CruiseAficionado

Airtana’s Black fly bites day after being bit and after visiting ship’s Doctor.

 

Delete attempt.

 

 

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Thanks for the kind words, SLSD, they are much needed at this juncture. Even after the cortisone shot, multiple rounds of Benadryl and ice packs, the swelling and itching have not abated. I can only imagine the discomfort you experienced with the chigger bites. I may return to the doctor when he opens for business at 6pm and see if he has any more ideas for some relief. Wish me well

Airtana’s Black fly bites day after being bit and after visiting ship’s Doctor.

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FWIW I have not asked anyone on board, let alone a chef, to make anything special for me and I am doing fine. However if other cruise lines can produce “clean food offerings” like Celebrity Aqua Class and their Blu restaurant then I think it would be a marketing coup for Seabourn just to have one meal in the restaurant listed as “healthy fare”.

BTW also found this in the Spa section of the Seabourn site. “Our Fitness Center features high performance Technogym equipment for cardio and strength training. We also offer a series of complimentary classes including yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi. Or, if personal attention is preferred, our personal trainers will design a nutrition and exercise plan that will help you achieve results.“

I believe they are harming their health but just don’t know it. I have known many people who were thin and fit who ate what they wanted to (I was one of them) but it did not mean that I or they were not harming their health. Some of us realize this in time. So don’t be despondent, you are aware, and that to me is positive.

Thanks. About 5 years ago DW discovered she had osteopenia which is a precursor to osteoporosis. She was having to get infusions every six months in an attempt to stave it off. I had been working with an orthopedic surgeon at the time and noticed he never drank sodas when we had lunch together. He advised that there was something in soda that leached calcium from our bones. Told DW to knock off the diet sodas and next time she went for her infusion they told her it wasn’t necessary anymore. Well that started us on a health kick that we have honed over the years since then but not on cruises. Hence, this post and my attempts to eat healthy and still have a great cruise. I am now starting to believe it is possible by using simple guidelines and resisting the urge to overindulge just because it it there. So far after day 3 of our cruise I have used some restraint and feel fine. BTW since we have taken a healthier approach to eating we no longer get aches and pains or headaches anymore. Amazing what a healthy diet and a little exercise can do for you. lol

This has been an interesting thread, not least because it highlights the many different approaches that are considered "healthy" eating. We each find our own way.

 

When I'm on a cruise I tend to eat how I do in my everyday life at home, but with a little more leeway so that I can enjoy the food on offer. What works for me is keeping sweets and starches to a minimum but not avoiding them completely, eating plenty of veggies and getting a reasonable amount of exercise. I don't drink fizzy/soda type drinks, sticking to lots of water and a couple of glasses a wine a day.

I always weigh myself before and after the cruise, and with the exception of one aberration I usually gain 2-3lbs on a 14 or 21 night cruise. I do find that those couple of pounds are lost quite easily once I'm back home. The aberration was my first cruise when I gained 7lbs in one week.:o Lesson learned and never repeated!

Have had a similar story on 4 previous Seabourn cruises so I am doing almost exactly as you suggest above on this one. So far so good and still enjoying the food just not overindulging like in the past.

The issue for me Isklaar is that I would be eating salmon, grilled chicken if I ate how I did at home. Never have desserts at home or any sugar or dairy. I just remember so fondly a menu item with the above items prepared with panache and lovely vegetables on the same plate.

 

I well know that there are good choices which can be made, I just get a bit lazy in making them and would love a set menu item called "spa", "heart healthy", "low cal", or "light". I'm sure I'm the only one who wants this!

I want it too, so there are TWO of us!

You can do what my husband does when having to closely watch his A1C levels... convince your dining companion to order it (while you do a cheese plate) and then steal a tiny bite when they aren't looking. :cool:

 

I'm also following this thread and taking notes. Our goal is to return home from our month-long honeymoon (which includes 22 nights on Seabourn) without any negative ramifications to health. My DH will take his BS readings every day but its really A1C that we want to watch when he returns.

