For Fun in the Sun, Sound the Seabourn Odyssey Retreat
We’ve talked about the Sun Terrace that is situated high atop Odyssey on Deck 11. That is the location with tiered banks of double sun loungers for sun worshippers and those who just like to relax, listen to their iPods and read.
Just aft of the Sun Terrace is the Retreat, a multi-activity piazza that features all kinds of deck sports for those who want a little more activity. It will be a great place for early morning yoga and fitness classes in the open air.
Two classic shuffleboard courts are located there, as well as cues and pucks. Nobody really knows when shuffleboard went to sea and became the iconic deck activity for ocean voyages. It dates back over 500 years as a popular pastime, and among its many landlocked advocates was England’s King Henry VIII, who prohibited commoners from playing, and is recorded to have paid off a lost bet at the game he called “shovelboard” from the royal petty cash account.
One of the key features of the Retreat is a contoured, nine-hole golf putting course. Far from the flat, featureless carpet that often suffices at sea, this ocean-going green has humps and hills, curves and slopes that are sure to give golfers healthy doses of humility and the sort of addictive fits of frustration that evidently sustain their interest in the game.
Also located there is a giant chess board, with XXL chess pieces to match, that will provide stimulating mental exercise and even some moderate physical activity for players, meanwhile turning the contest into a spectator sport.
And speaking of spectators, on evenings when the skies are clear, we plan to have stargazing sessions at the Retreat under the guidance of one of our trained celestial navigators.
Tags: Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Odyssey activities, Seabourn Odyssey Construction, the Retreat, the Sun Terrace
May 29th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Today I received Seabourn’s Horizon newsletter via email but when you go into details for the three featured sailings, all of them are no longer available. There appears to be no point in sending out this email if cruises are not available.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:23 am
We are looking forward very much to partaking of all these activities which sound wonderful. I wonder whether Seabourn Odyssey will have a magician amongst its entertainers?
We meet Odyssey on 8 July – not long to wait now!!
Thanks for all the blogs- we await photographs of the launch – very close now.
Many thanks. Ann Marsden
June 7th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Shuffleboard… It’s always been on ships but how did it get there? Would make a great research piece!
June 15th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I’m not sure how I discovered The Yachts of Seabourn, but it was a wonderful surprise! I’m looking forward to planning my first vacation with them to indulge, in what seems to be, an awesome experience.
June 16th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
what great shots….the excitement starts!
we join on 29 August in Athens….
June 25th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Is there ever a ‘single’ cruise. I love this cruise lines but feel funny when everyone is ‘coupled up’