Addicted To Cruises

We’ve all heard the expression: Cruisers are newly-wed, over-fed or nearly dead. My guess is the typical cruiser puts on about five to ten pounds during a week-long cruise, and how can you not? With breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, 24hr pizza and ice cream, five course dinners, and room service, food is available at every turn… as is the temptation.

So we’ve set ourselves a challenge this Thanksgiving Cruise. We’ve been diligently dieting for the past six weeks, losing 25 pounds between us, so we’d hate to waste all that effort for a weeklong food-fest of over-indulgence. I usually aim to keep the gain at only two pounds, five for the hubby, but this Thanksgiving my goal is to gain NOT ONE POUND!!! Zip, zero, zilch! Or “nought, nil, n’owt” in British.

How can you possibly do this and still have fun? And I agree; I don’t want to be “dieting” and eating nothing but fruit and veg all week either. But there are some adjustments we can make to our food-scavenging animal instinct to constantly forage for the next meal. As an accountant, I sit at a desk all day and don’t exercise much, so as long as I increase my activity level while on a cruise, I figure I can eat more than my usual cereal and a sandwich.

Step 1 of the plan is aimed at consumption:

The most important thing is to make every morsel intentional and don’t just graze. Enjoy the different foods, savor the flavor, and take your time.

Peruse the buffet: Don’t fill your plate with every food available at every meal. Browse first, see what’s offered and target your selections. I’ve done it too many times: I got the “meat of the day,” some potatoes and… doh! there’s lasagna and I really want it! I feel bad taking food and not eating it so I end up eating both; not a good plan.

Portion control: If you insist on having a bit of everything, do just that… A BIT! Not a whole serving, just a taste. Believe me, if you’re hungry in an hour, you’ll find more food.

Meal control: We have developed a bad habit on cruises. Because we usually eat breakfast early, before the cooked buffet is open, we eat our cereal, and maybe fruit or a yogurt, but then we go back for “second breakfast” to get some eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, mmmm…. Then we’ll have lunch, pizza for an afternoon snack, dinner… need I say more. So we need to plan the day, schedule our meals and activities better and try not to visit the buffet so often by leaving less “what shall we do now” time which usually leads us back to the buffet.

Share: Desserts are one of the best things on a cruise, because we don’t eat dessert much at home and it’s so nice to taste all the different ones available. So we can plan to share desserts, since I only want a taste, not a whole serving. Some cruises actually serve very small portions so it’s not unreasonable to load three onto your plate, but others seem to believe in stuffing you absolutely full to the brim, or expect you only to take one {hahahahaha}.

Step 2 is to try to burn off as much as you eat:

There are oodles of activities on board and ashore that can help you burn off those extra calories while having so much fun you won’t even notice you are exercising! You could even use the exercise as a means to a reward. Hubby says he is going to allow himself as much ice cream as he wants (his favorite cruise activity), but he has to exercise 30 mins for each one.

Avoid the Elevators: We never use the elevators, not once, not boarding, disembarking, not even when you’ve been on a tender and find yourself walking up from the bowels of the ship. This really works! I actually lost two pounds on my last cruise.

Bedtime Circuit: I love to do this, hubby not so much, but before bed I like to walk around the ship, through the shops, view the photos, around the outer decks, up and down stairs. It helps me sleep and helps to make up for not walking the dog that day… as long as you avoid the ice cream machine.

Use the Gym: Ok, seems a bit obvious, but the facilities are usually filled with great equipment and a fantastic view, so half an hour on the Eliptical goes pretty fast while listening to your favorite music and day-dreaming that you are running on water.

Swim: Not the best suggestion for much of the day, but early or late should allow you enough room for a few laps. Also, use the pool while the ship is docked – most of the pool-hogs will have gone on excursions!

Jogging Track: A wonderful way to take in the views and catch some rays, walking or running is going to be one of the best calorie burners.

Mini-Golf: This is my favorite on-board activity; doesn’t take much effort or burn many calories, but it is better than doing nothing and it is FUN!

Other On-board Facilities: Water-slides, flow-riders, rock-climbing, ice or roller-skating and shuffleboard can be found on many ships. Make a plan to try everything once. Maybe you’ll miss one of those extra meals while trying to fit in all the activities!

Go Dancing: Fabulous exercise, socializing, loud music, just don’t drink too many empty calories! I figure if you’re dancing, you can’t be eating or drinking at the same time.

On-shore Activities: There are so many fun and active excursions available. I’m not one for lying on the beach all day, so if there’s a kayak available, or snorkel equipment, I’m exercising without even realizing it.

The good news is that according to cruisers on Cruise Critic‘s message board, the general consensus is thatweight usually comes off within a week so long as you go straight back to your normal eating habits. I know when I get home from a cruise, my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut!

You’re desperate to go on another cruise… or maybe this is your first. Maybe you already know exactly where you want to go and when, but there are so many choices out there, and so many things to consider before you make your booking. We already have a cruise booked in December 2012 (End of the World cruise!) but 14 months is too far away… We need something in between, but we also have family visits to UK and San Francisco scheduled. AND we want to do a 25th Anniversary Cruise in 2013, something a little special. We have not settled on either, back and forth: what to do, where to go, how much… the options seem endless.

How much do you want to pay?

