Cruises
take vacationers to wonderful
and exciting destinations around
the world, and between port
calls, they will find a world
of onboard activities, experiences
and comforts, from rock climbing
and golf lessons to learning
how to ice skate or learning
how to relax with Yoga.
Ships today have
expansive video, music and book
libraries; Internet cafes and
coffee shops; expanded fitness
and spa facilities; myriad sports
activities; virtual reality
centers; numerous shops; karaoke
bars; and plenty of places to
“people watch”.
The choices are endless.
“It’s
impossible to be bored on a
cruise ship,” says Bob
Sharak, executive director of
Cruise Lines International Association
(CLIA), which represents 24
major cruise lines in the North
American market. “With
so many activity options available
day and night, cruise ships
have become destinations in
themselves – floating
resorts, with everything from
easing away stress at the spa
to playing a round of miniature
golf with the kids.”
Among the latest
amenities to be found on today’s
cruise ships are the following
offered by CLIA member lines:
Bora Bora
Cruises’ two
newest vessels, Tu Moana and
Tia Moana, each with 37 cabins,
combine the best of both worlds
– casual, intimate Polynesian
ambiance with such in-cabin
comforts as air conditioning,
telephones, TV/DVD, radio, CD
player and hairdryer. Each ship
also features a gymnasium and
two Jacuzzi Whirlpool baths.
Activities include breakfast
in the lagoon, movie on the
“motu” (small islet),
an early-riser sunrise escapade
for coffee on Mount Tapioi,
and the Tahitian festive meal
“tamaaraa” on the
motu.
Carnival
Cruise Lines introduces
a new children’s dining
program that provides kids with
delicious supervised meals with
their fellow young cruisers
in the ships’ casual poolside
restaurants while parents enjoy
a night to themselves. A different
menu is featured each night
and includes items such as spaghetti
with meatballs, chicken quesadillas,
hamburgers, hot dogs, roasted
chicken drumsticks, pepperoni
pizza, fish sticks, chicken
nuggets, roasted turkey and
grilled salmon steak. A 35-item
salad bar is also available.
Desserts include assorted ice
cream and seasonal fresh fruit.
Celebrity
Cruises’ latest
enhancements include frosty
towels at poolside and upon
return from shore excursions;
sorbet and fashion shows poolside;
a new Sushi Café©,
pasta and pizza bar; sunset
yoga and Pilates classes; expanded
hours in Celebrity’s AquaSpa
by Elemis; and a new category
of plush accommodations known
as “ConciergeClass.”
For beginners
and scratch golfers alike, Costa
Cruises’ Golf
Academy at Sea offers priority
tee times at many of the Caribbean’s
most exclusive courses. The
all-inclusive packages include
a golf pro escort, roundtrip
transportation, greens fees
and cart rentals. On board,
there are one-on-one lessons,
group clinics with a PGA golf
pro, and use of the V-1 golf
teaching computer.
Crystal
Cruises’ Crystal
Serenity features “The
Studio,” a hands-on, high-tech
dedicated facility created expressly
for “Creative Learning
Institute” programs presented
in conjunction with music pioneer
Yamaha among other notable brands.
The Studio is fitted with 15
portable grand piano keyboards
and supported with the Clavinova®
digital piano. Certified Yamaha
music teachers are on board
to teach an innovative and fun
course of piano-style instruction.
Cunard
Line’s Queen
Mary 2 features several new
amenities. Illuminations is
the first planetarium at sea,
which will also be used for
classical concerts, films, shows
and lectures. Canyon Ranch SpaClub®,
the state-of-the-art spa and
fitness facilities, is located
on two decks and offers the
exotic Rasul Ceremony, a Canyon
Ranch signature treatment. Passengers
will also enjoy an in-cabin
interactive TV system that allows
them to send and receive e-mail,
view port information, sign
up for shore excursions, order
room service, view and purchase
photos and much more.
First
European Cruises offers
Balinese massage, performed
by gifted hands specially trained
in the ancient therapeutic technique
that combines gentle massage,
acupressure and essential oils.
Fred.
Olsen Cruise Lines
offer a wide array of onboard
activities, including PGA Golf
with practice nets, PGA pros
and special events. Passengers
may participate in rounds of
shuffle board, deck quoits,
table tennis, carpet boules
and more. Special interests
are met with dance, spa, bridge,
watercolor and music programs
in addition to a comprehensive
selection of shore excursions.
