Passengers on all-inclusive cruises gain nearly half a
kilogram a day on holiday, a survey shows.
And cruise-ship passengers from Dawn Princess, which
berthed in Dunedin at the weekend, agreed.
The survey of 1281 cruise-ship passengers by cruise travel
agent Bonvoyage.co.uk found 52% of passengers had put on
nearly 6.5kg, on a two-week cruise and another 6% had put on
8kg.
Eating more than normal was admitted by 84% of passengers and
31% admitted they ate twice as much.
All Dawn Princess passengers who talked to the
Otago Daily Times on Sunday agreed with the results
and blamed the weight gain on the constant availability of
high-quality food.
Passenger Kate Bennett, of Melbourne, said ''magnificent''
food and ''creamy'' cocktails were available on-board.
Husband Gary Bennett said they were on their fourth cruise
and were often sick of eating food but still ate a meal in
each city they visited, including Dunedin.
''We don't know why though.''
They couple visited the Cadbury factory and bought
chocolates, even though there was a Cadbury factory in
Melbourne.
Mr Bennett said the ship had themed meal nights and Saturday
was a French night that included snails in garlic butter.
Sunday was Italian night.
Passengers Phillip and Leanne Butler, of Melbourne, said food
was available on the Dawn Princess 24 hours a day.
Mr Butler said the buffet opened at 6am and closed at
midnight, ''You see people pile their plates up.''
Every meal, including breakfast, had a dessert option.
When the buffet closed, room service was available and all
food was included in the ticket price.
''That's why you put on weight,'' Mr Butler said.
The couple had put on 4kg during the cruise, despite eating
only regular meals and exercising, including using the stairs
on the ship instead of the lift, Mr Butler said.
On a past cruise, American children eating hamburgers in
elevators was a common sight, he said.
Passenger Rod Evans, of Melbourne, said he celebrated his
birthday on Dawn Princess and was given a free
birthday cake.
When he and his wife Lin disembarked they rarely ate a meal
but they would have morning tea, and a pint of beer at a pub,
he said.
''You get a couple of quid out of us.''
shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz
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