To spa or not to spa?

[bonnie voyage]

Husband and I are going back and forth on whether we should purchase spa passes for upcoming carribbean cruise. We did purchase passes on last cruise to Alaska; loved having the use of all the amenities. I am just not certain if we would use it enough on a carribbean cruise - husband thinks we will.

 

Any words of advice on this subject? Has anyone purchased for Carribbean cruise and felt it was a waste or did you use it frequently?

[dragonswordkata]

We did a 7 day on the Pearl last year to the Caribbean and really enjoyed the Spa. It was nice to be able to pop in when you want to, it was never too busy, they always had juice and tea ready, the view was fantastic since thier Spa is at the front of the boat.

We are doing the Sun next spring and it's sounding like it pails in comparison to the Pearls spa. So you may want to try and Youtube/CC a video of the ship's spa since they are not all the same.

Hope you have a fun trip spa or no spa :)

[sverigecruiser]

We had a spasuite on the Epic but since the spa was the only place we didn't felt welcome we never visited the spa except for a tour the first day.

[Dinthesea]

Hi, I was wondering what made you not feel welcome. I have an upcoming trip on the Epic and we're booked in Spa suite. It's my first time with NCL. and saying I'm very excited is an understatement. We are on the 12/8/12 trip and I have a count down timer on my phone down to the second. I have learned so much just from reading all of your informative post so thank you !!

[dalgirl]

Our first cruises with NCL were to the caribben and we did not get the spa pass - so did not really miss it. However... once I actually tried it, I find it hard to live without. An hour in the spa before dinner really helps with sore muscles and gets me ready to have a fun night.

 

We will be on the Sky in a few weeks and I understand that it does not have the spa setup the Jewel class ships and Epic have. I am counting on warm caribbean beaches and sun to take its place. Fat chance:p

 

Since you have already experienced the spa you will know if can live without it. And remember, if they don't sell out of all the passes you could use the day pass option. You don't have to decide until you are actually on board.

 

But if you would like validation, I say "yes, you really need the spa, it will do wonders for your wellbeing, and you work hard all year... wait, that is my pep-talk for talking a friend into an outfit she can't afford:o

[conandrob240]

I will add that the Epic spa felt very "stingy" to me. No juice, water only. No hair conditioner or lotion to use.

[Dawnya00]

Oh. That is not what I wanted to hear as the Epic is going to be our Honeymoon cruise and we are going with a group of friends, but I wanted the Spa to me our/(my) little oasis in the sea of people.

Do we know if things have improved in the recent months?

[JerseyGem]

Husband and I are going back and forth on whether we should purchase spa passes for upcoming carribbean cruise. We did purchase passes on last cruise to Alaska; loved having the use of all the amenities. I am just not certain if we would use it enough on a carribbean cruise - husband thinks we will.

 

Any words of advice on this subject? Has anyone purchased for Carribbean cruise and felt it was a waste or did you use it frequently?

 

I suggest waiting until you hear weather forecasts for your cruise. We never purchased spa passes on any Caribbean cruises until a December Jewel cruise with rain predicted all week. DD and I loved being able to escape the crowds - and the wind and rain. The spa on the Jewel is not as fancy as the ones on the other jewel class ships but still was a peaceful respite from the bad weather and hordes of kids.

[deschoolie]

regardless of the weather in December, we will be getting thermal suite passes on the Pearl. Its great for unwinding after a day of shore excursions and right before bed. In the past, I've also hit the spa first thing in the morning to loosen up sore/stiff muscles and clear my head from the night before. I suspect you would use it more than you think in November, having enjoyed it in the past.

[tweekster]

Oh. That is not what I wanted to hear as the Epic is going to be our Honeymoon cruise and we are going with a group of friends, but I wanted the Spa to me our/(my) little oasis in the sea of people.

Do we know if things have improved in the recent months?

 

You can always just get the posh pass for the week.

The posh area is a great place for an oasis from all the people on board.

[conandrob240]

Well, my opinion of theEpic spa is based on my trip from 2 weeks ago so I'd say pretty recent:). Only water & tea was offered. The water had lemon in it. Only shower gel & shampoo was provided. The jacuzzi area was great , the tiled loungers and steam rooms nice. Area with a nice view off back of ship. But I found the whole thing sort of "stingy" rather than luxurious. And the some of the employees were downright snooty. If you want a massage, I can highly recommend Amanda. Excellent and did not push products.

 

If I were doing a carribean itinerary with a few sea days, I'd opt for Posh Pass over Spa pass and enjoy the spa once or twice with a treatment. They had a special 2 of our days-$134 for mini facial, massage & body scrub (90 minutes) plus free time in spa included. It was a good value.

