Pickleball Magazine 3-4 Courtesy of Pickleball Guru | Page 54

AROUND THE WORLD
Pickleball
SETS SAIL ON CRUISE LINERS
P
BY DAN FELLNER
ickleball is making a splash on the high seas.
It has recently been added to the stable of activities
offered on all 14 of Holland America’s ships. And the
line’s newest ship, the Nieuw Statendam, which debuts
next December, will feature the game as well.
Other cruise lines, including Princess and Regent
Seven Seas, also have added pickleball to some of their ships.
Erik Elvejord, Holland America’s Director of Public Relations, says
adding pickleball to the company’s ships was a no-brainer because
of the “many requests” the company was getting from guests.
As an avid pickleball player myself, I was pleasantly surprised
to see “Meet for a game of pickleball” in the daily program on the
first day of a recent 14-day Asian cruise on the Holland America
Volendam.
I quickly ventured up to the ship’s sports deck and saw that Holland
America had retrofitted a court that had been used for mini-tennis
to a pickleball court. The costs for the cruise line were minimal – put
down some yellow lines on the court, buy paddles and balls, and
lower the tennis net a few inches. The courts are surrounded with
netting to keep stray balls from landing in the ocean.
The nets may not quite be to exact specifications and the swirling
winds can blow a well-executed shot off course,
but despite some of the onboard challenges, I
was delighted—after years of cruising—to
finally have the
chance to experience the game at sea while
working off a few extra calories from the
Volendam’s overly tempting desserts in the
process.
Jack Thomas, President of the USAPA and
a Scottsdale resident, says it’s about time
cruise lines started hopping on the pickleball
bandwagon.
“I think the cruise industry has figured out
that pickleball is a very inexpensive way to
attract and entertain their passengers and will
Pickleball being played on the Holland America
Volendam in the South China Sea.
The Holland America Volendam docked in Shanghai, China. Photos by Dan Fellner.
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