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If like me, you’re considering dipping your toes into the cruise scene, but wondering if there’ll be any fitness, wellness or general active activities for you to get involved in, I’ve done the investigating to find out what you can expect.
Check Out The Gym Facilities
Your first port of call (pun intended) for keeping active, has to be the gym. The best thing about the gym is that it’ll be a dedicated space for fitness with equipment to do your own thing, or classes if you fancy a group session.
I got my friend and fellow Personal Trainer to share his experience of Sky Princess cruise ship which he says, is “in my top 10 voyages ever done“.
“[The Sky Princess cruise ship] gym range is pretty cool; really well equipped with equipment like TRX and the latest spin bikes. They have Personal Trainers who deliver seminars so it’s quite well informed. The treadmills face the water so you get a nice view of outside. It’s a bit tricky if the water is choppy, trying to run with the waves coming up and down, but you can just work your way around that”
James bolton, Personal Trainer & Travel Expert
If you fancy doing your own thing in the gym, I’ve got a few workouts you can try:
Have A Daily Step Goal
Depending on how far away the gym is from your room, you might rack up a decent number of steps just getting there and back. But you can also give yourself a daily goal to hit as depending on the ship you’re on, it could be the size of two football pitches!
Start by seeing how many steps you manage on your first day then use that as a baseline to either maintain or beat for the rest of your trip.
Running Tracks
Many cruise ships will have a running tracking which you can use for walking or running. If you’re a runner, you can do interval or sprint sessions to unleash your running speed.
James suggests it’s best to get out and get your runs or walks on the track done in the mornings, to avoid the ‘crowds’ that can be around later in the day.
Personally, I’d also pack my running shoes to use to explore the locations I’d be stopping at. Running is a great way to see more (you cover more distance than walking but you can take in the views better than driving) and you can plan routes using apps like Strava.
Swimming
Check if your ship has a pool, and if they specifically have adult only areas where you can get some uninterrupted laps done. Learning to swim as an adult was the best thing i ever did, so if you’ve yet to learn, make it happen.
You can make swimming as much as a workout as you desire, or you can just enjoy a relaxed paddle up and down. Don’t forget to pack your swimming costume and anything else you might need – googles, float, fins etc.
Final Cruise Ship Tips
Last but not least, a few tips for choosing your first cruise and cruise ship.
!) keep it short. Start with a long weekend / 4 day cruise to test if you like the cruise experience. It’s long enough to feel like you’ve had a break, but short enough incase you don’t entirely enjoy it. Locations like the Fjords, or other European locations (for those of us UK based) are ideal.
2) choose a cruise outside of the school holidays to find more reasonable prices and less kids aboard if you’ve no children yourself.
3) book for the start of end of the season. So April/May or September/October for Europe. You’ll benefit from less crowds, decent weather, and reasonable prices.
Got any other ways you recommend for keeping active on a cruise ship?!
Elle