That is now my goal ... exactly. So far so good on the daily BG numbers and this is by just avoiding mainly deserts and sweets and minimizing bread. However, also letting go with occasional pizza and still feel like I am not missing much food wise.

OP did not refer to mass, rather to blood glucose which is measured by A1C. Much of the TK offering is fine Caesar salad with dressing, cheese and anchovies, Nigerian shrimps, consommé, steaks, Dover sole, etc.

 

Need to avoid totally the bread and desserts which spike blood sugars and any sauces and creams where you cannot be certain there is no sugar incorporated.

 

Forget the rubbish talked about butter and full fat cream - they are absolutely fine; as is alcohol!

Thanks, your advice is right on especially about the alcohol. Thank God. lol

Water

Caesar salad (no cheese or dressing)

Chicken for 2 (no skin)

 

..I guess it is possible.

You are a hoot! lol

I fully understand staying away from sweets, pastry and breads to help with glucose levels. That makes complete sense.

 

What I'm curious about, is that Pritikin is known to be a low fat diet. Can you tell me if the chef in TK did a good job with the sole dish on the menu which is Sole Meunière, given that dish is cooked in butter, as butter is off limits for the Pritikin diet?

.

I may have misunderstood your posts and the Dover Sole you refer to may have been eaten elsewhere,therefore prepared in line with the Pritikin Diet, and may not have actually been sole meuniėre but the way I'm reading your posts, it does seem that it was eaten in TK.

Curious to know how much flexibility the chefs in there have when it comes to cooking items differently than Mr K would have specified!

You are absolutely correct as any changes to the menu would be defeating the purpose of the cuisine served. As stated I think the gal at Pritikin sold me some BS about getting Pritikin meals on board so I have abandoned that idea. Now I am just trying to keep my blood glucose numbers in line so I don’t raise my a1c by the end of the cruise like I have so many times before. BTW This is our 5th Seabourn cruise and I would rather not give them up because of health reasons. I really envy people who can eat and drink anything they want without harming their health but I am not one of them. I have however learned how to eat healthy, exercise and use a limited amount of meds to achieve pre-diabetes levels before going on a cruise. The challenge this cruise Is trying to keep those levels while on the ship. The Pritikin thing is now a whole other ball game I will address after the cruise.

First of all thank you for your replies as I was beginning to think all I was going to get was sarcasm and ridicule for trying to eat healthy on a cruise and see if anyone had any success without ruining there cruise. Hence the reference to “worst post”. I am no longer trying to not gain weight and have given up on following Pritikin because until I go there I really would not know much other than what I read. Besides I am going there after this cruise so plenty of time then to lose weight gained on board. Instead I am taking BG (blood glucose) reading about 4 times a day and so far so good. We will be getting off the ship the day after tomorrow and doing some hiking so that should help getting some exercise in the meantime planning on using the treadmill and rowing machine. So far staying away from pastry but that bread basket has some multi grain in it so I am seeing what effect it has on BG and so far so good.

So far today had breakfast at the Square. Coffee with milk, muesli, strawberry smoothie and a bran muffin. Lunch at the patio was Caesar salad and uh-oh pizza. Dinner in the restaurant caviar, red lettuce salad and lobster tail followed by berries and whipped cream for desert. Don’t feel denied and BG doing good. Maybe it is possible to keep things under control and still enjoy meals on board. However, have not heard from the Matre d regarding any special meals so am “winging it”.

I think this is a very good thread. I still remember the "spa menu" on a Silversea cruise years ago. I gained NO weight on that cruise! I would love an ultra healthy menu on Seabourn.

Thanks, l am working on gaining NO weight on this 24 day cruise and enjoying my cruise as well. So far so good as my glucose numbers are remaining under control even after dining at Thomas Keller tonight.

I actually first thought this thread was spam, started to plug a certain diet and Miami clinic...

