There are all sorts of activities to keep you busy on a cruise, including learning a new skill — options run the gamut from art to zumba!
Do you love cruising? I do!
Whether you’re a newbie cruiser or have taken dozens of cruises, there’s always something new to experience on a cruise. Here are some of the interesting art classes I’ve taken part in during my recent cruises!
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Cruise Activities
When taking a cruise, there are all kinds of activities throughout the day to keep you occupied — you won’t be bored unless you want to be. (And that is totally fine too– it’s your vacation after all!)
There are of course typical cruise activities such as bingo, trivia, fun tournaments, and karaoke.
But almost every cruise ship offers many classes and enrichment opportunities on the daily program, with especially full schedules on sea days. This is a great opportunity to pick up some tips on an existing hobby, or to try out something completely outside your comfort zone.
It’s a totally risk-free environment — if you love it: super! you have a new interest to take home with you.
And if it didn’t go so well: no big deal — you’re surrounded by people you’ll probably never see again (unless you make the mistake of letting your traveling companions take incriminating photographs).
Some classes or activities you might find on your cruise: (Note offerings vary by cruise line and ship, and some may involve a fee):
- Art classes
- Photography (camera or iPhone) and photo editing
- Computer skills
- Jewelry making
- Dance lessons
- Cooking demos and cooking classes
- Guest lecturers
- Bridge lessons / bridge play
- Needlepoint
- Foreign language classes (ooh la la..)
- Fitness classes (yoga, pilates, strength, stretch, Zumba)
- Glassblowing classes (Celebrity Cruises)
Painting class, take 1
On my first post-COVID cruise on the Crystal Symphony from NYC to Bermuda, there was an art instructor onboard to nurture our creativity. (Read more about that luxury cruise experience.)
She offered watercolor classes on all of the sea days. I have done a tiny bit of watercolor painting in the recent past, so I decided to attend a couple of her sessions.
The first class I attended focused on tropical sunsets. The instructor provided several photos for inspiration and even provided a special type of brush which makes it really easy to paint the fronds of a palm tree. This was an awesome tip for me.
Living in Arizona, palm trees are a big part of our landscaping. I have tried to paint palm trees before, with results that fell quite short of success — and were relegated to the trash bin. (Yes, I’m my own worst critic — but I think that is true for most people.)
But with the help of the magic brush and her other tips for color blending, my tropical sunset watercolor turned out surprisingly well (if I do say so myself). This is my favorite piece of art that I’ve painted, and it makes a terrific souvenir experience from this cruise.
The instructor was kind enough to provide mats for our paintings. This gives them an extra oomph and makes them look more professional.
Painting class, take 2
The next day I returned fresh off my success with the sunset — only to find that today’s topic was tropical fish. Uh oh. Landscape painting is one thing — it’s fairly abstract, and hence more forgiving. But painting an actual thing — animal, human — let’s just say that my rendering skills are at the ‘stick figure’ level.
But I gamely picked up a reference fish picture and my paint supplies. Firstly I freehand drew the fish, then picked up brush and paint and went to work. Since I was short on time, for the background I just added squiggles and dots to fill the space.
Now, this fish looks a bit — dopey? confused? lost? As the instructor told the class: Even if it’s not a masterpiece, you can always hang it in the guest bathroom.
Jewelry Making
During a holiday cruise in the Caribbean onboard the Crystal Symphony, some jewelry-making classes were offered as the art-class-du-jour.
I decided ‘why not?’ and joined in to make my own earrings.
The instructor gave us a brief training on how to cut and crimp wire to make the loops and then set us loose to select our beads.
Of course, I gravitated to the blue- and teal- colored beads (well, it would have been purple, but they didn’t have many beads in shades of purple). I collected a fistful of beads for my project.
I also found cute little wave-shaped silver decorations to dangle from the bottom of the earrings — perfect!
Now since I am a perfectionist, it did take me a while to select the beads that were the most similar in shape and size, so that the two earrings turned out to be as close to the same length as possible. (This is a pet peeve of mine, when I buy a pair of earrings and the lengths are different!)
I think these turned out pretty well, and even match up with my ‘Waves and Cobblestones’ blog name and color theme. And they make for a unique memento from this cruise!
Earrings are one of my favorite travel souvenirs, for two reasons. One, they are light and easy to fit into your carry-on luggage. And two, they are practical and every time I wear them, I’ll think fondly of the trip.
I’ve actually coined a term for this: ‘souvenearrings’. (Feel free to use that.)
Be brave — try something new!
Take advantage of opportunities to try something you’ve never done before! As the rock says (no, not ‘The Rock’, the piece of slate below): ‘Be brave enough to suck at something new.” I’m taking that saying to heart with venturing out of my comfort zone and starting this travel blog.
What’s the most interesting class you’ve taken on a cruise ship? Let me know!
Never be bored on a sea day! Pin this for later!
Speaking of cruising…
One of my absolute favorite travel experiences was our first Mediterranean cruise. This itinerary began in the French Riviera and ended in beautiful Barcelona.
(You should always plan an extra day or two in your cruise’s start or end port. For one, it reduces same-day travel stresses in case any logistics don’t go perfectly. You may decide that location is a ‘one and done’, or you may find yourself a new favorite destination!)
My favorite cruise destination in the Caribbean is San Juan, Puerto Rico. Old San Juan is brimming with history and art, and you can easily explore its blue cobbled lanes by foot as it is a very walkable town!
Read more about our experiences on our luxury Crystal Symphony cruise!
My most recent cruise to Victoria was aboard an Alaskan cruise onboard the Celebrity Solstice. On this sailing I sampled all the delicious Celebrity Cruises mocktails!
Lisa Garrett
Lisa Garrett is the founder of Waves and Cobblestones. She has taken 35 cruises ranging from a multi-generational Caribbean cruise to solo Alaska cruises to fabulous Mediterranean cruises.
She lived in Ireland for 4 months and has taken over a dozen multi-city vacations in Europe (France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, and more!). Lisa helps people plan amazing vacations to Europe and popular cruise destinations.
Learn more about Lisa!
