What Do you Do on a Cruise if You Don’t Like Broadway-Style Shows?

My husband and I have taken two cruises in the past year. One 10 day and a seven day, and never once did we watch a show.

What were we doing on all those sea days? (We experienced three ocean days on one voyage.) And why do we avoid the shows?

Well, I’ll tell you. We can’t sit still…Neither one of us. No matter how wonderful the production is, we will be out the door at intermission, no question.

And no, we didn’t run out of things to do. In fact, we found we love mini golf! And got a lot of steps in on the Enchanted Princess’s outdoor track.

We also enjoyed watching the incredible sunsets from the Lido deck.

Some people love to dance the night away, while others (like us) are early risers and like to simply relax on the ship. And you need it! Excursion days are often hectic.

We are cruising to Cozumel next year on Legend of the Seas, and plan to do a nine hour hike in Tulum, touring the ruins.

The posters in this Reddit thread tended to agree with me. The OP was wondering why, during her last Celebrity European cruise, the shows were not well-attended. People commented that probably passengers were too exhausted from shore excursions to make it through a performance.

Although, someone chimed in that often, depending on the ship and the itinerary, the attendance may be higher.

For instance, European itineraries seemed to visit more ports than say a Southern Caribbean journey. So, there is more pressure to see every port and at the end of the day, you’re simply too worn out to enjoy a performance.

One commenter suggested that newer, bigger ships offer better entertainment. Is that really true?

One commenter on this Reddit thread suggested that the bigger ships don’t necessarily offer better entertainment, simply more choices:

“For instance, the evening entertainment on an Oasis class ship you'll typically have the following options: the Aquatheater acrobatics show, the main theater Broadway style production, probably some type of comedy or game show, the ice skating rink show, and live music in a couple of different places. On a small ship you're typically getting just one option.”

Another poster said he never cruises for the entertainment. For him, cruising is all about relaxation:

“Personally I prefer a ship with less than 2000. I don’t need a climbing wall, go carts, pool slides. I want my cocktails in the shade while I listen to audiobooks on my headphone as I stare into the ocean. I want excursions with less than 20 people. I want to learn about where we are visiting.”

That’s how my husband and I feel. We choose a specific cruise based mainly on the itinerary and the fewest sea days possible that will get us to our destination.

For instance, right now I am looking for a cruise to Aruba and Curacao. Trying to find the largest boat (seasickness) with the fewest ocean days.

Three days at sea is pushing it. four days is a non-starter. Even though it looks fascinating, and we are able to work onboard usually, an 18 day South American itinerary may not be in the immediate future for us.

But that’s the beauty of cruising. There is no one-size-fits-all. Everyone boards the ship with a different plan in mind, and sometimes that plan goes by the wayside.

We ”accidentally” watched a cooking demonstration and a talk about exotic birds while we happened to be sitting nearby, and found both really interesting.

I don’t know. We might stop by the comedy club on our next journey. I heard a lot of them are really funny.