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On a brilliantly sunny day at sea, for example, you might meander out to the pool only to find it overrun with fellow sun-worshippers , all fighting over the same few dozen deck chairs. Throngs of splashing, laughing children will have taken over the pools and the hot tubs, and the sound of the waves will have been drowned out by an outdoor movie’s soundtrack, the resident reggae band or a raucous belly-flop contest.
But, if you try just a little harder, peace is still possible to find. You can rent a private cabana for a few hours, or claim a lounger in an adults-only section of the deck. You can retreat to the spa or to the pool on a sunny shore day, when everyone else is exploring off the ship. The bottom line? Cruising can be equal parts amped-up and low-key, sociable and solitary. What you personally experience may depend on where you are on the ship at a certain time of day, which ship or cruise line you’ve chosen, the itinerary and how much extra you’re willing to budget for your vacation. While there are no hard and fast rules guaranteeing a quiet getaway, we’ve compiled some basic tips to help you tune out distractions — and fellow passengers — while you cruise. But first, here’s what to avoid as you aim for a serene sailing:
Now, our top tips for finding peace and quiet when you cruise: Accommodations
Live at the spa. Spa suites and cabins, a recent trend on cruise ships, allow passengers to create their own spa-themed experiences onboard with accommodations near the spa, V.I.P. spa privileges and soothing in-cabin amenities like spa showers and yoga mats. However, perks vary widely from line to line. Residents in AquaClass cabins on someCelebrity Cruises ships get unlimited access to the spa’s Persian Garden aromatherapy steam room and Relaxation Room, as well as access to their own specialty, healthy-eating restaurant called Blu.Costa Cruises passengers booked in Samsara Spa cabins or suites receive two spa treatments, two fitness classes, unlimited use of the thalassotherapy pool and a reserved table in the Samsara restaurant. Other lines with spa accommodations include Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland Americaand NCL. Spend your way to quiet times. Classed cruising is making a comeback, so you can spend more money to maximize privacy and R&R. Book a Courtyard Villa on an NCL ship to enjoy spacious accommodations and a luxe ship-within-a-ship experience. Onboard Norwegian Epic, for example, villa residents have exclusive access to their own pool and sundeck, gym, dining and nightclub facilities. On Cunard ships, Queen’s Grill passengers have their own dining rooms, sun decks and lounge areas, not to mention fabulous accommodations — including two-floor luxury duplexes onQueen Mary 2 — and butler service. Book a kid-friendly cabin. If you’re traveling with the family, minimize your stress by booking a cabin designed with families in mind. Disney cabins come with a split bathroom design (a toilet and sink on one side, a shower/tub and sink on the other), allowing you to maximize the efficiency of kids’ daily bath-and-bedtime routines — and consequently maximize pleasurable downtime for you. Family cabins on lines like Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises and Celebrity offer separate bedrooms for kids, or at least partitions between the pullout sofas and the master bed, so parents can stay up with the light on while the little ones are tucked in their beds. Pay attention to location. Cabins on some ships don’t shut out ambient noise entirely, so if you want a blissfully quiet in-cabin experience, make sure the laundry room, elevators or other noisy public facilities aren’t within earshot. (That includes above or below your cabin.) Waking up early due to loud conversations in the laundry room across the hall or being kept awake due to the thumping disco overhead does not make for a relaxing getaway. Dining
Try breakfast (or lunch, or dinner) in bed. You’ll be guaranteed a table for two when you choose to dine in your cabin. Try breakfast in bed, lunch on your balcony and dinner at the table in your cabin. Some lines go above and beyond to turn room service into an event. Princess Cruises’ Ultimate Balcony Dinner (for an extra fee) features a course-by-course meal with soothing ocean views and perks like souvenir photos. Luxury lines like Silversea and Seabourn offer course-by-course in-cabin dining from the menu in the main restaurant, free of charge. Consider the alternative. Large and small ships these days are offering bistro-style “alternative” restaurants, where you’ll need to book ahead and (in many cases) pay extra for a more intimate dining experience. However, you can easily make reservations for a table for two and avoid forced socialization with other passengers. Options run the gamut from upscale (Carnival’s steakhouses) and quirky (Celebrity’s Qsine), to exotic (Holland America’s Tamarind), theatrical (NCL’s Cirque Dreams and Dinner) and casual (Royal Caribbean’s Johnny Rockets). Eat off-peak. Even with flexible dining, a full dining room can mean the only choice you’re offered is whether to share a table for eight or ten. Plan to arrive for dinner once the rush is over or before it’s begun to maximize your chances of snagging a quieter table for two. Eat ashore. For a truly authentic meal in a foreign clime, port days await. Lunch ashore is always a possibility, since you typically won’t need to hoof it back to the ship until around 5 or 7 p.m. Ocean-going lines like Star Clippers and SeaDream, as well as most river cruises, may stay ashore well into the evening or overnight, affording plenty of time for relaxing dinners. Not only will you not have to sit with people you don’t know, but you may not even be able to understand the non-English conversations at the tables next to yours. Itineraries Cruise intensively. A port-intensive itinerary means you’ll be off the ship for much of the cruise, exploring the world meaningfully on your own at your own pace — and avoiding idle chatter with fellow passengers whenever it suits. Windstar Cruises and Oceania Cruises are two lines that keep sea days to a minimum and emphasize time in port. Look for itineraries with overnights in port to further maximize your time ashore.
