5 Practical Ways to Curb Cruise Vacation Weight Gain

Let’s not kid ourselves; it’s damn hard (not impossible but damn hard) to take a cruise vacation without gaining weight. If you stick vacationers on a boat with 24 hour food and drink availability, healthy eating habits more often than not will cease to exist. Just because a certain outcome seems like to happen it doesn’t mean you should just throw in the towel, give into temptation, pig out and deal with the consequences when you get home; there is another way.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, instead of seeking to completely avoid anything that can cause you to gain weight, pick your battles. Putting on a couple of pounds is perfectly normal and okay, what you want to avoid is packing on so much weight that your clothes no longer fit by the end of the cruise. The key is not to deny yourself completely, but moderation and knowing when to deny yourself. In my mind it’s impossible to go on a cruise vacation with the mindset of not enjoying all of the options available. Whether it’s where we are going, what we are doing or what we are eating I want to start things out with all of the options being available. This doesn’t necessarily mean I am going to take advantage of everything but I don’t want to limit myself before I even start.

Some people will tell you to take the stairs so that you get exercise. Other people will tell you that alcoholic beverages have tons of empty calories so they should be skipped. I’m going to tell you that taking the stairs slows you down and not drinking alcoholic beverages (when you are a drinker) sucks; so we have to do this another way. Instead of fighting that uphill battle (a battle you would eventually lose, leaving you both guilt-ridden and bloated) to completely cut out “the bad stuff” lets concentrate more on how to make “the bad stuff” not so bad.

Drink water whenever possible: Everyone tells you this one, which is something that I can get behind. While I’m not one to say you should completely avoid the empty calories in sodas (or pop as I would say) I do think it’s important to pick your battles. This is one of those battles where I like to play it conservatively. If skipping that glass of Pepsi or Coke allows me to enjoy a cocktail later, in my mind it’s a fair trade. Besides, I take dehydration seriously and there is no better way to fight dehydration than good old H2O, plus I need to prepare for all of the booze I won’t be cutting back on later.

Just because a buffet is available it doesn’t mean you have to eat everything: Buffets. Love them. I’m not someone who goes to a buffet with the intention of filling up plate after plate with food, just because it’s available. However, I am someone who once I see something I like will have no problem “going for it”. So, you don’t have to skip the buffets you just shouldn’t eat food just because it’s there. While you may feel the need to get your “money’s worth” of the ships food, you have to exercise a bit of restraint. Here is what you want to do, go through the line twice. The first time through just take small samples of anything you think looks interesting. This way you can sample anything you want and decide which battle is worth fighting. Then after you are done you can go back through the line to “fill up” on the items you really enjoyed. Who knows after you are done eating your samples you may not even want to go back through that second time.

Go easy on the frozen cocktails: Some people want you to skip the frozen cocktails because they are full of empty calories, which is true. I want you to skip the frozen cocktails because they are seriously lacking in booze. If you are going to be taking in all of the empty calories contained in alcohol you may as well be getting buzzed in the process. So instead of sipping on a Margarita go ahead and order yourself a long island iced tea; both of them are loaded with calories but it only takes a couple long island iced teas to get you going. You may have to drink your body weight in umbrella drinks before you start feeling anything.

Go out and get active: Ships are great because a lot of the time they will trick you into being active. There are some in your face “go out and exercise” areas like the jogging track or fitness center, but they aren’t my cup of tea. The real “gems” are activities like ice skating, rock climbing, trampolines or just walking around the promenade are all great ways to burn calories without actually “exercising”. Also when you get into port, exploring by foot whenever possible is a great way to not only really see a port but also to burn calories. Spending a couple of hours per port walking can almost negate the extra calories you take in during the evening. I love the variety of terrain you encounter in most ports; you can get a pretty good workout, without even realizing that you are actually working out. So if you are in a historic location do some research on a self-guided walking tour of the area, there is no better way to see the sights. I am big on snorkeling. In my experience few calorie blasting methods are more effective than chasing fish underwater. Any time I spend a few hours in a port snorkeling, I know that I can indulge with impunity when I get back to the ship because of all the exercise I got during the day.

Maybe You Should Eat More Often: I know this advice flies directly in the face of logic but maybe the right thing to do is eat smaller meals but more often. Since food is available 24 hours a day there is no need to load up on grub; they won’t run out. So instead of eating huge meals a couple of times each day, why not eat smaller meals and more often. By eating less food but more you will be encouraging a speed up of your metabolism allowing you to burn calories more easily. Since your body gets used to being fed several times each day it doesn’t hold onto calories wondering when the next caloric load will take place. This is also what you should be doing in your everyday life for optimum weight control.

