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From Polynesian-inspired Zumba classes to alfresco yoga sessions and raw food options, Sara Macefield looks at how your clients can stay fit and healthy afloat.
Cruise lines are turning up the heat when it comes to offering passengers options to stay fit and healthy onboard. The latest generation of ships boast impressive state-of-the art gyms and spas, a huge array of fitness activities, healthy dining options (and in some cases health food restaurants) and active excursions ashore. For those who want to, the excuses for not getting into tip-top shape are running out and passengers can even lose pounds rather than putting them on.
Any modern ship worth its salt now comes with fully equipped gyms plus full-service spas and thermal suites; and the larger the vessel, the more extensive the facilities.
Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis, Freedom and Quantum-class mega-ships have the most impressive – and massive – gyms, kitted out with the latest exercise and weight training equipment.
As they are located on higher decks, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows, joggers have fabulous views to inspire them as they pound rows of exercise machines facing out to sea.
Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Lines, P&O Cruises, and MSC Cruises are among those with good onboard gyms.
Likewise, spa complexes have grown far beyond a few treatment rooms plus steam and sauna facilities to include extensive thermal suites and bubbling thalassotherapy pools.
Viking Ocean Cruises has injected a Scandinavian flavour to its wellness facilities with a novel snow room, which brings an exhilarating feel to proceedings, while NCL’s newest ship Norwegian Escape not only has a snow room, but a salt room too, inspired by the salt caves of Eastern Europe.
MSC offers one of the most atmospheric spas with its extensive selection of Asian-inspired treatments, ranging from shell massages to four-handed therapies, delivered by serenely smiling Balinese therapists.
But keeping fit doesn’t need to be confined to the gym. Crystal Cruises has installed exercise machines on the open decks of Crystal Serenity as part of an Outdoor Fitness Garden.
Most ships have sports courts and some, such as Crystal and Cunard, even have paddle tennis courts. Passengers wanting a gentler way to work off the calories can stroll the decks or, in some cases, step up the pace on deck-top jogging tracks.
Several ships from lines including Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Cruise & Maritime Voyages and Saga Cruises have wrap-around promenade decks with signs stating how many circuits add up to a mile – and this becomes the focus of organised early morning gatherings of passengers who meet to “walk the waves”.
Crystal also features a Walk-On- Water (Wow) programme where participants wear a special Walkvest weighted by between two and 16 pounds to make users work harder as they stroll, and a Nordic Walking programme, where enthusiasts use lightweight poles to steady their weight as they stride out.
While riverboats can’t hope to keep up with the size and scale of facilities offered on their oceangoing counterparts, many newer vessels have fitness rooms equipped with a handful of machines and some, such as Uniworld, Emerald Waterways and AmaWaterways, also have a small spa or beauty salon.
Whatever fitness class passengers are looking for, they will generally find it on a cruise ship. On mainstream lines some classes carry a charge of a few pounds, though on premium and luxury lines these tend to be included in the fare.
It’s no longer about basic keep fit as lines have caught on to the latest trends – and have the advantage of offering classes with the backdrop of beautiful views. Take Star Clippers, which offers yoga classes on the decks of its clipper-style yachts, or Celebrity Cruises, which holds yoga sessions on the real grass lawns of its Solstice-class ships.
Stretching sessions, meditation, aerobics, Zumba and Pilates are commonly offered across most oceangoing vessels, with South Pacific specialist Paul Gauguin Cruises spicing up its activities with traditional Polynesian dance classes and Polynesian-inspired Zumba sessions.
Cunard is another with slightly more off-beat activities that include fencing lessons, while SeaDream Yacht Club is the line for sunrise tai chi sessions and Azamara Club Cruises offers sunset yoga on deck.
Various companies have caught on to the cycling craze by offering high-intensity spinning classes. NCL offers these and has also launched the Norwegian Fight Klub where boxing classes, full of jabbing, punching, ducking and diving, take their cue from traditional boxing training sessions.
Small ships such as Seabourn, Windstar and Star Clippers, that have watersports marinas, offer exercise enthusiasts the likes of kayaking, snorkelling and paddle-boarding. But activities don’t just stop at
classes and activities. For some cruise lines it’s about a way of life and a state of mind, with sessions aimed at nurturing body and soul.
Royal Caribbean’s Vitality programme contains enrichment seminars while lines such as Princess Cruises and Holland America Line offer sessions on weight loss and lifestyle.
Silversea offers specific Wellness Expedition voyages designed to improve the wellbeing of passengers with an onboard programme that includes fitness and aqua-gym classes, nutritional counselling, cooking demonstrations and healthy menus. It also features skin and body clinics as well as detox and cleansing sessions.
Uniworld’s Wellbeing on the Water programme promises “invigorating activities for the mind, body and spirit” with onboard fitness, active excursions and “signature” lectures, while Seabourn has introduced a fleet-wide “mindful living programme” which starts this month.