Choose the route less traveled. Boutique, expedition and small-ship lines have a distinct advantage over mainstream mega-ships: they fit into smaller, lesser-known ports and can deliver blissfully crowd-free shore days. On its coastal route,Hurtigruten‘s shore-hugging ships visit 34 ports over six or seven days to deliver people, goods and mail along the Norwegian coast, giving you an opportunity to explore non-touristy ports. Or, choose a cruise to Antarctica or off-the-beaten-path Alaska on an expedition line like Lindblad Expeditions orAmerican Safari Cruises, where the biggest crowds in “port” may consist of seabirds, penguins or seals. To avoid the tourist hoards in the Caribbean or Europe, look to SeaDream Yacht Club or Star Clippers to slip into little coves and harbors — or enjoy blissful days of water play from the ships’ water sports marina. Play the numbers game. Ships can theoretically sail above 100 percent occupancy because that percentage is based on the traditional assumption of two passengers per cabin — when in fact cabins may hold three or four people, or more. To guarantee you don’t end up on an overly full cruise, avoid peak-season cruises, especially during school holidays. Try Alaska in May or September, the Caribbean in the fall or Europe in the late winter or early spring. Alternately, try a less-popular type of cruise. For example, repositioning cruises — so named because the ships are switching from one cruising region to another — take place in the off-peak months of spring or fall and tend to be long, transoceanic journeys or oddball itineraries. Because of this unusual style and timing, these cruises are often cheaper and less crowded. In Port Go it alone. Explore ports of call independently or, if you have the means, hire a private car, with or without a private tour guide to show you around town. You’ll have more flexibility compared to a ship-organized tour, and it can be less exhausting because you can sightsee as you please, avoiding shopping stops or attractions that aren’t of interest and avoiding long waits while the tour guide leading a large group struggles to round up wayward stragglers. Escape private island crowds. Cruise line private islands offer pristine beaches, plenty of water sports and lunches that don’t cost extra. But with everyone in the same small space, it can be no more relaxing than being on the ship’s sun deck. To escape, rent a private cabana where you can have some space to yourself and perhaps splurge on an al fresco massage. Plus, having a place to shower, change and store your stuff will keep your island visit hassle-free. Stay onboard. Avoid irritating lineups for tenders, aggressive touts and jam-packed beaches and souvenir shops by remaining on the ship when it anchors in a popular port. You can breeze through the buffet at lunchtime, and spa treatments are easy to come by (and often discounted). And remember that perfectly positioned deck chair by the pool you’ve eyed all cruise long? Now’s the time to nab it. On the Ship
Walk (or sit) the promenade. Even party ships harbor quiet places to tune out the rest of the world. The outside strolling area known as the promenade is a great place to start on any ship. It’s far from the pool-deck action, isn’t a connect point between major public rooms and often comes with deck furniture for reading or napping. Some promenade decks wrap around the entire ship and are great for walking. For example, on Disney ships and Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, the promenade decks double as jogging tracks with incredible views — try them instead of a busy gym. Let the experts direct you. Concierges, private butlers or the guest services desk know their ships’ quiet nooks. If you’re looking for an out-of-the-way retreat, ask these staffers for suggestions. Their insider tips can help you find the ideal chill-out location. Zone out in an adult-only enclave. More and more ships these days are discreetly separating under-18’s from their parents in order to maximize peaceful coexistence of all concerned. The Sanctuary on Princess ships, The Retreat on P&O Cruises‘ vessels and Carnival’s Serenity deck areas are places to grab drinks and sun loungers for blissfully kid-free afternoons. You won’t be able to get away entirely from fellow frazzled parents — these spots do tend to fill up — but you can certainly avoid chit-chat by donning earphones and listening to MP3’s or simply closing your eyes. Or, if you really want to close the curtains on the outside world, rent a private cabana on Oceania or Holland America and wile away the day, lounging in solitude — with perhaps a visit every now and then from an attendant bringing fruit skewers and refreshing drinks. Relax around the clock. Night owls have the run of the ship while everyone else is asleep. Turn insomnia to your advantage, and read a book in an empty lounge or library, enjoy a midnight snack at the buffet, or gaze at the stars out on deck. It’s amazing how alone you can feel on a 3,000-person vessel! |
Cruising conjures visions of languidly flip-flopping up to some teak-swathed covered pool deck to enjoy a margarita and a good book under the Caribbean sun. But , while there certainly are opportunities for downtime, depending on the cruise, you may have to look harder to find them.
