Gym

[hermajestylanie]

So I am addicted to the gym. I admit it. But its good because I am also addicted to food! I was wondering how the gym is on the Golden, as I will be doing the RT Hawaii from San Pedro in middle March. Its two weeks, so I know I need to exercise to prevent some of the weight gain (my last 7 day cruise I gained like 10 lbs! Thats what having dessert 5 times a day does to you I guess.). But, I was wondering what times of the day to avoid, like what times are the busiest. I have only ever been on carnival and 7-8am was the worst time, nothing was ever available. But I also hear that the demographics will be different, so maybe the gym wont be as busy? Also, do people find the equiptment is adequate in number of machines and how they are kept up? Thanks!

[unboringuy]

The fitness area is adequate. It is rare for you to have to wait for machines. Most of the machines are maintained fairly well. The exception to this is the spinning bikes. They are not maintained well at all.

[Woobstr112G]

What I personally experienced (Diamond, Ruby, Emerald) is on sea days, avoid going around the times the gym opens. I saw a fair number of people going into the gym at this time. On a couple of occasions I did have to wait for a tredmill.....

 

Bob

[mycruz]

I sailed on the Golden last March and on the first day at sea it was packed when the gym opened. After that, it wasn't much of an issue no matter what time I went.

[Astro Flyer]

We used the Golden's gym on a regular basis & found that except for recumbent exercise bikes (2?) they had enough machines. Although the elipticals are very popular with only about 6 of them. I found the machines in good condition & believe they were replaced during the ship's April '09 drydock when they expanded the gym area by reducing some of the exercise class area which wasn't used often.

 

We dine late, so we get to the gym around 5-6pm before dinner & have no problems using treadmills for an hour. Once we went in mid-afternoon & didn't have a problem either. There are signs posted to limit your time on all of the machines to 30 minutes when someone is waiting for one of them. The treadmills (and elipticals?) have TVs built into them if you care to watch anything on the shipboard system & we bring our own headsets to hear the audio. I believe that they may have headsets available to borrow from the spa but we prefer our own.

 

I haven't used it but they have lockers & showers with some saying they're much nicer than those in cabins. :rolleyes:

[fitcanadian88]

We used the Golden's gym on a regular basis & found that except for recumbent exercise bikes (2?) they had enough machines. Although the elipticals are very popular with only about 6 of them. I found the machines in good condition & believe they were replaced during the ship's April '09 drydock when they expanded the gym area by reducing some of the exercise class area which wasn't used often.

 

We dine late, so we get to the gym around 5-6pm before dinner & have no problems using treadmills for an hour. Once we went in mid-afternoon & didn't have a problem either. There are signs posted to limit your time on all of the machines to 30 minutes when someone is waiting for one of them. The treadmills (and elipticals?) have TVs built into them if you care to watch anything on the shipboard system & we bring our own headsets to hear the audio. I believe that they may have headsets available to borrow from the spa but we prefer our own.

 

I haven't used it but they have lockers & showers with some saying they're much nicer than those in cabins. :rolleyes:

 

We also dinned at the late seating for all of our princess cruises as well and went the same time every night from 6-7:30 and found the gym to be empty enough to navigate our way around the gym without having to wait long for the machines. Be aware though, from what I remember, the free weights don't go very heavy on Princess ships (The one's I've been on, see sig) They have a smith machine luckily (only one however) so I was able to do heavier exercises on them but found the free weight section to be especially lacking.

[hermajestylanie]

Thanks for the info. Maybe later is the best time to go... Also, that is pretty cool they have the TVs on the machines. Here's to working off my numerous desserts!

[JEH]

AVoid the urge to overeat to pay for your cruise. Walk everywhere stairs, deck and etc. Don't pig out . Alternate fruit & oatmeal one day , eggs & bacon the next. Use some self control Mate

[hermajestylanie]

Blah. I exercise self control every day. Cruising and vacations are for self indulging! I honestly need to gain 5 lbs anyway. Might as well have fun doing it. Just don't want to gain 15 lbs! But I agree stairs are my friend and I never take an elevator anywhere!

[99Cruiser]

I was on the Golden R/T to Hawaii last year and since it's mostly an older crowd I found the gym pretty empty (I'm not at all saying that elders do not go to the gym). The first few days there were people when if first opened at 7 AM but not to the point of over busy. After the 2nd day there were only a handful of us that were there every morning when it opened. I'm a gym rat and try to go at least 5 days a week.

[GeezLouise1]

We were on the Christmas/New Years Hawaii RT. The gym was a very busy place. Most classes seemed to fill up really fast - especially the spin classes. The two recumbent bikes were very busy as well, pity you couldn't use the spin bikes when the classes weren't on. We found the gym slowed down after 4 in the afternoon. I found the split promenade deck to be a nuisance for walking laps ( the raised section was often closed for rain) so had to rely on the dreadmills more than other cruises. I found the treadmills and the elipticals to be well maintained and recent models. It would have been nice to see more people wiping down equipment after use ( wipes were available)- many didn't seem to be aware of gym protocol.

[unboringuy]

It would have been nice to see more people wiping down equipment after use ( wipes were available)- many didn't seem to be aware of gym protocol.

 

My gym is probably the nicest in town, and I voice the same sentiments there!

[hermajestylanie]

Thanks 99cruiser and geezlouise1! Exactly what I was looking for.