Five Things I Learned on the MS Westerdam!

by Brooke on December 17, 2013

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I just returned from a very relaxing seven day vacation with my boyfriend.  We went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise.  Our stops included:  Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Maarten, and Half Moon Cay.   We had a wonderful time!  However, I would not recommend the cruise line Holland America for anyone under the age of 65.

It is hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle on any vacation, let alone a cruise.  Here are five things I learned while aboard the MS Westerdam:

1) Take the stairs.  It’s good exercise and with all the older individuals on our ship the stairs were never as crowded as the elevators were.

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2) Bring aboard your own water bottle.  Why you ask? Because, water is harder to get on a cruise than alcohol!  There are plastic water bottles for purchase on board, but they cost twice as much as you would pay for them in a grocery store.

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3) Use hand sanitizer.  Do I need to explain this one?  You are on a cruise with thousands of people and who knows if they ever learned to wash their hands the length of time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song.

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4) Get Active.  You will overeat on a cruise!  So, make sure to get in daily physical activity to help counteract those extra calories.  We went to the gym, took a spin class, and did excursions that made us walk.  We walked from the cruise ship to and from the Governor’s Beach in Grand Turk.  We also took a self-guided tour in San Juan of Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal that lasted hours.

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IMG_14635) Don’t eat the rolls!  I am not saying this because the rolls were high in calories and you should watch your portions of carbohydrates at dinner, even though, those are good tips.  I am recommending that you don’t eat the rolls on this ship, because they were golf pellets and not tasty at all!  If you want to enjoy your vacation and eat a great grouper sandwich with fries and a beer on the beach go for it (I did)!  Just don’t waste those vacation calories on food that is NOT good!  The food on our cruise was average at best.   I was not impressed with the quality of most of our meals.  We tried to find a delicious chocolate dessert one night and came back to our room with no success.  So, at our next port we bought King Size Kit Kat bars just to satisfy that craving.  I thought this was the  low point of our trip…two foodies needing to buy candy bars on an all you can eat cruise.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

linda sorich December 25, 2013 at 4:01 pm

I love your brand name! bitchin’ nutrition! Clever photos and comments. Also, you can write off at least some….maybe all…..of the cruise cost as a business expense. Very smart.

Also liked the comment about no one under age 65 should try this cruise line. I went on a cruise about 8 years ago and found it to be best for those age 50 or above. I however made friends with one of the entertainers in the cocktail lounge, so it was OK for me.

If you like, answer me on the web. I don’t do facebook or linkedin much. Linda, CAND

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Brooke December 29, 2013 at 10:05 pm

Thanks for the feedback Linda! I just sent you an email to answer the questions you sent me :)

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