This chick will be on her way to the Bahamas (weather permitting) in 3 weeks. I'm planning to stick to my diet while on board. I'll be taking along some snacks (I'm on a Snack-All-Day plan). I believe my only challenge will be the "chocolate buffet" but I've already decided that I will make some smart choices -- e.g., chocolate covered strawberries.

If anyone has any tips for staying on a diet while cruising, I'd love to hear (read) them!

Well... GOOD LUCK!!!!

My tip would be, try to do as much physical activity as you can. Go to the exercise classes, swim, dance in the evenings... just really be active.

Jay

I'd have to toss myself overboard the first day Oh but what fun, a cruise! I've never been. You'll do fine! Plan your indulgences And be sure to tell us all about the fun when you return!

Take the stairs as much as possible.

It depends on the cruise line, but Carnival (for instance) has a spa menu with lower-calorie options that are healthy and quite good. There's also a gym on board so you can get in some exercise to offset some of the dessert indulgences. My philosophy for cruising is to enjoy yourself, indulge a little, but try to be as active as possible. Above all, have fun! And try to stay away from the pizza and burger stands as much as possible.

I'm going on a cruise too!.. next weekend but I'll be going down the west coast from LA.
I'm planning on carrying water with me at all times and exercising strict portion control because I will be indulging along with hitting the gym every day. Enjoy your cruise

I'm also going on a cruise in a little less than 4 weeks...to the Caribbean!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. My plan is to walk as much as I can, and MAYBE use the gym on the ship (but probably not, seeing as how it's vacay and I'm going to be doing all sorts of fun shore excursions).

Hopefully, all the walking will offset the enormous amounts of food I will no doubt shove down my throat. I'm not holding out much hope, but I'm definitely going to have a great time no matter what!

Yay for us!

I hope the cruise line I'm taking has fresh fruit, veggies, and lean meats/poultry/seafood!

Five more days till I set sail! I'm determined to stick to my diet too! I have some snack bars I'll be carrying along (I"m on the Snack-All-Day Diet), and past cruisers assure me there are healthy options on board.

I'm taking along my athletic pants for walks on deck. I plan to come back lighter than when I left!

When I went on a cruise with my grandparents when I was 16 I actually did come back lighter than I left. There was so much stuff to do, and all of our onshore activities were like hiking in the rainforest (we went to hawaii) and walking around on the beach and looking at all of the shops. I was NEVER ever bored and always moving.

On the cruise I went on, you could either sit in the main dining hall or go to a buffet for dinner. The buffet always had more fresh fruit and veggies and stuff... but if wanted to sit at the dining room, just look and see what their having that day (they should have a menu posted) and then I'm sure they'd accomodate you by giving you extra vegetables or fruit.

I was gonig to say the same thing - except I was 34 and went with my DH.

But yeah, I lost weight on my cruise. Yes, we ate all the time, but we ate small portions and did a LOT of exercise. Just walking the length of the ship was a decent bit of exercise, on the at-sea days.

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Agreed! Do not take the elevators unless you're wearing 4 inch stilettos. Trust me, you'll not only get exercise, you'll save yourself a lot of aggravation. Taking the elevator on cruise ships guarantees you'll stop at every single deck.

And go to the health club every day, at off-peak times (read: do not go from 8-10am).

Good luck to you! The food on cruises is always incredible.

I have to say, I think that experience is not the norm. I've been on many cruises and I've NEVER lost weight! A ship is just not big enough for the walking to offset the food.

My advice for cruisers is to enjoy the food, with reason -- don't restrict yourselves too much (that's no fun!). But like another poster already said -- move as much as possible! If your ship have activities like rock climbing, dancing, surfing... do it and challenge yourself.

I hope you have a great time!

Um, well, if you notice I also quoted the part where she said

There was so much stuff to do, and all of our onshore activities were like hiking in the rainforest (we went to hawaii) and walking around on the beach and looking at all of the shops. I was NEVER ever bored and always moving.

I never said that JUST walking around the ship was enough.

But I'll further elaborate -
Yes, we ate often, but the ship we were on didn't serve huge portions. Also the food was amazingly fresh and yummy. Everything was exquisitely presented in small portions. I ate fish at nearly every dinner, and dessert always offered a fruit option that was amazing (poached pears with balsamic vinegar cream, for example). Even the snacks area - you could order individual pizzas which were about 6", thin crust, fresh tomatoes, etc.

When we were off the ship we did all the activities we could - hiking, swimming with turtles, walking the tourist areas, walking from the ship to the stores (rather than taking a cab), etc.

When we were at sea, we walked the length of the ship several times, briskly, and made sure to swim as well as just lying out in the sun.

We went dancing at night (and that will burn calories, for sure) and participated in the events (like the limbo contest one night).

In otherwords, we didn't just go and sit on our butts. We took advantage of every opportunity to move that was offered.

And yeah, we lost weight. Both of us.

It can be done.

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