BEWARE! Elemis Detox in SPA

[SavFam06]

Here is a solution to the sales pitch.

 

When you go for your massage, put 4 $5 bills on the table. Tell the masseuse that those bills are her tip, but you'll take $5 away every time she tries to sell you something.

 

I love that idea!!!

[crewsweeper]

Amazing that people speak to an "expert" in the spa and decide to fall for their pitches even though they know nothing about them.

 

I like the accupuncture specialists who want to sign you up for a three treatment special. Have no idea about their qualifications and I always wonder if they are so wonderful why they do not have their own practice where they live.

and thus far, the less than rigorous scientific studies on accuputure have shown......you can stick the needles (or even toothpicks) anywhere and get the placebo effect:eek: Everyone needs to be aware that the 3-4000year old use of accupuncture refers to the Chinese zodiac based system of blood-letting that was outlawed in China in the 19th Century, where even then it was NOT in wide spread use. The Nerve system was concocted in the late 1930s and not really used at all until the 1960s when Mao started to do away with "All Things Western".

 

The so-called experts in the Spa are marketers not clinically trained nutritionists, they are there to sell products and the information should be taken with a grain of salt (except salt is BAD for you:rolleyes:).

[halos]

Funny thing- my wife and I have had lots of massages over the years; I suffer from chronic muscle tension and thus need someone named Helga to hit me with a meat mallet on occasion.

 

We've also been on many cruises but I've always 100% avoided the spa because I've always heard horror stories about the product push. Here on dry land, the absolute MOST I've ever heard from any spa/massage clinic was "you're so tight, you ought to come back in a couple weeks" which is usually legit and mentioned out of concern for my own wellbeing.

 

How many potential sales have the on-board spas lost due to this negative perception? Would there be a marketing angle here for some cruise line- "hassle free spa treatments?" Sadly, the realist in me says that most people go ahead and go to the spa and spend their hard earned money anyway, and then complain about the hard sell, and then go back again. However, I do respect the folks that never go back again!!! Hopefully that stat shows up somewhere back at corporate headquarters.

 

Sorry, I can handle this at a timeshare where the disney tickets are free at the end. But after spending a $100 or more? I expect only a "thank you for coming in" and a glass of water on my way out the door.

 

 

Great post!

 

Personally, I can't imagine having anything done on a ship like this...acupuncture, teeth whitening?? You gotta be kidding me. ONE time I was on a 2 weeker and my manicure didn't hold up so I made an appointment to get my nails done.

I walked into the salon and saw a Barbie-Like woman, complete with 5 inch heels, 'styling' some woman's hair with a curling iron.

:rolleyes:

I have seen teenagers doing each others hair more professionally....

I sat to get my nails done and was not impressed...

I wasn't given a sales pitch but the manicure was way over priced and lasted about 1/2 day.

 

If they can't get decent people in the salons that know what they're doing, why would anyone trust them to stick needles in them or give them a 'cleanse' :eek:

You'd have to be insane to allow someone on a cruise ship to do any of that. I'm gald the OP didn't fall for it.

 

 

OP, I am sorry you were lied to. I'd write to CCL and express my concerns if I were you...not that it would help. I am sure they know about all the lying that goes on in the Spas.

[quickrate]

I'm sorry that your trip did not meet your expectations. I hope you try another CCL ship and have an excellent experience in the future. I do not do any health treatments that has not had FDA approval. My husband and I are in medical fields and the United States Food and Drug Admin. tests products for our safety. Before beginning a program like that I'd speak to my doctor. Spas in my area also market similar programs and they are also very expensive.

Sorry, but I can't agree with your statement. I've seen too many FDA approved items pulled off the market because it wasn't safe. I don't think most vitamins and herbs have been rigorously tested and MOST are safe.

 

You will receive that kind of sales pitch pretty much anywhere you go-from cars, to insurance policies, to spas. It's called a free market and capitolism!:D

[kujobie]

Fake paintings in the art show, and now this!?! Now, you'll probably tell me that bingo's a sucker bet!!

