Men's Spa Facilities on Cruise ships: Which ones do you think are the best?

[racindave]

They have the most relaxing and innovative mens spa. They have a whirlpool, sauna, steam, ice plunge and these awesome rain showers.

[sexyaznboy]

Hey guys, going on Summit in a few weeks, can someone comment on the fitness facilities there? They are supposed to be well equipped. I'm rather confused regarding charges for the sauna and steam room, I've heard some say they charge and others say they don't charge. I think it is silly to charge patrons for anything other than spa services. Is it coed? As for that issue, I guess I am rather shy, not that I have a great body for people to gawk at but I prefer having men and women in their own saunas/steam rooms!

[LEESRE]

Originally Posted by sexyaznboy

Hey guys, going on Summit in a few weeks, can someone comment on the fitness facilities there? They are supposed to be well equipped. I'm rather confused regarding charges for the sauna and steam room, I've heard some say they charge and others say they don't charge. I think it is silly to charge patrons for anything other than spa services. Is it coed? As for that issue, I guess I am rather shy, not that I have a great body for people to gawk at but I prefer having men and women in their own saunas/steam rooms!

You will find that they only charge for the Persian Garden on Summit. The dry sauna area is free of charge.
The Persian Garden is CoEd and the saunas are in ther ladies and Gents changing rooms.
The pool is also free.

[hobbycruiser]

Hi, How is the Men's facilities on the Celeb Century - Sauna and Steamroom.

Anyone traveled on this ship since the renovation?
Thanks

[sho]

I enjoyed the men's spa room on Costa Atlantica, which's separate from the ladies. It has a spacious locker room, showers with massage jets coming from the sidewalls, a large steam room with a floor-to-ceiling picture window providing magnificent seaview and a sauna again with picture window. There is a door which leads into the whirlpool and rest area which is co-ed. As Costa is catered mostly for the European clientele, the spa is clothing optional.

[racindave]

The Jewel is the best, I went on it again recently and it is still incredible. There is a sauna, steamroom, jacuzzi, rainshowers and a cold plunge. It is remarkable. The only thing is you have to by a spa pass to use them. But it is soooo worth it.

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

Hey all,
I'm the originator of this thread; THANKS for posting your observations & detailed information! In my opinion, the opportunity for details ios priceless, since it's often impossible to get a straight answer from teh cruise line customer service reps (which isn't really their fault, since the "head-honchos" share relatively little shipboard info with the front-line).

Your posts have me incredibly curious to sailt he Jewel or Pearl to experience their dedicated spa facilities. While it sucks that there's a "cover charge" to access, they sound like they might be VERY worth it!

Escaping into the steam, sauna or jacuzzi for a few hours is bliss for me & a lot of other guys. There are many of us that also prefer to get ready for dinner in these facilities, since there's TONS more room and we can stay out of our spouses way as they get ready, lol.

Too bad none of the 3 & 4-night ships out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale have extensive steam & sauna facilities (locker room area). I sailed the Majesty of the Seas last year, after her refurbishment, and her spa was SHREDDED and reduced down to nothing (insult to injury...the tiny steam room was NEVER operational).

Does anyone know what the Carnival Fascination or Norwegian Sky steam & sauna facilities are like?

Keep the thread goin', guys!

Later,
GigglewolfOfTheSeas

[Oceans&Rivers]

Originally Posted by GigglewolfOfTheSeas

Your posts have me incredibly curious to sailt he Jewel or Pearl to experience their dedicated spa facilities. While it sucks that there's a "cover charge" to access, they sound like they might be VERY worth it!

On mainstream cruise lines I think it is a positive to charge for certain facilities because it reduces the number of people using the facilities. I will pay happily for that!

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

Hey racindave,
I've heard the NCL Jewel & her "sister" the Pearl both have AMAZING facilities. Hope to try them some day. Worth the "cover charge" to access them, I hear.
Bon voyage,
Gigglewolf

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

I would agree with you, Oceans&Rivers; however, even on the large Voyager-class ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet, the number of folks using the complimentary steam & sauna facilities in the locker room was relatively minimal when one considers the passenger capacity of these ships.