No ... I was told several people who attend the center have kept their weight and a1c in check while on board and thought maybe it was true. Obviously not. Sorry for the thread as I was misled about “Seabourn cruisers” being in their program. Just a little embarrassed if that was how it came across when the real purpose was how to stay healthy and still enjoy acruise. lol

As someone who has dealt with diabetes for nearly 20 years, and has undertaken considerable research I can assure you that “low salt and fat” meals will have zero impact on your A1C readings. Salt and/or fat intake does not affect blood glucose.

I know just trying to limit weight gain. So far so good on my glucose levels by staying away from sweets, pastry and breads. Just had a great Dover Sole and heirloom tomato salad skipping desert. BTW this may be the stupidest thread ever started in the history of CC.

Thanks for all of the wonderful stories and precautionary measures. Hope no one has to ever actually use DASH but know it is an option when FEDEX is closed on Sunday. One of the contributing factors to our dilemma was the fact that after numerous trips without a passport cover/case we won two at trivia. Thinking how nice to board with an “official” cover/case I used it on our last Seabourn cruise. However, during our most recent cruise (on Oceania) I felt it would be tacky to board with a Seabourn case, and unbeknownst to DW I switched covers. My fault for 1. Not remembering and catching it then, 2. Not telling DW and finally 3. Not using it to go through security instead of my DL. Of course the pinnacle of stupidity was neither of us actually opening up the case to verify the damn thing was in there. Ugh. On board the Quest right now in our cabin, sipping champagne and putting the incident behind us.

Just boarded the Quest and met with the maitre d and he advised they are very prepared as to low salt and fat meals. He said we will meet with the night before to plan my meals. I asked where he wanted to meet and he said he would find me and not to worry. He also said he will be happy to take care of my food needs. Ahhhh Seabourn ... like no other cruise line. If there is any interest I would be happy to share my first time “diabetic” experience onboard Seabourn.

Eat less, mostly plants, and exercise more? I'll send you a bill :D:D:D

Appreciate the humor but you are obviously not aware of the Pritikin Diet Plan and its unparalleled results. Thanks for your input. lol

Are you ready for a vacation horror story? Then read on . .

 

 

 

So last week as we were doing our final preparations to depart for Reykjavik, I found my husbands Seabourn passport case on his dresser so I took it downstairs and placed it prominently on the kitchen counter to be sure he would see it and not forget to pack it, which he did not. CHECK.

 

 

 

We get to the Atlanta airport yesterday for our flight to Boston to catch our connecting flight to Reykjavík. He goes through security using his drivers license for ID. CHECK

 

 

 

All is well and we have a most pleasant flight on Southwest and arrive on time at a little after 3pm. We collect our checked bags and head over to terminal E where we have a little time to kill before the check in counter for Iceland Air opens at 5:00pm. CHECK

 

 

 

The time arrives and we step up to the ticket counter and we give the gentleman our booking number and he then asks for our passports. I hand over mine and he checks me in and then my husband hands him his and when the agent opens the folder, oh my god, it’s EMPTY!!! How can that possibly be, did it somehow fall out? We were in total denial at that point. Come to realize he had been previously using another passport case, hence, it started to dawn on us that his passport was now residing comfortably in a cubby next to his chair in our den back at home. We both felt sick to our stomachs, that sinking feeling of impending doom. The agent informed us we were not going anywhere without the proper documents tonight, but he would gladly change the reservation for us to tomorrow, which gave us some room to think. The reality of us not being able to get to Reykjavík in time to catch the ship started to descend on us like a thick, damp blanket. What do we do?

 

 

 

Our first thought was to have our trusted neighbor go over and get the passport and FED EX it overnight to us. Then our bubble got burst when we were told Sunday delivery was not possible. DEAD-END!

