The Spa

[CTKath]

Can anyone tell me what the spas onboard are like? Do they push products? Is it easy to get appointments during the cruise, or should you go there at the very beginning to get your appointments? Can you book before you board?

Thanks. :D

[Jane110]

Kath,

You can't prebook the spa before your cruise.

Like any other ship's spa, sea days are harder to get appointments for than port days. However, I've never had a problem getting one for a sea day. I don't usually book it the first day - I'm too busy meeting up with pals and having a martini! It wouldn't get my knickers in a twist if I couldn't get an appt, so I'm more laid back about getting one. That said, I've never not been able to get an appt on a sea day. I can't always get my first choice of time slots, but I always get an appointment.

I can't comment on the sales pitch since whenever I get a facial *anywhere* I tell them upfront that I'm there for their great services and relaxation and not a sales pitch. I say it nicely but make my point and it's never a problem.

[Arkie_L]

My wife and I were on the July10th Insignia Baltic cruise. This is a very port/tour intensive cruise. We found that we had no problem booking a treatment/massage while we were in port. We would take a tour in the morning and book a treatment in the afternoon. They even ran some specials while they were in port.
Sea days were totally booked. If you don't book the first day you may have trouble.
We tried the cabana couples massage twice and enjoyed it a lot. The day before the end of the cruise I had a deep tissue massage to get my lower back in shape for the flight. The massage therapist was also a physical therapist. She did a great job. I had no problem with my back on the way home.
My wife had her nails filled and her French manicure touched up and they did a good job.
The facilities are small but first class. The prices are about 2 to 3 times what you would normally pay but that is to be expected on a cruise. We found the personnel to be a mix of good and very good skills. All the staff were friendly and professional.
The sauna is free. I didn't have time to use it but it looked good.
The thelossatherapy? pool was not much. They play it up as a big deal to be able to use this pool before or after a treatment. When we used it something white came off of the bottom of the pool and stained our bathing suites.
The fitness area and equipment were good and you could get a personal trainer if you wanted to pay for them.
You do not take an Oceania cruise for the spa!!!! But it is ok if you want to make use of it. They did not try to sell anything to me or my wife.

Arkie

[ClaudiaF]

They'll tell you , you could use this product and that, but you don't have to buy anything :D
Massages are pretty good but as any ship pricey.
If you get a service you can use the aforementioned thalossotherapy
<sp?> spa , which I happen to like..just because it's such a quiet private area, if you are not getting spa services they charge for its use. You can always use the wet and dry steam rooms , just ask for a locker at the spa desk ( no charge).

[Riverroad]

I could not get an appointment on the sea day on our Aug. 3 Insignia cruise. They were completely booked by 5:00 on embarkation day. The same was true for the one morning we were at sea prior to arriving in Gdansk.