Surprised by Activities Onboard

[TGfromTX]

I reviewed a daily planner for activities and I was a surprised by the number of activities I've never seen on a cruise before. Most are things I would expect in the Kid camps. 

Have these been standard type of activities on Celebrity or is it a push for targeting more 'family' cruisers?

Coloring by numbers, sketching, dot painting, bookmark making, paracord bracelet making, paper airplane challenge, origami

[Tonopah]

Turns out, if it isn’t your thing, then don’t participate. Why does it matter if someone else wants to do those things?

[jelayne]

There have been art classes on the ships for quite awhile.  Normally not on shorter port intensive sailing but on longer sailing.  DH has done painting and drawing classes recently, I attended a origami session about 8 years ago and dot painting about 2 years ago.  None of the sessions DH and I have done had any children attending. 

They have also added archery and more multi day challenges e.g. putting, chipping.

On the E class coloring by numbers, puzzles are more a dyi activity. 

[mrgabriel]

Colouring and crafts have been offered for at least a dozen years. I don’t know if they were on every sailing but they were definitely on repositioning cruises with many sea days. 
 

Last September we sailed from Vancouver to Hawaii and they had crafts activities for adults in the Kids Club. (There were only 3 children onboard.) The classes were full and they turned people away. Turns out plenty of us like to colour after a glass or two of wine with lunch 🤣 

[lv2cruisgrl]

I think they are just trying to give people options so they can't say there is nothing to do!!

[MamaFej]

17 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

Colouring and crafts have been offered for at least a dozen years. I don’t know if they were on every sailing but they were definitely on repositioning cruises with many sea days. 
 

Last September we sailed from Vancouver to Hawaii and they had crafts activities for adults in the Kids Club. (There were only 3 children onboard.) The classes were full and they turned people away. Turns out plenty of us like to colour after a glass or two of wine with lunch 🤣 

They could give head-mounted GoPro cameras to the imbibing colorers and project the footage on the theater screens for folks to watch. Two activities in one! 

[TGfromTX]

Thanks for the responses.  I think it's correct that they are mainly on sea days - I didn't notice that.  There are quite a few outdoor activities too, but I think archery is the only one I don't remember seeing before on a ship.  I remember seeing crossword puzzles & such before. But I  don't remember ever seeing 'make your own memento' type of activities on other lines - besides the pay to paint and have wine thing.   

I didn't imply there was anything wrong with the activities - just an observation.  I haven't been on a TA but I want to do that next.  Don't think I can afford that on Celebrity though.

[hrhdhd]

2 hours ago, TGfromTX said:

Thanks for the responses.  I think it's correct that they are mainly on sea days - I didn't notice that.  There are quite a few outdoor activities too, but I think archery is the only one I don't remember seeing before on a ship.  I remember seeing crossword puzzles & such before. But I  don't remember ever seeing 'make your own memento' type of activities on other lines - besides the pay to paint and have wine thing.   

I didn't imply there was anything wrong with the activities - just an observation.  I haven't been on a TA but I want to do that next.  Don't think I can afford that on Celebrity though.

1. TAs are generally less expensive per day than other cruises. If you mean you can't take the time off, then I see your point.

2. I've never laughed so hard as I did at a paper airplane challenge. They should call it a comedy show.

[Jeremiah1212]

3 hours ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

I think they are just trying to give people options so they can't say there is nothing to do!!

That really is the point. Over the next few months there are several new onboard/sea day activities being offered that you can purchase essentially like a shore excursion. Many of them have a cost attached like the gravlax pizza, sushi classes and such that have been recently posted about. 

[Pushka]

5 hours ago, TGfromTX said:

I reviewed a daily planner for activities and I was a surprised by the number of activities I've never seen on a cruise before. Most are things I would expect in the Kid camps. 

Have these been standard type of activities on Celebrity or is it a push for targeting more 'family' cruisers?

Coloring by numbers, sketching, dot painting, bookmark making, paracord bracelet making, paper airplane challenge, origami

Well, at least it keeps those interested in such activities away from the solarium etc and Martini bar which is we where we like to hang out. We rarely participate in any of them. 

