There's pampering for women - massages, nail and hairdos, spa routines. My favorite is lying on a chaise longue on an aft deck with a book, holding a drink with a strange name and a paper parasol - while I wait for the next meal. You can also tour the captain's deck, watch the chef de cuisine carve a seahorse out of a block of ice with a saw, or visit his impressive galley. You can eat all over the ship at all times of the day from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. The ship's daily newspaper, delivered to your cabin, lists various tours for the next day's port of call.
Tours range from sedate bus excursions to scuba diving, glacier hopping or extreme adventures.
In each port, there are usually about eight different activities, but some choose to lounge around the ship, or rent a car and take off on their own. At night after dinner, there is live entertainment all over the ship. Comedians, magicians, bands, singers and Las Vegas-type revues take place in lounges, theaters and the various bars. There are games with prizes, movies, the library or working out in the gym. Just walking around the deck on some ships can make a quarter-mile moonlight stroll in one turn.