Top 10 Things to Do on a Cruise on a Rainy Day

If you’ve taken enough cruises, chances are you’re going to experience your fair share of rainy days while at sea.  On my last cruise it was cloudy or rainy almost the entire trip, so it inspired me to write this post on some fun things you can still do even if the skies are a little foreboding.  Don’t let a little rain ruin your vacation.

These are my top 10 things to do on a rainy day at sea but feel free to add your own to the list in the comment section below.

Spend some time in the spa

No matter how much rain is pouring out of the sky it will always be calming and relaxing in the spa.  Besides getting a facial or some other treatments you can always just enjoy watching the storm from the warm tepidarium or sauna if the ship has these features.  There is usually an indoor hot tub in the spa as well, and this is a great place to avoid the rain while enjoying some relaxation.

Check out a book from the library

The library on a cruise ship is often overlooked by most passengers.  You will not find a vast array of books here, but it’s a nice place to sit and read and get away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the ship.  And besides finding a few good books to read during your cruise you can also check out some games to play with your cruise mate or family.

Hit the arcade

Even if video games aren’t really your thing you should check out the arcade at least once anyway.  My wife and I seem to always end up playing air hockey on every cruise we go on, in addition to a competitive game of skee-ball.  You might have to endure some adolescent interaction, but a rainy day is a great time to feel like a kid again.  Just remember that the cost of those arcade games adds up fast on your cruise account. It catches me by surprise every time.

Order room service and enjoy the storm from your balcony

This is an activity I look forward to the most every time it starts to rain at sea, provided the wind is not blowing the rain onto the balcony of course.   With some food delivered by the room service staff you can simply enjoy watching the rain from your balcony.  The rain at sea is so different from watching it on land, and it provides quite the relaxing spectacle in my opinion.

Karaoke

Even if you don’t feel like singing your heart out  in front of a bunch of strangers you will probably never see again anyway, it’s always fun to listen to the singing talent (or lack thereof) on board.  Check the ship’s itinerary but there is almost always karaoke going on, especially on a sea day.

Find a covered  place to watch the pool deck TV screen

As soon as it starts raining the lounge chairs on the pool deck usually clear pretty quickly, but you can sometimes find a place that is covered and still has a view of the pool deck TV screen.  But even if watching what’s on the screen isn’t your thing it’s a fun place to people watch as well.

Get a galley tour on the cruise ship

Not every cruise line offers a galley tour for free, but often on sea days you can get the tour as an excursion.  It’s a fun thing to do if you’ve never seen the inner-workings of the kitchen, and it really is amazing how the well-trained staff serves so much quality food on a daily basis.

Watch a movie in your cabin

In your cabin you will be able to watch a number of newly released movies.  The charge for each movie will be applied to your on board account and usually you will have 24 hours to watch the movie.  And while some would think it crazy to be in a cruise cabin watching the television on vacation, others will find it the perfect way to relax on a rainy day at sea.

Get a workout at the gym

Now I know a few readers will be very opposed to this idea as well (after all, a cruise is time to do nothing, right?), but the gym is a great place to get out of the rain but still be active.  This is for those who can’t stand to sit still.  They can still enjoy watching the rain storm while burning a few calories from the chocolate melting cake.

Explore the ship

Cruise ships have so many little hidden gems that most cruisers will overlook simply because they didn’t take the time to read over the daily itinerary or explore the ship.  I always enjoy roaming the ship and exploring each floor to find rooms and spaces I didn’t know existed before.  Just make sure you don’t go anywhere that’s off limits.

 So what would you add to your list?  Let us know what you like to do when it rains on a cruise in the comments below.

Technology and the shipboard library

By Tom Stieghorst

The ship’s library has always been a small but special part of the cruise experience. But for how much longer?  

The library at sea, like libraries everywhere, is under siege by changing technology. And whether ships need to set aside space for libraries in the future is very much being debated as new ships are designed.

Carnival cruise director and blogger extraordinaire John Heald said in a recent posting that the library on the recent transatlantic crossing of the Carnival Legend was full of books.   

"One thing all those transatlantic crossings had in common was that the library, by the end of the first sea day, sat entirely empty," Heald wrote. “Here on the Carnival Legend, the bookcases are full.

"Yep, the book is dead, long live the Kindle. Every deck I walk on, I see young and old reading their Kindles."

Even on an ocean crossing with presumably few younger, tech-savvy passengers on the manifest, the library remains fully stocked, Heald said: “Wherever I am, I see older people and their parents absorbed in their Kindles.”

Perhaps that’s just Carnival. Maybe the magnificent libraries on the Cunard Line fleet have emptier shelves on their Atlantic trips. But on most ships where space is at a premium, the library is an endangered species.

At the next major drydock nothing prevents a ship’s library from being converted to some other use. Heald suggested perhaps a cigar bar (a suggestion likely made for for comic effect, but maybe not.)

The trend is on display on Carnival Sunshine, the ship Carnival renovated from stem to stern earlier this year. While the library wasn’t eliminated or converted to another use, it now shares space with a bar.
Carnival is in the process of designing the next ship to set sail under its red and blue banner, the Carnival Vista. With Kindles in the hands of passengers young and old, it may well be the first Carnival ship without a library.

In his post Heald referred to a bookstore in Miami that he said was possibly a Borders, which he liked to visit when he comes to Miami. “It would not surprise me that, when I return there in November, it’s become a Walgreens or worse, a gym,” he wrote.

If in fact it was a Borders, it closed two years ago, along with the rest of the chain’s stores.  The Borders on South Dixie Highway in Miami reopened last week as a Trader Joe’s specialty market. 

At least it’s not a gym.