Cruise Diary: Fun Activities at Sea For the Entire Family
Carsten Korch, Chief Editor and Founder of Peru this Week, is currently sailing aboard Veendam’s 21-Day South America and Antarctica Holiday Voyage with his family. While aboard the ship he will chronicle his cruising experience for us on the blog. Enjoy!
When leaving Lima, Peru, for this trip, I was planning to spend more time with my kids in the pool and playing games, but due to so many great activities organized by ClubHAL, I hardly see my kids and so this has turned into a vacation for mom and dad too! Our youngest son Anton, who is six, goes to the club like clockwork everyday from 9 – 11 a.m., 1 – 4:30 p.m., and again from 7 – 10 p.m. His day is planned around these activities unless we have other plans for him. Nicolas, who is 12, goes to the same club where he has made new friends. However, he has the freedom to come and go from the club as he pleases. This freedom allows him to explore the ship, play ping pong, chess and other games with his peers. For us adults there are many activities to do as well, sometimes there are too many activities to choose from like yoga classes, Tai Chi, Pilates, meditation, walking, dancing and so on!
My sons Nicolas and Anton at ClubHAL. The staff does a great job keeping the kids entertained.
Before breakfast, which we normally enjoy together between 8:30 – 9 a.m., I start my day at the gym and then Tai Chi classes. I really enjoy attending the different seminars about well-being during this cruise. Topics include proper nutrition, detox, back pain relief and more. I learned about living a more healthy lifestyle which I was not able to do in Lima due to my busy daily life at home.
At the spa, I tried the detox machine. After my first and only treatment I lost five inches (12.5 cm) around the belly and I got some tips from South African Elisma Otto, who has been managing this service on board the ms Veendam for the last five months. I hope to be able to loose a few pounds and with my new knowledge start a more balanced, healthier and interesting lifestyle in Lima to create a better and more relaxed atmosphere in my home. All the treatment mentioned have taken place at the Greenhouse Spa, which caters to all your needs. Some of the services they offer includes steam baths, various kinds of massages, pedicures and manicures, hair-styling and more which will relax you and make you feel and look like a star. ;-)
My oldest son Nicolas and I have participated in the cooking classes and interesting lectures about the ports and places we are visiting during our trip. Our Travel Guide Benjamin is doing an amazing job to ensure that we all have the information we need to get the best out of our visits to the different destinations along our journey.
If you like to be entertained, whether it is Bingo, pub trivia, quizzes, computer classes, a visit to the movies or enjoying shows every night, there is something for everyone and this is what makes cruising with Holland America Lines so special. I hadn’t realized that there would be so many options for everyone in the family before we left Lima, but now that I know I sincerely hope we’ll be able to return and cruise with our kids again before they leave the nest and wish to travel on their own.