I’m sure you have come across numerous articles telling you how to not lose weight on a cruise but most of them suggest unrealistic methods. What I tried to do was remind you that on a cruise you are supposed to have fun and enjoy everything it offers. However, just because you are enjoying yourself it doesn’t mean you need to overdo it. But even if you do happen to take things too far there are still ways to make cut calories in some places to be used in other

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Controversial Carnival Cruise Picture

 

carnivalnontippersemail thumb Controversial Carnival Cruise Picture

Here’s a story that has been making the rounds, one that may be of interest to you guys. The story comes to you from aboard the Carnival splendor. Apparently during one of the line cruise ship behind the scenes tours a passenger noticed and subsequently photographed a controversial e-mail which was printed out and posted on the bulletin board. What was on the e-mail, you ask? What makes it so controversial? Well, this particular e-mail containing the names of the passengers who chose to remove the prepaid gratuities from their cruise ship accounts. So, in case you have ever wondered whether or not the ship’s crew knows who has tipped them the answer is a resounding yes. Naturally, this leads to the question, is service impacted by how or when you choose to tip.

Now, first you want to get out of the way is the notion that all of you if you choose to remove the automatic tipping option are cheap. While it is true that some people choose not to automatically tip because they have no intentions of tipping, many choose to tip in cash based on the level of service they receive. The problem with this is the crew may mistake those who claim to tip in cash as simply being cheapskates. A problem which can lead to all sorts of misconceptions, rumors, urban legends or possibly even poor service. It has already started. I have seen this list jokingly (by cruisers not the crew) referred to as "the spit in your food list". Many others wonder if reports of inconsistent service can be linked to this list. In the very near future I can see cruisers fearful of removing the auto fit for fear of what may happen to their French onion soup in between the galley and a table. Fears, that will almost assuredly originate from some urban legend concocted on a message board. It’s amazing what damage an overactive imagination can cause.

What is carnivals reaction to the leaked picture

Here is a quote taken from the New York Post. Apparently they contacted the Carnival spokesperson wondering if the posting of these e-mails were standard operating procedure, here is the response.

I’ve confirmed that this is absolutely not standard protocol and should not have happened. Crew members are not informed of which guests removed their gratuities until after the voyage is completed and guests have disembarked. This information should not have been posted and shoreside management is in communication with this vessel to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Thank you for bringing it to our attention."

While I am not sure if I believe this statement in its entirety, it is Carnival’s story and they’re sticking to it.

The intelligent cruisers stance on auto tipping

Personally, I always choose to use the auto tip option whenever available. I usually don’t carry a lot of cash while cruising, so to me just seems easier. Now, I am not afraid to admit that there was one instance where I chose to reduce the tip to one member of the wait staff, however, he was especially horrible. Our water glasses were never filled, we had to ask for bread every day, received dirty looks and he was just generally rude. Normally, with the level of work and commitment to excellence that most of these crew members exhibit I don’t really see a reason why I would choose to reduce the tip. As far as tipping based on the level of service I receive, if someone provides exceptional service to me during my vacation I have no problem giving them a bit extra in cash.

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Carnival Rolls Out Flexible Dining Option Fleetwide

Although I have been a fan of Carnival since Kathy Lee was singing the “Fun ship” song back in the 80’s, they have just taken my love for the cruise line one step further. This week Carnival Cruises has announced the fleet wide rollout of its flexible dining time program.

Last year Carnival began testing “Your Choice Dining” onboard the Carnival Legend and the Carnival Liberty and have now decided to roll the program out fleet wide. Currently passengers sailing on the Legend and Liberty as well as those on the Carnival Sensation, Carnival Paradise and Carnival Miracle can enjoy “Your Choice Dining”. Those passengers booked on the Carnival Conquest, Carnival Elation and Carnival Pride will be able to dine at their convenience by the end of April. The Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Spirit join the party sometime in mid-June with the Carnival Dream, Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Glory getting the option by years’ end. The Carnival Fascination is scheduled to enter into the program in the February 2010; the rest of the fleet has not yet been scheduled. However, Carnival does plan to have “Your Time Dining” available throughout the entire fleet by the summer of 2010.

How Does “Your Time Dining” Work?

When you book your cruise on a ship that offers the program, you are given the option of selecting a dining time. The times offered will be early seating, late seating and “Your Time Dining”. Guests who choose “Your Time Dining” will be able to have dinner in the main dining room at anytime between 5:45 and 9:30 (depending on the ship and sailing date). Just as always the dining assignments will be given out on a first come, first serve basis, so book early to secure your first preference. If you do not get your desired dining time, don’t fret, you can ask to be put on the waiting list. Sometime prior to your sail date, you will be emailed with your confirmed dining assignment. Once you board the ship, guests will be able to request any table size as well as a specific waiter. Just remember the more requests you make the longer you are likely to wait for a table. However, Carnival has opted to provide guests with restaurant style pagers so that you can continue to enjoy the ship until your table is ready.

TICruiser’s Opinion on “Your Time Dining”

While I am a huge advocate of flexible dining times, I will admit some ships and lines do it better than others. In my opinion, Carnival has definitely taken the right path by choosing to use the restaurant pagers. I also must applaud them for giving passengers the option to request not only the table size but taking it one step further by allowing you to request a certain waiter. Although many passengers love the traditional early and late seating assignments I would not be surprised if sometime in the near future more passengers opted for flexible time dining than not.

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