So, we just finished our cruise and we certainly enjoyed ourselves. At the same time, I felt quite lucky that my pants still fit pretty well when we got off the ship. Eschia (take it easy)!
And, why do I say I was lucky? Well, quite simply it’s because there’s so much food. All you can eat buffets for every meal and deserts available 24/7 sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? Yep, yep, yep.
If you’re into fancy dining, there were also three dining rooms with three course meals and dessert every night ... of course. Hold on a second. I don’t eat desert every night at home and most people I know don’t either.
To boot, we could also have desert with breakfast and lunch and any time during the day. So that means it’s pretty easy to consistently eat too much. And, it can be pretty easy to put on ten to fifteen pounds on a cruise. And the older we get, the harder it is to take off. Sound familiar?
Not convinced? Or you say you eat desert every day? Well, I forgot to mention that they also make chips, nachos, pizza, hamburgers and fries and other snacks like ice cream available several times a day, the last time being 10:30 p.m. I never had any. Wink, wink.
At least you can go work out and the gym is conveniently on the same floor as the buffet so you walk by the desert on your way there and on your way back. And if you’re like me, it’s easy to forget that I already had desert and tell myself, “I just worked out, so I can eat this desert.” Lol.
And each country we saw is famous for some type of food so we have to try it. And you guessed it ... it’s often chocolates, ice cream, or pastry. And it’s easy to tell myself, “I’ve been walking all day” or “I don’t know if I’ll ever be back here.” Or “We can’t come all this way here and not try it.” Eschia!
Healthy choices on the ship
But, all is not lost. There are healthy options; it’s just a matter of making choices and sticking to them. For instance, it’s okay to have a desert, cookie or a pastry, as long as you don’t over do it.
And there are salads available at all times of the day even for breakfast. There are also loads of vegetables, which you can get raw, steamed or boiled. For breakfast, you can have oatmeal or an omelet or scrambled eggs with lots of healthy ingredients like spinach, tomatoes, peppers and onions. Very cool.
At lunch and dinner, there was always different types of fish and various types of seafood. If you’re vegetarian, the buffet has lots of vegetarian options and you can get special meals, if you eat in the dining room. We also had plenty of herbal teas and water.
The big thing with food is exerting the discipline to not eat too many deserts, to eat good portions and to avoid foods that are greasy or have creamy sauces. You can even have the sauce on the side and apply it sparingly yourself.
For active people, the pool, gym, ping pong and basketball are free and are open twelve hours a day. The gym has free weights and plenty of exercise machines, like stationary bikes, rowing machines and elliptical machines. There’s also a personal trainer who will help you, including testing you and having private sessions.
He also gives workshops on issues like taking care of your back, losing weight and walking properly. There are services like massage and acupuncture which are a bit pricey, but you can get discounts. These therapists also put on workshops, but remember they try to sell you products at all workshops.
We also paid extra for hydro therapy because it has a huge heated hydro pool, with various spouts shooting out water or bubbles along with saunas and heated beds. Just the thing for aches and pains, especially after walking around for hours on cobblestones. Well ya.
There was a track that went completely around the outside of the ship. You could walk or jog while looking out at the sea and at night you could watch a beautiful sunset. Jean just loved the sunsets.
Finally, you can go dancing every night in the Blues bar. Once again, use discipline so you don’t drink so much pop and alcohol that you put on weight. Hahaha.
Like I said, the cruise was great and I’m happy I still fit my pants.