Is it possible to eat healthy on a cruise????.....tips please!!!

[flygirl2]

I've been eating really healthy the last two months and want to continue on our upcoming 7 night cruise on the Caribbean Princess. This is our first time on Princess and I would love some suggestions on how to order in the dining room and what to look for on the menu....or the buffet. I am not a buffet person except for lunch probably. I've been staying with baked, broiled or grilled fish & chicken along with salads and steamed vegetables. If any of you have been able to stay with a healthy diet on a cruise I'd love to hear from you! I will stay away from the breads and desserts. Thanks for your suggestions!

[sue2go]

Besides your food choices, decide in advance not to use the elevators... that will give you plenty of extra steps!

[moki'smommy]

I once lost 3 pounds on a cruise...don't remember if it was a week or more.

 

Tell them to remove the bread basket/don't serve bread. There are healthy choices on every menu. Get grilled steak/chicken. Stay away from the sauces. Eat veges. If you want dessert, eat one bite. No kidding. I have a friend who says that after the first bite, all the rest tastes the same.

 

Don't order room service. Do order the fruit basket for your room.

 

And then add the exercise. Take the stairs if at all possible. Hit they gym if you are able.

[davekathy]

I've been eating really healthy the last two months and want to continue on our upcoming 7 night cruise on the Caribbean Princess. This is our first time on Princess and I would love some suggestions on how to order in the dining room and what to look for on the menu....or the buffet. I am not a buffet person except for lunch probably. I've been staying with baked, broiled or grilled fish & chicken along with salads and steamed vegetables. If any of you have been able to stay with a healthy diet on a cruise I'd love to hear from you! I will stay away from the breads and desserts. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

 

 

We don't eat healthy while Cruising or even at home. What works for us is we don't deprive ourselves of what we like to eat but we do use some discipline on how much we eat. Neither one of us are fans of the buffet so that helps a lot. We take the stairs instead of the elevators and we do a lot of walking in the ports we visit. We are early raiser so while my wife is getting ready for the day I walk the track every morning for about an hour and a half. In the evening we always have a couple glasses of wine before diner. We eat early traditional and once we are done with diner we don't eat anymore that evening. No late night snacks. Works for us.

Edited January 18, 2016 by davekathy

[jasbo49]

My tip: Ask for extra vegetables when eating dinner in the MDR. We've noticed that most cruise line dinners are heavy on the meat. For some reason, the veggies and sometimes potatoes are about half of what we'd expect for the quantity of meat.

 

An extra plate of vegetables ensures that you don't have to fill up on meat. Most waiters/servers we've encountered can help you with what's steamed and what's fried or baked or whatever.

 

I think in the end, if you want to eat healthy, you can. It's like quitting smoking. If you really want to, you can. If you're doing it for exterior reasons, it's a whole lot harder.

 

Jim

[donswife]

I have had no trouble keeping to a pretty healthy diet on cruises. I generally go with the "eat mindfully" approach. I generally start the day with a Greek yogurt and fruit parfait (they had them on HAL, I hope Princess does too), then hit the gym unless it is an early port day. I often have a veggie omelet after the gym, along with fruit and some sort of treat bread. At lunch and dinner I make sure to include salad/fruit/veggies, and eat what really sounds good for an entree. Once in a while the entrees don't interest me, and I get extra starters for my main course. I only eat desserts that look really good to me. I try to make my splurges things that are special, that I don't have at home. I also stay pretty active, which also helps.

[paul929207]

lots of fresh fruit for breakfast at either the MDR or the buffet.

 

Salad for lunch. Again, at both the MDR and buffet. Not that the MDR is only open for lunch on sea days.

 

Many healthy choices for dinner.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes! Salads and fish and lots of other healthy choices.

[Traveling Library]

When you order dinner order sliced fruit for dessert at the same time. Tell the waiter this is what you would like. As a result they will not hand you the dessert menu nor will you be 'tempted' because you ordered your dessert already. Works like a charm.

[pris993]

I've been eating really healthy the last two months and want to continue on our upcoming 7 night cruise on the Caribbean Princess. This is our first time on Princess and I would love some suggestions on how to order in the dining room and what to look for on the menu....or the buffet. I am not a buffet person except for lunch probably. I've been staying with baked, broiled or grilled fish & chicken along with salads and steamed vegetables. If any of you have been able to stay with a healthy diet on a cruise I'd love to hear from you! I will stay away from the breads and desserts. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

Yes, it is possible. We eat like we do at home. We start off with room service for breakfast. We go to the buffet for a snack late afternoon, usually find some fish and a vegetable or salad items. We treat this as a healthy snack to have with a drink. We usually do late traditional dining in the MDR... order a salad, fish and steam vegetables, ice cream for dessert, glass of wine. Very easy... just go off a 10 cruise, did a 14 day in October.

 

Takes discipline.. just stick with what you know is good for you.

[Pam in CA]

Always easy to eat healthy. With 50+ cruises, I've never gained weight. It doesn't take a lot of discipline... just allow yourself to be picky and don't eat every meal as though it were your last.

[flygirl2]

Great tips and ideas! I will make sure I order extra vegetables at dinner which I hadn't thought of. In the past I've rarely taken the stairs and that's the plan again.

[floridalover5623]

It's possible but no fun. If I wanted to eat only fish, veggie's & fruit I'ed save money & stay home. :rolleyes:

[Steelers0854]

and don't eat every meal as though it were your last.

 

 

And that's my downfall! I have 0 will power and the fact that I can order literally anything I want, sometimes I do. I think I need to go on a 7 day b2b so I know I will see some things again [emoji41]

 

As other have said, Yes. I actually think it's easier to eat better on a cruise than at home, if you want to. Plenty of great options at the buffet (really nice salad bar) as well as other venues around the ship.

