Running, biking, climbing, etc. on cruise

Longtime lurker on Cruise Critic, but this is the first time I've stumbled on the "Fitness" board, hence my first post ever. My wife and I are 42, our two boys are 15 and 17.

Our family is pretty active and adventurous, and we also love cruises. But we have found that these two loves can be somewhat...incongruous. Seems like many in the cruise crowd do NOT share a love for an active lifestyle. I mean, we tried one of the cruise line's "adveturous" shore excursions one time, and wow, we walked downhill for less than a half mile. :confused: This is not meant to be a criticism of other passengers (each to his own, I say) but rather just an observation that I wonder if anyone else has noticed.

I am also wondering if anyone knows of any websites out there wholly devoted to "active lifestyle cruising," for lack of a better term.

We will be going on our third cruise, this Dec. on the Crown Princess. We're running a 5K road race in FLL the morning of departure. In Grand Cayman we're planning a 25-30 mile bike ride around the island, with a few stops for snorkeling. In Cozumel we're going to try to get to the ruins at Coba. It's a long haul to Coba and back, but they say you can climb the highest Mayan pyramid on the Yucatan Peninsula at Coba. Roatan...I don't know yet. But I know I want to hike and/or snorkel. Any suggestions anyone? But I do have a 10 mile run mapped out from Princess Cays for when we get there. Here's the link if anyone is interested:

http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=317059

Would love to hear of other people's shore adventures, particularly in the Caribbean!

You folks sound like you'd be perfect for the cruise for runners running cruise. There's a thread on this board.

You'll need your endurance and maybe "late race" kick to be sure you make the ferry connections to get back to your ship from Coba.

As far as Roatan, look at a Zip Line excursion, maybe South Canopy which has over 2 miles of zip lines and you go over pretty deep ravines.

Then go to WestBay/West End beaches where you can snorkel, walk the beaches and the pathway between the two places as well as graba bite to eat. Maybe have your driver drop you off at one end and meet you at the other. There's also a bike rental place where you can get mountain bikes. I think they will pick you up at the pier and bring you back as part of the rental. You can google for their site.

Thanks crewsweeper,

That's good information about Roatan. I will look into some of that.

And the runners cruise sounds cool too! Looks like it was in July of '09, I expect it would be the same month again in 2010. Not sure why anyone would want to go to the Caribbean in July - if I'm going to spend the money I'm going to go when it's cold at my house!

Longtime lurker on Cruise Critic, but this is the first time I've stumbled on the "Fitness" board, hence my first post ever. My wife and I are 42, our two boys are 15 and 17.

 

Our family is pretty active and adventurous, and we also love cruises. But we have found that these two loves can be somewhat...incongruous. Seems like many in the cruise crowd do NOT share a love for an active lifestyle. I mean, we tried one of the cruise line's "adveturous" shore excursions one time, and wow, we walked downhill for less than a half mile. :confused: This is not meant to be a criticism of other passengers (each to his own, I say) but rather just an observation that I wonder if anyone else has noticed.

 

I am also wondering if anyone knows of any websites out there wholly devoted to "active lifestyle cruising," for lack of a better term.

 

We will be going on our third cruise, this Dec. on the Crown Princess. We're running a 5K road race in FLL the morning of departure. In Grand Cayman we're planning a 25-30 mile bike ride around the island, with a few stops for snorkeling. In Cozumel we're going to try to get to the ruins at Coba. It's a long haul to Coba and back, but they say you can climb the highest Mayan pyramid on the Yucatan Peninsula at Coba. Roatan...I don't know yet. But I know I want to hike and/or snorkel. Any suggestions anyone? But I do have a 10 mile run mapped out from Princess Cays for when we get there. Here's the link if anyone is interested:

 

http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=317059

 

Would love to hear of other people's shore adventures, particularly in the Caribbean!

Thanks for the link to your route on Princess Cays. We are cruising on the Crown in March. We are taking our son for his college graduation. He runs at a Division 1 school and has a track meet at Stanford the week he gets back. We'v been trying to find ways for him to keep up his training and cruise at same time. We found a track on Grand Cayman so we will snorkel and then he will do a track workout. Did you find anywhere to run on Roatan? We are also going to Coba in Cozumel.

Thanks again for the link

100 C's,

Bad news for you. First of all, we did NOT get to do our run at Princess Cays! Water was a little rough, so the captain decided to pull anchor and head for home. We were VERY disappointed, as I had been looking forward to that run a lot. If your son does it when you are there, I would be very interested in hearing how he liked it - it looked like a great run to me!

Regarding Roatan, I would not be inclined to run there. It is...a little rough. Believe me, I am no snob, and I don't consider myself pampered. I've gotten along just fine on my own in many foreign countries. But Roatan looks like a place where you could easily get mugged if you are out on a lonely road wearing $100 running shoes. Maybe I'm wrong, but that was my impression after driving around the island all day. Plus, it's very hilly, muddy, and the roads have lots of curves with no shoulders.