[luckycruzer]

started with the Steiner (SPA peeps) company..if you can pitch mudddd..you can pitch anything. BTW..the soap on my Noordam..burned my face a bit the 1st night..soloution...use what I brought ..Buyer Beware works here

[Sargent_Schultz]

Aren't virtually all the spas on cruise ships outsourced to Steiner?

 

http://www.onespaworld.com/page/About-Us-Our-Cruise-Partners.aspx

 

hmmm.

[halos]

Sorry, but I can't agree with your statement. I've seen too many FDA approved items pulled off the market because it wasn't safe. I don't think most vitamins and herbs have been rigorously tested and MOST are safe.

 

You will receive that kind of sales pitch pretty much anywhere you go-from cars, to insurance policies, to spas. It's called a free market and capitolism!:D

 

Yeah...you definitely can't put full confidence in the FDA either.

[nbsjcruiser]

It never ceases to amaze me how quick some people are to trust their medical well being to snake oil sales people. Go into any GNC store and there will be a snotty nosed kid pushing garbage that will improve your health. Does anyone ever stop to think "I wonder what educational level this person is at?". For the most part they've finished high school.

 

Good for the OP that she didn't fall for the scam.

[Marie51]

Well unfortunately for you they got $50/pp out of you. There is always a hard sell pitch at the spa to buy their products that will make your life so much better. A friend of mine came back from her massage with $500 worth of pills that she was instructed to take over a 3 month period that would make her lose weight. After 3 months she didn't look any different. Don't be gullible.

[airhead22]

This reminds me of the one.... "What monthly payment would it take to put you in this car today? (So, yea, it is a 24 year loan)."

 

I had a massage on my first cruise. Just said no thank you to all the miracle cures.

 

Watch out for the Massage Envy places. They want to sell you a massage "package".

[halos]

It never ceases to amaze me how quick some people are to trust their medical well being to snake oil sales people. .

 

 

LOL...I don't even trust my health totally with medical professionals!

You really have to be your own advocate. I double-check advice or meds given by doctors as well....to me, it seems some are way too quick with the prescription pad and it bothers the heck outta me.

[golfadj]

If people did not fall for this stuff where would all the Swedes with big muscles work?

[LemurCat]

If people did not fall for this stuff where would all the Swedes with big muscles work?

 

Chippendales.

[CanadaJulie]

you know I don't really *get* the whole spa thing on a cruise...

 

I want to take advantage of every moment of Caribbean Sun while I am on vacation, sit by the pool, watch the waves go by, have a DOD, breathe in the sunny warm air. The last thing I want to do is close myself up in a spa for an overpriced treatment and have to endure the hard sell at the end, or sit inside and waste my time listening to some "medical expert" go on about the benefits of colon cleansing or other such nonsense... :rolleyes:

 

I can go to a million spas right here in my own neighboorhood, pay way less with no sales pitch at the end. If I want to buy their products, I can take my time in researching them beforehand.

 

I guess for some, spa goes hand in hand with vacation but for me, I want to go on vacation and do things I don't get to do at home ! Now, a massage on the beach is something I cannot do at home so that might be something I'd look into !

 

Having said that, I am up in Canada where *summer* is in short supply so I take advantage of it when it comes, at home or on vacation. Others are luckier and live where it always warm so maybe for them, missing a bit of sun and warmth isn't that big a deal...

[golfadj]

you know I don't really *get* the whole spa thing on a cruise...

 

I want to take advantage of every moment of Caribbean Sun while I am on vacation, sit by the pool, watch the waves go by, have a DOD, breathe in the sunny warm air. The last thing I want to do is close myself up in a spa for an overpriced treatment and have to endure the hard sell at the end, or sit inside and waste my time listening to some "medical expert" go on about the benefits of colon cleansing or other such nonsense... :rolleyes:

 

I can go to a million spas right here in my own neighboorhood, pay way less with no sales pitch at the end. If I want to buy their products, I can take my time in researching them beforehand.