[sverigecruiser]

Hi, I was wondering what made you not feel welcome. I have an upcoming trip on the Epic and we're booked in Spa suite. It's my first time with NCL. and saying I'm very excited is an understatement. We are on the 12/8/12 trip and I have a count down timer on my phone down to the second. I have learned so much just from reading all of your informative post so thank you !!

 

This is from my review of our cruise:

 

Since we had a spa suite we had access to the Thermal Spa Suites so when we had looked at our cabin, we went to the spa to get a tour of it. We put on our wristbands and walked to the spa for a tour. We asked for a tour of the spa facilities and that was no problem. First they showed us all the rooms where we could get treatments to look better, it probably took around 15 minutes, and after that they took us to the Thermal Spa Suites. When we got there they told us that it was possible to buy a pass to get access to the Suites! Why should we have a wristband when they didn’t care about it anyway?

 

 

 

For us a spa shall be a place to go to to feel better not to look better. They talked a lot about how we could get whiter teeth, thinner thighs, less wrinkles etc. so the spa was not a place for us; they made us feel very unwelcome.

 

 

 

They also told us that if we wanted to use the Thermal Spa Suites we had to check inn and exchange our keycards for a key to a locker, why? Why can’t we just walk in and use the facilities, they gave us the wristband right?

 

 

 

The spa was the only place we didn’t felt welcome and also the only place where we didn’t felt special for having a suite so our tour there was our only visit.

[Medtech2]

I will add that the Epic spa felt very "stingy" to me. No juice, water only. No hair conditioner or lotion to use.

Not true on our cruise but that was in 2010...

 

There were a variety of teas to choose from to brew, plus water. There was always some type of lotion in the ladies locker room. The herbal steam room smelled incredible.

 

The workers were welcoming but they do leave you alone, which is preferable to me as I went to decompress and relax. I do not want anyone approaching me to sell me something or anything as I was there to vegetate, in serene silence...

[conandrob240]

I prefer to be left alone also. O did not find most of the spa staff welcoming. I found most of them aloof a few even rude. All this when I came in to inquire about services on Day 1

[best Oma]

:confused: what is a posh pass vs a spa pass?

[RickinNYC]

Depends on the ship. We liked the Gem spa, but thought the Jewel was a waste of money. Loved the Epic spa and would do it again.

[bonnie voyage]

Sounds like alot of differing opinions with regard to the Epic's spa......

[dalgirl]

Sounds like alot of differing opinions with regard to the Epic's spa......

 

I think it really depends on the itinerary and perhaps the time of year? We were on the med cruise last October and to me the sea days seemed crowded - the spa on the Epic is HUGE compared to the Jewell class ships, and there seems to be a lot of people. The steam room, heated beds, sauna were all the best, but once I finished with all the facilities I went back to my balcony cabin to relax - all the loungers lined up together facing each other and away from the wonderful sea view was not very relaxing to me personally. The few balcony loungers were always taken. Perhaps on a carribean cruise where the pool area is more in demand you might get less traffic in the spa? We will be back on the Epic for another med cruise next October and after that in the carribean in Dec, so I hope to have a better comparison.

 

I think the best spas on on the GEM and the Pearl - I don't remember if I got a spa pass on the jewel (carribean), and I really didn't care for the Jade's spa...

[Dinthesea]

This is from my review of our cruise:

 

Since we had a spa suite we had access to the Thermal Spa Suites so when we had looked at our cabin, we went to the spa to get a tour of it. We put on our wristbands and walked to the spa for a tour. We asked for a tour of the spa facilities and that was no problem. First they showed us all the rooms where we could get treatments to look better, it probably took around 15 minutes, and after that they took us to the Thermal Spa Suites. When we got there they told us that it was possible to buy a pass to get access to the Suites! Why should we have a wristband when they didn’t care about it anyway?

 

 

 

For us a spa shall be a place to go to to feel better not to look better. They talked a lot about how we could get whiter teeth, thinner thighs, less wrinkles etc. so the spa was not a place for us; they made us feel very unwelcome.

 

 

 

They also told us that if we wanted to use the Thermal Spa Suites we had to check inn and exchange our keycards for a key to a locker, why? Why can’t we just walk in and use the facilities, they gave us the wristband right?

 

 

 

The spa was the only place we didn’t felt welcome and also the only place where we didn’t felt special for having a suite so our tour there was our only visit.

Thank you for replying, I'm sorry it was a bad experience for you. I'm just going to have good time regardless, I can get snooty with the best of them. Between me and my sister they want know what hit them ; )

[Dinthesea]

:rolleyes:Excuse me, they will not (won't) know what hit them...

[cbannerman]

Dalgirl,

 

What about the spa on the Jade did you not care for? I am doing a 10 night Med cruise in March with my wife and daughter and am thinking about surprising them with passes to the spa but I don't want to pay for a service they won't use.