Do you really eat Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner on HAL?

[AncientWanderer]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I wish that I could be such a good person as to limit what I eat on a cruise.  But in my little ole mind I figure we have paid a lot of money to cruise (and travel) and I will enjoy whatever I please and suffer the consequences.  So what are the consequences?  Yes, I gain a few pound on some cruises.  So what!  When we get home I do a little more exercise and watch what I eat and in a few weeks my weight is back to acceptable and ready for the next trip.

 

I do admire those folks who have all the self-discipline to control things on cruises.  But I once thought about this and realized that when I am laying on my death bed I am not going to regret the things I did and the food I ate, but I will likely regret the things and food I passed-up.   It goes to a tough lesson I learned when a very good friend (I hate to admit he was a lawyer) sacrificed much (travel, cruises, food) to enhance his career and control his weight.  He always said that when he retired he would catch-up with that stuff.  About 10 days before he retired my friend dropped dead (heart attack) while waiting for an elevator to go up to court.  

 

Hank

Lots of people want to indulge, but just can’t because of blood sugar problems or other issues.   People who can enjoy it all are lucky!

[Petrocelli]

Actually, I eat breakfast lunch and dinner every day, so I also did so on HAL.

 

Last cruise, I gained about 5 pounds, but I lost 7 before I left, so I was OK.  Most of my weight gain probably came from drinking cocktails and desert.  (I rarely have more than a drink a day, but on HAL I probably had 7-10 drinks a day.)

 

As an aside,  you can't lose much weight by exercising, but it does tone you up.  I was in the gym 6 out of 7 days on my cruise, and went to 5 exercise classes.   I still gained weight.

 

[deliver42]

I always eat  the 3 meals on board unless I'm on an island and see something interesting.

[Cruising-along]

Yes, I eat 3 meals on board.  Breakfast and dinner are regular-size meals, and lunch is almost always salad from the salad bar.  Rarely any between meal snacks, and never late night snacks.  But yes, I do enjoy 3 meals/day and almost always never gain weight on a cruise because I do more walking than at home.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, Petrocelli said:

Actually, I eat breakfast lunch and dinner every day, so I also did so on HAL.

 

Last cruise, I gained about 5 pounds, but I lost 7 before I left, so I was OK.  Most of my weight gain probably came from drinking cocktails and desert.  (I rarely have more than a drink a day, but on HAL I probably had 7-10 drinks a day.)

 

As an aside,  you can't lose much weight by exercising, but it does tone you up.  I was in the gym 6 out of 7 days on my cruise, and went to 5 exercise classes.   I still gained weight.

 

Yup me too.  Go to the gym a lot plus walk 10 to 15 k steps a day.

[JeffElizabeth]

On 8/7/2022 at 6:54 AM, Florida_gal_50 said:

Who eats 3 things for breakfast?  Actually without a doubt I eat way fewer carbs on a cruise than I do at home.  Also I usually eat fairly sensibly for breakfast and lunch.  I don’t eat snacks.  The meals are not large on hal, maybe 2-3 oz of protein except for the fish and prime rib.  Carbs on the plate are pretty small.  They are not American size portions.  Not everyone eats burgers and fries all day.  I’m speaking of the mdr not specialty restaurants.

Exactly! I tend to lose weight on cruises. I do three meals but my breakfast tends to be light, just some sausage and some fruit. Lunch we prefer to do on shore, and dinner isn't overloaded with starches. 

[melehundele]

The first couple days I eat everything I want to try whenever I see something that strikes my fancy. By the last few days I'll be skipping meals. To each their own!

[highscar]

Travel solo, paying for two.    Eat for two.   Not me but thought about it. 

[MisterMatthew]

This is a good topic. 

 

I had more to eat on my HAL cruise then I would have back home.  There are a lot of reasons for it. 

 

1) I'm on vacation.

 

2) It let me try dishes that I have never tried before.

 

3) My line of work is RideShare driving... and, often my meals are quick & not of the most healthy "sort". 

 

Cruising, I have learned, is very much about relaxation.  So, spending 75 minutes in the LIDO, or 90 minutes in the MDR is normal to me.  Not rushed.  Savor the food.

 

Getting back to the original question... 3 meals a day... I would say YES, I did have 3 meals.  The DIVE IN burgers were a great lunch item.  And, breakfast, I would totally load up on fruit.  I don't keep much fruit (at all) in my home.  So, having fresh berries and pineapple is a treat for me.

 

I would say that having 3 big meals a day was an optimum choice.  Especially when it came time to turn in for the night.  That "beyond full" feeling is kind of bad.

 

----MisterMatthew

[MISTER 67]

We eat 3 meals a day on a cruise, breakfast and lunch in the buffet and dinner in the dining room. We don't pig out, for breakfast I usually have some oatmeal and a bagel with lox., other mornings 2 eggs with some bacon and an English Muffin. For lunch a bowl of soup and a sandwich with a small dessert. For dinner, usually a shrimp cocktail or other appetizer, a salad and a main course with another small dessert. No snacking between meals except for a banana or apple around 3PM.

We aren't big drinkers and have 1 cocktail each in the Ocean Bar before dinner.

We were on the Equinox last week and I gained 1 pound which is about normal for me.

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by MISTER 67

[cruiseaholic78]

On 8/7/2022 at 3:32 PM, SilvertoGold said:

On the Pinnacle ships the Dutch Cafe is our undoing:  those beyond-excellent huge cream puff things!  And the hot, hot fries!

Those cream puff things are actually called Bosse bollen and they are indeed beyond excellent!

Edited August 17, 2022 by cruiseaholic78

[igraf]

On 8/7/2022 at 10:34 AM, Skoogs said:

...

Due to all the activities that we do, my DW and I usually lose a couple of pounds on each cruise. 
Somebody once said to take the stairs everywhere you go on a cruise ship and eat what you want. Words to live by…hahaha…

This has been our experience as well.  My wife and I are much more active on a ship than at home or at the office.  And we also usually take the stairs on a ship.

 

igraf