Holland
America Line’s
Greenhouse Spa & Salon,
on all Vista-class ships, presents
new signature treatments along
with traditional spa and salon
services. It offers the latest
in Cybex weight-training machines
and equipment. Pilates, yoga
and stretching classes, along
with a variety of aerobic workouts
are available, as well as a
glass-enclosed hydrotherapy
pool with heated seawater, a
state-of-the-art thermal suite,
the Laconium (gentle sauna),
Hamman (mild steam room) and
Chamomile Grotto (aromatic steam
room), and a variety of therapy
sessions.
MSC Italian
Cruises has a new “Fun
& Fitness Cruise-ercise”
for seniors on its new flagship,
Lirica, when it departs from
Fort Lauderdale March 10 on
an 11-night Panama Canal cruise.
Five hours of exercise classes
for seniors are offered each
day at sea, and 2 ½ hours
each day in port. Classes include
Water Aerobics, Water Exercise
for Arthritis, Aerobics and
Chair Aerobics; Tai Chi (seated
and standing); Strength Training
with Weights; and Nutrition
Seminars.
Norwegian
Coastal Voyage Inc.’s
ships feature works by recognized
artists, earning the vessels
acclaim as floating museums.
Norwegian
Cruise Line has established
WiFi (wireless remote Internet)
capability on aboard all its
ships, 24 hours a day, wherever
the vessel is located. Guests
who bring their personal laptops
onboard can get a network card
and will have the ability to
access the Internet and their
e-mail in designated locations
throughout the ship. Installation
is easy, requires no reconfiguration
to the guest’s computer,
and will not take up hard drive
space when the guest leaves
the ship.
Oceania
Cruises’ ships
present the luxurious “Tranquility
Bed,” a custom-designed
mattress set, 350-thread-count
Egyptian cotton linens, plush,
silk-cut Italian duvets and
the fluffiest down pillows.
The finely appointed staterooms
focus on comfort, privacy and
convenience, with such amenities
as a remote-control color TV,
direct dial satellite phone,
Internet access port, and English-milled
toiletries.
Princess
Cruises recently introduced
its new Lotus Spa program fleetwide.
The Asian-themed spa offers
an atmosphere and treatments
based on ancient therapies and
rituals from the Far East (such
as Asian Lotus Ritual, Chakra
Stone Therapy). The expanded
spa program also features a
more comprehensive selection
of health and fitness offerings,
with a more extensive menu of
exercises classes (including
yoga, Pilates, pulse cycling
and KickBoXpress), more fitness
instructors and gym supervision,
personal training and consultation
sessions and health and nutrition
seminars.
Suites on Radisson
Seven Seas Cruises’
Seven Seas Voyager are equipped
with hi-tech interactive television
“Guest Choice Systems”
with free movie channels, movies
on demand, CD and DVD players
(400 DVDs are available on board),
e-mail capabilities, wake-up
and message retrieval service,
the ability to view guest folios
and more. Plus, butler service
is now available on all of the
line’s ships (in select
categories).
Royal
Caribbean International’s
rock-climbing walls, formerly
found only on its newest ships,
will be offered fleetwide by
November 2003. Perched on the
top decks, the rock-climbing
walls challenge guests to reach
new heights and reward them
with an unparalled bird’s
eye view of the ship, sea and
sky. The walls are designed
to suit both beginners and advanced
climbers. Lessons are offered
on every sailing by trained
ship staff.
Silversea
Cruises has a new interactive
television system, ISIS, that
enables guests to view on-demand
movies, send and receive e-mail
and book shore excursions in
the comfort and privacy of their
suite. The line also offers
a flexible embarkation and debarkation
program and enhanced its Mandara
Spa program to offer expanded
hours, increased staff, poolside
cabana treatments and new body
products by Elemis.
Swan Hellenic’s
Minerva II boasts a library
with more than 4,000 titles.
Windstar
Cruises introduces
“Romance Under Sail, a
program and dedicated website
– www.romanceundersail.com
– that marries romantic
travel with amenities and services
custom-tailored to individual
preferences. Guests can utilize
an interactive website to design
their own romantic escape with
special packages, an extensive
menu of wines and champagnes,
intimate shore excursions, scuba
diving adventures, spa treatments
and special in-suite commemorative
amenities and services.
On every cruise,
The Yachts of Seabourn
offer a complimentary
Exclusively Seabourn shoreside
experience. These are custom-created
with the assistance of local
insiders and may involve private
visits of local museums or important
sites when they are closed to
the public, or invitations to
private homes of local dignitaries,
to provide unique insights.
For more information
about cruise activities and
amenities, visit CLIA’s
website, www.cruising.org.
|
Back
to PKO Index