[Liao]

18 hours ago, TGfromTX said:

I reviewed a daily planner for activities and I was a surprised by the number of activities I've never seen on a cruise before. Most are things I would expect in the Kid camps. 

Have these been standard type of activities on Celebrity or is it a push for targeting more 'family' cruisers?

Coloring by numbers, sketching, dot painting, bookmark making, paracord bracelet making, paper airplane challenge, origami

Wouldn’t it be nice if they had included dedicated areas on the ships for cooking classes.  Oceania has this and I think VV does them in the Test Kitchen.  Oh well they don’t, so we either make do or go elsewhere.

[canderson]

36 minutes ago, Liao said:

Wouldn’t it be nice if they had included dedicated areas on the ships for cooking classes.  Oceania has this and I think VV does them in the Test Kitchen.  Oh well they don’t, so we either make do or go elsewhere.

Silversea has a fantastic setup on their 4 newest ships.  Dedicated class area with induction stations for some actual cooking.  Really enjoyed learning itinerary-specific cuisine, too.  Nothing really complicated, but worth the time.

 

https://www.silversea.com/life-onboard/public-areas/salt-lab.html

 

Ah, I should add ... no charge, but get signed up right away once aboard.  Slots go fast.

Edited July 17 by canderson

[Liao]

6 minutes ago, canderson said:

Silversea has a fantastic setup on their 4 newest ships.  Dedicated class area with induction stations for some actual cooking.  Really enjoyed learning itinerary-specific cuisine, too.  Nothing really complicated, but worth the time.

 

https://www.silversea.com/life-onboard/public-areas/salt-lab.html

 

Ah, I should add ... no charge, but get signed up right away once aboard.  Slots go fast.

Good info, thanks!  I am only doing TA’s now, so a cooking class or two would be a great way to spend some sea day time.

[canderson]

20 minutes ago, Liao said:

Good info, thanks!  I am only doing TA’s now, so a cooking class or two would be a great way to spend some sea day time.

We spent 15 or 16 nights on Silver Dawn on a westbound TA last Fall, and that's where we took our first dive into the classes.  As you can imagine, they were especially popular on a TA since people had more time to devote to this kind of thing.  Again, if you decide to go this route, sign up immediately after boarding at the S.A.L.T. kitchen area.  They will likely initially limit your sign-up to two classes to provide the experience to more guests, but they were also managing a waiting list to handle cancellations quickly.

 

[canderson]

The room looks quite a bit different on the Moon and Dawn vs. the photo in the link above:

 

[TGfromTX]

1 hour ago, Liao said:

Wouldn’t it be nice if they had included dedicated areas on the ships for cooking classes.  Oceania has this and I think VV does them in the Test Kitchen.  Oh well they don’t, so we either make do or go elsewhere.

I think most of these are in the same area - the club.  I don't think I'll ever have skills (nor patience) to cook anything to the level of what chefs on ships do.  The sketching class sounds interesting to me.  I wonder if we can take drinks in.

Very excited to see if the food is as elevated as reputation (first time on this line).  I think the best food I've had onboard was on Carnival in the early 90s.  I question if it's true or if I hadn't eaten as many good meals up to that point in my life - I suspect my food ranking skill is more refined now.  

[TGfromTX]

35 minutes ago, canderson said:

The room looks quite a bit different on the Moon and Dawn vs. the photo in the link above:

 

Does the instructor stand in the middle of the island?  Interesting layout

[canderson]

13 minutes ago, TGfromTX said:

Does the instructor stand in the middle of the island?  Interesting layout

No.  What the photo doesn't show is that the chef has his own station off to the left.  There's also a camera looking down at his station, and a large screen monitor up above him.  The chef can, of course, come into the center to provide assistance as needed.

 

[billc23]

5 hours ago, canderson said:

Silversea has a fantastic setup on their 4 newest ships.  Dedicated class area with induction stations for some actual cooking.  Really enjoyed learning itinerary-specific cuisine, too.  Nothing really complicated, but worth the time.

 

https://www.silversea.com/life-onboard/public-areas/salt-lab.html

 

Ah, I should add ... no charge, but get signed up right away once aboard.  Slots go fast.

