CRUISE FITNESS & LEISURE

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Fitness & Leisure

Today's modern cruise ships offer all the health facilities comparable with some of the most well known land-based resort hotels. If you want to keep fit whilst onboard and burn off a few calories at the same time there's plenty of activities to keep you motivated.

Above all, cruising is a fun holiday, and onboard fitness programmes follow that philosophy; the ships' daily newsletters carry a full timetable of activities geared to a range of age groups, and you can join in as few or as many as you like.

Gym Onboard Your Cruise Ship

State-of-the-art gymnasiums and fitness clubs with huge, sea view windows offer the very latest fitness machines including cardiovascular machines, weight machines, free weights, stair steppers, treadmills and stationary bikes, some with virtual reality "rides" to make working out (almost) a pleasure!

If you need a bit of help to get started, you can hire a personal trainer to assess your needs and fitness levels and design an exercise regime geared specifically to you.

Fitness Classes Onboard Your Cruise Ship

As well as the more traditional aerobic classes, many ships are now adding specialist programmes like Yoga, T'ai Chi, Boxercise, Pilates and Spinning classes to the line-up, and though there is usually a charge for these to keep numbers manageable, they do provide a great opportunity for passengers to learn the basics before joining a class back home.

Ball Games Onboard Your Cruise Ship

Prefer knocking a ball about to sweating it out in the gym? No problem - modern ships have big outdoor ball games courts offering everything from basketball and volleyball to badminton and paddle tennis. On some ships you can even play football and cricket.

Golf Onboard Your Cruise Ship

Keen golfers needn't suffer withdrawal symptoms at sea; they can practice their swing at specially constructed nets. On many ships golfers can pit their skills against the world's top courses on computerised driving ranges, and better still, on Fred Olsen & Norwegian Cruise Lines in particular, there are organised golf excursions to some of the world's finest golf courses.

Swimming Onboard Your Cruise Ship

Swimming fanatics will also find themselves well catered for. Of course, all cruise ships have swimming pools, but it's now recognized that many passengers take a swim not just to cool off but as an essential part of a daily fitness regime.

Larger ships mean bigger pools, some segregated for the use of adults only. And the latest trend is the installation of lap pools with wave machines, so you can enjoy a thorough aquatic workout.

Jogging Onboard Your Cruise Ship

What could be more invigorating for the body and mind than taking in the panoramic views on the sun deck, high above sea-level. An early morning jog around the ships deck or power walking before breakfast is great fun and typically one lap of the track is approximately quarter of a mile, so it doesn't take too long to clock your own nautical miles!