It has teamed up with American integrative medicine pioneer Dr Andrew Weil to offer guests a “holistic spa and wellness experience” that promises to totally renew and rejuvenate with daily complimentary classes, sessions and seminars.
Cruising has always been about food glorious food – and lots of it, but in recent years cruise lines have taken strides to offer more healthy alternatives and raise awareness of eating healthily.
On lines such as Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises and Holland America Line, menus in main dining rooms and speciality restaurants generally highlight alternatives containing less salt and/or fat, while low - sugar desserts are also pinpointed. Oceania Cruises and sister line Regent Seven Seas Cruises also offer healthy dishes inspired by US wellness brand Canyon Ranch.
In general, various dietary needs including vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and diabetic are catered for by cruise lines. The last few years have also seen the emergence of sushi restaurants, spa cafes and juice bars, while some ships have dedicated healthy eating venues.
Celebrity Cruises’ Blu restaurant on its Solstice-class ships is reserved for passengers staying in spa cabins and serves so-called “clean cuisine” focusing on grilled meats served with vinaigrettes and light sauces.
Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class mega-ships have two venues that focus on low calorie dishes, the Vitality Cafe in the spa and the Solarium Bistro.
SeaDream Yacht Club stands out for its Raw Food menu, inspired by the Hippocrates Health Institute with gourmet dishes such as Asian-style cashew curry salad and raw avocado key lime pie comprising raw, organic and vegan ingredients.
Norwegian line Hurtigruten even has its “Norway’s Coastal Kitchen” initiative whereby it sources ingredients from its “pantry” of Norwegian ports, enabling passengers to sample local specialities along with fresh meat and fish.
Holland America Line’s newest ship Koningsdam is promoting a new farm-to-table style dinner in the Culinary Arts Centre, where chefs use fresh micro-greens and Koppert Cress grown onboard.
A general emphasis on culinary activities also encourages passengers to produce more healthy dishes during cookery classes regularly staged onboard a number of ships that have special show kitchens.
River cruise lines also score highly when it comes to healthy eating, especially as some such as Avalon Waterways source ingredients locally.
Uniworld offers Travelling Lite menus containing dishes with reduced calories, while AmaWaterways has gluten-free options among snacks freely available during the day.
It additionally has special detox water infused with gemstones, with Rose Quartz and Amethyst Mountain Crystal varieties said to promote blood circulation.
There’s been a general trend towards more active pursuits ashore with hiking trips across challenging terrain, trekking across glaciers and dogsledding adventures, to name but a few.
For the slightly less intrepid, there are city walking tours and biking excursions that inject a more energetic way to explore ports of call and their surroundings.
River and ocean cruise companies have massively expanded their choice of excursions in recent years and nearly all of them incorporate more activities, even if that only amounts to snorkelling and diving
trips, for instance.
Some ocean ships, such as those of Thomson Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd and SeaDream Yacht Club, carry mountain bikes for customers to use on tours.
While this is less common on ocean ships, various river cruise lines such as AmaWaterways, Avalon, Tauck, Uniworld, Scenic and Emerald also carry fleets of bikes on their river craft that passengers can either use ad hoc or join organised cycling excursions.
A-Rosa offers such tours, one of which follows a route once used as part of the Tour de France and, for passengers wanting to get wet and wild, it also offers rafting on the official white-water World Cup course in Cunovo, Slovakia.
APT even offers cycling-themed cruises along the Danube and through Bordeaux, while Avalon has unveiled a new programme of Active Discovery sailings on the Danube where passengers can climb mountains, go hiking, canoe, cycle and even help with the apricot harvest in Austria’s Wachau Valley.
LEO WRENKH
Co-owner of Wrenkh, a restaurant and cookery school in Vienna, with brother Karl. The pair have designed the vegetarian dishes for Avalon’s new Avalon Fresh menus
WHAT IS AVALON FRESH?
The concept is all about using local suppliers and producers to create food onboard Avalon ships. Guests can enjoy locally sourced, wholesome dishes and have the option of maintaining a healthy lifestyle on holiday while Avalon is able to give back to the communities it sails through. Wrenkh’s philosophy aligns well with the Avalon Fresh concept as it is based on excellent local produce.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?
Avalon’s chief operating officer came to the restaurant with some guests and the next day he called us to say he wanted our food on the ships. It was an unfamiliar concept for some of Avalon’s chefs who weren’t used to working with ingredients like quinoa, so we did training with them. The first day was hard but by the third they loved it.
WHAT CAN PASSENGERS LOOK FORWARD TO?
The produce used is regional and seasonal, and comes from small producers. The most important thing though is serving traditional European cuisine as people want to try local dishes. Avalon is also offering super foods such as chia seeds and buckwheat at breakfast and lunch buffets, and there will also be vegan options available.
DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE TWEAKS TO FIT WITH AVALON’S STYLE?
We like to present dishes in a rustic style but it’s not what Avalon guests expect so the chefs will be able to take the recipes and plate according to Avalon tradition. Just like Avalon we believe that the customer always comes first.