I do know this - 14 times around the promenade deck (deck 7) is 6 miles. I don't think they are thrilled about runners on that deck (especially at the pace your son would be running), but I have run on it a number of times and nobody has ever told me not to. It's best if you try to do so during slower hours. Before 8 a.m. is good, so is late afternoon just before dinner.

I too was a Pac-10 runner (Washington) years ago. I understand where missing a week of practice in March would make him nervous, but those kids' bodies are such finely tuned machines it would take weeks of doing nothing for him to really get out of shape. He'll probably PR at Stanford.

Sprite,

Sorry you didn't get the run in at Princess Cay.

Having been to Roatan several times, I never thought of it as being unsafe re muggings. People are very friendly there. I do agree though that running on the roads could be hazardous with narrow shoulders. When I ran I loved the hills though and the hiking trails in Gumbalinda Park could sub for roads in a run.

100 Countries, if you're in Mahogany Bay, have your son use the "hill" going up out of the facility as hill repeats. It's wide enough and about 300 meters in length. He'll get a good workout.

Crewsweeper,

Well, I admit the possibility that I might be wrong about the character of Roatan. Part of my impression is just from driving around and seeing more poverty and more gang graffiti than is typical in the Caribbean. But a local also warned me about getting too far off the beaten track on the island. However, I do not know the island well, having been there only the one day, and as I prefer to think the best of people, I'll take your word for it. It probably did not help my attitude that it was pouring rain the day we were there. :rolleyes:

I agree about the hill workout in Mahogany Bay (for the uninitiated, MB is the Princess-owned shopping/beach compound where the ship docks). That hill would be great for repeats, and you could probably get in a few miles warm-up and cool-down without going too far from Mahogany Bay. Maybe to the Governor's house and back - that did not seem too far (a mile or two at most) and the road seemed to have a decent amount of shoulder along that stretch.

100 C's,

 

Bad news for you. First of all, we did NOT get to do our run at Princess Cays! Water was a little rough, so the captain decided to pull anchor and head for home. We were VERY disappointed, as I had been looking forward to that run a lot. If your son does it when you are there, I would be very interested in hearing how he liked it - it looked like a great run to me!

 

Regarding Roatan, I would not be inclined to run there. It is...a little rough. Believe me, I am no snob, and I don't consider myself pampered. I've gotten along just fine on my own in many foreign countries. But Roatan looks like a place where you could easily get mugged if you are out on a lonely road wearing $100 running shoes. Maybe I'm wrong, but that was my impression after driving around the island all day. Plus, it's very hilly, muddy, and the roads have lots of curves with no shoulders.

 

I do know this - 14 times around the promenade deck (deck 7) is 6 miles. I don't think they are thrilled about runners on that deck (especially at the pace your son would be running), but I have run on it a number of times and nobody has ever told me not to. It's best if you try to do so during slower hours. Before 8 a.m. is good, so is late afternoon just before dinner.

 

I too was a Pac-10 runner (Washington) years ago. I understand where missing a week of practice in March would make him nervous, but those kids' bodies are such finely tuned machines it would take weeks of doing nothing for him to really get out of shape. He'll probably PR at Stanford.

We spent last weekend at Dempsey for indoor (Alex ran the mile in 4:05-high) His goal is to go sub-4 in outdoor.

The person we are doing our shore excursion in Roatan also said not to run the roads, just too narrow. They also suggest repeats at the pier - so that will be the workout.

Alex is going to give the treadmills a try for at sea days. We found a track for Grand Cayman.

We cruised eastern carib last year and were unable to stop at Princess Cays due to waves, hope we can this year. If we do, I'll let you know how the run was. We cruise 3/13

Sprite,

 

Sorry you didn't get the run in at Princess Cay.

 

Having been to Roatan several times, I never thought of it as being unsafe re muggings. People are very friendly there. I do agree though that running on the roads could be hazardous with narrow shoulders. When I ran I loved the hills though and the hiking trails in Gumbalinda Park could sub for roads in a run.

 

100 Countries, if you're in Mahogany Bay, have your son use the "hill" going up out of the facility as hill repeats. It's wide enough and about 300 meters in length. He'll get a good workout.

Thanks for the ideas, we'll take a look at Gumbalinda Park. Our shore ex person also said to run at the pier.

Our son is graduating this year but has one more year of running eligibility so he is looking at graduate schools - saw you were from Tallahassee - he went to FSU for recruit visit the week your temperatures were in the 20's this January. Felt like home (we are from Washington State)

Thanks for the ideas, we'll take a look at Gumbalinda Park. Our shore ex person also said to run at the pier.

