Ice Skating on the Ocean

Want to go ziplining today? Ice skating tomorrow? Play croquet on the lawn the following day? Take a cruise!

Croquet by the sea

These are not excursion activities—you can do each one of these onboard a mainstream cruise ship. The cruise lines keep pumping out new and bigger ships—trade association CLIA reports that in 2012, 12 new ships were launched with 17,774 additional beds.
 

A rocky climb to a higher deck

With all these extra beds to fill, the cruise lines keep trying to outdo themselves with new ways to vie for vacationers. It’s not enough these days to just have port stops, private islands, all the food you could want, multiple pools, lectures, contests, shows and comedians, libraries, Internet cafes, entertainment everywhere all the time, dance lessons, cooking demos, TVs in every stateroom, shops, art auctions, bingo games…



The innovations are good news for you and me—it means there’s always a new “wow” right around the corner. And there are already plenty of wows to keep us captivated right now. See if you can match up the following activities with one of these cruise lines—Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess or Holland America (answers are at the bottom):

Making a splash on the wave machine

1.  Ziplining
2. Outdoor movie theater
3. Ice skating rink
4. Lawn croquet
5. Carousel
6. Indonesia tea ceremony
7. Surfing
8. Glass-blowing demos
9. Rock-climbing

Royal Caribbean has some novelties about to debut this November on the new 167,800-ton Quantum of the Seas. Bumper cars and a sky-diving simulator are only two of the coming attractions for the thrill-seeking set. If you've never cruised before because you're worried you'll get bored, you might want to think again!

Answers to quiz above:
1) Royal Caribbean; 2) Princess; 3) Royal Caribbean; 4) Celebrity; 5) Royal Caribbean; 6) Holland America; 7) Royal Caribbean; 8) Celebrity; 9) Royal Caribbean