STAYING FIT ON THE SEAS Cruises offer terrific value for your vacation dollar, but all too often people view them as little more than a floating 24/7 buffet. Fit Globetrotters need not worry....-MORE-
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Cruises offer terrific value for your vacation dollar, but all too often people view them as little more than a floating 24/7 buffet. Fit Globetrotters need not worry. With a sensible approach to eating and activity, anyone can go on a voyage and not gain a pound. Several cruise lines have recognized that not everyone wants to take a vacation from their healthy lifestyle when they travel and have offered up wellness cruises and more healthy options onboard. Here’s a rundown of the best cruise lines for Fit Globetrotters
Mainstream Cruise Lines
Royal Caribbean:
Gym: Shipshape Fitness Center. The gym offers free weights, machines and cardio equipment. Examples of classes include Pathway to Yoga; Combat in Motion, which combines martial arts with aerobic conditioning, and Wheels in Motion, a spinning class.
Food: All cruise ships offer low-fat ShipShape Day Spa options.
Other Activities: Royal Caribbean pioneered unique active shipboard activities with the Rock Climbing wall. On its newest ship, a wave pool allows cruisers to surf onboard. You can even get PADI certified onboard (gear provided).
Sample Shore Excursions: ATV Expedition and ZipRider in Alaska, 3-stop SNUBA and snorkel adventure in the Caribbean and the Archipelago Speed Boat Adventure in Northern Europe.
Contact: www.royalcarribean.com
Celebrity:
Gym: The gym features free weights, weight machines and cardio equipment. Classes include; Mind, Body and Soul, The Metabolism Booster and Work that Body.
Food: The AquaSpa Café offers lighter food options. A special vegetarian menu is available by request at dinner. Vegan options are part of the vegetarian menu.
Other Activities: Basketball, volleyball and paddle tennis.
Sample Shore Excursions: Dry Suit Snorkel in Alaska, Survival of the Fittest in the Galapagos, LL Bean Outdoor Discovery Kayak Adventure in New England.
Contact: www.celebritycruises.com
Holland America:
Gym: The gym features free weights, weight machines and cardio equipment. Classes focus primarily on yoga and Pilates
Food: “Light and Healthy” menu items that are low in sodium and cholesterol. A special vegetarian menu is available by request at dinner.
Other Activities: basketball, volleyball, paddle tennis
Sample Shore Excursions: Swim with the Dolphins in Australia, Deep Sea Fish in Mexico, Mauna Kea Summit Adventure in Hawaii.
Contact: www.hollandamerica.com
Princess:
Gym: The gym features free weights, weight machines and cardio equipment. Classes and body assessments are offered. Classes are focused on yoga and Pilates.
Food: Offers numerous vegetarian options in its lunch and dinner menus.
Other Activities PADI certification, golf simulator, basketball, volleyball, jogging
Sample Shore Excursions: Mt. Liamuiga Volcano Hike in the Caribbean, Kayak in Prince William Sound in Alaska, Ko Samui Highlights and Elephant Trek in Thailand.
Contact: www.princess.com
Specialty Cruises:
Crystal Cruises:
The line offers several Mind, Body & Spirit themed cruises throughout the year with guest instructors on board to teach yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi. Wellness Seminars and active shore excursions are offered.
On every cruise there is a “Walk-on-Water” program. Guests can use weighted Walkvests that have pockets for light weights in the waistline of the vest. Participants are given music and a guided walking program to listen to. On most cruises, a PGA pro is onboard offering classes and clinics.
www.crystalcruises.com
Silversea:
This high-end cruise line recently purchased the expedition ship World Discoverer. It will undergo renovation and be relaunched in Spring 2008. The ship is specially built for in-depth exploration of out-of-the-way destinations.
www.silversea.com
Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic Cruises:
The cruise line partners with National Geographic Society. The line is committed to exploration, conservation and sustainability. Many voyages include National Geographic scientists, writers and photographers onboard.
http://www.expeditions.com/index.asp
Cruise News
6-3-08-NCL will start offering botox, restylane and perlane facial treatments on the Dawn, Gem and Spirit with plans to add the services fleet-wide in fall.
5-20-2008-easyCruise is launching a new 600-passenger ship. The ship sets sail this week in the Greek Isles.
5-8-08-Oceania, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara are raising their fuel charges.
5-8-08-Celebrity is retiring its Galaxy ship and NCL is saying goodbye to the Dream and the Majesty.
5-8-08-NCL begins construction on a new generation of ships called F3 (Freestyle 3.0). The first ship will launch in 2010.
5-6-08-Royal Carribean is sending Mariner of the Seas to LA in 2009 to do Mexican cruises. The ship is 50% larger than any ship currently sailing the route.
5-5-08-NCL's soon-to-leave the fleet, Pride of Aloha just failed a health inspection by the CDC, something unheard of in the cruise industry.
Cruise Critic reports that the new Royal Caribbean Genisis Ship under constructin might have towers rising from the ship's mid-section. RC has a big press conference scheduled for April 15. Stay tuned.
Holland America's Eurodam, which enters service July 1, will feature Asian, French and italian restaurants in addition to the main dining room and Pinnacle Grill.
American Safari Cruises will start cruising Hawaii in 2008. Cruises are limited to 36 guests and focus on traditional Hawaii Culture. www.amssafari.com
Cruise West is offering a California Wine Country Spa Package with its 2008 California cruises. It's 3 and 4 night cruises can now be paired with a 2 night stay and spa treatments at the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco. www.cruisewest.com
The
evil norovirus strikes the high seas again, this time sickening up to 10%
of passengers on Holland America’s Ryndam.