 

 

 

Our next brilliant idea was for one of us to book a round trip back to Atlanta to fetch it ourselves and the other to stay behind and get a hotel room secured for the night. Unfortunately, the whole northeast corridor the past few days had been deluged by thunderstorms which caused many cancellations and most of the flights were already sold out. The one we did find available was a main cabin seat unbelievably priced at over $3,000!!! Holy cow, are you kidding me! That option was to be undertaken as a last drastic measure.

 

 

 

Then, just like a lightbulb going off above his head, my DH mentions a Delta airlines package delivery service he knew about called DASH. I vaguely knew about it but was not sure how it worked or if they could deliver on a weekend as well. So we look up the phone number and give them a call. We got a very helpful gal named Kellie who walked us through the whole process, and, YES, they could get the job done and get it to the Boston airport on the last Delta flight out of Atlanta arriving at 12:53am this morning. All we had to do was get our neighbor to bring the passport to the Dash office at the Atlanta airport (which they happily did right in the spot). We immediately made all the arrangements right then over the phone and even prepaid the charge which was a mere $98.16. Quite a bargain I would say to save us from not being able to go on this trip at all. We both breathed a sigh of relief, but would not really be able to relax until that most necessary document was firmly in hand.

 

 

 

The time was now around 7:30pm and we were hungry and just a little stressed out so we decided to walk over to the Airport Hilton which is right in the airport complex and have dinner and see if we could get a room for the night. We only scored one of those two goals as the hotel was overbooked by 40 due to the backload of stranded passengers. As we dined on lobster quesadillas and quinoa and vegetable salad we made the startling discovery that almost every single hotel we called was in the same sold out position. But we kept searching and finally, the travel gods looked down upon us and came up with a room at the Westin Boston Waterfront, just a mere 3 mile cab ride away under the “big dig” tunnels. BOOK IT DANNO!!! And we did. But we still had to wait at the airport until the flight came in carrying our precious cargo. We tried to make ourselves comfortable in the Hilton lobby but when I ended up falling asleep in one of their comfy chairs a not so nice security guard come up to us and told us NO SLEEPING IN THE LOBBY. Geez, fella, have a little compassion, will ya. Not wanting to be harassed anymore, if by chance we drifted off again, we trudged back over to the airport to wait it out.

 

 

 

Finally, the magic hour comes and the plane lands, the package we were told on the phone would then be brought to the baggage service office. We wait and wait and wait some more until about 1:15am when DH goes in to talk to the supervisor. She flippantly said there’s no dash package on the airplane, you will have to check with air cargo in the morning. His heart sank. And then another agent intervened and asked her to check once again on the radio. The guy on the other end asked what the air bill number was and, hallelujah, was able to confirm the package was indeed here. The supervisor was then adamant it would be going to the cargo center, and not the baggage service office. DH had to inform her that he was told that was usually the case except when a package arrived so late into the morning. She finally got back on the radio in communication with the plane and was told it would be put in a bin to come down the baggage conveyer belt. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, the minutes were counting down like an eternity. Then, all of a sudden, the conveyer comes to life and we see a bin coming down the belt. He grabs the box, tears it open with all his might, and there it was. The passport in all its glory. We hugged each other so tightly I thought neither of us could breathe. A total disaster had been avoided thanks to the smart thinking on my DH’s part who handled the situation with aplomb.

 

 

 

We grabbed our bags, made a beeline to the taxi stand and within minutes were at the front desk of the Westin being checked in by thee most empathetic Customer service agent named Adam. After we told him the events of the day we had just endured, he not only gave us a beautiful room on the 15th floor with a panoramic view of downtown Boston, but afforded us a late 4pm checkout and a complimentary Sunday brunch as well. As we settled into our Heavenly Beds, we now could decompress and let go of all the anxieties we had experienced that day.

 

 

 

We woke up this morning wondering if it had all been a bad dream. But, no, it had really happened and we managed to make the proverbial lemonade of of a heck of a load of lemons. Here we sit in our comfy room looking forward to our flight to Reykjavík tonight. We will now not have the luxury of the extra day there to recoup from the jet lag, but, hey, the good news is, we WILL be there. And so, there is a happy ending to this story as well as a lesson learned for all future travels. CHECK YOUR PASSPORT THOROUGHLY.