 

Our son is graduating this year but has one more year of running eligibility so he is looking at graduate schools - saw you were from Tallahassee - he went to FSU for recruit visit the week your temperatures were in the 20's this January. Felt like home (we are from Washington State)

That was a freaky period (14 straight days with lows below freezing). Braman is a good coach. Mike Long Track is a great facility. The area has a decent running community. I'm partial to Drake Stadium at UCLA, myself but that's my PAC10 genes talking.

Havea great cruise and good luck to your son in breaking 4.

I'll be doing laps on the Pride next week; I checked on the jogging track and I think it was 16x around= 1mile. Ugh. A min of 48 laps to get at least a 3-miler in. I love running but wonder if it's just not a good idea on the boat. Is it possible you can run on another deck, which allows a further distance, maybe early in the morning when not so crowded? Good idea or frowned upon?

In July 2005, I ran the t-mill on Miracle everyday, would prefer to be outdoors, but we cruised in with Hurricane Dennis and the winds were bad.

Glad to see runners onboard. Thanks for the links on the running cruises, I have never heard of such an animal and sounds like an ideal vacay in the future. :)

Well, we're back. No problem running on the Pride. The Sun deck was good, and except for a few really windy mornings, decent runs. 3.5 laps around=1 mile. I was surprised to see an actual sign posted on deck with the mileage. They realize cruisers are going to run or walk there. They wash the decks off early, so sometimes it's wet and can be slippery. The workers would remind me to be 'careful' when I ran. There were wall clocks off the pool decks so it made it easy to keep track of the time.

Much better than the jogging track. Did a few workouts on the t-mill in the gym. If you're onboard , talk to Thomas in the spa, he's the personal trainer from Australia, and a runner. He did a jaunt in Nassau from the ship to Atlantis and back, impressive. Anyway, you can combine your running regimen and a fun cruise. :)

And the runners cruise sounds cool too! Looks like it was in July of '09, I expect it would be the same month again in 2010. Not sure why anyone would want to go to the Caribbean in July - if I'm going to spend the money I'm going to go when it's cold at my house!

I know that this is an old thread but have a look at http://www.cruisetorun.com

There is a mid-summer Alaskan cruise with runs at every port and then a January Caribbean cruise. My wife and I did the Caribbean version in January of '09 and we're signed up to go again in January '11. It was a fantastic cruise and some very interesting runs.

Better be safe and return home if the seas are rough, annoying yes, hope you got a better chance. Out of interest, do you actually get bikes from the ship or do you have to go out and rent them at a local place, wherever you get off-board?

My GF and I are also active vacationers. Last year we went to Cabo and walked from the resort into town instead of taking taxis (racking up almost 20 miles of walking/exploring in 5 days). We also did some hiking, coming from Colorado no trail was needed and no route was impossible. This year my GF will be getting ready for the Houston Marathon Olympic Trials in Jan 2012 and we'll be on the Conquest in mid Dec. 2011. Her plan is to hit the treadmills hard since the tight turns and windy conditions on deck arnt ideal. I've kept a look out for preserves and government set aside parks to run in.

Our ports are Belize, Cozumel/Playa Del Carmen, Casta Maya. Any known running routes, hikes, mountain bike trails or crazy secluded adventure locations worth every step for pictures let me know.

Thanks

DS

Hi Zfam! I know it's been over a year - but I'm hoping you might see this.

I'll be on the Pride in February, and I'm really glad to hear your tip about running on the Sun Deck. That will certainly help!!!

My question is: did you get to run at all in Hawaii (on the ground, I mean)? None of the cruise excursions are the least bit active (from what I can tell). Like the OP, I'm really worried about paying good money to ride a bus all day, then "walk" a mile. I'd like to maybe just once, run in Hawaii. But where? How? I'm a big fan of trail running, so the idea of running a few miles at one of the state parks is thrilling to me! Any advice you have would be most welcome.

We are also cruise-runners (new word??) LOL

Not too familiar with trail running on Oahu, but the Diamond Head loop run is good. If you're staying in Waikiki, head toward the zoo (Kalakaua Ave) and you'll come to Kapiolani Park. Not too easy to run because lots of people walking around the park, but good for a warm up jog. Then you can run up toward diamond head; neighborhood one way and the ocean the other way. You'll find "directions" on map my run, or write back if you need help. BTW, people also run up the D.H. trail. Sounds crazy, I know, but I've seen them.

I was curious about trail runs here, so I googled "trail runs on Oahu" and came upon several topics. One is a pretty good discussion from Runner's World.

In Kona, you can run toward Walmart (Henry St.); street is newly paved and fairly safe (are we ever safe from cars? hahaha) On Kauai, there's a fairly good running "path" in front of the hotel near where the ship docks. You can run into Hilo town too, and through a cute park (Alii Drive, I think).

I guess it just depends on the crowds, but it's doable.

Have a great time while you're here!

Noreen.

This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.