Favorite Lotus Spa Offerings

[WoodstockGirl]

What are your suggestions and best finds at the Lotus Spa these days? Are services offered the same from ship to ship? We are booked on the Emerald Princess in the Fall. I'm thinking mostly along the lines of the various massages.

WG

[BobAnne]

Great question! I know people complain about the price and the upselling. I am keen to ready the answers here as I too am looking to book some spa time during my upcoming cruise.

[jag82177]

Is it possible to request no upselling (or conversation) before a treatment starts? There is nothing more frustrating than coming out of a massage and having to turn down a sales offer. I once complained to guest services about the hard sell following a massage (on HAL) and received an angry phone call from the spa manager telling me that my complaint was unacceptable…

[AZjohn]

Wife and I had a couple massages most recently on Enchanted and neither had the upsell pitch at all. Add to that both our masseuses gave us one of the best massages we ever had left us with the complete satisfaction and will be returning to the spa next April 🙂.

 

Other cruise line experiences with the pitches ended quickly after politely saying no thanks - not interested at all.

[MTNest93]

We’re on the Caribbean now and had an excellent couples massage on embarkation day at 5:30 pm in a cabana overlooking the front of the ship in The Sanctuary.  The Sanctuary was closed at that time so it was nice and private.  The cost ($209) was less than we pay on land by us.  They did try to sell a couple products afterwards but we politely declined and didn’t feel pressed at all.  Would highly recommend! 

Edited July 3, 2023 by MTNest93
Correction on price

[seeyouinthesun]

First off, the best prices are from booking before the cruise. My recommendation is the Bamboo massage. 

[SuzieQ521]

Best prices are definitely on Port days...usually the night before they will have the flyer with the specials at the spa.

 

On our cruise last month (Royal), they had 75 min treatment (50 min massage plus 25 min mini facial) for $129.00; there was even a better deal next port day: pick 3 services of your choice (total of 75 min) for $99.00. On sea days, you would pay $149 or more for a 50 min massage for example.

 

Maybe I got lucky but my massage therapist did not try to upsell me at all.

Edited July 3, 2023 by SuzieQ521

[charliedalrymple]

Not on Princess, but I had a therapist grill me during the massage about how he could get a visa to come and work in my country.  I finally asked him to please stop talking, which was a bit awkward.

[Chad_O]

second vote for the Bamboo Massage. I am a big guy and the massage techs sometimes struggle with the bulk and muscle mass. The bamboo gives them leverage and it feels so great. i have rarely had issues with an up-sell pressures.  

[CruiseCrabs]

All of the spa services I have had were great and you can shut down the product sell fairly easily. I recommend the deep tissue massage to get rid of stress and aches right after embarkation.

[fabby50]

I too like the bamboo massage, and I like the salt scrub, it makes you feel so soft and silky, plus it smells nice.  I usually get the salt scrub and the longer massage package (75 minutes) and a 110 minute massage sometime during the week.  

[WoodstockGirl]

Thanks for suggestions. I'm going to look into these and try to book ahead of cruise. It's truly cheaper to book beforehand?

 

[AZjohn]

56 minutes ago, WoodstockGirl said:

Thanks for suggestions. I'm going to look into these and try to book ahead of cruise. It's truly cheaper to book beforehand?

 

Have got better price during a daily special. There is a risk that they might be booked up. But, we seem to have always found a slot open that works for us.

[trinitygirl]

I always book on embarkation day - they have a 10/20/30 special; 10% off first treatment, 20% off the second and 30% of subsequent treatments.  I book the 100 minute Swedish massage for that afternoon - its my favourite way to start off my cruise.   

[TN-Mountains]

11 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Have got better price during a daily special. There is a risk that they might be booked up. But, we seem to have always found a slot open that works for us.

 

10 hours ago, trinitygirl said:

I always book on embarkation day - they have a 10/20/30 special; 10% off first treatment, 20% off the second and 30% of subsequent treatments.  I book the 100 minute Swedish massage for that afternoon - its my favourite way to start off my cruise.   

I found these to be true on my cruise on Sky Princess June 2023.  Discounts were also available if you dropped in for one of their complimentary 10 min neck massages.  I believe it was 10% off if you booked before you left.  They also had "Spa Tours" throughout the cruise where you could "win discounts".  They didn't really give a tour.  They put you in the waiting room (it has a fancier name, but I can't think of it 😉) and talked about the services they offer.  It was 5-10 minutes long and they drew for prices at the end.  I think there were 8 people in attendance and 5 winners.   I won $75 off a spa service, but it couldn't be used on existing bookings & had to be used on port days.

 

We did a couple's massage w/ hot stones which I loved.  We also did some type of couple's seaweed wrap massage which was ok.  They cover you in a seaweed goop; wrap you in foil for x minutes; you shower; they wrap you in a dry wrap; and follow with a massage.  I wouldn't want to do that by myself.  There is no way I could have gotten all that seaweed off my back without my husband's help. We skipped the dry wrap portion and opted for a longer massage.      

[SuzieQ521]

21 hours ago, WoodstockGirl said:

Thanks for suggestions. I'm going to look into these and try to book ahead of cruise. It's truly cheaper to book beforehand?

 

For our cruise in May, the daily specials (usually on Port days) were actually cheaper than pre-cruise. I would check the spa everyday while on board and see what specials they have.

[seeyouinthesun]

On 7/4/2023 at 10:55 AM, fabby50 said:

I too like the bamboo massage, and I like the salt scrub, it makes you feel so soft and silky, plus it smells nice.  I usually get the salt scrub and the longer massage package (75 minutes) and a 110 minute massage sometime during the week.  

Good to know. 

[seeyouinthesun]

21 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

For our cruise in May, the daily specials (usually on Port days) were actually cheaper than pre-cruise. I would check the spa everyday while on board and see what specials they have.

When I find  a lower price onboard I’ve been able to get it for the lower price be asking. It’s only happened on to me. I guess you can always cancel and just re-book it.