlantic (couldn’t tender to some ports)  and numerous transatlantics.  It’d so nice to relax and after touring around hard and enjoy.  Lectures, interesting talks, wine tastings, etc or just relax and watch the wake.  You get into what I call “cruise mode” and adapt quickly to the easier way of life.

 

I enjoy them unless there’ was a port we were supposed to get to and can’t  but you have to go with the flow 😘 

[jlawrence01]

Actually, when I am on HAL, I prefer a cruise with a number of sea days as there is always something going on.  I would prefer sea days over port days at places like Bimini, Half Moon Cay, and Falmouth.

[AKJonesy]

Last year on a SAN to FL through PC we missed two ports due to medical emergencies.  Four days out I could not wait to get off and vowed only to sail on port heavy cruises.  But, now we are going on Westerdam from Tokyo to SEA beginning end of April.  Fortunately, I have a major pilot exam when I get back so I need the sea days for studying.  Otherwise, I don't think I would like all of those crossing days.  On the other hand, my husband loves sea days, but it's about eating, exercising and resting for him.  I once brought my laptop and organized all of my files.  I'm not much for entertainment so that doesn't work for me.  

[REOVA]

There is usually something happening that you can do, especially if you meet new people and organize time together. (Until you get sick of each other 🤣). We did SD to Sydney many years ago and the hardest part was the initial 5 sea days to Hawaii (our longest initial at the time). Having just begun the cruise and having so many sea days takes getting used to as you are excited on the new cruise. Just have to know it's a slow, relaxing build up to your itinerary. We have an 11 day "sea/cruising" only period coming up in the Fall but it's after an intensive 12 port visit in Japan so the rest will be appreciated by us. 

[Bristol5]

Thank you all.  Your comments and opinions are most helpful and interesting.

[cccole]

I agree with Mary229, post #14.  We were on the 22 day Antarctica cruise in January and we loved it.  The 4-5 days in a row of scenic cruising were amazing.  There were a couple times when there were 2 sea days that were just ocean.  It was fun to have days to enjoy the ship, eat, drink, and be merry whenever you wanted, but after 2 non scenic sea days I was ready for an option.  We do not get bored easily and love life onboard but if a cruise has more non-scenic sea days than port and scenic cruising days it's not for us.  I wish HAL did a one way South Pacific cruise that allows you to fly one way.   JMO. Cherie