what is your favorite organized activity on Celebrity cruises

[alenushka]

Hello, I just reviewed a typical activities list on board of Celebrity Silhouette. There are so many things I want to participate in: art, gym, photo, etc. classes, tours, games.....Some run at the same time and hard to choose. :rolleyes:

My question: if you went back on your X-cruise, which activity you would do over? what are the favorites????? what, in your opinion, is a MUST to do / must NOT to miss?

Thank you!

[librarylady19]

Anything related to food! We were on a Savor Your Destinationcruise and our favorite activity was the opprtunity to cook in the MurNo galley with Chef Dena Marino.

[Bridge Maven]

Bridge, but I would have to go back a few years to do it :)

[TLCOhio]

Agree on food, eating!! Love to just hang out in the Solarium area, walking around in the many different areas, people watching, etc. The lectures were good with some interesting outside speakers, plus the ship engineer explaining the details for how this ship was constructed. Below are a few of my favorite pictures to illustrate these points and activities on these Solstice-type ships.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 57,832 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Many times at the pool, the “party band” is going at it with great tunes, adding to the fun and excitement around the pool area.:

 

 

 

The Solarium was one of our favorite areas. Food and drinks were nearby and it was very relaxed and sophisticated. Quieter, too, as it is an adults-only area. Two hot tubs here. Not crowded, especially in the evenings. Nice art and design with this facility. Wonderful setting for relaxing and watching the outside water/shore views, enjoying subtle inside action, etc.:

 

 

 

On the top, back of the Solstice, here is a wider view of Corning Hot Glass show area, plus the green grass and the unique covering designs for this special area of the ship. Classy design touches and style!!:

 

 

 

This is a view of the upper floor level above the main pool area on the Solstice. This illustrates how the space for walking can be a little narrow and congested during the middle of the afternoon as this area fills up with people enjoying the sun, etc. Things are easier and more open earlier in the am, plus in the evenings.:

 

[fleckle]

Attending a performance or session with Brooks Aehron, if we are ever lucky enough to be on another cruise with him.

[alenushka]

WOW! Thank you all for your response! Love the pictures! the more I read the more impatient and excited I become...wish I could sunbath at the pool right now....but have to wait 69 more days:rolleyes:

Do they open/close roof at Solarium based on the weather or keep it closed at all times?

"Librarylady" - what was Chef Marino cooking during the demo?

[Fixit2010]

I think besides filling your day with activities, you are missing one key point.

You need to take time to find "your spot", I don't mean like a zit, I mean the place on the ship where you discover that this is the place for you to chill out, read a book and let the day float by without a care in the world. For me its a shaded armchair at the back of the lawn by the sunset bar. Even now I think of those hours with a book, ipod, drinks card, shaded but looking up at the clear blue sky and down in to the crystal blue water. Attuned to the gentle rocking motion of the ship.

[Buranogal]

Oh thankgoodness I have stumbled upon your page again. Im not that computer savvy. Would you be able to send me the link so I can keep it to refer to. Would be soo appreciated my email mirandavale8599@bigpond.com

[Going Coastal]

My favorite are the watercolor classes on sea days. It is great fun to paint and visit with others, and pick up new skills. The teachers are very diverse but all have been entertaining.

[We're The Groupnors]

My two favourite events:

 

The International Wine Tasting - you pay $20 (I think), and taste as many wines as you want from 8 stations (1 red, one white at each station). Each station is manned by one of the sommelliers who can explain and discuss the wine with you. They also provide a printout of the wines with descriptions and a place for your tasting notes.

 

The Celebrity Chef Challenge - this takes place in the main theatre, and pairs two Celebrity chefs with two passengers to have a "throwdown". Lots of fun!

[OceanCruise]

We love all the trivia games especially the musical trivia. It is a great way to make new friends on board. Also loved the wine and cheese concerts on the lawn.

[pollux]

Line Dancing

[TLCOhio]

WOW! Thank you all for your response! Love the pictures! the more I read the more impatient and excited I become...wish I could sunbath at the pool right now....but have to wait 69 more days:rolleyes:

Do they open/close roof at Solarium based on the weather or keep it closed at all times?

 

During our June Solstice cruise, the Solarium roof seemed to be closed all of the time. That large Solarium area is air conditioned (partly to balance out the "heat gain" from the sun on the glass). If you opened that area up, it might get too hot there. We loved this space, as I have noted.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 58,153 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[jdvmd]

Another vote for trivia! All shapes and forms. Love it.

[Bridge Maven]

I think besides filling your day with activities, you are missing one key point.

