Don’t think that lounging by the pool or trying out all the ship restaurants are the only things to do on a cruise. There’s healthy competition in the cruise industry, which means that individual cruise lines keep introducing innovative and novel on-board activities to encourage more passengers to sail with them. Some of these activities are the types of things that you may never have thought could exist on a cruise ship until you see them for yourself. Here are a few of the more unusual activities you can find on modern cruise ships.
Action-Packed and Unconventional Cruise Activities
Water sliding over the sea. Cruise ships often play up their pools and water parks in their advertisements, but you might not have realized how extreme some of those water parks are. The Disney AquaDuck, a flume ride on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, takes passengers over the edge of the ship—and 150 feet above the sea—in a transparent chute.
Taking in the view while suspended in a glass capsule. Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, Quantum of the Seas, will give passengers the chance to get a bird’s eye view of the ocean from inside a glass capsule called the North Star. The North Star will be raised above and over the side of the ship with a giant mechanical arm.
Completing a ropes course. As long as you don’t have a fear of heights, you can strap on a harness and try out the ropes courses on Carnival Breeze and Carnival Magic. Any passenger 4 feet or taller is allowed to use the SkyCourse.
Taking a cooking class. If you want a more hands-on approach to the food you eat on your cruise, the Oceana Marina and Oceana Riviera have their own teaching kitchens and two-hour classes in which passengers can learn how to make Greek dishes, American classics, and more.
Attending circus school. Several cruise lines (partially) let kids live out their dreams of running away to join the circus by offering classes in circus skills like juggling, spinning, and tumbling. The Quantum of the Seas circus school will even have a trapeze.
Playing in bumper cars. The Quantum of the Seas will also have the first-ever cruise ship bumper car arena.
Indoor skydiving. Here’s one more from The Quantum of the Seas—the ship will have the first on-board indoor skydiving center. Called RipCord (by iFly), the skydiving experience will take place in a 23-foot high wind tunnel that elevates passengers several feet into the air. Passengers who wish to participate will supposedly be trained in flight positions and hand signals before they get in the wind tunnel.
Injured While Participating in a Cruise Activity? Consult a Cruise Attorney
As fun and adrenaline-packed as cruise activities are designed to be, it’s still possible for accidents and injuries to occur, whether they’re due to a mechanical error, a slippery surface, a participant’s medical condition, or something else entirely. If you’re injured participating in a cruise ship activity, the cruise line might point to a waiver you signed that frees them of any liability. However, it is not impossible to take legal action against a cruise line—just challenging. Talk to an experienced cruise accident lawyer if you believe your injury was caused by a cruise line’s negligence.
About the Author:
Andrew Winston is a partner at the personal injury law firm of The Law Office of Andrew Winston. He has been recognized for excellence in the representation of injured clients by admission to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, is AV Rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, and was recently voted by his peers as a Florida “SuperLawyer”—an honor reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state—and to Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite.”
