Detailed Recap of the 2010 Low-Carb Cruise

This is long, and I apologize for that, but I wanted you to truly get an idea what this cruise was like. Hope you enjoy!

Our Ship - Carnival Fascination

The 3^rd Annual Low-Carb Cruise, which took place earlier this month, was by far one of the most enjoyable and educational adventures I’ve taken in a long time. Sadly, the days flew by too fast, and before we knew it, it was time to return to our homes. Many came home encouraged and inspired. Allow me to share just a little of what the whole experience was like.

As a first time cruiser, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. While I’ve grown up participating in activities like fishing, swimming, and boating, I wasn’t sure what it would be like spending several days on a large ship out in the open ocean. Thankfully I had no issues with mal de mer, despite dealing with some pretty crazy rocking the first couple of days. (I’m told that much motion is unusual.)  But it was also an amazing experience that I can’t wait to enjoy again.

Before Day 1: Getting to our port in Jacksonville, FL turned into an adventure all its own. Some my long time readers may remember all my less-than-wonderful experiences in the past with airlines. You’ll be relieved to know that my luck hasn’t changed. I still hate flying because airlines can’t seem to get it right. I’ll save that long story for another time, but suffice it to say, when on a cruise, I recommend you arrive at your port destination a day early to ensure you don’t miss your departure time.

John and I barely made it to Jacksonville in time for the planned group dinner on Friday night. (Actually we were an hour late, but things were just getting started due to lack of seating.) We had a great meal at Longhorn’s and enjoyed some long overdue face-to-face meetings with many people we’ve known online for years.

Day 1: We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, which most of us 90 plus low-carbers stayed at.  We were assigned shuttles to the port and waited for our turn to go. Arriving at the port was uneventful, as was boarding the ship. We had lunch and explored the ship until our rooms were ready. The first night was spent seeing all we could see and getting to know everyone.

Day 2: We spent the entire day at sea. This allowed us to schedule a pretty full day with the speakers, sans interruptions. We spent the first few minutes of our meeting that morning hearing a bit from some people who were not scheduled to speak. Bloggers talked about what they did to help inform and educate.  We met Dr. Michael Fox (yes, he’s heard all the jokes), a low-carb advocate who runs the Jacksonville Center for Reproductive Medicine.  We were introduced to Jason Maggard, who is working to use the medium of television to spread the word about great health with low-carb living. We also heard from Becky Winn, who won the essay contest which allowed her and her husband to join us on the cruise with little to no out of pocket expense.

Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt

Next we heard from Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, who has the most popular low-carb blog on the internet.  (It’s in Swedish, so be prepared to use Google Translate.) He talked to us about the low-carb movement in his country. It was interesting stuff and encouraged us that someday soon the United States may be as accepting of this amazing lifestyle.

Dr. William Davis

We also heard from Dr. William Davis, who has the popular Heart Scan Blog. Dr. Davis spoke to us about the myth that high cholesterol causes heart disease.

Fred Hahn

Fred Hahn, Author of Slow Burn, spoke to us about the importance of strength training.  As someone who has tried his approach a couple of times, it was great to hear him explain the details. He certainly convinced this couch potato that strength training is indeed the way to go. Since returning, I am now doing Slow Burn twice a week and already seeing great results.

We took a lunch break and got back together later in the afternoon to listen to more speakers.

First up was a short Q & A session with the speakers we’d heard so far. Let me tell you, there were some great questions asked and I learned a lot in a short amount of time.

Dana Carpender

We heard from Dana Carpender, national bestselling cookbook author, who gave us her insights on where she believes the low-carb movement in the United States is headed. She encouraged us to spread the word – say it loud and proud – I am a low-carber! It will be those of us working in a grass roots effort that keeps the momentum going and we have to educate as many people as we can about this healthy living option.

Andrew DiMino (CarbSmart.com) briefly talked about products he sells to help the low-carber, but reminded us that we didn’t need any of these products to be successful in our lifestyles and that most low-carb “treats” should be used as such and not necessarily part of our daily menus.

The evening found us in our formal dress for dinner, followed by a variety of entertainments. Many of us enjoyed hanging out in the karaoke lounge and then even later at the all night pizza bar, where we picked the toppings of pizzas. (This is the night the sorta famous “Luckenbach, Texas” event happened. Video is forthcoming.)

