Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Two Disney Cruises...Two Different Experiences

Four years ago, my wife Michelle, my daughter Mary, and I embarked on a four-night journey from Florida to the Bahamas (and back) on the Disney Wonder cruise ship. At the end of it all, we determined that it was the best short vacation any of us had ever experienced. We relaxed on deck, snorkeled on Disney's Castaway Cay island (pronounced Castaway "Key"), ate some phenomenal food, saw a few terrific shows, and enjoyed the world class service Disney bestowed upon us for the trip's duration.

Just this past weekend, we ventured back to the Bahamas via the Disney Dream, and the experience was similarly wonderful. In addition to what was listed above, the Dream afforded us the opportunity to ride a water coaster at sea...also known as the AquaDuck!

But there was a major difference between the two trips...and it had nothing to do with the newer ship. In fact, there were about ninety-five factors that lent themselves to a much different experience for me. You see, in June 2009, I was at my life's peak weight, which was just shy of 280 pounds; however, prior to embarking on our 2013 journey last week, I was tipping the scale at just under 185 pounds...a ninety-five pound difference.

Since pictures are worth thousands of words...


Arrival Picture in 2009


Castaway Cay in 2013 - This Past Saturday!

The difference, then , was me. Yes, I enjoyed the first cruise...but I loved the second cruise!!! You'll notice in the picture that I'm wearing a medal around my neck, and that's because I ran a 5K on Disney's Castaway Cay earlier that morning...yes, I went on vacation, ran a 5K, and loved it! In addition, on the prior day in Nassau, I got up early to run 10 laps around the ship's running deck (Deck 4), which translates to a four-mile run.

And here's the end result...I actually went on a cruise and didn't gain weight! At the same time, I didn't deprive myself of the good food. While it's true that I didn't eat as much as I had back in 2009, nor did I snack as much between the meals. I did help myself to a little extra at the breakfast buffet at Cabanas (Disney's breakfast buffets are fantastic), and I ate the four-course meals at each dinner. That said, I tried to stick with veggies and fish (well, shrimp) at lunch, grabbed fruit when I felt like a snack, took the stairs quite a bit to get to the lower and upper levels, snorkeled for a few hours at Castaway Cay, and also ran a total of seven miles on Friday and Saturday.

So contrary to popular belief, maintaining one's weight on a cruise is possible...and one doesn't actually have to deprive him- or herself of much at all. In other words, if a former 280 pounder like me can do it, anybody can do it!


The cruise, as well as a couple of scheduling wrinkles, threw my exercise schedule off a bit last week, and here are the details...

June 17 - June 23
Monday - 3.13 Mile Run (10:08 Pace)
Tuesday - 2.8 Mile Family Run
Wednesday - 5.21 Mile Run (10:42 Pace)
Thursday - OFF - The day we embarked was crazy!
Friday - 4 Mile Run (10:17 Pace) on the Disney Dream!
Saturday - 5K on Disney's Castaway Cay (10:00 Pace)
Sunday -  OFF

Total Miles on the Pavement - 20.14 Miles (Including Warm Up and Cool Down Walks)


Here's the schedule for this week...

June 24 - June 30
Monday - 4 Mile Run (10:31 Pace) - COMPLETE
Tuesday - 4.3 Mile Run (10:39 Pace) - COMPLETE
Wednesday - 3 Mile Run (9:53 Pace) - COMPLETE
Thursday - Stationary Bike / 30-Minute Cybex Circuit
Friday - 5 Mile Run
Saturday - OFF
Sunday -  Family Run


By the way, if you haven't figured it out yet, I am fully endorsing both cruise experiences on the Disney ships...but admittedly, it was a lot more fun with some exercise and activity to offset the extra caloric intake!


Until next time, everyone, enjoy your journey...

4 comments:

  1. That is awesome! Congrats! Love the before & after pictures. I want to run the 5k on Castaway Cay one day!

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    1. Thanks, Stacy. The 5K was definitely fun, but three words of advice if you run it in the Summer...Hydrate and Sun Screen! Although I'm a Floridian, running in the Bahamas at 9:00am on June 22 is definitely hot and sunny. Disney had plenty of water available along the way, though, so at the end of it all, just be sure to cover up with sun screen...and then have fun!

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  2. Wow! What a difference! Congrats on the tremendous weight loss. I didn't know there was a 5K on Castaway Cay. That sounds really fun. I'm going to have to add it to my list of must-dos.

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    1. Yep. I just found out recently that they hold the 5K on Castaway Cay for every cruise ship stopping there. There were about fifty of us running (out of about 4,000 on the ship), and it was a good time!

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