MSC Orchestra "Thermal Area Cruise Pass(10-17)" 30 Aug 2018

Hello, I am trying to get information on this offering. It is currently advertised for $65 PP (through my login ) on the MSC website as

"Thermal Area Cruise Pass(10-17)

Find inner calm and body revamp in our Onboard Thermal area for the whole duration of the cruise."

We would like to know what this includes, here is what I find for the "Aurea Spa" which I believe is the Thermal area but I'm really not certain

"The 1160 square meter MSC Aurea Spa can be found on deck 13 of the ship and opens from 8.00am to 8.00pm. Within the spa complex are three whirlpool baths, saunas, Turkish baths, a beauty parlour with hairdresser and beautician, solarium relaxation area, thalassotherapy baths, gym and bar and a number of treatment rooms."

Has anyone sailed the Orchestra and used these passes?

I sailed Orchestra last month, and as part of the Aurea package had access to the thermal area. Buying the access pass would give you access to the three whirlpools, the saunas, steam rooms and the relaxation beds. No access to the thalassotherapy baths or anything else.

Below is a snippet from my review where I cover the spa - you can help determine if this would be value for money for you. I'd say if you buy a pass for the cruise duration you might get your monies worth, but if you were to purchase a daily access it would be far too expensive for the limited facilities on this older ship.

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From review:

To be honest I felt this area could do with a bit of a facelift. The facilities were fine, but going Aurea on a newer ship with more spa facilities would give better value for money as they have more rooms available (snow room, salt room etc.). The hot tubs were well used, and the coating/lining on the inside was starting to chip and peel away. Also the sealant and grouting round the outside looked slightly mouldy and could do with replacement.

 

There was a papaya scented steam room, and a coconut scented steam room - neither of which smelled like the fruit they claimed to! The coconut room was the hotter of the two, in the papaya room you could see from one end to the other there was so little steam.

 

The hot tub area was usually always busy, the sweet spot seemed to be 6PM when perhaps people were getting ready for dinner. I suspect this was a full sailing, it was sometimes hard to get a space in the hot tub and the loungers were often occupied as well. The steam rooms are much larger so capacity not so much of a problem there. One sauna was hotter than the other too, with about 15C difference between the rooms.

 

Access to the thermal area is easy, you bypass the first reception and hand your room card over to the second desk where you are provided a locker key in the changing rooms. Going out you exchange the locker key for your room card.

As you are sailing Orchestra you might find the whole review helpful:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2609858

Thanks for this info, This is exactly what I was looking for. At $65 for a 12 day cruise with 3 sea days I don't think we can go wrong. I will have a read of your full review as well.

Thanks again

Read your review very detailed, thanks again. I am a 30 year Navy man and have been to various places in Europe however my wife and the other couple we are travelling with have never been to Europe (it's also their first cruise) so we are very excited. My wife and I are flying in to Glasgow Scotland for a couple nights then on to Berlin for 2 nights then we board Orchestra in Warnemunde for our 12 day cruise. We get off in Genoa and we will stay there for a night then it's off to Venice for 2 nights and then finally Paris for 3 nights before coming home.

Sounds like quite a trip - hope you enjoy. I live in Edinburgh and, if the weather is right, there are lots of nice things to see in Scotland (you should be fine in August!).

We are planning a day trip to Edinburgh while in Scotland we are even considering the Tatoo on the last day it is running (25 Aug) but the tickets are pretty expensive Any tips for Edinnburgh?

It's a pretty easy city to walk around - you can see the Castle, Scottish Parliament, Arthur's Seat, The Scott Monument etc. all within a few hours if you are relatively mobile on foot. The cannons get fired at the Castle at 1 PM every day. It depends on your interest of course but plenty to see.

It will be extremely busy during the Festival with performances on the street and packed out bars and restaurants. Worth the trip though and it gives atmosphere when it's busy. If you are getting the train from Glasgow, get off at Edinburgh Waverley (not Haymarket or Edinburgh Park) - you are right in the centre then.

The Tattoo is interesting to see with a lot of international influence and presence, but can run late at night and again depending on your transport you might miss the last train back to Glasgow if this is your method.

From the Glasgow area you can branch out to Loch Lomond if you like (a big lake and National Park), and the west coast has good golf if that's your thing. So many possibilities - make sure to research everything that interests you in advance especially if only for a few days. Scotland is really a small country so you can cover a lot of ground in a day.

Great info and thanks for the advice on the train station I will remember that for sure

Cheers