For Sports Fans

Whether you prefer to play or watch, sports-related activities are common aboard cruise ships. Appealing to younger, more active passengers, megaliners are the best equipped and have been built with sports-loving passengers in mind.

The megaships in the biggest fleets have the greatest variety of options and the largest spaces in which to play. There are outdoor volleyball, basketball, and paddle tennis courts as well as outdoor jogging tracks, several pools for water-polo, volleyball, aqua-aerobics and swimming, and well-equipped fitness centers that rival those on shore (the biggest exceed 10,000 square ft). Keep in mind, older ships, usually those built before 1990, often do not devote nearly as much space and resources to sports and fitness.

For joggers, there are generally two options aboard big cruise liners. Some ships have specially designed and dedicated tracks, sometimes covered with a high-tech cushioned surface. Most ships have a wraparound promenade deck, which encircles the perimeter of the ship. This deck is usually covered in teak and shared with walkers and people just out for a stroll, but it does have the advantage of sea views. Smaller ships may have no place to jog at all. Fitness facilities often come with certified instructors who lead classes and group jogs around the promenade deck. Typical aerobics classes include high- and low-impact, funk, step, body sculpting, stretch and tone, abdominals, and spinning. Some fitness programs run all day, with enough activity to fill your entire schedule.

Swimmers ought to note that the bigger liners have multiple swimming pools---sometimes as many as five---and may have a pool covered by a retractable glass roof, a real bonus in misty Alaska or the inevitable tropical shower in the Caribbean. Several ships have retractable water sports platforms that, weather-permitting, can be lowered from the stern into calm waters when the ship is anchored, allowing passengers to snorkel, windsurf, kayak, and swim near the ship. However, if waters are rough, as they often can be in the Mediterranean, the platforms cannot be used.

The larger ships also have shuffleboard and Ping-Pong, and might also feature paddle-tennis courts or small basketball courts. Some ships still have skeet shooting off the stern, but the combination of guns and dumping little bits of plastic into the ocean has placed this activity in disfavor.

If golf is your bag, more and more cruises are offering the opportunity to tee off. Technologically advanced ships have golf simulators---state-of-the-art virtual-reality machines that allow you to play the great courses of the world without ever leaving the ship. Full-sized clubs are used, and a virtual reality video screen allows players to watch the path of an electronic ball they've actually hit soar high over the greens or land flat in a sand trap. Some cruise lines have outdoor golf cages---areas enclosed in netting where you can swing, putt, and whack at real golf balls.

These days you can see cruise passengers toting their clubs on itineraries worldwide. Some ships carry onboard pros to help you with your swing. Some lines promote themselves as "The Official Cruise Line of the PGA" or some variation thereof. These may include instruction and tips by the onboard golf pros, as well as scheduled tee times during port days at some of the best courses on earth.

Among sports-loving couch potatoes, onboard sports bars are scoring big points these days. During major sporting events, like the Super Bowl, many lines will outfit a public area or bar with televisions for game viewing.