Ten fabulously OTT things you can do on a cruise
- Filed under:
Cruises
Share
Text Size
A
A
A
Seabourn Odyssey
From real grass lawns to gold leaf facials, modern cruise companies are going out of their way to offer some extraordinarily decadent and quirky experiences at sea. We asked Liz Jarvis, Editor of Cruise International, to select some of her faves...
Totally over the top things to do on a cruise
- Have a picnic on a real grass lawn<p> As any expert cruiser will tell you, trees are not uncommon on cruise ships - but some now have living lawns to boot. You can play a game of tennis, golf, or just sit and have a picnic. On a ship. At sea. It doesn't get any more surreal than that.</p>
- Treat yourself to a 24 karat gold leaf facial<p> There is something deliciously decadent about having a pampering session at sea – treatment rooms usually look out on the ocean and ship spa menus tend to be very creative, with treatments ranging from gold leaf facials to ancient Arabian cleansing rituals and couples' full body massages.</p>
- Get a celebrity chef to cook for you<p> Celebrity chef cruises are all the rage. Take the Ventura, for example, which also boasts Marco Pierre White's The White Room as one of its restaurants. You can also choose to have balcony dining – eating al fresco on your own balcony, attended to by a personal waiter. But perhaps the grandest dining experience is the Queen's Grill restaurant on board the Queen Mary 2, where the food is served on Wedgewood china, and the drinks in Waterford crystal. You'll have to book a suite to eat there though. Lobster with cognac and truffle washed down with champers, anyone?</p>
- Have a personal butler cater to your every whim<p> If you've ever dreamed of being waited on hand and foot, butlers are becoming increasingly popular on cruise lines, particularly on ships which have a 'cruise within a cruise' option, where you stay in a more exclusive area of the vessel. Your butler will arrange for your dry-cleaning to be done, bring you breakfast in bed, polish your shoes and pretty much anything else you need. Warning: you'll probably become so attached to your butler you'll want to bring them home. Unfortunately this is frowned upon.</p>
- Walk on water<p> Well, not quite. But Princess Cruises' Royal Princess<em> </em>offers the Seawalk – an enclosed glass bottom-walkway extending from the top deck more than 20 feet over the side of the ship. So you can see the ocean, 128 feet below...</p>
- Play a grand piano in your own suite<p> The majestic Penthouse suite on board P&O's Aurora has a grand piano, plus a spiral staircase. Think of the parties you could throw. (And if your repertoire only extends to Chopsticks, no one will judge you. It's your suite.)</p>
- See stars at a floating planetarium<p> Guests on the Queen Mary II can view the Northern and Southern hemisphere's astronomical delights from the comfort of a 150-seat illuminated theatre with a domed ceiling. Guest presenters will tell you everything you need to know about the wonders of the night sky, and in the evenings you get to go to the top deck to check out the sky and put your knowledge to the test.</p>
- Dive off the ship<p> Some smaller luxury ships, for example Seabourn's <em>Spirit</em>, have their own retractable water sports marina which bring you down to sea level so you can go diving, snorkelling, sailing, windsurfing or kayaking, right from the ship. Pretty cool.</p>
- Chill out in an ice bar<p> On some ships you can enjoy martinis at the perfect temperature. Freezing. Particularly useful if you happen to be cruising somewhere hot. The ice bar aboard the Norwegian Epic comes complete with ice statues and faux fur accessories...</p>
- See a Broadway show<p> Love a show tune? Big cruise ships all boast huge-capacity theatres where you can see high-calibre shows, including many West End and Broadway hits – often only slightly truncated versions of the originals. We challenge you to fault one of the amazing shows on board Carnival Magic or P&O's Arcadia cruises, for example.</p>
Related articles
Are these the most luxurious cruise cabins ever?
