Research your cruise ship's menus online before your trip to get an idea of the offerings. Most major cruise lines make menus available online. For example, if you visit Royal Caribbean's website (www.royalcaribbean.com) and type "menu" into the search box, you'll find a link to the menu of fine-dining restaurant Portofino. On Princess Cruises' website (www.princess.com), you can type "menu" into the search box or choose the "Onboard Experience" link, which brings you to "Personal Choice Dining."
Look for healthy options at each mealtime. There will always be offerings such as salad, fruit and fish. The menus will have icons to denote healthy choices; these items will also be noted at the buffets.
Talk to your waiter. You will have the same waiter each night of the cruise, and this person can be an incredible resource. The servers are well-versed in the many dietary restrictions and food allergies that passengers bring on board with them. Your waiter can suggest healthy choices and will be more than able to make sure that you get greens in place of a heavy starch or your salad dressing on the side.
Find a happy medium. Cruises often offer delicacies that you won't be able to find at home, so allow yourself to sample some of them without going overboard.
Know your body. There's no need to go to every buffet and have a midnight snack every night just because it's there. Eat when you're hungry and pass up the other options when you're not. You'll be more comfortable and able to enjoy all of the cruise's exciting offerings when you're not overstuffed and exhausted.
