carribean princess Has anyone used the sauna or steam room ?

[Dannielle1013]

Was looking for some info on the sauna and steam room. Have sailed on the Grand in the past and see that the set up is somewhat different. Also in the review from cruise critic it makes referance to having to have a spa treatment to use the facility. ANY INFO WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED>

[donna1958]

WE USED BOTH THE SAUNA AND STEAM ROOM ON OUR RECENT CRUISE ABOARD CARIBBEAN PRINCESS. DEFINITELY PREFERRED THIS SET-UP TO THE GRAND. THE ROOMS ARE LOCATED WITHIN THE CHANGING ROOMS RATHER THAN BY THE POOL.

[Dannielle1013]

Thank you Donna. I would think then that there are no additional charges for use ?

[littlemommy]

I used the steam room, but not the sauna on Caribbean Princess. I don't know if it's free, because I was there for a spa treatment. The steam room is near/under the basketball court and jogging track, and I heard quite a bit of thudding. Not as serene as I would have liked because of the extraneous noise. It was also hard to relax during my massage. I kept waiting for the next thud from the basket ball court and the next lap from the joggers.

[sparkle56]

There is a sauna and a steam room in the changing room/locker area of the Lotus Spa on the Caribbean Princess. It is free for anyone to use, as is the pool outside (adults only). There is also a sauna and steam room, and heated ceramic relaxation chairs, and a shower in the relaxation area and that area is for people who have booked treatments and on their treatment day only. The sauna and steam room are aromatherapy ones and I loved the ceramic chairs (ergonomically wonderful). If you book a treatment at any time you have use of that relaxation room for the entire day. If you haven't booked a treatment you can still use the sauna and steam room in the locker room. There are showers, towels, shampoos, lotions, razors, etc. in the locker room.

Other people have commented on the noise from above and I did notice it at first when I was on the ceramic chair but got so relaxed I totally forgot about it. And my AromaVedics massage was in a very quiet room with a view of the sea, no noise other than the soft music playing.

[Princess Di]

CORRECTION!
Dear Danielle,
ALL of the Lotus Spa is free unless you want a treatment. Best to go on the free tour on embarkation day to become familiar with the facilities. There are effectively 2 areas: Within the separate men/women dressing rooms, there are very large showers (twice the size of the ones in your room, in case you want to dash in there while your teens hog the cabin bathroom). Nice, large washcloths, plenty of big towels, both bath and beach towels, shampoo dispenser on the walls of showers, large bowls on the counter with the conditioner and body lotion. Before and/or after your shower, go in the sauna and/or the steam rooms (you can go nude and sit or lie on your towel because it is separate from the other men's dressing room).
The other Spa venue: Exit the dressing room area and walk forward and go past the treatment rooms and the little lounge/waiting area which is Starboard. You will find the rest of the facilities which are co-ed, so you will be wearing your bathing suit for these facilities. There are several different steam rooms. I especially liked the one that smells like orange blossoms. The Rainforest is like a Vichy shower, in that it has several shower heads that go from head to toe (except you stand up, unlike the Vichy where you are lying on a bed). There is also the Rasul room for couples (or alone). You can lock the door. In the Rasul Room (I forget the official name - all the rooms have exotic names), there is a sink, chair, large shower, and a large steam room where you are supposed to put on the mud. Between the treatment rooms and the co-ed Rainforest and steamrooms are the 5 water-heated, tiled loungers. Put down your towel and stay as long as you like. All these facilities are FREE. They want you to use them. I cannot understand why pax would think there should be a charge any more than there is no charge to use the gym equipment. You may want to take a treament too. I spent a lot of time up there on the Star for 12 days (nearly every day). Great way to get invigorated or relaxed to help you get through those busy port days. You can spend a long time just with the free stuff. I still spent $1000 in the Spa. Love the treatments!

A Smile is just a little curve that sets a lot of things Straight.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[sparkle56]

Sorry, on the Caribbean Princess it is not that way at all. I literally saw a couple come in and ask to use the facilities and they were told you can use the facilities only in the locker rooms unless you have a treatment booked on that day. They were absolutely not allowed in the treatment area. And there was no open Rasul area or couples area or mud area. . .there are fees for all of those.

There were six heated loungers in the relaxation room, no rainforest room, but maybe things are different on the Star.

I sailed on the Caribbean Princess, took the tour of the Lotus spa on the first day, and was there enough to be sure of my information.

Remember, the Caribbean Princess is the first ship to have the new Princess owned Lotus spa and it is not owned or operated by a separate company.

[mandiecandie5]

Princess Di- So is what you described above only for the Star? I was under the impression that there were daily charges to use these facilities, or you had to be getting a treatment? That would be great news if not!

[Princess Di]

Well, Sparkle,
You certainly do know better than I for the CB because I have not been there yet. I did a ship inspection on the Diamond and it was exactly as the Star. It seems like it is being run differently on the CB. That's a bummer. So sorry if I steered anyone wrong. I'm calling Princess and telling them that it is a Negative to not have these free facilities offered. Are they expecting some kind of a large crowd? I'll get to the bottom of this. Thanks for letting me know.

A Smile is just a little curve that sets a lot of things Straight.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[Princess Di]

Dear Mandie,
I have only sailed the Star and visited the Diamond and this is true on each of these ships. I really did not notice on the Sea Princess. I did not go to the Spa that much. The New Grand class have the Lotus Spa and that is built into the ship Design. I forgot, I have to call Princess now. Thanks for reminding me. I'll get back to you. The Caribbean is Designed this way so I should think that you could use it.

