I Tried Cruise Ship Drop Slides… One Didn’t Go To Plan

Every big new cruise ship launched seems to have more extreme attractions! Aquacoasters, drop slides, ropes courses, Go-Karts – there are plenty of things onboard to keep everyone amused and entertained.

I have recently tried both a wet and a dry drop slide on two different Norwegian ships, Norwegian Luna and Norwegian Breakaway, to see which one I liked best.

They looked very similar from the outside, but they felt very different.

The wet drop slide didn’t go to plan at all!

The Wet Drop Slide – Norwegian Breakaway

These scary-looking ten-deck drop slides on Norwegian Breakaway needed far more preparation than the dry slide.

I had to remove earrings and jewellery and make sure I wore a swimming costume with no plastic fasteners or clips.

This is because they could get caught up, or slow you down on the slide. I wore a slide to try to avoid these problems.

There are two drop slides you can choose from.

Norwegian take health and safety on these slides very seriously.

At the top, you climb into a tube, and there is a vertical drop as the floor disappears below you.

You slide very quickly down, then go up and over a slight hill.

There is a little escape hatch close to this hill, so people who didn’t make it up and over it and got stuck can be let out by the Norwegian Crew.

Both times that I tried the slide, I got stuck in the tube and had to be rescued!

This is quite common, and I did know this might happen before I started down the slide.

I thought that being stuck in a cold, dark, wet slide might be quite scary, but as I knew what to expect, it wasn’t too bad at all.

Have a look at me trying out the wet slide – and getting stuck – in the video below:

The Dry Drop Slide – Norwegian Luna

This dry-drop slide on Norwegian Luna requires far less preparation!

You are given a bag to wrap around you, and again, the floor just drops away below you.

This spiral-shaped slide goes out over the edge of ship. It does have a clear plastic section in the middle, but I was moving so fast, I really couldn’t see out.

The experience was quite short, but intense. The worst bit was standing in the tube at the top, just knowing that the floor was about to fall away below me.

Which One Is Scarier?

Which slide you prefer comes down to personal preference.

I think the wet slide was scarier for me. As well as the initial drop as the floor fell away below you, you have the constant worry of whether you will get up and over the hill or not.

The second time I tried I was so close to the top of the hill, I actually hung on to the edges of the tube to try and pull myself over the top.

It was futile, though! I couldn’t pull myself up a slippery tube, when my legs were stuck out in front of me. I just had to let go and slide backwards down to the escape hatch.

I personally preferred the dry slide. There was no preparation needed, and no worry about getting stuck somewhere down the tube!

Both of these slides are included in the cruise fare, so you can test them out as many times as you like.

Have a closer look at my cruise onboard Norwegian Breakaway, and see what else I got up to here:

Are They Worth Trying?

I would say so. They are both free, so if the weather is nice and you have the time, why not?

They are certainly not essential for having a good time on onboard, but they are interesting to try.

The wet slide on Norwegian Luna was certainly a little out of my comfort zone – but it is good to get out of your comfort zone once in a while.

Have a look at the busy 43 hours I spent onboard Norwegian Luna, before her official christening here:

Before You Go

Find out about the unusual interactive Lunatique show I saw onboard Norwegian Luna here:

Lunatique Review (Run Time, Drinks, Value & More) Norwegian Luna

Norwegian ships have great solo cabins and lounges, which are great for meeting other cruisers. Find out which ships have them here:

Which Norwegian Cruise Ships Have Studio-Specific Cabins For Solos