You need to take time to find "your spot", I don't mean like a zit, I mean the place on the ship where you discover that this is the place for you to chill out, read a book and let the day float by without a care in the world. For me its a shaded armchair at the back of the lawn by the sunset bar. Even now I think of those hours with a book, ipod, drinks card, shaded but looking up at the clear blue sky and down in to the crystal blue water. Attuned to the gentle rocking motion of the ship.

 

Fixit, your post illustrates one of the biggest differences between Celebrity and other mass market cruise lines. The typical Celebrity passenger prefers to create their own activities on sea days while the typical passenger on other mass market cruise lines, with the exception of Holland America, prefer to have sea days filled with organized activities.

 

When Celebrity had a bridge program I didn't mind their lack of organized activities because we attended the bridge lesson in the morning and played bridge during the afternoon. However, now that Celebrity no longer has a bridge program, I prefer NCL and Royal Caribbean for cruises with a lot of sea days.

 

Even though we lead a relatively sophisticated life at home (symphony, theater, museums, etc), we like to have fun on a cruise.

 

My husband and I also like to take cruises with our daughter, son in law, and their three children (infant, 2, and 4) , and Celebrity is not as family oriented as other cruise lines. Our 4 year old granddaughter will be taking her 5th cruise in June on Disney Dream with us, and it will be the 3rd cruise for her 2 year old brother :)

[hcat]

One of my destination specific memories is the program with the Hawaii Ambassador Paki Allen (?) we made leis, learned about Hawaiin culture, studied hula & performed for other guests at the end of the cruise...

 

we have taken many of the tours, enjoyed Cap Club events, done wine tastings, watched cooking demos, mixology, hot glass show, played trivia etc.... but we also love to laze near the pool, read on our balcony and enjoy music at Cova or Cafe baccio in the afternoons...& out on the aft deck at night...

 

very least fav recently are the noisy pool games and canned music at the outdoor pool inthe afternoons that drive us away.... ....

 

well said that everyone does need to find their spot & there is so much available On celebrity cruises...

[constantcruiser]

Watching the hot glass show on S-class ships...it's fantastic and always changing.

[SixOneTwo]

Trivia of any kind. Name that tune. Group games that have evolved out of popular boardgames like Scattergories and Tri-Bond. Always a blast and you really get to meet people. We frequently team up with others the first time and then continue the team all throughout the cruise.

[TeaBag]

The cooking demos.

[Muushka]

My two favourite events:

The International Wine Tasting - you pay $20 (I think)' date=' and taste as many wines as you want from 8 stations (1 red, one white at each station). Each station is manned by one of the sommelliers who can explain and discuss the wine with you. They also provide a printout of the wines with descriptions and a place for your tasting notes.[/b']

 

The Celebrity Chef Challenge - this takes place in the main theatre, and pairs two Celebrity chefs with two passengers to have a "throwdown". Lots of fun!

 

Whoa! That wine tasting sounds great, I will look for it.

 

We love all the trivia games especially the musical trivia. It is a great way to make new friends on board. Also loved the wine and cheese concerts on the lawn.

 

Ah. Trivia. We love trivia. As long as people don't take it too seriously.;)

[ISABELLA]

And don't forget - EAT

[tactic]

for us it has to be the trivia - great way to meet others and we have experienced a range of fantastic enrichment lectures - this is a real benefit especially when there are a lot of sea days to fill

[bighairtexan]

On my last cruise we did the Riedel Wine tasting. I only did it because my group was doing it. You tasted various wines in the standard wine glass and then in the appropriate Riedel glass. I thought the height, bowl and opening of the glass was close to irrelevant. They said Riedel glasses would make your wine taste better... and I thought "whatta buncha hooey."

WOW, you'd be amazed. I stand corrected!!

[ghstudio]

Corning glass shows....they make different items using different techniques for every show (and that is every single show they do.....the artists make what they want to make that day and they don't just repeat on the next cruise).

 

Quiet time to read on my kindle or learn how to do something on my computer (photo processing)

 

free backstage tour and/or bridge tour (if offered) is always interesting. [note: kitchen tour is not listed because it's just not that interesting, especially if you are a cook]

 

On board speakers (of course it depends who is speaking, but some are outstanding)

[YOW]

Embarkation! :D

 

Half-joking, really, as it's one of the few organised activities we take part in while on a cruise... and nothing beats the anticipation of getting on a ship, and the feeling of actually setting foot aboard.

 

On the flip side, our least favourite organised activity has got to be disembarkation. ... If only we could stay. :(