Cruise Ships: Favorite Hideouts and Hangouts Onboard

Would these lovers ever see each other again? Was her heart broken, or his? Would she make it up the gangplank before the ship pulled away from the dock?

We only learned the answer to that last question (darn), as we played a favorite game in one of our favorite spots on board, called Will They Make It? The game goes like this:

After returning from shore excursions, we like to park ourselves by windows

looking down on returning passengers hurrying back to the ship. Inevitably, everyone makes it back (you’ll hear the announcements if someone doesn’t) but sometimes there’s drama.

In this particular instance,  a taxi careened down the dock and deposited a beautiful young woman who tearfully scrambled out, still clinging to her handsome guy as they said their goodbyes. As she ran up the gangplank waving frantically, he blew kisses. She made it, but barely; we suspect she might have left her heart behind in that particular location.

We’ll never know, and that’s ok. She may have been cruise staff, one of hundreds who live itinerant lives on board (we thought we recognized her from a ship show). Makes sense that farewells would be a necessary part of her lifestyle at sea.

I avoided cruises for the longest time, convinced that 2500 people at sea in the same confined space just had to be a tragic situation. Little did I know how easy it is to find quiet, special spots on a huge ship. It helps that we avoid crowded attractions like art auctions, jewelry sales, or the pool deck on a sunny day, where sometimes it’s impossible to find an empty lounge chair.

Here are a few of our other favorites:

 INDOOR POOL AND SPAS

AT 7:30 pm crowds fill the ship bars, music venues, and restaurants. So we eat early, then

head up for a soak after dinner. Usually, we’re the only ones in the spa – heaven! (Obviously, this only works if you’re not a night owl.)

CRACK OF DAWN COFFEE STATION

I know from personal experience there are a few others like me onboard, who head up hunting for coffee at 5:00 am. I’ve met them, and we know where the one active coffee station going at that hour resides. I love roaming the public areas at this hour, the decks to myself (except for other early risers and crew). If the weather’s warm, I lean on the rail to enjoy glorious views as our ship makes its way into the next port.

 KARAOKE AND TRIVIA

We aren’t partiers (obviously), we don’t sing, and we both suck at Trivia. Yet some new cruise friends showed us how entertaining it is to hang out with other passengers, just having fun.

On our last cruise we struck up a friendship with one of the ship’s piano singers while on shore excursions in Denmark and Berlin. Lyndon was a history buff like us, so he helped escort tours to historical sites when the ship was in port. Trained as a classical pianist, at night he performed in the ship’s Karaoke bar, attracting a dedicated passenger fan base. We stayed up late  to watch him perform (wow he was good!). Very fun, especially watching the amateurs sing – what a hoot.

Our other new cruise friends were Trivia game fans and invited us to play (we didn’t help them win, trust me). Most ships hold free, no-pressure trivia games at least once a day because they’re so popular. Great fun, and an excellent way to meet people.

THE VIEW BAR

My very favorite of all, even though my wild party days are long gone. Every ship has one of these, positioned on a top deck with smashing ocean views. Late at night it’s crowded with dancers and drinkers. During the early morning and all day until around 3:00 pm? Mostly empty, a few readers and viewers sprinkled here and there.

And that’s where you’ll find me more often than not, watching the watery world go by with a book or two in hand. It’s also a perfect place to hang out when the weather turns stormy (so fun to watch storms when safe behind glass).

On our Baltic cruise’s last day, I purposely made it to the view bar by 4:00 am to witness the ship’s approach to Stockholm, Sweden, through the chain of islands known as the Swedish Archipelago. Scandinavia’s ‘midnight sun’ was up, and a few others had joined me for the show. Upon reaching Stockholm, we planned to fly to my great-grandfather’s original homeland on nearby islands. So I was thinking about my ancestor, a sea captain who surely piloted vessels through these very waters, once upon a time.

After awhile, another passenger sat down at the nearby piano to softly play a few familiar songs for us. When he started playing Bless My Homeland Forever, I couldn’t help but choke up with sadness and pride. By necessity, my great-grandfather was forced to leave his homeland, on view before me, a glorious emerald island paradise. But because he left, his great-granddaughter grew up to have the most blessed life, in a new homeland, far away.

And today, my great-grandpa the sea captain would no doubt be at the helm of one of these massive cruise ships, piloting her safely through island waters, somewhere in this wide, wonderful world.