Just an observation.

[racindave]

well we are going on the pearl for thanksgiving, so I will give you an update. If it is anything like the Jewel....I can't wait!

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

Bon voyage, Dave & Jeff!

Definitely eager to hear all the details of your Pearl Thermal Suite experience. Luvin' details over here, so keep tabs

On an earlier thread in the NCL room, I openly wondered if the folks (mostly North American, I would guess) using the men's thermal suites went "European style" (towel-only) while using the Thermal Suites or not (wore shorts/bathing suits).

Of course, some folks insisted that even though they were NOT co-ed, they'd feel odd using the facilities "au-natural", even though that's the way it's done in most spas & resorts, where the men's & women's facilities were separate. Las Vegas has some excellent examples of this, with amazing facilities, where nudity was not an issue & more the "norm".

Let me know what you find.

Have a great time,
Gigglewolf-Of-The-Seas

[racindave]

Will do Giggle!

I love the spas. Jeff is not much of a fan. I love to just relax in the quietness and just veg. On the Jewel, it was quiet since you have to pay to use the spa....I loved it.

[racindave]

So I have done some research and it appears that there are some differences between the Pearl and the Jewel (both NCL) spas. The Jewel has one 5-6 person hot tub in the mens spa area and on the Pearl it appears to be two single person tubs. Also the Jewel has two thermal rainshowers in the mens area and they do not seem to be present on the pearl which is disappointing considering that they are awesome. The whole spa layout seems to be different on the two ships, so it should be interesting to see if I like it as much. I am sure that I will love it, but I hope that it be worth the pass....ah hell....of course it will be worth the pass lol

[tinlizzienc]

DH and I sailed on the Pearl on the 10/12 thru 10/19 sailing.

Background: I am a spa fanatic and have been to the Grove Park Inn's (Asheville, NC)fabulous, world-class spa. DH and I both have sailed on the Celebrity Galaxy and enjoyed its Thalossotherapy pool, steam, and dry saunas.

We had read on the NCL boards that the Pearl's spa is fantastic and offers week long passes. Based on our experiences on the Galaxy, we knew that it was often worthwhile to get a pass to enjoy a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere in the ship's spa. So, on Embarkation Day, we toured the Pearl's spa and without hesitation bought the weekly pass for each of us ($75/pp for a 7 day cruise).

Description:

The fitness center and spa are located on deck 12 forward and have some of the best views on the ship.

There is a large area dedicated for each sex, and a large co-ed area. To enter, you exchange your room card (with spa pass sticker) for a locker key and robe. Bring your own flip flops, as no spa shoes are provided.

The Men's/Women's area each has a decent sized locker area with three showers, two separate (single) whirlpools, a dry sauna, steamroom, ice cold plunge pool, two rain showers, and about four loungers. There were 2 large screen TVs in this area, which normally ran the spa's ads on mute, but once was showing a Law and Order re-run (again, on mute). DH told me that on the men's side, they often were showing ESPN or CNN. They serve iced water in this area.

The dry sauna has 7 large windows that look out to sea. I really loved this because this helped me from feeling too claustrophobic, which sometimes happens to me if I spend too much time in the sauna. I would estimate the sauna could hold 6-8 people comfortably, more if some people stood and enjoyed the views in front of the windows. Although there were several European ladies (Russian and French) who had a weekly pass, and I saw there every day, none ever went au naturel in the sauna (or anywhere) that I saw.

The steamroom was smaller than the sauna, and would probably hold 4-5 people. There were usually no more than 3 while I was there.

The Co-Ed area had a large therapy pool, hot tub that seated 4-5 people, several rain showers that you could choose tropical rain or ice water, about 8 heated, tiled loungers (DH's favorite), and about 6 single chaises and 2 double chaises perfect for couples. On the first day at sea, they served fresh baked cookies. The remaining days they provided various types of teas, ice water, orange juice, and oranges.

There were always plenty of fresh towels available both in the women's area and in the co-ed area. I felt the staff did an excellent job of keeping the towels and refreshments well stocked and the areas picked up.

