iFLY above the flowrider

iFLY indoor skydiving is a skydiving simulator in a vertical wind tunnel. There are locations on land in various places. When sailing on one of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum class ships you can also experience it at sea. Five of our group of six on an Alaska cruise on Quantum of the Sea booked iFLY, and were joined by one small boy who had just randomly booked the same time as us. We were very lucky to have him there. Though he might have rather had some kids instead of a bunch of women, he did come with a set of parents who were not joining him in the experience.

Barbara in the iFLY

While not allowed into the wind tunnel or its waiting area where riders go while others are inside, tag-alongs with booked guests are allowed to watch from outside of the wind tunnel structure. They are also allowed to take photos, while those inside are not allowed to bring cameras or phones even into the area that’s not actually the wind tunnel. We did not know either of those things ahead of time and had not brought my mom along to take photos for us. The guide said sometimes pro photographers from the ship are there, but there were not any that day. Luckily the boy’s parents took some photos for us or we wouldn’t have had any at all.

flappy cheeks in the wind tunnel

The experience starts by checking in at a desk in the iFLY area on the deck below the actual wind tunnel. First they have everyone go into a little room to watch a short educational movie about what to expect when you go into the wind tunnel. It shows various hand signals as you can’t hear anyone talking in the wind tunnel so any communication between the guide and rider has to be done with their hands. The movie also shows a drooling guy with his cheeks flapping in the wind. They warn you that you too will look that way as you don’t necessarily have control of your face while inside the vertical wind tunnel.

suited up and ready to fly

Following the movie they hand out flight suits, helmets, and glasses to all the participants. All of the suits were blue, but they had different colors of cuffs and trim for different sizes so the guides could grab the correct size for each person at a glance. The helmet colors varied per size too. The instructor had a full-face helmet which protected her from any flappy-cheek or drooling problems. She also moved about in the wind tunnel with ease, though for the inexperienced it’s not nearly as easy as she made it look. There was a rack of little cubbies for people’s belongings that were not allowed into the wind tunnel. Things like jewelry, phones, cameras, purses, or pretty much anything other than the clothes you had on under the flight suit.

doorway in the iFLY chamber

Once everyone was ready we all went upstairs. There’s a little waiting area with a bench for whoever is not currently in the wind tunnel to sit on while they await their turn. From that area there’s a small opening into the wind tunnel itself. There’s not a door over the opening, but all of the wind stays inside and doesn’t pass through the doorway. It’s all quiet until the wind tunnel starts up. Then it sounds like you’re sitting next to a jet plane. You can still hear in the waiting area, enough for the instructor to decide who went in what order, but once you pass through the little doorway you can’t hear anything above the roar, hence the need for the hand signals.

iFLY instructor

You don’t get just let loose in there. The instructor shows you how to lean forward and let your feet come up so you’re floating rather than standing. It would take more time than one session allows to learn how to fully control your body in there so the instructor mostly holds people. You have to learn how to fly before you can do it on your own.

flying free

When anyone got into a good position she’d let go briefly so they could float on their own, but catch hold again before they got out of control. At the end of the turn we all had to hold onto the sides of the opening and pull ourselves out, but the instructor just popped out the door hands free like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Jen floating free

Each person got 2 one-minute sessions during the round. On the first session you’re mostly learning how to get into position, but on the second one if you do well you get little chances to float free.

Mel in flight

It was a fun experience and definitely something out-of-the ordinary, especially for things to do on a cruise ship.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2024