What to do while on board?

The cruise line wants you to have fun, so there is no lack of entertaining things to do on board; everywhere from embarrasing yourself, to simply finding a quite corner for a nap. Fact is, you'll likely never see any of these people again, so enjoy yourself and have fun. Some people have characterized some cruise ships as floating Las-Vegas palaces, and I suppose there is some truth to that; however, you can participate in the party-atmosphere or simply find a quiet area and rest up. There are some adult-only areas on board, including a pool area, and it is a farily relaxed atmosphere compared to the more-energetic main pool areas. Ships typically have 2 to 4 pools, as well as several hot-tubs.

You may be surprised that on some ships, the pools are filled with salt-water. On one hand, this kind of adds to the flavor of being at sea, but it probably has more to do with the ship's ability to produce fresh water.

If you are into an active lifestyle, the ships have nice excersize areas so that you can eat those decedant desserts without feeling guilty. The top deck is also marked off for a running track; although at sea with a 15kt headwind, you may find it hard to run around the track. As the ship is travelling 20kts or so, a 15kt head wind will add to the apparent 35kt (40Mph) wind you will feel. Blowing your hair back is certainly not over-over-estimated. Depending on the ship and cruise line, you may also find a basketball courts, flow riders, rock climbing walls, waterslides, and even ice skating rinks!

On a seven day cruise, there are typically two or more "at-sea" days, because travelling at 20 kts, the distance between Florida and the islands you will be visiting takes some time to get to. Those days are usually relaxing, but also filled with all sorts of activities from belly-flop contests in the pool, trivia contests, bingo, and taking a nap if you wish to.

While on board, you can even book your next cruise. A representative of the cruise line maintains an office on-board and you can book the next cruise. Often, you will receive some sort of discount, on-board ship credit, or other incentive. When you book on-board, your tragel agent (if you have one) will get credit for the booking, and they will then service the booking for you.

One of the cool things your stateoom attendant will do is to make an animal sculpture out of the nightly delivery of towels. They are so neat that I almost feel bad about using the towel to shower. But a new "animal" will appear the next evening.

Your stateroom attendant will also turn down your bed in the evening, as well as deliver a flyer describing the next day's activities, with the evening's entertainment, schedule of events, and other information you may need.