Exercise routines while on a cruise. Please don't laugh!!!

[geofg]

I'm travelling on the Carib Princess on august 6th. This is my 5th cruise and first on Princess. One thing that has stayed the same for each cruise is that my suit fits a lot better the first formal night than it does the 2nd. Try as I might I always tend to put on a bit of weight. I am in good shape and exercise regularly. Does anyone have a specific exercise routine that they do to prevent the typical weight gain associated with cruising. Of course I still am going to eat and drink whatever I want!!!!

[Toto2Kansas]

I just WALK WALK WALK, I walk everywhere. No elevators for me, I take the stairs. On a 25 day cruise not to long ago DH gained 25 pounds. He takes the elevator always and sits and reads a book on most sea days. I on the other hand never sit still for too long. I gained 2 pounds on that cruise. It was much easier for me to take it back off then it was for him. lol I pack two different sizes of clothing for him on most long cruises so he has something that fits him to go home in. I just have to find a way to get him off that balcony and outta that lounge chair. :D

[coiran]

We walk, rarely take the elevators - Usually gain only 2 to 3 pounds on a two week cruise.

 

Ron

[gfromftlaud]

Not laughing at your post at all. One of the main concerns I have when booking a cruise is the gym onboard...

 

The Carib Princess has a great workout facility. I always planned a morning workout that included weight training and cardio. The step aerobic classes were good too, was able to take 3 classes during the week.

 

An hour and a half at the gym always wards off the evils of cruise gluttony!

 

gary

[lysette]

I do the same as Toto, I walk and take the stairs. If we are having good weather, I walk around the Promenade deck, and if it's bad weather, I go up to the treadmill. On most ships they will tell you how many times you have to walk around the Promenade deck to make a mile. On the Sea Princess, which we just returned from on the 9th, it was three times to make a mile. I could do that in one-half hour, and it's really enjoyable being able to see the sea pass by (I'm not one to sit still in a lounge chair either). If we were going into port and planning on doing some significant walking, I'd count that as my walk for that day.

 

I also take the stairs for the most part, especially up. I don't care if it's six floors, I need that to go into my calorie burning bank because I do eat like a pig on cruises. I do not deny myself anything food-wise on a cruise, but I do exercise discretion at home.

 

On this last cruise, I did not gain any weight, although I seemed to put on a couple of pounds about a week after I got home. I attribute this to kind of a post-cruise depression and getting out of the habit of eating carefully. But I am bouncing back now. :)

 

Good luck and let us know what ends up working for you!

 

Joni

[Toto2Kansas]

lysette-I tend to do the same thing. I usually gain a couple of pounds the first week I am home but very little on the cruise. You think maybe all of that great food needs time to sink in? LOL

[SaylorGirl]

We do a combination of things, we walk everywhere including the ports. It is not unusual for us to walk 5 to 10 miles everyday in port. We never lay around the pool, we stand at the rails and are constantly walking back and forth across the ship. We also use the stairs and not the elevators. We work out in the gym, my DH does the weights and I usually do sometype of cardio. And after a couple of days we will occassional skip dinner, sometimes we will take in the late afternoon tea and that will be it for the remainder of the day.

[atlcple2]

The only excercise we get on a cruise is walking up and down the stairs to get where we are going...and I guess lifting those daily special drinks to my lips! lol Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

[Dreamer333]

The gym on the ship has some great classes (most of them are free). Sometimes it's more fun to be "working out" with a group!

[spaceguy]

I walk each morning. Up early to see the sunrises is nice. Usually 30-45 mins. NEVER, use the elevator. Our last cruise on the Sun our cabin wa son Plaza deck (5) and Horizion Court was on deck 14 so it was a lot of stairs to breakfast! Walk on shore as much as possible as well. I lost 2 lbs in 10 days......Drink lots of water as well....

[Murphey]

Try this: Get yourself a pedometer and wear it the week before your cruise to see what your daily average is. While you're on your cruise, make it a habit to do twice what you do at home. You will be surprised at how easy this is (we agree with the others: walk, walk, walk). The pedometer help motivate you do do that one extra lap around the Promenade or walk a little more in port. And....NEVER take the elevator (well, maybe on formal night it is allowed :D ). We allow ourselves dessert at the evening meal and our alcohol consumption is not ever limited :eek: !! But all the walking seems to do the trick!!

[DrD]

Such short-term weight gain is almost certainly fluid due to the very high sodium intake that is common on vacation. You might ask a doctor for a mild diuretic.

[kruisey]

One can pay for someone in fitness centre to customize fitness just for oneself.....(stretch/strength/ weights)

I walk alot on board and use stairs....usually gain no more than 3lbs.

Also do they still have the healthy options on the left hand side of the dinner menu.?

Circumstances have changed for me since my last cruise..........so I have to take more care in what I eat :(

Have got to loose weight.....so am pleased th OP started this thread. :)

[judyzoo]

Walk around a lot (I seldom sit still except to occasionally relax on our balcony; otherwise I’m going somewhere to do something or just to look around). Never use an elevator. On sea days, I walk a lot of laps on the sports deck in the early morning if the weather is good; in bad weather spend some time on a treadmill on the ship’s fitness center. Try to avoid ordering/eating some foods just because they sound or look good if I’m still full from the last meal; sometimes I have to admit to myself that I just don’t have room for more heavy food. Still, there’s usually a bit of weight gain, but nothing serious

[kryos]

We walk, rarely take the elevators - Usually gain only 2 to 3 pounds on a two week cruise.