 

I guess for some, spa goes hand in hand with vacation but for me, I want to go on vacation and do things I don't get to do at home ! Now, a massage on the beach is something I cannot do at home so that might be something I'd look into !

 

Having said that, I am up in Canada where *summer* is in short supply so I take advantage of it when it comes, at home or on vacation. Others are luckier and live where it always warm so maybe for them, missing a bit of sun and warmth isn't that big a deal...

 

OK but I have a nice bridge for sale, hardly ever used. Special price for Canadians.

[cruzeluver]

Yep, issues with the spas need to be addressed to Steiner who has cornered the market on cruise ship spas.

 

As for avoiding the hard sell, I let them know as soon as I arrive that I will not be purchasing any additional products and it always works. I do this in a nice, friendly way. The spa employees are required to sell additional product, so laying into them is pointless and obnoxious.

 

Back in my table-waiting days, I had a few customers pull that lay money on the table thing and tell me they would be removing bills each time I did something they didn't like or each time they thought they waited too long. Those folks immediately started receiving the bare minimum from me in terms of service. I am nobody's dancing monkey.

[alwayshappytocruise]

This reminds me of the one.... "What monthly payment would it take to put you in this car today? (So, yea, it is a 24 year loan)."

 

I had a massage on my first cruise. Just said no thank you to all the miracle cures.

 

Watch out for the Massage Envy places. They want to sell you a massage "package".

 

Is that where you can get your "package" massaged?:o:p

[CanadaJulie]

OK but I have a nice bridge for sale, hardly ever used. Special price for Canadians.

 

Excellent - we could use a couple of more bridges aroud here. How soon can you deliver and how does it fare in sleet, slush, snow and insanely cold temperatures ? :D

[Tbay-eh]

Yep, issues with the spas need to be addressed to Steiner who has cornered the market on cruise ship spas.

 

As for avoiding the hard sell, I let them know as soon as I arrive that I will not be purchasing any additional products and it always works. I do this in a nice, friendly way. The spa employees are required to sell additional product, so laying into them is pointless and obnoxious.

 

Back in my table-waiting days, I had a few customers pull that lay money on the table thing and tell me they would be removing bills each time I did something they didn't like or each time they thought they waited too long. Those folks immediately started receiving the bare minimum from me in terms of service. I am nobody's dancing monkey.

 

How insanely rude is that - I would have picked up the money and said "you will get the same service that every customer gets here so I will earn this - I am nobody's dancing monkey" Love that saying. Honestly, I don't know how you could have waited on them after that arrogant stunt.

 

To topic - like you, I would just say upfront that "I am not interested in anything else just the service I requested and I do realize you have to do this but I will not be purchasing anything else. Thank you

[CalmCruiserNC]

The product pitches are precisely why we stopped using the spas onboard ships -- and they're where we used to spend the majority of our money on a cruise. I just HATE the feeling that after a relaxing treatment the benefits were undone by a hard-sell pitch.

 

I tried telling a massage therapist before the treatment began that if they pitched even one product when we were done I would absolutely eliminate their tip -- and ended up with one of the worst massages I'd ever had -- so that didn't work out well.

 

My wife's tactic has become deliberately asking what a product costs BEFORE her treatment begins and then saying "WOW that's a LOT more than I paid for it online!" When she's done she just says, "Now tell more more about the products so I can order them online when I get home."

[golfadj]

Excellent - we could use a couple of more bridges aroud here. How soon can you deliver and how does it fare in sleet, slush, snow and insanely cold temperatures ? :D

 

We can put it on the truck as soon as your check clears.

 

Our bridges are guaranteed in cold weather. Just not sure what the guarantee is.

[cruisinmeme]

after several very good treatments in the spa i went a little nuts buying products. i knew the prices were expensive, but thought it was ship mark up. went directly to the elemis website and the prices were exactly as they were on the ship.

i too thought you could only buy the stuff on the ship, not sure i was told that or just thought it.

[halos]

Is that where you can get your "package" massaged?:o:p

I think you only get that when you request a 'happy ending'.

 

 

:D

[MrPete]

Just the word DETOX would have clued me in.

 

PASS