After 9 days of cruising on a ship to New England and Canada, we returned more relaxed than when we left—but a few pounds heavier.

Although vacations can make it difficult to eat healthy, restaurants, resorts and cruise lines are making that easier.

Cruise lines are widely known for offering a steady stream of meals and snacks that can be hard to resist, but they also offer healthy choices and try to cater to guests’ dietary needs. Our breakfast buffet featured all of the usual suspects—eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, etc.—but we also could load up on pineapple and melon cubes, yogurt, egg whites, oatmeal, cereal and other healthy options. To balance out a freshly made Danish or muffin at breakfast, I also had an egg white omelet and fresh fruit.

Lunch and dinner menus included fresh salads, turkey burgers, grilled fish and more. The light-bite café offered cups of cut fruit and salads, along with chips and cookies. My downfall, though, was the soft-serve machine by the pool and chocolate cake after dinner.

To help burn off a few of our treats, we walked the deck with other cruisers on days that we could and took the steps rather than using elevators.

Today we are getting back on track. It’s not easy. I still wished for soft-serve this afternoon as a snack, but I grabbed a handful of grapes and a few almonds. Almonds almost always help reduce my cravings.

Although there were a few pitfalls along the way, our latest vacation reminded me again how important it is to get away to see new sights, meet new people and relax to maintain a healthy perspective.