Category: Onboard Experience
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The Piano Bar Is the Room That Fills Up After Everyone Else Goes to Bed
There is a room on your ship that is empty at nine and packed by eleven. It has a piano in the middle and stools all around it. Most people walk past it every night and never once sit down. That is a mistake. The piano bar is the closest thing a cruise ship has…
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The Future Cruise Desk Is the Perk You Walk Past on Day One
There is a desk on your ship that most people never visit. It is usually near the shore excursion counter or tucked into a quiet hallway. It is the future cruise desk, and it is where the cruise line pays you to book your next trip while you are still on this one. The pitch…
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The Ship Lecture Program Is the Ticket You Already Paid For
Somewhere on your ship, a person who has climbed Everest is talking to a half empty room. Down the hall, the trivia game is packed. This happens on almost every sailing. Most cruise lines run an enrichment program. It is guest speakers, lectures, and talks, and it is included in your fare. You are already…
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The Cruise Ship Library Is the Quietest Room You Never Visit
Most passengers walk past the library a dozen times and never go in. Their loss. Nearly every ship has one. On the big lines it is a small nook with a few shelves and a locked glass case. On the luxury lines it is a room built for it. The library on Regent’s Seven Seas…
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The Cruise Ship Laundry Room Is the Perk You Are Too Proud to Use
Somewhere below deck on a lot of cruise ships, there is a small room with a few washers, a few dryers, and almost nobody in it. This is the self-service laundry room. Most passengers never find it, and the ones who do act like it is a state secret. Here is why it matters. A…
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The Cruise Ship Art Auction Is Free Champagne With a Catch
There is a room on your cruise ship where they hand you a glass of champagne and hope you spend two thousand dollars before you finish it. It is the art auction. Most people walk right past it. Here is how it works. A gallery called Park West runs the auctions on Celebrity, Norwegian, MSC,…
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The Behind the Scenes Ship Tour Is the Best Money You Are Not Spending
Most passengers never see the parts of the ship that actually keep it running. The bridge. The galley. The engine control room. The place where thousands of pounds of laundry get done every single day. You can. It is called a behind the scenes tour, and almost nobody books it. Holland America brought its version…
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The Thermal Suite Is the Best $50 You Will Spend on a Cruise
Most passengers walk right past the thermal suite. They book the massage, skip the add-on, and never think about it again. That is a mistake. The thermal suite is a dedicated area in the ship’s spa that typically includes heated tile loungers, a steam room, a sauna, and sometimes a hydrotherapy pool. It is not…
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The Thermal Suite Is the Best Kept Secret on the Ship
Most passengers walk past the spa entrance all week and never go in. They assume it is expensive, or just for massages, or not really their thing. What they miss is the thermal suite, and it is genuinely one of the better ways to spend an afternoon at sea. The thermal suite is a dedicated…
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The Mystery of Specialty Dining Credits
Most cruise lines give you specialty dining credits with certain cabin categories or loyalty tiers. Then they watch passengers squander them on overpriced steakhouses while the real gems sit empty. Your credits work at any specialty restaurant. This includes the sushi bar tucked away on deck 5. The small plates concept restaurant that nobody talks…