Cruise ships are well known for providing their passengers with a wide variety of food around the clock. It’s one of the big reasons that a cruise says “indulgence” to many people: You’re surrounded all day long with anything you could possibly want to eat or drink and you don’t even have to prepare it or clean up the mess afterwards. However, just as cruise ships have begun to offer activities and amenities geared towards attracting the health conscious passenger, they’ve also begun to offer healthy and nutritious food options for those who are intent on making healthy choices or maintaining their normally health conscious lifestyle. Here are a few examples of the kind of fare that you may have the option of choosing from the net time that you take a cruise.
- Low-fat menu options. Many, if not most cruise ships now offer selections on their menu that are vegetarian, low calorie, or heart healthy. Each cruise line puts its own spin on these selections; for example, the Queen Mary 2’s menu offers “Canyon Ranch Spa” cuisine, while Royal Caribbean offers “Vitality” selections. But it all adds up to healthier choices for the passengers. These dishes tend to be colorful and sugar free, include chicken or fish if they are meat dishes, and of course, place a heavy emphasis on vegetables. Celebrity even promotes healthy cocktails at the bar, including a “Superfruit Margarita” that combines pomegranate and lime juice, agave nectar, and of course, tequila.
- Specialty restaurants. The trend towards healthy eating extends beyond the main dining room, with some ships offering dining rooms that specifically cater to those seeking healthy eating options. These spa food restaurants offer smoothies, vegetarian dishes, and other creative and low fat dishes for passengers. Some examples are Celebrity’s Aquaspa café and Blu Restaurant onboard the Solstice class of ships.
- No more trans-fat. Some cruises have taken the huge step of eliminating unhealthy trans-fats from their menus entirely. Trans-fats are known to be related to high cholesterol and heart disease, and many people are choosing to go far out of their way to avoid foods that contain them. Crystal, Seabourn, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, Holland America, Windstar and Celebrity all offer menus that are trans-fat free. Other lines such as Oceania, Silversea and Regent, while they haven’t removed trans-fats completely, offer some menu options that are specifically marked trans-fat free.
- Sushi bars. Sushi is popular choice both for the health conscious and for those who simply enjoy the food. Crystal, Regent, Celebrity Cruises and many of the Princess ships offer dedicated sushi restaurants, while Carnival ships offer sushi at cocktail hour. Two new ships, the NCL Breakaway and Carnival Breeze, will both also offer sushi restaurants.
- Buffet. Don’t shy away from the daily buffet. In the mornings you can have cook to order egg white omelets, oatmeal, yogurt or a wonderful selection of fresh fruit. Then for lunch and dinner you will always find freshly prepared vegetables, seafood dishes and low calorie soups, as well as lots of ingredients to build your own healthy salad. You’ll even find sugar free desert options.
You may still have to fight the urge to indulge in the more decadent options that will surely still be available on your next cruise. But anyone who truly wants options that are healthy and low calorie has plenty of excellent options to choose from.
