Exercise your mind on a cruise ship

Cruise ships are truly a floating vacation paradise. It offers numerous activities for every interest and age group imaginable. On a typical cruise you can enjoy exquisite dinning, swim, dance, do rock climbing, go to the movies, enjoy professional Broadway shows, concerts, experience the latest in spa treatments and visit exotic places around the world. Did you know that you can also exercise your grey matter?

Cruise ships offer lectures and seminars on a variety of subjects. Here are just a few: cooking, wine tasting, computer, glass blowing, cultural (depending on the countries the ship is visiting), ceramics, photography, investment strategies, decorating, and the list go on and on. Of course, enrichment activities differ from cruise line to cruise line and even from ship to ship.

The Holland America cruise line offers the Culinary Arts Center which is a world class demonstration kitchen. They also offer a digital workshop powered by Microsoft that teaches how to take better vacation photos, make movies and edit pictures. This is one of their newest features and is complimentary to their onboard guests.

Cunard cruise line ship the Queen Mary 2 offers study in renaissance art; classes in painting with water colors; acting classes with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and a workshop on oceanography.

Princess cruise calls their enrichment program Scholarship@Sea. They offer hands on classes on digital photography, wine tasting, culinary demonstrations, ceramic paintings and scrapbooking. Lectures offered include computer skills and multimedia presentation highlighting cruise ship operation.

Celebrity cruise gives lectures on Chinese medicine 101; De-mystifying nutrition – an intuitive approach and digital photography. They also offer wine tasting.

Almost all ships have a library or café where guests can relax and enjoy a good book. Art galleries are also found in most ships. Guests can learn more about their port of call through destination speakers that offer historical and cultural insights. Enrichment programs are also popular on repositioning cruises but as more ships are being built, cruise lines are including enrichment programs to entice guests. To learn more about repositioning cruises read my blog on the subject.

These programs give guests a chance to try something they’ve always wanted to try but never found the time to do so. Also, guests can try things they will never dream of trying and discover a whole new experience. If you are interested in a particular enrichment program, check with the cruise ship to see if they offer it.  Almost all programs are complimentary but there may be a fee so always ask ahead. 

If you have participated in enrichment activities on cruise ships, share your experiences with others in our forum.