DH and I spent at least an hour per day in the spa, even on port days, and on sea days, we spent 3-4 hours there. In our opinion, the spa was the highlight of our cruise. Our stop to Roatan was cancelled due to civil unrest, so spending the day in the spa on that unforeseen "day at sea" was great!

I did not have any spa treatments on this cruise, but from the feedback I received from other passengers, they were very good/excellent.

I highly recommend getting the spa pass if you ever cruise the NCL Pearl, or her sister, the Jewel.

Sorry for the long review, but there seemed to be alot of interest in the Pearl's/Jewel's spa facilities. I hope you find this information helpful.

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

Hi tinlizzienc:
No need to apologize for the length & detail contained in your post; it was PERFECT! More often than not, posts contain vague information and lack the detail so many folks would like.

Yours was an ideal post, in my book, lol! Thank you for taking the time to share this information and your overall impressions.

Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of NCL (more of an RCI-kinda-guy ), but if there was ever an exceptionally good deal to be had on a Pearl or Jewel cruise & the timing was right, I would strongly consider them, just due to the spa experience you & others have described.

Cheers!
Gigglewolf-Of-The-Seas

[tinlizzienc]

Gigglewolf- Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm glad you found the information helpful.

This was our first NCL cruise, and we did enjoy it. We want to try RCI next.

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

Glad to hear you're considering RCI, tinlizzienc. Keep in mind that on their larger ships (Voyager & Freedom-class), I don't believe they have anything like the NCL Pearl's dedicated/for-a-fee type spa facilities. However, they do have steam & sauna rooms & showers in the men's & women's locker areas (which serve both the spa & fitness center). The GREAT thing is use of these facilities are FREE OF CHARGE. There is also no co-ed area for the spa, like the Pearl has at the front of the ship.

The steam & sauna rooms probably on the Voyager-class ships seat about 10+ folks, each. There are also about 6 showers available.

On RCI's Radiance-class ships, they do have a "for-a-fee" THERMAL SUITE, which has the heated tile loungers & I think they have a eucalyptus-scented steam room (not 100% certain, since I've never paid to use them). However, they also still have the steam & sauna & showers available FOR FREE, but on a slightly smaller scale (steam seats about 4 comfortably, sauna about 6-8, shower stalls: 4).

Gosh, I hope RCI's Oasis-class ships have fantastic spa set-ups! As big as those ships are going to be, they can do SOO much with the design...just hope they don't charge "an arm & a leg" to use the facilities.

I'm sailing on the Navigator of the Seas (Voyager-class) in December and I'm looking forward to spa-ing for MUCH of that voyage, lol!

RCI has begun removing the steam & sauna rooms from some of their older vessels, so if you're a big fan of spa-ing, proceed cautiously if considering anything other than the Voyager, Radiance, Freedom or Oasis-class ships.

Bon voyage to ALL,
Gigglewolf-Of-The-Seas

[happytraveller]

There is a sauna and steam room on the NCL sun, not bad size and the changing rooms are quite large with three large showers. Plenty of towels and other goodies in there to use. Both sauna and steam room are separate mens and ladies and are free of charge.
I am on the azamara quest in a few weeks and hope there is a sauna and steamroom on there to use after the gym.

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

Bon voyage on Azamara!! If you have the opportunity, please check back in with this thread upon your return and give us the details on the spa facilities for the Azamara vessel. I haven't heard much about these ships, so any info you can share would be great.

The Navigator in December of '08 was fantastic!! The spa facilities (in the men's locker room area) were in excellent condition and good working order. There were moments when it was a bit busy (cloudy sea day, for example), but for the most part, relatively little "traffic". Can't wait 'til Navigator returns to Florida in the fall to try the shorter cruise again.

I just might have to book a longer cruise on the Liberty of the Seas to hold me over, .

If any other folks have detailed info on the spa/steam/sauna facilities of a ship that hasn't already been mentioned here, please feel free to follow the format of previous posts (details, details, details! haha) and share your insights.

Much obliged,
Gigglewolf-Of-The-Seas