It stinks. I went on 7 day cruise back in February, so didn't really affect the overall training. I ran on the dreadmill mostly as the "7 laps to a mile" track up top was so windy it almost blew you off. A spin bike is a spin bike, I guess, so that's the same. The ship I was on did not have a lap pool, so the only swims I got in were snorkeling. There was time first thing in the morning to work out, but I only did 3x30min runs and 3x60min bikes, with a couple of 15min core sessions thrown in.

I can't imagine trying to seriously train on a cruise. Although FWIW I never run on a treadmill or use a trainer/spin bike. Honestly though, the suckiness of the dreadmill/spin bike would be nothing compared to the constant berating from my wife.

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if the ship has a good gym than you can utilize the bikes and treadmill and weights - the only thing missing might be some good swimming. I have trained while cruising - when in dock, get off early and go for a run and than come back and be with the family - I wasn't training for Ironman but I certainly did not lose any fitness - I have done 8 IM so I know where you are coming from. Celebrity Cruise ships have awesome gyms!

Good luck on the swimming. Maybe you are on a big enough ship to actually have a lap pool. But on the cruises I have been on, the pools have always been packed with people.

That is one hell of a 1st world problem you have on your hands there




On a serious note, I did just about this exact thing in 2013 about 2 months out from an IM on a 7 days cruise to Alaska. Not sure how big a boat you are going to be on but a lap pool? Must be one hell of a ship. The pool on the ship I was on was a kiddie pool no where near lap size. The gym was pretty nice and I used the treadmills and bikes rather then laps around the ship dodging all the fattys carrying their all you can eat ice cream, hot dogs, nachos etc. Watching some of those people wheez as they walked was plenty of motivation to get in a spin or run. When we at port I would also try and get in a real run as well. Good luck, cruise ships are everything that is wrong with America.

I ran every day... or rather washed down the treadmill (no fans, 74F in exercise room... can't have trophy wives getting cold "exercising"). HR was 15-20bpm high from overheating the first day and slowly dropped as I adapted.

I also swam on the two "excursions" that included beaches. I even got in a really nice 400M TT in open water when I saw a barracuda about 6' away one time.

Otherwise there was a spin bike and weights. But with a fan the spin bike is even more brutal that running.

Best to simply adjust your schedule so it's a recovery week if possible. Then you might only have 10-12 hours or training that week any way. OR make that a run focus period.


Word of caution. I overdid it

The Disney cruise I was on even had a 5k on their island one morning. Oh... I HIGHLY recommend Disney unless you hate having any kids around on your cruise.

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I've been on 2 cruises and found it very challenging to train with all of the food, alcohol, and things to do. The girlfriend was not too happy about me wanting to go train haha. I tried running on the treadmills and it was tough due to the boat rocking. Definitely don't do intervals. It's quite hilarious to watch other people almost fall off of the treadmill while the boat leans. I did take a spin class but it wasn't really worth the time and money. It was also another hilarious time when the instructor yelled at everyone to "lean with it" as the boat moved. Just enjoy the trip, relax, and if you get to train some cool, but if not, enjoy the time with your family and away from everything else.

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I had a great training week on my cruise I even lost weight. I would do double works. run some in the morning around the boat It was fun to see all the sights while everyone was still waking up. then after the days activity I would get on a spin bike. If we where in port I would take a swim at the beach we went to. A good spin always deserved a pina colada as a recovery drink then off to dinner (after a shower)

I realize this isn't the cruise that you're going on, but the Disney cruise is perfect for training.
-awesome track and gym
-spin classes
-disney's island has a 5k race on it early in the morning
-disney's island is the best place I have ever been able to open water swim at EVER (super clear water & netted)
-tons of great choices for diet
-tons of rest


I did an hour and a half swim when I was there and I didn't want to stop. It was so fun seeing all the different fish and reefs.

We took a seven day cruise last February, two weeks before I ran a HM.
We were on the Carnival Legend where the Sun Deck was open and ran the entire length of the ship. One lap was about a third of a mile, lots better than the silly jogger track up on the "Sports Deck". I'm an early riser, so I'd get up everyday at 5:30A to run when the deck was relatively empty, except for a few crew members. I could usually run for 45 minutes to an hour before too many folks started wandering out on deck. Not optimal, but better than dealing with the dreadmills in the gym.

Mark

I forgot to add, if you want an OW swim workout, check out the tours at Ketchikan and Juneau. I had family that snorkeled at both those destinations on a cruise and enjoyed it. Summer water temps can be tolerable.

I trained on a cruise ship during a 70.3/IM build. Not a problem.
Did a bit more volume/intensity leading into the trip and treated the cruise as a lighter week. Did less volume, more intensity on the ship.
Used the treadmill for my runs, and the ship had an Endless Pool in the spa, so I could do longer swims. The stationary bikes are good, but the staff wouldn't let me use them outside of the spin classes. The classes were horrible. (Taking the seat off in the middle of the class-- Zumba moves in the saddle). I let the instructor know I had my specific work-out to do and did my own thing. They were cool.
Be prepared for the gym to be busy the first day or two. It becomes quieter as the week progresses. Try to do you work-outs earlier as you will have less hassle, especially in the Endless Pool. Had some angry people when I was swimming. They would purposely stand in the swim jets with their drinks. They didn't understand this was not a jacuzzi but a swim pool.
Don't forget to use your time to have fun. You are not going to loose fitness, so enjoy your trip.
BTW- the year I took this cruise was the first year I KQed.