[treesah]

I don't eat eggs or bacon. Breakfast is fruit and cottage cheese. Lunch - salad or a small sandwich. No pizza or hamburgers or hot dogs. For dinner I'll eat my salad, have a couple of spoonfuls of soup and order fish or chicken. Lately I've really enjoyed some of the vegetarian dishes, especially Indian cuisine. I never ever eat more than a couple of bites. I do eat the veggies. Love Princess bread rolls so I'll have one of those. No butter. I don't use sugar in my coffee. I love desserts but I'll just take a couple of bites and that's it. One can order fruit for dessert.

 

I don't do elevators. I do a lot of walking whether we're in port or on sea days. A little bit of discipline is the answer for me.

 

Good luck!

[shredie]

When you order dinner order sliced fruit for dessert at the same time. Tell the waiter this is what you would like. As a result they will not hand you the dessert menu nor will you be 'tempted' because you ordered your dessert already. Works like a charm.

 

That's a good idea.

[riclop]

I've been eating really healthy the last two months and want to continue on our upcoming 7 night cruise on the Caribbean Princess. This is our first time on Princess and I would love some suggestions on how to order in the dining room and what to look for on the menu....or the buffet. I am not a buffet person except for lunch probably. I've been staying with baked, broiled or grilled fish & chicken along with salads and steamed vegetables. If any of you have been able to stay with a healthy diet on a cruise I'd love to hear from you! I will stay away from the breads and desserts. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

Yes it is if you put your mind to it and use the stairs and hit the gym 3-5 times a week.

[Dulcibella]

I think it was really easy to eat properly. There were plenty of choices including good choices with lots of fruit and salad and vegetables. I think it was easier to eat properly than at home.

[LC1950]

I have only one tip for healthy eating to give you, and that is to eat SLOWLY! Chew every small mouthful (don't stuff it into your gob!), put your knife and fork down, gaze around you while chewing, enjoy the ambience and the view, maybe take a sip of your wine (or water or whatever) and take your time.

 

It takes quite a while for your stomach to signal your brain that you are "full". Take that time to savour every mouthful. And STOP eating the minute you have had enough.

 

Stay away from fruit juices (eat fresh fruit instead - more fibre!), soft drinks (or 'soda' as Americans call it) and go easy on the full cream dairy. Don't emit dairy from you diet, just go easy.

 

Best of luck with your healthy eating regime. :)

[GrammySpo]

I like the International cafe because there are fewer options than the buffet. I particularly love their Greek salad and watermelon and feta salad. Stairs always, and stay busy. Really haven't had a problem because my focus is on activities and not food. Princess is great--they will accommodate your requests.

[more cruises]

You'll be surprised how easy it is to stay on your diet! I go to the omelette bar for breakfast and get lots of added vegetables, no cheese. I also get about 1 cup of fruit. They usually just have melons but every now and then I've found strawberries.

 

I always eat lunch in the buffet - huge salad with lots of extra veggies, oil and vinegar dressing and then whatever protein looks good to me.

 

Dinner's pretty easy too. If I eat at the steak restaurant I order the filet - 8 oz of protein and it's easy to order lost of extra vegetables. In the main dining room read every side dish listed. Sometimes I order the chicken but then get a double order of vegetables that come with, say, the fish. I always tell them no potatoes and no rice.

 

I prefer dinner in the buffet. I can see how the proteins are prepared, I can make a salad as big as I want ( not the mini salads in the MDR) and I can really load up on veggies.

 

The biggest surprise for me since I gave up sugar 2 years ago is that it no longer has a hold over me - desserts aren't delicious. I mean, they're ok but nothing to lust after and I don't feel deprived by skipping them.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Hawka]

international cafe has lovely salads

[Kingofcool1947]

I've been eating really healthy the last two months and want to continue on our upcoming 7 night cruise on the Caribbean Princess. This is our first time on Princess and I would love some suggestions on how to order in the dining room and what to look for on the menu....or the buffet. I am not a buffet person except for lunch probably. I've been staying with baked, broiled or grilled fish & chicken along with salads and steamed vegetables. If any of you have been able to stay with a healthy diet on a cruise I'd love to hear from you! I will stay away from the breads and desserts. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

Of course you can eat healthy aboard Princess. Or any cruise ship for that matter. All you need is self control, don't over eat, just because you can. :D

 

Like vegetarian? They have several vegetarian selections offered in the MDR / specialty restaurants nightly. Low cal or sugar free diet? Gluten free? Kosher? Yes you can request any special dietary needs ahead of time. Check in at your first meal with the Maitre D and let him know.

 

And you can be selective of the food you eat, and don't feel that you have to lick the plate clean. So, just eat like you do now? Use moderation. There is no problem eating just a small portion of your breakfast, lunch, or dinner. At HC, MDR, or the specialty restaurants. Presumably, just like what you do at home or when you dine out.

 

Good luck. And enjoy your cruise.

[FawnRiver]

When you order dinner order sliced fruit for dessert at the same time. Tell the waiter this is what you would like. As a result they will not hand you the dessert menu nor will you be 'tempted' because you ordered your dessert already. Works like a charm.

 

On one cruise, one of our tablemates insisted on having a bowl of blueberries for dessert every night. The waiter had no issues with it and brought it to her every night with a smile, until the 2nd last night, when he had to ask her for a second choice as there were no blueberries left on board.

 

One thing I love to get is the fruit smoothies, especially first thing in the morning.

[kendon]

Love their oatmeal in the morning!