Want
to learn about the exposes of life on a cruise ship? Check out Permanent Passenger: My Life on a Cruise Ship by Micha
Berman.
If
you’re like me and like cruises, but hate the fact that it’s hard to find
a line catering to Gen X, I’ve heard rumors that the new NCL Gem is just
that ship. It’s fun, not stuffy,
and sexy (think velvet drapped canopy beds in the nightclub!) www.ncl.com
Last
year Silversea surprised the industry when it bought an expedition style
ship for adventure cruising. The
former World Discoverer is renamed the HSH Prince Albert II and will begin
sailing June 12 after a multimillion dollar renovation. www.silversea.com
Passengers
on shore excursions on Regent Seven Seas Cruises won’t have to strain to
hear their guide. The line is
introducing wireless headsets to allow guides and participants to
connect. The system debuts in
June.
The US Marshall Service captured a murder suspect trying to flee the US via Carnival's Celebration.
Oceania Line will launch two new ships debuting in 2010 and 2011. They will be double the size of current Oceania vessels.
ALL EYES ON...
Name: Femke van Kempen
Company: Holland America Line
Website: www.hollandamerica.com
What
is the role of the guest relations manager onboard ship?
As Guest Relations Manager I’m involved in many
ship operations. My main responsibility is to manage the Front Office. This is
the place where all guests come to with questions, requests and most often,
complaints. My goal, together with my team of 12, is to let every guest walk
away with a smile, happy that we could help. We are the people in between the
ship’s personnel and the guests. A few other responsibilities are making sure
that guests embarkation and disembarkation procedures run smooth. Having over
1200 guests arrive or leave at the same time needs a lot of efficiency.
Furthermore, when traveling between different countries you have to work with
local officials and all their rules and regulations. In order to ensure that we
comply with their rules we have to advise guests about this, making sure that
they have the proper paperwork and this again is one of my other
responsibilities.
What is the oddest request you’ve received
from a passenger?
At the Front Office we get so many strange questions and
requests that I could write a book. Many you forget, but some you’ll remember.
One of the oddest ones was when a guest asked me if we could contact the mayor
of Rio de Janeiro to ask if he could have the terminal building painted because
they had a balcony suite and didn’t like the view from their balcony for the
two days that the ship was in port. Can you believe it?!
What
are some of your favorite cruise destinations?
By now I have seen quite a few places and there are many
beautiful spots in the world, all with their own specialties. Europe is
wonderful because every port and every country has its different atmosphere.
New Zealand is great for its nature. Antarctica is very impressive with all the
white and blue icebergs, but when you put your feet on the ground in Greenland
you also feel very special. On the other hand, having dolphins and killer
whales swimming with you along in Alaska or
sailing the always crazy busy Yangtze-river in Shanghai is also
something I won’t forget.
What
active things do you do in port?
This depends on the ports and the weather. I try to spend as
much time as possible in port, but work wise this is not always possible. What
I really like to do is climbing mountains, walking through forests (or through
shopping streets) and since we have mountain bikes for crew on board, I also
like to go cycle for an hour or so.
What
Holland America cruises would you recommend for someone who wants an active
vacation?
A lot depends on the individual. You can do as much as you want
wherever you are in the world. If you are doing an Alaska cruise you can
combine this with a land tour that involves hiking. Furthermore, Alaska has many outdoor facilities in the different
ports, for glacier climbing and hiking. Besides Alaska, you can really do
activities everywhere: Europe has a lot of beautiful, ancient places to see
where you can easily stroll to and through. In New Zealand the weather was
great to cycle along the beach and climb the different mountains. This way you
can also enjoy the stunning views. In the Caribbean you have a lot of choice
for beach activities. If you really want to do an active cruise, here are some
pieces of advice:
Make sure that the itinerary has many ports in comparison with sea days. Some itineraries have many sea days and on these days you are limited to the gymnasium and swimming pool for your activities. Not bad of course but maybe not what you are looking for.
It’s also important that the ports are not too far away from the places to do something as you don’t always have a lot of time. Generally the ship arrives around 8am and leaves around 5pm.
Make sure that you explore the places where you stop before you board the vessel so you know what there is to do. This way you will be able to prepare and decide what you want to do where without losing valuable time.
If you sign up for a ship excursion make sure that you choose a strenuous one and not a 3-hour bus tour.
Bottom line is, you can make your cruise as active as you want if you plan ahead.
SEA TIPS & TRICKS
Take the stairs not the elevator. It’s a sneaky way to work off those midnight buffet calories.
Fill out all your pre-cruise paperwork online and you’ll save time at the port on the day of the cruise.
Get first pick of shore excursions by signing up online before the cruise.
Check online to find your own tours to take while on shore. I can usually find the same tours that the cruise line runs, but at substantial discounts.
If your cruise has flexible dining, understand that it’s not all that flexible. They have set times they give for reservations. And be sure to reserve as soon as you can, these speciality restaurants fill up quick!
Take the cheapest cabin available. I’ve always been upgraded.
Check multiple websites for the best price on the cruise you want. Most agencies will meet or beat their competitors.
Sign-up for the cruise-lines frequent cruiser program after your first cruise. You’ll definitely be in a good position for upgrades if you’re a known cruiser.
Cruise lines love air-conditioning, if you’re like me, bring a lightweight sweater.
Costa Cruises are ideal for the spa lover with their huge 23,000 sq ft. spas on board select ships. They also offer dedicated spa cabins. www.costacruise.com
Take second seating dining so you can spend extra time in ports where the ship stays past 5 pm.
SEA Travel Deals
6-12-08-NCL announces it's biggest one day fare sale. Use program code PG1DAY and book today
