Dumb spa question

[34TigerLily]

I have never had a massage. What do you wear when you have one? Are there places to change clothes in the spa?

[BarbinMich]

Enjoy!!

Edited January 2, 2017 by BarbinMich
incorrect info

[carefreebee]

Once you check in you will escorted to the changing room and given a locker with a key. In the changing room you will find robes and slippers to change into. Go ahead and leave on your panties. Depending on the treatment they may ask you to put on disposable panties (for a seaweed treatment the rooms have a private shower that you will rinse off in, leaving the disposable panties behind). Otherwise once you're on the massage table you will be draped in sheets and the spa gal will keep your "special spots" covered.

After your treatment you will be shown back to the changing room where you can use the personal showers and re-dress into your cruise wear.

I'd suggest taking the tour on embarkation day to see the space and meet the spa staff.

[kyser.fisher1]

Once you check in you will escorted to the changing room and given a locker with a key. In the changing room you will find robes and slippers to change into. Go ahead and leave on your panties. Depending on the treatment they may ask you to put on disposable panties (for a seaweed treatment the rooms have a private shower that you will rinse off in, leaving the disposable panties behind). Otherwise once you're on the massage table you will be draped in sheets and the spa gal will keep your "special spots" covered.

After your treatment you will be shown back to the changing room where you can use the personal showers and re-dress into your cruise wear.

I'd suggest taking the tour on embarkation day to see the space and meet the spa staff.

Everything carefreebee said is on point, I did get a deep tissue massage and did have to remove my underwear but it does depend on your booked treatment. Reason I'm posting is beware they will try and sell you products at the end. Every single time I've gotten anything at the lotus spa they always try and sell you stuff. Not saying it's not good but it's expensive and they can be kinda pushy. Buyer beware. Take care and enjoy!

 

-Kyser

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've never had a massage where they didn't want ALL of your unmentionables removed. Also, remove any jewelry and put your hair in a scrunchy or similar if you want it to stay out of their way.

 

Try to relax during the massage. Most people tend to be a bit nervous for their first massage. The more you "let go", the better. I've also found that a 50 min. massage is nowhere near enough. The longer massages make such a difference. (I'll start dreading it to end around 40 mins. if I'm doing a short session!) The longer ones allow you to relax much more IME.

 

Let the therapist know of any painful spots OR if he/she is applying too much, or not enough, pressure. You'll have a questionnaire to fill out prior to being taken back to the lockers. Drink lots of water afterwards. Enjoy! :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

Oh! Almost forgot! If you can wait until a port day, they often have specials then. It'll save you quite a bit of money. ;)

[jeromep]

If you haven't gotten a massage before, I'd suggest getting one from a local massage practitioner while at home, long before embarking on one, no pun intended, aboard ship. Ask your friends; I'm sure they are familiar with people they already go to that they can recommend.

 

Professional massage therapists recommend that their client not be wearing any clothing during the treatment as underwear sometimes can get in the way of some massage movements. However, the same licensed professionals will never require anyone to disrobe past their comfort level.

 

You will be fully covered by a sheet or layers of sheets and blankets while on the massage table and you will never undress or dress in the presence of your therapist. I get a massage a couple of times a year and have for many years now, and the routine with a massage therapist is always the same. You book an appointment, show up about 15 minutes early, meet your therapist (if you don't already have a relationship with them), talk about where you might need special attention, like lower back pain, neck pain, physical places on your body where you might "store" stress, like neck, shoulders, etc. The therapist will then leave the massage room, wherein you disrobe and get under the covers. Based on how they conduct a massage you may start face up or face down, but they will let you know this before they leave the room. They will knock on the door in 5 or so minutes, you indicate that they can come in and they will start their job.

 

During a typical massage you will be fully draped and the therapist will only uncover the part of the body they are working on and only as far as they need it to be uncovered to do their jobs. For the most part they want you to be as fully covered as possible so that you remain warm and comfortable. About the most of your body that will be uncovered at any given period of time will be your whole back when they work on that area. Aside from that they only will uncover the arm or leg they are working on, and will generally not uncover that limb if they are only massaging your foot or hand.

 

Your private areas will never be uncovered.

 

I have had a massage on Princess and it was better than average. I did not change in the locker room at the spa prior to the massage, I arrived in my normal daily wear and disrobed in the massage room. The entire experience was essentially the same as I experience when at home.

 

kyser.fisher1 is right, beware of the upsell at the end of the massage. The Lotus spa employees get some sort of bonus or comission for selling the cosmetic products that are offered on board. They are rather expensive compared to what you can buy at Macy's or Nordstrom, and frankly aren't any better. You can approach this two ways, endure the sales pitch and politely decline or you can indicate to your therapist before you start your massage that you don't intend to purchase any product. I choose to endure the sales pitch as I don't want my therapist to be annoyed at me at the beginning, plus I think they get rejected on the product sales pretty often, so they aren't surprised when folks say no.

 

I do tip. The last Lotus Spa treatment I had was a deep tissue massage with a facial and it was excellent. It took about 1.5 hours. I gave an extra $20 above the cost of the procedure.

 

Also, look for spa specials. You'll get promotional materials from the spa throughout the voyage and they generally offer discounts or special packages on port days because port days are slower days for the spa since most everyone has left the ship. If you see a port day special you like be sure to book a reservation as soon as possible once you find the offer.

[tailspintom]

I have never had a massage. What do you wear when you have one? Are there places to change clothes in the spa?

 

Dumb Spa question? I didn't even know that there was a Dumb Spa. I could have booked many a hour there to be with my contemporaries.

[sandyoftheseas]

You wear whatever is comfortable for you. I remove my bra (pretty hard to do a back massage with it on) I leave my underwear on because that is what I am comfortable with. At the Lotus Spa I have never had the massage therapist request to have me remove my underwear and they have never massaged me in that area. Maybe if I had my underwear off the would have :)

[KBS1607]

I was so glad I had heard about the port day specials on here! They had some great ones.