 

Ron

I honestly can't say I walk a lot. I'm an elevator person, especially since my accident in '99 and the fact that my knees are now not what they used to be.

 

My trick for not gaining a lot of weight during a cruise is simple. I only eat when I am hungry. I know that sounds stupid, but it works. Just because it is dinner time doesn't mean I have to eat. If I had a huge salad at lunch a couple of hours ago, and I'm really not hungry, why eat? I just go to the dining room and maybe order the appetizer and a salad. I pass on the entree and desert. Maybe I only drop by the dining room, say hi to my tablemates, and explain I'm not dining that night. What's the problem? And, the great thing aboard ship is that you don't have to worry about being hungry later. If you are, eat then. There's always something ... somewhere on the ship ... you can grab to eat if you get hungry.

 

But I find that when I eat this way, I really don't gain a lot of weight. When I deviate from this plan, I do.

 

On my recent cruise on the Island this past April, I didn't follow this advice very well. As a result, I put on six pounds in a 15-day cruise. I can't afford to put on six pounds. I'm not thin to begin with. So, I've made myself a promise. On my upcoming HAL 30-day cruise, I'm going back to this regime. Betcha if I gain five pounds on that cruise, it will be a lot.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[tennisobo]

On our last 7 day cruise on the Caribbean Princess I gained two pounds and my husband gained 1 pound. We always took the stairs when going down. We only took the elevator when we were going up more than 4 decks. My huband used the gym onboard 5 times and I used it 3 times. We ate whatever we wanted the whole week. I guess you'll have to find out what works for you.

 

Keep in mind: There is a scale in the Fitness area, but I have been told that it weighs you LESS than your real weight because the scale is on a boat instead of on land. I don't know if that's true, but we all know that different scales will give varying results anyway.

 

Good luck and have a great cruise. :)

[coiran]

Maybe the ship scales weigh in nautical pounds? Since there are 1.1 statute miles in one nautical mile (knot) then there would be 1.1 regular pounds in 1 nautical pound - so - if you weighed 220 pounds on the ship scale you would be 200 regular pounds. LOL

 

Ron

[CL-JW]

Nothing to laugh at. We always walk as much as possible and take the stairs instead of the elevator. Also try to make it to the gym every morning to get some cardio in.

 

On our last cruise, I gained 5 pounds, regardless of all of the activity. However, I lost it all in about 2 weeks as soon as I got back into my "land" routine.

[Opal91086]

I order coffee from room service for delivery at 6:00 to 6:30 am - the knocking on the door wakes me. I have a cup of coffee - throw on my workout clothes and walk the track then lift a few weights. Usually, my daughter is still asleep when I return to the cabin. I eat and drink what I want. Waking up early is worth not gaining any weight. I think it helps that I don't like desert :o and there never seem to be any potato chips on a ship :mad:. My daughter dances the night away in the disco and that keeps her weight down. Whatever works, right?

[susancruzs]

I do the walking, walking, walking routine, too and very rarely use an elevator. The most I've gained in 3 lbs. on a 15 day cruise, which isn't too bad. I always take the stairs and I try to walk at least 2 miles around the promenade deck every day, too.

 

I've recently taken off 22 lbs. to be pretty close to where I should be so I'm not going to let 21 days on the Sea Princess set me back. On my first cruises I rarely took desert, didn't eat sweet rolls in the buffet, no bread with dinner so I may just eat better choices!

 

Susie

[dlp252]

My first and only cruise I used the jog track (to walk) 4 or 5 of the 7 days of our cruise. I supplemented that with some free-weight work in the gym. I didn't know there were classes last time, but on my cruise next month I intend to check them out. I didn't gain any weight last trip and I'm hoping this will be the same, lol. :D

[critterchick]

Dancing!We also take the stairs everywhere and sometimes make it to the gym. But our best exercise is finding a lounge in the late afternoon where there's a combo playing songs we can practice our ballroom dancing steps. If we could stay up later, we would hit the disco, but that hasn't happened yet.

[DonLou]

Eat everything. Not everything like all the food but everything like a little bit of everything. We approached the cruise's food gauntlet like wine tasting --- savor many different morsels, but don't overdose on one item. The variety will prevent bingeing. You'll be more satisfied and yet not gain all that much weight.

 

We also used the ship's gym everyday. It's sheer luxury because it's so close and convenient. At home, we waste up to half an hour driving time going back and forth to the gym.

[cruznliz]

DH and I take the stairs exclusively and he uses the gym while I walk the Promenade Deck. As a newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic I tried to stay away from the breads and only ordered sugar free desserts on our last cruise. Towards the end of the cruise all the ladies at our table were ordering the sugar free desserts because they looked so good. I admit I gained about 4 pounds in a 21 day cruise, but that was something I could live with. (By the by, sugar free desserts are also available in the buffet. Just ask and you shall receive!) ;)

[MaryPoppinz]

If it's all feasible, I walk rather than taking a cab. I wear a pedometer on every cruise, and I walk 10,000 steps (at least) every day (*easy* on port days, requires a little effort on sea days.) I've only been inside a Princess elevator once when my niece wanted to take a picture. I weigh myself every day, and if I need to, I walk or run a bit more. The most I've ever gained is one pound on a ten-day cruise one time.

 

But, I don't diet. I eat like a crazy lady!