my parents are thinking about going on a cruise for new years, and shockingly enough, they want to take me and my sister with them! i'm advocating strongly for a norwegian cruise because some of their ships have ice rinks. anyone ever went on one of them? what's it like skating on the ocean? i personally think it would be awesome.

Michigansk8er took a Norwegian cruise a few months ago and packed her skates. the rink was very small she said, but she enjoyed the experience.
She said you didn't feel the movement of the ship like you might think.

She's off on another vacation this week, but she could answer any questions when she gets back.

Oh, I recall she was a little put off by the audience. People would come in and sit down and watch her. I little unerving if you don't like people watching you.

skatingatty also did one of the cruises with the rink. She had a less than positive experience, in terms of her own skating. Try searching for posts with her username and see exactly what she had to say.

Hi guys! Yep, I don't mean to sound repetitive, but I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise in August and kind of regretted it. Granted, I wasn't like the other typical cruisers-- my goal was to have a vacation AND SKATE a lot (not to sunbathe and pay $15 to play Bingo with retirees), and there were so few skating sessions on the tiny rink that I was disappointed. There were only 3 times on a 7-day cruise that they had "advanced" skating sessions for 45 minutes each. Plus, even though I was working out everyday, I still gained 2 lbs. and was terrible when I get back to the regular rink. I even fell hard on a lutz jump and my coach was probably appalled at how bad I had gotten. Maybe I was still readjusting to not being on a moving ship, so my balance was off. This was a week or 2 before the Peach Classic.

If I could do it all over again, I would've used that money and time going to an adult skating camp instead. Most people like cruises (I even met some older ladies who were on their 20th or 30th cruises), but being a skating fanatic, I was happy to get home and back into my regular skating routine. It may sound wacky to others, but nowadays I'm not really into taking vacations unless I know I can skate; it stinks to come back after a vacation and then have your skating regress!

i don't plan on doing any serious skating, just enough to satisfy my craving. besides, it seems cool. i really like cruises too though, i once won $150 at Bingo. but it doesn't look too good for the ice rink ship, they cost more money.

I love to take cruises too. My husband asked me if I wanted to take a rink cruise and I said "no". First, I am not going on a cruise to improve my backspin. I am going to relax. I also know the rink is small and times will be limited. These cruises are pricy too. I would rather go on a basic cruise and spend the extra $ on something else (assuming I could afford the extra $ to begin w/). I don't find my skating deteriorates over vacations. Sometimes a break is good. I also workout on the cruises and do a lot of walking in the ports and swimming.

Happy cruising!
Kay

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A cruise doesn't have to break the bank-- my husband got us reservations on a cruise auction site. I think it was wavesf.com (?). You can check orbitz or site59.com too for last minute cruise deals.

Hi all! I happen to be on the Voyager of the Seas right now and it has a skating rink. Unfortunately, we have been in really high seas the whole time, so the ship has been moving a lot. The skating show was great, with one guy landing a triple lutz, a triple toe, and a double axel in 12 foot seas! The first day I skated we were in 12-20 foot waves, so it was just for the "cool" factor. We only have 2 advanced sessions so I am looking forward to tomorrow's session.

I would say it is a cool, nice to have thing, but I would not plan my vacation around the rink.

Hugs!
Danielle