Tell me more about the endless pool - i looked into this years ago, and the only cruise lines that had these were NCL (which they call "Aquaswim pools") and Princess (which they call "swim against the current pool") -- note, these pools are only on certain (not all) ships on those cruise lines.

I quit looking into this after reading reviews where swimmers complained that non-swimmers thought it was an oversized jaccuzzi and wouldn't get out of the way,,, or that they purposely turned the power down so the current wasn't strong enough--- or that they were frequently broken and the staff didn't know how to fix them.

If swimming is important to the original poster - he should consider switching the cruise to the Carribbean. Generally, walk off the boat and swim at the beach -- this is especially true if the cruise line has a private island (Castaway Cay (Disney), Great Stirrup Cay (NCL), Half Moon Cay (Holland Amer.), Princess Cay (Princess), or if the cruise line built a pier with a "semi-private" beach nearby--- Grand Turk, Raotan Honduras, Labadee Haiti.

Chi-
It was a Princess Cruise in the Caribbean.
It was on one of the newer/larger ships so the pool was still operational. If you got in early, there was no problem. If you went in the afternoon, different story. You got the buffet binging buffoons with their umbrella drinks purposely trying to get in your way using the pool as a cool jacuzzi. And, yes... I even had one guy turn off the jets and complaining because the jets were too loud and he was trying to socialize with his friends. He was angry I was swimming.
And I agree. If in safe tropical waters throw on the goggles and enjoy a beautiful open water swim.
I'm not a "cruiser", but I do find this a good way to squeeze in a family vacation and keep the training.

Don't take the elevator and race the rest of the group up and run extra laps on the stairs in off hours. On the larger ships you get 8-10 flights to do higher intensity work and rest on the way down.

I have no idea how you managed to do any 2+hr workouts on a cruise ship.

What are your goals for your Ironman? Just finish? Personal best? Do well? KQ? That might answer your question right there.
I personally would never go on a cruise much less a 2 week cruise. Being stuck on a boat would drive me nuts.
Your options are:
Opt out
Suggest a different vacation
Suggest a different vacation during your off-season
Suck it up and make the best of it
Suck it up and be miserable
Also think about:
How important is your Ironman? Doing an Ironman is not exactly cheap in terms of cost and time commitment
How important is this specific trip to your wife and also her parents?
Do you care how her parents feel about this?
What will the ramifications from ether the wife or the in-laws if you do opt out?

I did a week long cruise on a 16 deck ship. My 6 year old and 9 year old and I didn't take the stairs the entire week.

I like running on the top deck at sunrise. The ship I was on had a .2 mile lap and there was nobody out there at 6 am.

" I have no intention of being "that guy" who makes a family vacation all about him"

Reading some of the posts its amazing how many are missing this, but that shouldn't be a surprise.

Do what you can under less than ideal conditions but don't compromise the holiday for the wife and in laws, especially if its the in laws paying for this. Hopefully they'll also understand that you're trying to qualify for Kona so will also cut you some slack.

I did an Alaskan cruise last summer on the Holland America Rotterdam for one week with a couple days on each end in Seattle. Seeing the glaciers calving off was amazing. The sheer magnitude of the place is just surreal. Anyway - in downtown Seattle got in a nice 10 mile run on that nice trail that hugs the sound early AM before we boarded. On board I did a lot of core, weights and treadmill. On an Alaskan cruise the view from the treadmill is pretty epic. If you do have a lap pool that would be amazing but I bet there are some indoor pools with daily rates at your major ports.
I got up super early in Ketchikan and took a few dollars and my phone and RoadID (I think it's key to have some kind of ID when you are working out away from home) and just ran. It was cool and drizzly. I ran up monster hills and through parts of town tourists don't see. I had to stop at a little cafe for coffee because I was wet and cold but it felt so good to just run in a new place and soak it all in. One of the best runs ever. I got back as the family was having breakfast. You can definitely do runs like this in Juneau and Sitka and Victoria, BC too.
I found the food offerings to be great - lots of healthy options were available on my ship.

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It is the mind itself which builds the body.
-Joseph Pilates

Crush yourself in the 3 week block before the cruise. Use Week 1 as a recovery/ Week 2 lots of intensity in whatever sports you can do/ Rest a couple days on return/ 4 weeks to load volume before taper time.

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That is an interesting plan.

jaretj

One tip: if you're on the treadmill and in rough seas, be extra careful. Depending how the treadmill is positioned compared to the boat/water it can be a bit dangerous because you're constantly correcting for the movement. I really messed up an IT band from too much treadmill-on-a-cruise running.

Which cruise line and ship was it that had the endless pool? I cruised with Princess cruises on the Ruby Princess a few years ago and they had an endless pool. I wish there was a list somewhere with the cruise ships that had the Endless pool, it would make planning the next cruise so easy.

Depending on what excursions you have planned for your Ketchikan day, if you can get away, there is a nice swim center there. http://ak-ketchikangatewayborough.civicplus.com/...teway-Aquatic-Center

Running in Ketchikan, as a previous poster said, can be quite nice. You can head out on your own. If you want hills, run up and over the "bypass" (big hill sort of behind the town proper). If you want flat, just run south along Tongass Rd. from port: there is a paved path to the side of the road that goes about 4.5 miles or so one way. One section of it you have to actually run on the road, but the path continues south of that section.

Running outside on the ship might be tough, depending on weather. SE Alaska is often pretty rainy. but the dry days are spectacular!