We left Easter Island a few days ago, which is really, really, really far away from absolutely anything. We are over 2,000 nautical miles from the mainland. Now, we head toward French Polynesia, which is also miles and miles away from anything.

The reality is, if you go on a World Cruise, you have a lot of sea days. If you don’t love being out in the middle of nowhere, think twice before you sign up for a World Cruise! So, what in the world does a person do on a typical day at sea when you’re traveling around the world?

First, there are all the “official” activities. Using a recent day as an example, you can get up early and do yoga, or Tai Chi. You can play pickleball (which we, of course, do!). You can take a watercolor class, or a Bridge lesson, go to a wine tasting, listen to a lecture about the importance of the year 1969 or Chaos Theory (different lectures!). You can go to a creative writing class, or participate in an Egg Walk Challenge. (I have no idea what that is, but it’s a thing.) You can attend an English Afternoon Tea, or go to the Casino Royale Game Night. And these are just a snippet of the official activities offered on a typical sea day. Phew.

But, of course, there are all sorts of “unofficial” things to do on a sea day as well. I’ve seen lots of people knitting and crocheting. (Some are really fast. We’ve been on the cruise for just a few weeks and I’ve seen at least two fairly large blanket things emerging from knitting bags.) I’ve seen a couple sit at the same table every day out by the pool, coloring in those fancy adult coloring books. They have the whole set up, including a big box of colored pencils and lights that sit on the table.

I’ve seen lots of people reading as well as some sleeping hard by the pool with open books on their bellies. I’ve seen a random woman teaching a group of other random women water aerobics every morning (and sometimes multiple times a day.) Apparently there is even a passenger offering ukulele lessons. (Thankfully, I have not heard any evidence of this yet!)

So what do we do on a typical sea day? We play pickleball, of course! It’s crazy how much fun this has been. First, the court is way up on the top deck so the views of the ocean are phenomenal. Second, we are playing with a really great group of about 20 “regulars.” Some are highly skilled, and all are super nice. While we wait for our turn to play, we share our life stories, talk pickleball, and laugh. A lot. Third, Dario is our pickleball instructor/coach on board and he is amazing. We are all learning so much from him. He is equally helpful to new players as well as highly skilled players. Dario is up there on the courts with us for every sea day. We really appreciate the opportunity to work on our game in such a beautiful environment.

If I’m not playing pickleball, I’m reading, solving Wordle (or other puzzles), working on my Italian, writing, or just plain relaxing.

The days are leisurely, but they also seem to fly by. A World Cruise is certainly not for everybody, but for us, right now, it’s pretty great. You’ll have to excuse me now, for my balcony and the ocean is calling!