Inside cabins. Don’t book a windowless, cheerless, 150-square-foot stateroom cabin if your idea of relaxation means spending time alone or as a couple, away from cruising’s stereotypically chummy, social scene. Living in cramped quarters only forces you out more into the ship’s hustle and bustle.
Sitting down to pick the right cruise for your next vacation is like going to a speed-dating event. You can’t take all day getting to know someone, but you need to figure out whether your personalities match. In cruise parlance, that translates to the fact there are tons of lines from which to choose — but who’s got the time to winnow out the mismatches? While cruise lines try to persuade travelers they can offer an all-things-to-all-people onboard experience, we’re increasingly seeing them carve out distinctive lifestyle niches. Celebrity is aiming at the spa and gourmet traveler, Carnival’s focusing on mass-appeal food and entertainment, and Royal Caribbean is targeting active families.
Royal Caribbean: The line’s tricked-out mega-ships are a hit with tweens and teens, offering everything from rock-climbing walls and onboard surfing to DJ classes, zip lines, high-energy shows and late-night free pizza. Teen clubs feature the latest in video games plus disco and lounge space.
Royal Caribbean: Boxing? Check. Ice skating? Got it. Surfing, rock climbing, basketball, jogging track and huge gyms with cardio machines, free weights and weight machines, and class space for Pilates, cycling and aerobics? It’s all there. Add in active shore tours (kayaking, hiking and more) and plenty of space for dancing the night away, and you’ve got a fitness lover’s dream cruise.
Carnival: The Fun Ship line has always been king of the budget cruise offerings. A variety of short itineraries, frequent promotions and plenty of close-to-home sailings allow you to get a vacation at sea for less. Plus, the line is committed to making onboard amenities accessible to all, and many of its new entertainment and dining options are included in the fare (unlike on other lines, where every new feature seems to come with an extra fee).
Crystal: Crystal made onboard enrichment a priority before other lines decided “edu-tainment” was cool. Its Creative Learning Institute offers computer skills training, language classes, golf instruction and art workshops, as well as cooking demos and music lessons. Guest lecturers are always on hand to speak about region-specific topics, as well as popular interests such as political science, current affairs, food and wine, astronomy, and art and antiques. Theme sailings bring in big names to speak or perform.
Norwegian: Norwegian ships have an array of watering holes, from the bordello-meets-bowling-themed Bliss Ultra Lounge to Epic’s chilly Svedka Ice Bar and specialty venues focusing on beer, whiskey, cocktails or champagne. Norwegian’s signature White Hot Party is the hottest dance party aboard, where cruisers come dressed in white and the entertainment staff, bedecked with angel wings, keep the fun going with line dances and the like. We’ve also heard some mighty impressive karaoke on these ships.
Disney: Disney knows the entertainment biz better than anyone, and that shows in its cruise line offerings as well. Its onboard stage shows mix original productions with live versions of hit movies like Aladdin and Toy Story, but all feature catchy tunes, creative props and costumes, and favorite Disney characters. Its best known event is its once-a-cruise pirate-themed deck party, which combines an interactive musical show with dance parties and at-sea fireworks.
Windstar: Water lovers have two reasons to love Windstar. First, the line’s masted sailing yachts have plenty of open deck space under billowing sails, giving that sea-wind-in-your-hair feel. Second, the ships offer complimentary water sports from a built-in onboard marina. You can borrow kayaks, windsurf boards, small sailboats, and inflatable boats and mats. Passengers have access to free snorkel equipment, and water-skiing is offered by the ship’s staff.
Norwegian: Norwegian’s much acclaimed Studio cabins proved to the world that solo travelers aren’t always overlooked. On Norwegian Epic, 128 solo cabins measure 100 square feet each and have a corridor-facing window, mood lighting and access to a shared social space with large-screen TVs, coffee-making facilities and a bartender. Norwegian Getaway has 59 studio cabins, with access to a two-deck lounge, complete with a 50-inch TV and a self-service wine bar, as well as a tea and coffee machine. Pride of America features just four studios, with a tiny communal living area.
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