A Smile is just a little curve that sets a lot of things Straight.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[sparkle56]

The Caribbean Princess does seem to operate differently from the other ships in that class.
I would have loved to be able to use the "treatment" area free as it was wonderful.
I do think they would have a huge problem trying to make it available to the treatment customers if it was open to everyone as it is actually quite small. Six chairs, one shower (curvy, many nozzles), one sauna, one steamroom (aromatherapy, not orange blossoms).

The "waiting" area for treatments is center of the ship, neither starboard nor port, and it was pretty crowded, too, with people waiting for or concluding treatments.

The pool is outside off of the hallway to the gym.

As it was it was nearly impossible to book a treatment at a "desired" time, either on port or sea days. You could get very early mornings and sailaway times but other than that they were booked. (I booked online before we left and wish I had booked more and early.)

[Princess Di]

Wow, Sparkle,
I did not realize that it would go over so Big. That on-board revenue helps to keep the cruise rates low, you know.

It was just the opposite on the Steiner-Managed Star Lotus Spa. No one ever sat in the reception area and never had to wait on any of the facilities. Sometimes, when it was rough, I would go up there and just lie down on the warm lounges for a while. I never heard any noise either.

The on-line and/or telephone spa bookings are surely a good thing. I know I had a hard time getting Cindy's appointments when she wanted them. Looks like this success will put this type management and products on all the ships in the future, after the Steiner contracts end.

Thanks very much for sharing your experience - a real Heads Up for other Spa users. Did you buy any Phytomer products?

I am on Sapphire next March so will be sure to decide my Spa schedule in advance. A lot of pax cancel or change times or services. Steiners receptionist would put me on a wait list for cancellations and that worked out. I did not ask about that for CB, but it may be a possibility once on board.

A Smile is just a little curve that sets a lot of things Straight.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[roohound]

Does anyone know if on the Coral Princess you have to book a treatment to ave access to the sauna/steam room?

[Princess Di]

ROOHOUND,
Call Princess. If you read all of the above, it seems that this varies by ship. Sometimes, the Steiners Spa will allow it (if you ask nicely), but apparently, on the CB you WILL be Drawn and Quartered if caught in the Spa or Spar area with no appointment.

Coral is still under the auspices of the Steiners and I used it unlimited on the Star. So go figure - Call Princess

A Smile is just a little curve that sets a lot of things Straight.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[Princess Di]

I posted this earlier (before Princess closed at 3:30 pdt). I posted on the Wrong Spa Thread. So here is the answer (I promised to get back after calling Princess - just put it on the Wrong Thread - Sorry).

posted 05-02-04 03:08 PM

OK, OK, I admit when I'm wrong. Just had a long conversation with Dustin. He put me on hold for > 10 minutes to call Customer Assistance. The Spa specialists (who book you if you don't book on the website - yesterday the website was down so had to call. Diana was extremely nice and knowledgable although she has never sailed) BTW, if you want to call and ask Spa questions, during the week, when the Voice Mail Maven does her spiel, push the number to select Brochures. Brochure Fulfillment personnel are the Spa-trained agents. It just gets you there faster instead of having to be transferred from the res floor.

Back to Dustin: First of all, I mentioned the Rainforest shower. They had to search through all their literature and could find no Rainforest reference. Well, I was talking to a Man and, although he was on the same Ship Inspection that I took, he probably had no interest in the Spa and didn't even see it. He said that this area IS only for the pax with appointments. I am flabergasted. I should think that this would be such a good Marketing Tool for pax to purchase treatments, by seeing and using the (now) un-free facilities. Dustin and I had quite a discussion about this and I really think that Princess is missing a bet by barring pax who want to try it out. Knowing the layout, I would just walk right in past that marble reception desk, say, Good Day, with my bathing suit and thong shoes on and then just keep walking to the end (veer right). If they later asked me, just say, "I am going to make appointments for a massage, facial, and body treaments, but I need to check the timing with my husband (boyfriend, daughter, etc.). First, go to the Embarkation Day Tour, smile and be friendly, and ask a lot of questions. They will remember how nice you are. Cindy is booked for a massage and massage + ped for Steven on 5 June CB sailing, so I will let you know if prior to her appointment, or subsequent to it, she gets thrown overboard or barred from the DR by invading the Sacred Spa Territory. They are NOT keeping me out.

A Smile is just a little curve that sets a lot of things Straight.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[Princess Di]

posted 05-02-04 03:50 PM 05-02-04 06:50 PM
Cindy and Steven's Massages are on first sea day out, 6 June on CB at 9 a.m. Steven's ped is on 7 June at 9 a.m. He is 15 and has never been Spa-ed, but he promised me he would because I know he expects a large on-board credit be placed on his Folio by his Lovin' GraMaaa. BTW, pax under the age of 18 will wear their bathing suits during treatments (they do have disposable underwear available, however) for privacy.
I shall report back at Cindy's success at Sneaking in on an Un-appointment Day.

A Smile is just a little curve that sets a lot of things Straight.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[sparkle56]

If you have a spa treatment booked, you can use the spa for the entire day, not just at the time of the treatment. Because the area is so small if lots of people tried to "sneak in" (which I disagree with in principle)the people who legitimately booked treatments would not be able to get in. Why don't you just indulge yourself and book a treatment a day?

I bought a Lotus Spa Curl Activator product for $22.00 and love it. I have naturally curly hair that goes into frizz mode (remember Monica on Friends when they went to the Caribbean?) when there is high humidity and this tamed it quite well. No Phytomer products, though.

[si1972]

I sailed on CPs 2nd cruise and used the mens changing room which contained a sauna, steam room and 3 x showers, this was all free as well as the GYM. I used the changing rooms when using the adult pool (swim against current) and also after the gym. They have huge towels in the changing room for use in the sauna.