A cruise ship is my favorite place to vacation, but there are a few areas of the ship I rarely, if ever, visit.
Cruising is a matter of style, and I've learned everyone cruises different. That's part of this vacation's charm: it's not the same experience for everyone. You could get on the ship and spend it all in your cabin, or go and be the life of the party at the different events onboard.
I hate to make generalizations because I try to experience as much of a cruise as I can, but I've found there are a few spots I just don't go to anymore.
It could be because my personal cruising style has changed, or I simply have no interest in it. Keeping in mind that this isn't meant to be a list of places you shouldn't go. Rather, I'm sharing my own experience.
Call me crazy, but these are the six places I really never go to on a Royal Caribbean ship.
Sports court
Insert your own comment here about a blogger that doesn't spend much time at the sports court, but I'll own it.
Any time of day, I'll see plenty of people playing basketball, pickleball, soccer, or volleyball on the sports court of a ship. I just never had the urge to go.
Royal Caribbean offers organized games as well as "free play", and it's an opportunity to get out and play a favorite game.
I think my disdain for the sports court has less to do with the activities offered, but rather it's usually exceptionally hot on the sports court. There's no shade and most months of the year, I'd start sweating before my first volley or basket.
I think I've been on the sports court engaged in a game twice that I can recall: when pickleball first got added to ships, I remember playing a game once on Mariner of the Seas. And the other time was badminton in the SeaPlex on Odyssey of the Seas.
DJ dance parties
Even in my college days, I never loved a really loud dance party. So it's no surprise I don't get into the offerings on a cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean's dance parties have become quite popular, from the fleetwide Red party to the new offerings on Utopia of the Seas.
One of the sure fire signs you're getting old is when the music at a party always seems too loud, so I guess that's me.
Just like the sports court, there's plenty of other cruisers to take my place at the dance parties onboard.
Royal Promenade dancing
If your Royal Caribbean ship has a Royal Promenade, then there will be a few evenings where there's a dance party held here.
This is more of a "street party" vibe than the DJ music I touched up on earlier.
My issue with these dance parties is they seem passé and clichéd in the sense Royal Caribbean has been doing them forever it seems, and many are rooted in an aging demographic.
Besides the theme or music preferences, my bigger issue with the Royal Promenade parties is it shuts down everything else on the promenade. It's like the muster drill of entertainment.
Cruising has many traditions, and the street party is one of them that I wouldn't mind see retired.
Read more: What it was like to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the 1970s
Art auctions
Another activity that's seemingly been on cruise ships forever are the art auctions, and this was a "one and done" for me.
To be fair, I'm not a connoisseur of fine art by any means. If you're into all of this stuff, that is wonderful. Just know that it isn't necessarily a bargain — no matter what the salespeople try to tell you.
Read more: I went to the controversial cruise ship activity to see if its reputation is as bad as I've read
Card room/Library
Every Royal Caribbean ship has a few public spaces for gatherings, such as a card room or library.
I understand why these spaces exist, but I'd rather go to the art auction because at least something would be happening there. I'm not against quiet spaces, but I have no desire to go hang out in one of these places.
If I was going to read, I'd rather go to the pool deck, balcony, or promenade deck seating areas.
For what it's worth, I think Royal Caribbean also punted on the idea too. Icon of the Seas, their newest ship design, has no library intentionally.
FlowRider
Proving I have no athletic ability, I'll add one more physical activity on a cruise ship you will never, ever find me on.
Royal Caribbean made a name for itself when it added its first FlowRider surf simulator to one of its ships.
As advertised, you can actually learn to surf on a cruise ship and I've seen plenty of people love it.
It's free to try, and a really neat activity.
I not only have no good sense of balance, but can also foresee my own demise on this thing trying to stand up and then subsequently faceplanting. Bathing suit flying off at the same time, optional.
Most people seem to love trying it out, and I'll gladly watch from the nearby seats.
