Cruise Into Fitness: New Options To Take Your Workout On Vacation

Midnight buffets on cruises have mostly gone by the wayside, but the plethora of opportunities to eat, or simply lounge around, may stop travelers who want to be active from booking a cruise. But the cruise trade, like many other sectors of the travel industry, have added fitness and wellness to their offerings, and there are now a few brand new cruise offerings that are making fitness and active travel a focus, not just an option.

Blue World Voyages, a new cruise line, bills itself as the first cruise line and ship specifically for adults who are active, athletic and health conscious, and those who aspire to be. The company will be refitting an existing ship to accommodate 350 passengers, downsizing it to feature more activity space on board and luxury cabins for all travelers. There will be an entire deck devoted to sports and fitness, with a spacious functional training gym, a bike

fitting station, pro-style batting cages, golf, soccer and hockey simulators, spinning and TRX studios, and more, including a sea-water lap pool with cabanas. All that activity demands a good recovery, so there will be another entire deck devoted to wellness facilities and a state-of-art luxury spa, which they claim will be the largest afloat, per passenger. A yoga studio and sports medicine clinic round out the features.

Venturing ashore also offers special opportunities for active adventures. Blue World aims to provide passengers with the highest-quality equipment and guidance needed to snorkel, scuba, surf, kayak, zodiac, paddle board, bike, hike, golf, take photos, or find great local food and drinks. They have even partnered with experts from Outside Magazine to assist in the design of the active shore excursions, while two cruises each year will be designed for Outside’s audiences. Blue World Voyages' initial departure is scheduled for May 2019 in the Mediterranean, visiting locales such as Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Portugal, Corsica and Croatia. Next up will be England, Scotland and Ireland.

WOD on the Waves

For fitness fanatics and CrossFit aficionados, WOD on the Waves (Workout of the Day) will commandeer a Royal Caribbean ship for its inaugural cruise. Participants will be able to experience all regular cruise activities, plus daily scheduled fitness classes led by athletes, coaches and trainers; workshops on elite nutrition and training strategies; athlete-curated meals; and entertainment and shore excursions starring the athletes. The athletes are 15 men and women including winners of various Reebok CrossFit Games. The daily, customized classes will dive into weight lifting technique, aerobic capacity, and sandbag workouts among other classes designed for a range of fitness levels.

Family members, including children, are welcome on board, and should have no trouble entertaining themselves, even if they’re not focused on working out. Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas underwent a renovation in June and has myriad eating, drinking, and entertainment options. Activities include rock climbing, ice skating and surfing, along with high tech Sky Pad (a new virtual reality, bungee trampoline experience), an escape room adventure, and glow-in-the-dark laser tag. WOD on the Waves departs from Miami on Jan. 21, 2019, and visits Nassau and Royal Caribbean’s private island CocoCay, both in the Bahamas, where customized fitness events will be offered, before returning to Miami on Jan. 25.

As The Gear Diva, women's fitness, fun & fashion are my beat. I bike, hike, surf, ski, dive, raft, safari & do yoga. I use the best gear & I’ll make sure you do too! I tweet @TheGearDiva

By Allison Olmsted, Forbes
Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more
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