Massages - Prebook or Not??

[August1981]

Is it better to pre book our massages so we get it on the 'sea day' or are we better to wait until we board? I heard from a friend that they offer "Specials" when you are on the ship but is this only when the ship is in a port or at the last minute when they want to fill the space? Tks.

[knitlady037]

They offer great discounts during port days. Nothing better than doing a tour and then coming back to the ship for a relaxing massage.

[takemewithyou]

I guess it depends on how important it is to get a massage. You can either book one and know you have it done or you can take the risk of waiting to see if a port special on massages comes up. It might be a port special on a facial or on the alpha capsule or something else. Would you be disappointed if you didn't get to have the massage? That's what you have to figure out for yourself. There is no guarantee that it will come up as a special in port or on a sea day.

[hammybee]

Unless something has changed, you can prepay for a massage but you cannot book it until you are onboard. Therefore I see no reason to either until you get onboard.

Have I missed something?

[Crusing Bob]

hammybee is correct. Last year you could give yourself a gift and pay in advance and save $20 for a 50 minute massage but now it is the same price as paying onboard.

[mp006]

The first day of your cruise, there will probably be a "raffle" at the spa. The raffle entry ticket should be in your welcome aboard papers, so that you can complete it and drop it off at the spa (even if you don't have it, they should be able to give you one at the spa on the first day). When I asked about the time of the raffle, they said it would just be drawn sometime (silently) and if you had a winning ticket, you'd be notified in your stateroom. Just entering the raffle paid off, as a couple of days before the cruise ended, I received a "Congratulations-you have won second prize in the raffle and are eligible for 40% off any signature treatment". Of course, this was probably given to everyone that entered the raffle, however I did take advantage and received a 50 minute hot stone massage at 40% off the regular price.
Enjoy your massage.

[takemewithyou]

The first day of your cruise, there will probably be a "raffle" at the spa. The raffle entry ticket should be in your welcome aboard papers, so that you can complete it and drop it off at the spa (even if you don't have it, they should be able to give you one at the spa on the first day). When I asked about the time of the raffle, they said it would just be drawn sometime (silently) and if you had a winning ticket, you'd be notified in your stateroom. Just entering the raffle paid off, as a couple of days before the cruise ended, I received a "Congratulations-you have won second prize in the raffle and are eligible for 40% off any signature treatment". Of course, this was probably given to everyone that entered the raffle, however I did take advantage and received a 50 minute hot stone massage at 40% off the regular price.
Enjoy your massage.

That's right, I forgot about that. I entered the raffle and got the same letter, but didn't have the time to do anything with it because it came so late - just couldn't fit it in.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Nothing has changed - yet - you still cannot prebook a massage.

Once you are on the ship you can book the massage then for the day of your choice.

Most special offers are on port days. And sometimes you don't even get the notice of these specials until you return from a tour - especially if you leave on an early tour.

[sail-a-bration]

Since you have done a spa treatment, is usage of the steamroom, hydropool, and ceramic lounges included with the treatment or do you have to pay to use them?

[takemewithyou]

There is a separate charge for the thermal spa and the you can not even get into those rooms without a key card. You can purchase a pass to the thermal spa for a day or the length of your sailing. The day pass is usually $40 and the pass for your entire cruise varies in price depending on your length of cruise. I just bought one for the thermal spa on the Westerdam Alaska sailing for one person and I believe it was $150 for the week.

I guess that's why I didn't go for any treatments, I had already treated myself enough. :o

[August1981]

Thanks everyone. Since we cannot prebook the massage, is there a price list posted anywhere? My mother wants to buy us a massage as a gift but we wanted to see what they offer and what the prices are first. Tks.

[knitlady037]

The massage prices are posted somewhere. I think they are in the printable gift guide. Your mother can also buy you some shipboard credits that you can use any way you please. I loved the aqua capsule treatments when I went on the Noordam. If you booked them on the first day they were half price. ($25 instead of 49). Also one of the sea day packages I remember was a massage special for $99. It consisted of 20 min of 3 different types of massages. The same packages were offered on both of our sailings, and were posted before the port days.

[talltexan]

Thanks everyone. Since we cannot prebook the massage, is there a price list posted anywhere? My mother wants to buy us a massage as a gift but we wanted to see what they offer and what the prices are first. Tks.
They make it hard to find on the website -- poor design IMHO.
From the main page click on For Booked Guests, then click on Onboard Gifts. To just see a list, click on Gift Selection or Well Being Package. To see prices and order, click on Overview and scroll down to the bottom of the white area where there is a blue rectangle labeled Onboard Gifts. (For some reason, this rectangle appears and disappears on my computer, sometimes I have to go to a different page and come back to this one to make it appear again!) From there you have to register a username and password independent of any other sign-in you've already created. Eventually you make it to the point where you choose the name of the passengers and order. (Sigh!)

[sail-a-bration]

takemewithyou, was the thermal spa worth the 150.00 for the week and is 150.00 a significant amount to you? 150.00 can be alot of money to one person while it is a small sum to another. Since you cannot hear the tone of my words, I am not being mean-spirited, I trying to determine if I should splurge on the spa.

[codyody]

Sail-a-bration; only you will know if it's worth the $$. If the thermal suite makes you feel wonderful, it will be worth it because you will use it every day. Tours of the spa were offered on our first day and I took the opportunity to try out the heated tile lounges. My body must be odd (okay, I know it's odd:o ), but the lounges were not comfortable for me. I was very glad I could "try before I bought". Instead I had a hot-stone massage (one size fits all).

[knitlady037]

Towards the end of our 11 day cruise on the Noordam there was s spa package that included a treatment and use of the thermal suite and therapy pool during a port day. We took the couples package for both rooms for the 11 days for $250. If you have a very port intensive trip and stay off the ship most of the day, this might not be worth it for you. The therapy pool stayed open till 10 on port days only. It closes at 8 on sea days

[takemewithyou]

takemewithyou, was the thermal spa worth the 150.00 for the week and is 150.00 a significant amount to you? 150.00 can be alot of money to one person while it is a small sum to another. Since you cannot hear the tone of my words, I am not being mean-spirited, I trying to determine if I should splurge on the spa.

You know, I love that thermal spa, but since Alaska was going to be a fairly busy cruise, I wasn't going to do the thermal spa. However, on the Westerdam the thermal spa is open until 10 PM (as opposed to 8 pm on my last Volendam cruise), so that gave me the opportunity to use it after our early dinner seating, so I went for it!

I do think $150 is a splurge, but I had used the thermal spa before and decided I like how it relaxes me and it is something I can get a benefit from every day of the cruise. A massage costs about that much, if not more, and it only lasts maybe 90 min, at the most, maybe 60 min. You can stay in the thermal spa as much as you want - unless there are poeple waiting for thermal loungers. And I really liked the hydotherapy pool on the Vista ships.

I think it is a wise use of the money if you want to treat yourself! :D

[mrspaj]

Unless something has changed, you can prepay for a massage but you cannot book it until you are onboard.

ditto. i called guest services last week and they confirmed that i could buy a massage through onboard gifts but couldn't actually schedule it till we boarded.

personally i can't find an advantage to pre-paying...