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we board our home away from home, THE QUEST, and begin our Arctic journey of wonder and adventure. For that we are eternally grateful.

 

 

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;)

mahogany, you are so right. I marvel at how spell check often "corrects" what i write. Other grammatical errors slip through with rapid typing---or on the fly editing without rechecking. We all need to be kind to our posters and overlook some errors in the spirit of off the cuff posting.

+1

During the last few years on our way to accumulating 100 days on Seabourn I have watched my a1c numbers spike after each long Seabourn cruise (20-32 day avg). Consequently, once at home, I follow a somewhat rigorous veggie diet and am able to lower my a1c numbers considerably. The end result is bouncing from pre-diabetes when I am home to full blown type 2 diabetes while onboard. I realize that I succumb to most all of the gastronomic temptations and that is the primary reason for the rise in numbers. In an effort to get back to “normal” a1c numbers I have booked 2 weeks at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami following our upcoming 24 day Seabourn cruise. They have amazing success with their diet and exercise program even getting people off their BP and Type 2 diabetes meds. Therefore I would like to better manage my eating on board so my question is “has anyone ever tried to get a Pritikin Meal Plan on Seabourn”? My Pritikin advisor says she has other clients on Seabourn that have been able to do this? If so I wonder how they go about it? I am listed this trip as low sodium and diabetic and will meet with one of the Chefs(?) on board supposedly. I searched this forum for “Pritikin” but found nothing. I can’t imagine going on a Seabourn cruise and eating so healthy that my numbers do not go up. lol

galeforce9,

Love your posts and having done a “live from” blog know how much effort goes into your writing which BTW is excellent and your photos are over the top.

DW and I are busy packing and will be joining the Quest in Reykjavik. One question about clothing. We have some Seabourn parkas with puffys to go underneath from our Antarctica trip for severe cold. However, we also have a more versatile Seabourn parka with zippered hood from our Alaska trip that is great in the rain. DW thinks the puffy with a light rain jacket might suffice. What are you finding to be the most comfortable combination for the cold and rain you have experienced so far? I know you say layers but what kind? Also, how cold is it onboard the ship in the public areas? Good for long sleeves, sweaters, and jackets. Thanks as your answer may save me from overpacking. lol BTW as a Fitbit owner 25,000 steps is very impressive in my book.

Herculaneum the “other” Pompeii.

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Another of Saint Nicolas.

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Church of Saint Nicolas

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The absolute best City Tour EVER!

Have you ever been on a tour that gave you not only the sights and sounds of a city but also the local tastes? Well that is what you are in store for when you choose Sea Saffron as your tour guide in Valencia Spain. Having toured the world extensively this is one of the best city tour I have ever been on.

 

We were met at the bottom of the escalator in the cruise terminal building by Eduardo, joined another couple and walked to two private cars (not a taxi) for our ride to city center. Upon arriving we then started our walking tour of Valencia that included: Valencia Cathedral which holds a Holy Chalice purported to be by Christian historians as the Holy Grail, Mercado Central one of the oldest in Europe in continuous operation and Church of Saint Nickolas with almost 2000 square meters of fresco paintings. Along the way we had a taste of the local ham which is similar to prosciutto and visited a cafe serving a traditional drink made out of “tiger nuts” and a most amazing pastry to dip into it. Next we were once again taken by private car to the City of Arts and Sciences which is so spectacular in person that pictures do not do it justice. After walking around the “City” we walked to a high rise and were taken up to a private room with a magnificent view of the city for an exquisite seven course Tapas treat including a wine tasting from three bottles of wonderful local wines - two reds and a white. I highly recommend this exceptional tour to anyone who wants to truly experience the sights, sounds and tastes of Valencia! We were treated like royalty.

Here is a pic of the Holy Grail.

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