JUNEAU, ALASKA - When booking a cruise, make sure you bring along some running shoes and workout clothes. That is if you want to keep off the one pound a day the cruise industry says passengers gain during a normal trip.

It’s hard not to gain weight on a trip – after all, there’s a boat-load of food stored on board and, as one captain revealed to me, “many people feel they have to eat as much as they can so they can justify the cost of the cruise.”

One server I talked to about the subject revealed that some passengers will order “three complete meals” at one sitting. The cruise industry recognizes the problem and most new ships come equipped with gyms and workout areas that rival anything you’ll find on land.

They also come with qualified fitness instructors who will design a workout routine for you while on board – thus allowing you to eat more but gain less.

Royal Caribbean is one line that takes the weighty problem seriously and on its Radiance of the Sea ship, the workout area is afforded the best vantage point – on the top deck at the bow of the ship. So, you can watch scenery float past why you work up a sweat.

However, getting people to the gym is just as hard at sea as on land, according to cruise officials. One workout instructor told me: “The same people who go to the gym on land are the ones you’ll find here.

"We (instructors) try to convince them that they can eat more and actually lose weight during a cruise as long as they eat the right things.

“You don't realize how little people know about nutrition. We've had doctors and dentists aboard this ship who didn't have a clue what I was talking about when it came to nutrition.”

Royal Caribbean has introduced a number of incentives to get passengers into their ShipShape Center. The line gives out coupons to anyone signing up for workouts and the healthy passengers exchange them for souvenir items at the end of the voyage.

So, instead of bending your elbow at the pool side bar during your next cruise, why not bend it in the ship’s gym – you’ll feel a lot better at the end of your voyage.