I have taken about a dozen cooking classes on Silversea ships. The instructor has always been an educated land based chef who has worked at several restaurants following culinary school. One had gone on to earn a masters degree and is a food historian. The recipes are determined by the region of the world and the cooking instructor also gave lectures in an auditorium. Very educational as we sailed from India to Indochina. I was on a 10 day sailing around Iceland and the classes were based on Icelandic regional food. No charge but you do need to sign up early to get your preferred time. 

 

The cooking classes on Celebrity are very different...

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, Liao said:

Wouldn’t it be nice if they had included dedicated areas on the ships for cooking classes.  Oceania has this and I think VV does them in the Test Kitchen.  Oh well they don’t, so we either make do or go elsewhere.

Also Holland America.

X has done them in the Grand Foyer on Transatlantic Cruises

[Milhouse]

On 7/16/2024 at 11:00 AM, Tonopah said:

Turns out, if it isn’t your thing, then don’t participate. Why does it matter if someone else wants to do those things?

 

I kind of view it a bit differently.  Obviously I don't care what activities others want to participate in. 

But there is only a limited number of activities staff, available space, dollars X wants to throw at activities, etc.  While I don't expect every activity to appeal to me, I kind of hope that staff allocate time on some activities that I find interesting (which I usually do).  

[the penguins]

On 7/16/2024 at 8:29 PM, TGfromTX said:

Thanks for the responses.  I think it's correct that they are mainly on sea days - I didn't notice that.  There are quite a few outdoor activities too, but I think archery is the only one I don't remember seeing before on a ship.  I remember seeing crossword puzzles & such before. But I  don't remember ever seeing 'make your own memento' type of activities on other lines - besides the pay to paint and have wine thing.   

I didn't imply there was anything wrong with the activities - just an observation.  I haven't been on a TA but I want to do that next.  Don't think I can afford that on Celebrity though.

TA's tend to be cheaper - we are doing 2 x 13 nighter's on Eclipse in 2025 same balcony cabin on the hump for both cruises. The May cruise (UK/Iceland) $5970 the TA $2291 - both Sail Only Rates.

TA's are a totally different experience and with the extra sea days there is much more to do including: talks/presentations, extra matinee shows in the theatre, Model Boat Building followed by races, the always entertaining Great Egg Drop, Archery, the Officers get much more involved and if you strike really lucky and have Captain Kirk his late night one man show is a must see (He sings, plays guitar and sometimes the drums).

Being retired time is not important and so when our grandson invites us to stay (he lives in McKinney) we fly out in March and cruise back, then cruise out in October/November and fly back - 2 cruises out of one return air ticket.

[TGfromTX]

7 minutes ago, the penguins said:

TA's tend to be cheaper - we are doing 2 x 13 nighter's on Eclipse in 2025 same balcony cabin on the hump for both cruises. The May cruise (UK/Iceland) $5970 the TA $2291 - both Sail Only Rates.

TA's are a totally different experience and with the extra sea days there is much more to do including: talks/presentations, extra matinee shows in the theatre, Model Boat Building followed by races, the always entertaining Great Egg Drop, Archery, the Officers get much more involved and if you strike really lucky and have Captain Kirk his late night one man show is a must see (He sings, plays guitar and sometimes the drums).

Being retired time is not important and so when our grandson invites us to stay (he lives in McKinney) we fly out in March and cruise back, then cruise out in October/November and fly back - 2 cruises out of one return air ticket.

I can't find anyone willing to burn 2 weeks of vacation on one trip anymore.  For solo, the only ships I find affordable for a solo TA is NCL branded.  But I am on the lookout for a deal to pop up.  In the last 10 years, I've only been on NCL due to their reputation on food and more due to show quality.  I'm doing the celebrity trip mainly because of the food reputation. I've never even considered the onboard activities being different until I saw the app start populating them.  I was just as surprised not to see a love and marriage type of show listed. 

[canderson]

1 hour ago, TGfromTX said:

I was just as surprised not to see a love and marriage type of show listed. 

Check under "Activities" instead of "Entertainment" in the evenings.  Each ship seems to have something a little different listed under the "Game Show" heading.

 

[awhcruiser]

On 7/16/2024 at 2:00 PM, Tonopah said:

Turns out, if it isn’t your thing, then don’t participate. Why does it matter if someone else wants to do those things?

This 100%.....