This may be the first thing considered, or the last, depending on whether you design your cruise around your budget, or your budget around your cruise. Most people do a little of both, looking what is available and considering all the options. We’ll come back to this throughout the whole exercise.

How much time do you have?

Let’s say you have a week off. Do you want to take a 4 or 5 day cruise and spend a couple of days at the port before or after? This is an excellent idea for cruises out of Florida as you can tag a Disney or Universal Studios trip on the end. Alternatively, do you want the longest cruise possible and spend the whole week on a ship? With my other planned trips, I really cannot take much more time off work, so I’m going to have to settle for a short one in the Spring, but plan on taking two weeks for my Anniversary cruise.

Will you fly or drive?

I love the convenience of the Port of Galveston within six hours of my house. I’m even happy to drive nine hours to New Orleans (Jim is less happy, since he does most of the driving). I hate that we are limited to Carnival Cruises for the majority of the year, or if we want to cruise for less than a week. I’m not a fan of flying for two reasons:

1) You need to fly in the day before or risk delays which could cause you to miss the boat! This is particularly important if you have to make connections – yet more potential delays. So factor in the cost of a hotel stay if this is the case. Sitting on the tarmac at DFW for four hours is no fun as you contemplate what could happen if you don’t make it in time.

2) It’s just plain expensive! But don’t discard the idea without comparing the cruise prices from your local port to those from Miami or Port Canaveral, since you may find that those cruises are cheap enough to justify the cost of the flight.

What is the purpose of the cruise?

If you’re celebrating something special, you may want to consider something a bit different from your usual vacation, something more exotic (and costly). So for our quick getaway next year, Carnival from Galveston will probably have to do, since all we want to do is be on a ship, maybe have a beach day, and break up the monotony of our work weeks. BUT, for our 25th Anniversary, I want something special, romantic, exotic, new, exciting… ahhh, I dream.

So you need to consider the purpose of your cruise. If you want to give the kids a fun Spring Break, get away with your girlfriends, or party with your buddies, you probably don’t care where the ship is going. Cheap beer in Mexico is likely your preferred destination. If you are having a family reunion and need to consider the cost, you may choose a cheaper option to help those who may not have the cruise budget you do. But for your anniversary, perhaps a beach in Tahiti is calling your name, or the sights of Venice and Rome.

Price points – Inside/Window/Balcony

On our fourth cruise, we got spoiled with a free upgrade in Hawaii. Having had inside cabins on our previous three cruises, we decided we would treat ourselves to a window for the views of Hawaii, but good fortune meant we had a free upgrade to a balcony… and the realization we may never again be contented with an inside cabin. But our budget and the purpose of the cruise is also a factor, so for a family reunion, or party with the lads, you wouldn’t plan on spending much time in the cabin and therefore may be happy inside, or with a window (so you can at least see if it is morning yet!). You might compare prices and choose a balcony on a 5-day cruise full of kids, to preserve some peace and quiet, or forego the balcony in order to take a longer cruise on a more sedate cruise line.

Although I love having a balcony, I’d be willing to take a window cabin just to be able to afford a trip to Panama. And I’m pretty sure Jim would choose an inside cabin on Royal Caribbean over a balcony on Carnival.

When will you go?

Some of us are limited to particular weeks or months of the year (as an accountant, my vacations are all scheduled around month ends/quarters and year end). Other considerations might be holidays, school breaks and hurricane season. Prices are usually almost double on a cruise including a holiday such as Christmas or New Year. The same goes for Spring Break or the height of summer. But then there are also certain cruise lines that only sail, as an example, to the Caribbean from November to April, then heading over to the Mediterranean for the summer.

Vacations are a no-go for me from October through January, so this leaves a slim window if I want a Caribbean getaway (unless I’m willing to fly somewhere). I try to avoid Spring Break (for Texas and Arkansas), and the first week or so of each month to get our books closed, leaving me a full three weeks to choose from to sail from Galveston on Royal Caribbean, or New Orleans on Norwegian, my two favorite cruise lines. Thankfully, we are empty-nesters and not tied to the school breaks like many.

Destination

Next decision… do you have particular ports you want to visit? Or excursions you want to try? If you’re an avid scuba diver, you may be looking for something headed to Roatan or Belize. Perhaps you want to visit the caves of Belize, or the Mayan ruins. If you’re looking for a fun party-oriented beach, there are many in Nassau and Cozumel, meaning you don’t need a luxury cruise for that. Also, certain ports are noted for shopping (I don’t get why people cruise to go shopping, but that’s just not my thing I guess).

Which Ship Floats Your Boat?

This is going to narrow down your choices, but if there’s a new, enormous, amazing, ship you’ve seen advertised and everyone seems to be having far more fun than you’ve ever had before, you might be thinking you want to go on that ship. Carousels, zip-lines, parks, spa cabins, amazing entertainment… there are so many bigger and better things going on than ever before offered. Bear in mind that these ships are sailing full; that’s 3000+ passengers getting off and on at every stop. We’ll be on the Norwegian Epic for our End of the World cruise and I’m a little nervous about how crowded it will be. But then I also don’t want the intimacy of the smaller ships. For our family reunion, I’m sure it will be perfect.

Well, I’m not really any closer to making decisions about our getaway or our anniversary cruise, but I suppose the fun is in the planning. I think we’re starting to narrow it down from so many choices. Enjoy your next trip!