The colorful port of Nassau, Bahamas

Day 3: Monday was spent at port in Nassau, Bahamas. It was slightly cooler than we’d expected it to be, not to mention breezy. Some started their morning with a workout demonstration from Fred Hahn. Others had breakfast and took off to see the sights. John and I explored Nassau somewhat, had a surprisingly expensive lunch at Senor Frogs, and then boarded a catamaran, which took us two miles out to snorkel over a beautiful reef.  Thankfully it had warmed up a tad and the sun was occasionally breaking through the clouds. How was the water you ask? Cold. With a capital C. But after the initial shock wore off, and we realized we were not going to die of hypothermia, we had a great time. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done.

Back on the ship we showered and got ready for dinner. We again enjoyed great company, the karaoke lounge, and for some of us, talking with each other until the wee hours of the morning.

A beach at Paradise Island - just across from Nassau.

Day 4: This day was a bit of a disappointment. Due to mechanical issues with the ship, we were unable to leave the night before for our next port, which was the island of Half Moon Cay. We spent our second day in Nassau. John, Kim Eidson, Daniel and Carolyn Tobin, and I spent some time at Paradise Island (just across the bridge from Nassau) enjoying a beach, a little sunshine and the ocean waves.  Did you know that sand can migrate? Yeah… it’ll crawl into places you didn’t know you had. We were e back on the ship in time for a late lunch and then a free day of relaxing while our ship pulled out of Nassau, headed back to Jacksonville.  Again that night we enjoyed a great meal, followed by a talent show on the ship. Our own Jimmy Moore, Christine Moore and Becky Gandy thrilled us with an a cappella rendition of several beautiful Hymns.  More late night visiting ensued and I learned that while I am a night owl,  I need more sleep that I was allowing myself.  But it was totally worth it.

Day 5: Another day at sea and another day of learning from the experts. Our morning started with announcements and prizes for the Cruiser Loser contest. Everyone involved did a great job!

Judy Barnes Baker

We then briefly heard from Judy Barnes Baker (Carb Wars) about her latest work. Judy is an amazing lady and I am in awe of her cooking skills. I guess you don’t get to be a gourmet cook by being lazy, but since I am a charter member of the lazy cooks union, I should probably just deal with it.

Jackie Eberstein

Next up was Jackie Eberstein to talk about Dr. Atkins legacy and the effect of hormones on health and weight loss. During this session I had a light bulb moment. I started struggling with my weight again, even though I was following Atkins, when I turned 30. Hello Hormones! Add that to other issues I was dealing with and my weight regain afterwards is less a mystery and more logical now.

Dr. Mary Vernon

Dr. Vernon talked to us about various blood sugar disorders and how low-carb is the solution. She showed us cases where people were outwardly healthy looking, one man even looking like he belonged on a Chippendale’s calendar, but internally they were metabolically obese. They were heart attacks and diabetes waiting to happen. Very serious stuff.

Tom Naugton

Next up was one of my favorite speakers. As a huge fan of Fat Head, I couldn’t wait to hear Tom Naughton tell us about his film. After a brief introduction, we all watched Fat Head. Many had not yet seen this film and were in for a real treat.

Afterwards we had another great Q & A session, where I again learned a great deal.

Again the evening found us having dinner and hanging out together in one of the many various gathering spots on the ship. I think this night was the most difficult for me. I knew that come morning, we’d be preparing to debark and all start going our separate ways. It was kind of sad. In those 5 short days I can honestly say that friendships were formed that will last a lifetime.  I got a chance to meet some of my low-carb heroes, spend time with old friends, and learn so much about new friends.  I will never forget this cruise and all the wonderful opportunities it gave me.

Day 6: Breakfast, then leaving the ship and getting ourselves back to the hotel, which then shuttled us back to the airport. Many of us that flew in had various flights that were supposed to leave as early as 1:15, while other flights were much later in the afternoon or early evening.  Thanks to the wonderful airlines, and some less than great weather, most of us didn’t leave on time. Again, something I’ll save for another post.

I came home tired, but motivated.  I also dealt with a touch of continuing sea legs for about a week, which I will plan for ahead of time next year. Nothing like sitting at home and feeling the ship move – or falling over because the room is rocking a bit. (I’m sure I looked drunk at times.) Thankfully a little Bonine and a few days were all it took to get my land legs back.

I know this was long, but I wanted you to really see what this years low-carb cruise was like. If you can go next year, I highly encourage you to come along. You’ll not regret it. I’ll be sure to post details on the next cruise as they come in.

If you’d like to see all the photos I took while on the cruise, feel free to check out my flickr account here. I would just post the entire slide show, but with almost 200 photos, it’d take way too long to load. :)