Whats the best way to take your enjoyment of cruising to the next level?  The answer to this question is very simple, do something completely out of the ordinary. Now, I’m not saying to go skydiving or mountain climbing or anything too far off the beaten path. What I am saying is how do you really know if you’ll like something until you try it. On board cruise ships there are literally thousands of ways to have fun, why not try them all?

Here is a simple example. Now, I’m usually a relatively reserved guy. Normally, I like to blend into the background rather than take the spotlight. So the last thing a guy like me would ever want to do is get up in front of a room full of people to sing karaoke. I like watching it from the safety of the 8^th row but that’s as close as I tend to get to the action. However, a few years ago I was sailing on the Adventure of the Seas. On this particular sailing during one of the nights they had Karaoke in a lounge (nothing new right?), but this wasn’t any ordinary karaoke. This session of karaoke was being backed up by the cruise ship’s band. In other words it was my chance to play out an American idol fantasy. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Now, let me make this perfectly clear. I can’t sing. I think I can sing, but everyone around me tells me I can’t. In fact, my own mother can’t deal with my singing (so much for unconditional love).

So, when my name is called I go up to the front of the room. The host asks my name and just then the gravity of the situation sinks in, I am about to sing in front of about 100 people. Actually, I wasn’t just about to sing but I was about to sing “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers (a pretty hard song for even good singers to pull off). So the music starts and just like clockwork my voice cracks as I start to sing. Now, I realize I can’t do the song justice vocally but there was something about my style that the band leader appreciates. The reason I know this is because when I look back at the band, the leader smiles and gives me a nod of approval. That little gesture boosts my confidence which in turn strengthens my voice, no more cracking.

With my new found confidence I decide I’m going to go for one of the big notes. All of the sudden the crowd erupts with applause and now I’ve really hit my stride. Through the rest of the performance I really ham it up with overly dramatic head nods and big sweeping hand gestures that would make Freddy Mercury proud, all of which they eat up. Much to my surprise at the end of the performance almost half the crowd is giving me a standing ovation. Now, I’m a realist and fully acknowledge that I didn’t deliver a Grammy winning vocal performance but cruisers are easy. My fellow passengers appreciated the effort. To this day it was the highlight of my cruising career, an experience that never would have happened if I hadn’t drank those last two vodka and cranberries thrown caution to the wind and gotten out there to try something new.

Since that cruise I’ve sang a couple of more times and while none have matched that particular experience but, they have all been really fun. In fact, that one vocal performance has given me the confidence to try lots of new things and don’t plan to stop any time soon. I typically try to have one new experience every cruise I take and although some are more fun than others I usually enjoy them all. So, my advice to you is don’t short change yourself, get out there and try something new. Besides, you’ll probably never see any of those people again.